Output generation warnings

[Andrei5FB3]

I was wondering if someone could explain what the output generation warning means from the new version of robohelp (currently on 2020.5.71).

I get two types of warnings when I generate my content:

1. Skipped copying external file (all this files seem to be from a child project - so it's child to child linking)

2. Failed to copy - these seem to be images I have in the project however I could not see any errors in the live system?

Any ideas how I can identify and fix these issues?

Thanks,

[Peter Grainge]

First please use the photo icon to insert images within the post. Seeing an image inline with the text makes it easier for anyone answering or viewing the post.

I think this is something to do with the setup of your merge or how you have created the link. See Merged Help RoboHelp New UI (grainge.org). Set up that way I am not getting that warning.

I just tried using the demo available there and did not get the first warning and I suspect both issues are related to that.

________________________________________________________
See www.grainge.org for free Authoring and RoboHelp Information

[Amebr]

I have a theory. Say your projects are child1 and child 2. Do you include any child2 topics in the TOC of the child1 project or vice versa? I'm currently testing RH2020 and have the first error, but haven't yet chased it up (more fundamental problems to follow up) but it's a theory I have to test).

[Amebr]

Okay, I got the error in a small project I was testing.

If you've upgrade from Classic, use variables, and have images in your variables, you'll get the "Failed to copy" message. You need to convert those variables to inline snippets.

1. Open the variable and copy the code you see.

2. Go to snippets and add a new snippet.

3. Switch to code view and paste the code between the p tags. I've highlighted two changes described in the next steps in the following image.

4. Go to the end of the img tag and just before the > add a space and /.

5. If you get an error about alt text, check for the text 'alt' in the img tag. If it doesn't have a value click immediately after alt and type =. The editor will autocomplete a pair of ". You're now done with creating your new inline snippet.

You might also need to switch back to WYSIWYG mode and fix the image path - it might not have upgraded correctly, but my project has complicated issues that probably won't affect anyone else., so I'm going to assume the path is already fine for you. 🙂

Now you need to replace all the variables with the new snippet. I haven't worked that bit out yet. I suspect a complicated regex or script will be needed.

[Amebr]

The "Skipped copying" message may be related to hyperlinks in variables. I suspect these will need to be converted to snippets as well, as I'm not sure the link path is being resolved correctly?

[Peter Grainge]

Yes please clarify where the links are, topic to topic or in the TOC.

________________________________________________________
See www.grainge.org for free Authoring and RoboHelp Information

[Andrei5FB3]

Hi @Amebr  and @Peter Grainge , there are no child 2 topics in the TOC of the child 1 or viceversa. I only have topic to topic links.

[Andrei5FB3]

These are in child 1 project and the location "ICON_Procedures" = child 2.

[Amebr]

Do you have variables that contain hyperlinks?

[Andrei5FB3]

Hi @Amebr , I am not entirely sure what you mean by these variables as I am quite new to Robohelp so still learning. If you are referring to the Variable Sets on the left hand side then I don't have any set - in none of my projects.

[Andrei5FB3]

[Amebr]

Okay, if you click on that and nothing displays in the panel to the right, then that's not the issue. 

I'll be doing some more testing on my project tomorrow, so I'll have another look to see if I still get the message after cleaning up my variables and get back to you.

[Andrei5FB3]

Thanks for your support, @Amebr !

[Peter Grainge]

You are getting the warning because the target of the link is in an output. If you look at the page I referred you to, I create such links at project level and they work in the merge.

Check the download on my site and see how it is done.

________________________________________________________
See www.grainge.org for free Authoring and RoboHelp Information

[Amebr]

Okay I cleaned up my variables and generated again. I got about a dozen "skipped copying" messages.

I used the broken links report to find and relink to the referenced topics - for historical reasons the merged projects I upgraded couldn't be upgraded correctly so I knew I'd have to fix a lot of links (I'd done most with a RegEx Find and Replace, but didn't catch all of the variations).

So for your errors, track down all the places that reference the topic in the warning message and relink to the topic.

I highly recommend following the setup in Peter's instructions and it makes linking super simple, and theoretically will update correctly going forward. Do practice with the demo project. It really helps to understand the underlying setup.