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R
ReactionAtWork
Known Participant
November 6, 2009
Question

New to Robo: are crashes and slow performance the norm?

  • November 6, 2009
  • 1 reply
  • 3219 views

I'm using RoboHelp for the first time today. Started it up. New blank project, no problem. Now, I'm going to need to import a lot of HTML files into RoboHelp, that were generated by an old HAT (ForeHelp)....

Issue 1:

I go to the File, Import menu and select one of my .htm files. I have put the .htm file into its own folder together with any associated files that the HTML refers to.  CRASH!  No warnings, no messages, just a "This program needs to close" error. YOU WHAT?  If RoboHelp couldn't understand the HTML I gave it, then why didn't RoboHelp's Import code issue a "There was a problem with reading the file" error at the every least?  So, outside RoboHelp I take out anything in the HTML file that isn't plain vanilla HTML...

Issue 2:

...and start RoboHelp again.  This time the HTML file imports, but takes ages to load a medium sized graphic within the topic...  but when it has, editing any surrounding text becomes absolutely impossible, since the whole application has slowed to a crawl!  There's screen corruption everywhere, with text laid on top of other text - a complete disaster....

Issue 3:

So I remove all references to the graphic from the HTML file and import it again. The same problem exists - impossible to edit text without screen corruption all over the place and massive slowdown.  Then I realise the topic references a background image (a tiny 585 byte .GIF image). So again, I close RoboHelp, edit the HTML file to remove references the BODY BACKGROUND image, and re-import it afresh into RoboHelp. At last, I can edit the text in real-time!  Then as an experiment, I use RoboHelp to assign the topic a backgorund image, exactly as specified in the Robohelp files. I use the same tiny 585 byte .GIF again, and it appears in the topic as expected.... but that massive slowdown and screen corruption is there again!   What the hell is the point of allowing me to assign a background image to a topic, if the editor is so hopelessly designed it can't handle it? 

In summary, I am astounded out how utterly flaky and incompetent RoboHelp seems to be.  I have never used software that is so miserably slow and unreliable from the very outset.  So what is this old ForeHelp application that I'm using, you might ask?  Well, in 2001 when I was last selecting a HAT, it was winning all the awards for being the best HAT. Naturally, back then I tested the demo of RoboHelp too... but because it crashed constantly from the moment it started up (importing RTF files back then), I gave up with it, slack jawed at just how bad it was compared with ForeHelp. I've been happily using ForeHelp ever since, and it absolutely flies, even when editing my 750,000 word 1600 topic help file!  Unfortunately, ForeHelp was sold up, with parts of its technology being bought by... ComponentOne, makers of Doc2Help!

I had thought that perhaps RoboHelp would have been tidied up after all these years of ownership by Adobe, but apparently not. It is truly disgraceful that a product that costs this much can crash and burn with no proper error handling, simply when attempting to import a file. It is unnacceptable that a product that costs this much can have such a hopelessly incompetent editing window, when my ancient ForeHelp blasts along with no issues whatsoever.  RoboHelp doesn't even have the unified Adobe interface style either!  If only I had known, I wouldn't have wasted my company's money on Technical Communication Suite 2, and would have just bought the (almost as creaky) FrameMaker 9 on its own.

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    1 reply

    Peter Grainge
    Community Expert
    Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 6, 2009

    Did you not try the free trial version first? It runs for 30 days with absolutely no other restrictions, no watermarks, nothing.

    If the product was as bad as you say, no one could work with it so clearly it is something about what you are feeding into or something about your environment.

    Both are possibilities so let's rule out the easy part first. Have you applied the patch release earlier this week? Part of that was about improving performance.

    Then, have you tried opening the supplied sample projects. Are they working OK?

    At that point, perhaps we can turn to what you are feeding into it. Have you tried importing the old HTML files into any other editor, maybe the free Kompozer. I am curious as to how well they handle the old files? There is a PortableApps version that you can install on a flash drive if you are averse to installing it onto your PC.

    Then explain how ForeHelp worked for me. RH has source files and output files, as does Flare. They are different. If you import a RH output file into a project as a source file, it does need some cleaning up. Are the source and output files different in ForeHelp? I am not familiar with the product.

    Would you be willing to share one of the HTM files you are trying to import plus any supporting files such as images, CSS and so on?

    Please, let's find out where the problem is before slagging off RH. It is working for thousands of users worldwide so there has to be an explanation for this problem. Let's see if we can find it and then cast blame.

    See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

    Follow me @petergrainge

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    R
    ReactionAtWorkAuthor
    Known Participant
    November 9, 2009

    Peter,

    Thanks for taking the time to answer. I have attached a zip file containing the file that causes the problem, although I have replaced the titles and body text (for commercial reasons). I can confirm that the errors still occur exactly the same way.

    Test1_topic_Original.htm   This is the original file output from ForeHelp. This causes the unhandled application crash.

    Test2_topic_ForeHelpStuffRemoved.htm  In this file, I have removed any of ForeHelp's own comment tags. This topic loads into RoboHelp, but is then utterly uneditable due to a massive slowdown, screen noise, text overlaying text etc. I believe this might be a problem with the background graphic.

    Both files reference a style sheet in the same folder, and three graphics in a \graphics subfolder.  Incidentally, both files load perfectly into IE7 with no issues. I am using a Dell OptiPlex 960, with Intel Core2Quad 3GHz and 4GB RAM. I installed RoboHelp on Friday 6 November and immediately afterwards chose the Updates option (requiring a 300 MB+ download!). It now shows as version 8.0.1.204.

    I am very interested to know how you get on, as I have about 2000 topics like this that I need to import!  It will be fine as long as the error can be determined so that I can, if necessary, pre-process all the .htm files (in an automated way) before feeding them to RoboHelp.

    Peter Grainge
    Community Expert
    Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 9, 2009

    I'll try to look this evening. Assume the zip file has the CSS and images so that when I import, RH pulls in the same as it would from wherever you source it.

    See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

    Follow me @petergrainge

    Use the menu (bottom right) to mark the Best Answer or Highlight particularly useful replies. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here.
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