Rename a Project - see files with both new and old project name

[priscillaa9287259]

Hi,

Can somebody please tell me what are the best practices to follow for renaming a project?
I am using RoboHelp Classic 2019. What I have done is:
1. rename the Robhelp project file using File>Rename
2. Went to Project>Project Settings and changed the Project Title
3. Went to Output>WebHelp and changed the name in Title Bar 
4. Manually renamed the project folder from File Explorer - the usual right-clicking against the file and selecting rename and edit.
What I see in the project folder are 2 versions of the .glo, .hhc, and .hhk files (both old and new names appear). Is this something to worry about?
Will the developers face any problem while integrating if the Help Files' name does not match with the existing Help files available with the application? What I mean to say is we get to see the name of the Help in the address bar -XYZ Help (old name) . If there is a mismatch , eg,  ABC Help (new name), will there be any kind of integration problem for the developers.
We simply share the Webhelp output without even changing the name of the WebHelp , we simply add a date at the end.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

If you're preserving the orginal project, then I think your order is messed up. I would start with copying the entire project folder outside of RH, then opening the copy within RH, and renaming it there.

[priscillaa9287259]

i have done steps 1-3 within RoboHelp. It's just the project folder which doesnt get renamed from within the software. This renaming i have done manually. My robohelp project is saved in the default Documents folder.So, i went in there and renamed the folder.
I have created a test Webhelp and testing it to see if it loads fine like the old help. the only change i have made is using a different name for my RoboHelp project file (.xpj) name thinking that it will not have any adverse impact during integration. However, developers are not able to deploy this test help properly. i get to see a merged help - both old and new. The only thing we could make out was the difference in name of the Help when one sees in the address bar. Old name is XYZ Help and new name is ABC Help.
I am not sure if I am doing the correct thing because i see 2 versions of .glo, .hhc and .hhk files (pre-renaming and post-renaming) in project folder. When should one rename robohelp project file (.xpj) or rename project title or Title bar?

[Peter Grainge]

In Classic versions when you rename the project some of RoboHelp's files are renamed and some are duplicated. The folder to which you generate does not get renamed unless you choose to rename it or specify a different folder. The contents of the output should not change in any way.

You have said "This renaming i have done manually. My robohelp project is saved in the default Documents folder.So, i went in there and renamed the folder." This is where things may have gone wrong.

Look in your output settings and see where your project thinks it is generating. I suspect it may not be where you think. Set it to generate to a new folder and see if that output works for the developers.

[priscillaa9287259]

Thanks Jeff and Peter for your responses. Replying to Peter:
I took up the renaming approach (.xpj, title bar and project title) because the WebHelp wasnt loading properly. The version which i shared with the team was generated with the initial project settings when you open a new blank project.

The WebHelp is not integrating properly. This is making me think that even though I am rebuilding a new Help file that would replace the old help, the file name etc should be AS IS you see in the old help. 
When i said i manually renamed, I meant the project folder: XYZ Help\SSL\WebHelp (bold word is the renamed project folder, following the old help file name)
ABC Help>SSL>WebHelp (bold word is new name for project folder, which i set when recreating the Help afresh)
The output setting shows the renamed project folder:XYZ Help\SSL\WebHelp\startpage.htm. It was reflecting automatically when i opened it again after renaming.
Is what i am doing wrong? will the renaming and reverting to what was followed in the old help file going to help the developers?
The developers simply take the Webhelp. I do not need to change the default name except for adding a date at the end. Eg, WebHelp_01-Jan-19
I have never renamed a robohelp project in any manner so I am not sure what I am supposed to fix.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

So it sounds a lot like the renaming is a red herring - what exactly is the problem you are trying to solve? Was it working before & now it doesn't?

[Peter Grainge]

I think Jeff is right that the renaming is probably not the issue.

After you generate the help does it open OK if you select View. If it does then it sounds like the wrong output is getting to the developers. How exactly do you get it to them?

[priscillaa9287259]

Posting an update:
The team was able to deploy the Test WebHelp. I sent another version making only the following changes:

1. Went to Project>Project Settings and changed the Project Title to old help file name
2. Went to Output>WebHelp and changed the name in Title Bar  to old help file name

I didnt rename the .xpj file- kept the new name for the help file.

The team doesnt know for sure what was the issue. The WebHelp loaded properly with the name in the address bar reflecting the old help file name. The earlier test version didnt work, maybe, due to the difference in name. Even though it was told to them to deploy this test version in place of the existing version for a few hours. What happened was the files within this test WebHelp appeared as part of the existing help files. Many of the topics appeared with no data. Eventually, nothing loaded. I was looking at a blank page and could see the page was trying to load. What could the issue be? server related or how you call the file. But in both the instances it was calling the right start page, eg, startpage.htm
Before sending out the WebHelp, it is checked by launching the startpage. It appeared fine when opened in Chrome browser: project folder/SSL/WebHelp/Startpage.htm

[Peter Grainge]

1. Went to Project>Project Settings and changed the Project Title to old help file name

You referred to WebHelp so there is no single file. There is a start page but that did not get renamed.

2. Went to Output>WebHelp and changed the name in Title Bar  to old help file name

That should not have affected what the developers do.

I think something else caused the issue but all's well now.

[priscillaa9287259]

Thanks Peter. However, i still want to know whether renaming needs to be done at all these levels.

1. File>Rename: to rename the .xpj file
2. Project>Project Settings: to rename the Project Title
3. Output>WebHelp: to rename Title Bar 
4. project folder/SSL/WebHelp: manually rename the project folder
What should one consider when faced with the need to rename? 

[Peter Grainge]

They are really independent of each other.

1. File>Rename: to rename the .xpj file

Here renaming the XPJ file really means renaming the project.

I keep a master project with various things set up. When I use a copy I will rename the project to suit the reason I am using that copy. The name here only matters to you, it does not affect what you generate.

2. Project>Project Settings: to rename the Project Title

In most cases you will want to sync 1 and 2 but again it is something for your own purposes only. I can't see anywhere it gets used again. 

3. Output>WebHelp: to rename Title Bar 

That is something the user sees. You might want to change that without touching the others.

4. project folder/SSL/WebHelp: manually rename the project folder What should one consider when faced with the need to rename? 

You can call that whatever you want and none of the above settings are related. It's the contents of the folder that matter to the developers. They may have reasons for wanting you to give it a specific name in which case they must tell you.