RoboHelp 2017 not recognizing FrameMaker 2017

[sylviec28123142]

Hi!

Not unlike the comment of a user having a similar issue with RoboHelp 8, I have just had the latest versions of these programs installed and when I try to import a FrameMaker file into RoboHelp, RoboHelp advises me that I need to install FrameMaker.

Any suggestions on how I might fix this?

Thank you!

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

That sounds like something went wrong on the installation of TCS

[Arnis Gubins]

Did you install both using the TCS installer or as separate FM and RH downloads?

[Peter Grainge]

Back in the days of RoboHelp 8, it would only talk to FrameMaker if both were installed as part of the Technical Communication Suite. However, that was dropped in the 2015 release so the standalone products should work.

I do recall there was a point with the previous version where an update broke that and an update was issued to fix it.

In this case as both are new versions, if reinstalling does not fix the problem, I think you should contact Adobe support as installation issues are free.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring information

@petergrainge

[sylviec28123142]

Thanks for the replies,

I had in fact used the TCS installer but had run into a few issues along the way.  I will re-install and see what happens.

Cheers!

Sylvie

[moszapy1]

Please keep FrameMaker2017 running and then try to import the file in RH2017.

-Sameer

[sylviec28123142]

So just a follow-up in case anyone has a similar issue, this past week I have spend a few hours with the kind and competent staff of adobe (they are super nice) and right now I have been asked to try the TCS installation on a device out of my network.  Sadly this is going to be hard to accomplish because my home lap-top is old and cannot handle it.

I may have to resort to saving all my files as MIF files.

It's not optimal but I'm running out of "software issue time" . 😞 

Thank you all for your help!

[doctester]

I have the same problem. Thanks to TCS 2017, I've missed a deadline for Help for the first time in my career. I've uninstalled, reinstalled, restarted, reinstalled TCS 5 just so see what happens. No luck. The support person I chatted with Monday claimed there were no reports of this problem.

[sylviec28123142]

Uh huh… nice. I swear I have spent 6 hours with support about this.

If you are in a pinch, save the frame document as a .mif. That is what I am doing until we decide if we stay with Adobe.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

@ sylvie - so what has Support determined is going on in your network that would be shutting this interaction down?

[sylviec28123142]

They don’t know. They have asked me to install the suite on a computer outside my office environment and sadly my home PC can’t handle it (because it is old an full off stuff). So I’m at a bit of a stalemate.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Do you have a spare machine in the office that you can isolate from the network to test with? I'm wondering if you've got some sort of corporate anti-virus or whitelisting program running that the installer is racking up on.

[Matt-Tech Comm Tools]

Linking still works, but do you have a reason for wanting to import your Fm into RoboHelp?

I've focused mainly on direct output from FrameMaker, because (as you have found) the Rh linking route can lead to premature grey hair/hair loss!!!!

Having said that, I sometimes give away consulting time to members of the (free) Tech Comm Tools community. If you'd like to join by filling out the form on techcommtools.com, I'd be happy to extend an hour of time you and to doctester​ to take a look at your Fm > Rh setup and to discuss whether you need Rh in the mix at all.

For starters, though, here's a rundown of troubleshooting tips for Fm > Rh projects:

http://www.techcommtools.com/?s=framemaker+robohelp

and a blog I did for them:

Setting up basic FrameMaker and RoboHelp integration – TechComm Central by Adobe

and here's the first in a 3-part series of blog posts from the TCS team on the topic

Troubleshooting FrameMaker Content Conversion in RoboHelp – Part 1 – TechComm Central by Adobe

-Matt R. Sullivan
author, FrameMaker - Creating and Publishing Content

online courses  |  you can book me

[doctester]

Further information on this RoboHelp 2017 failure: I'm thinking the issue might be linking to FrameMaker books.

My RoboHelp project has a linked FrameMaker book. This worked fine in TCS 3.5 and TCS 5. Now it fails. RoboHelp tells you you don't have FrameMaker if you try to update the linked book. RoboHelp crashes if you try to delete the linked book. Disturbingly enough, if you look at the RoboHelp 2017 user guide (http://help.adobe.com/en_US/robohelp/2017/robohtml/robohelp_help.pdf ) it no longer documents linking as an option for FrameMaker files, only for Word files. But I see no mention of removal of this feature.

Just to eliminate a few junk "did you plug it in" answers: Yes, I ran the search for updates from the Help box -- it said I'm up to date. No, there are no patches listed for the 2017 versions of RoboHelp or FrameMaker. Yes I ran the install as an administrator. Yes I restarted after install and uninstall. Yes I've installed and uninstalled enough times to take a 2-day vacation. Yes, I've run it with FrameMaker open and closed.

I did an experiment with a smaller, mock project in TCS 2017. I *imported* a FrameMaker book into a RoboHelp 2017, and it was perfectly happy. Of course, there are many, many customizations (beyond what you get in settings.isf) in my actual project that I would have to be recreated at great time and expense.

So, if there is anyone from Adobe monitoring this who actually knows whether linking to FrameMaker files was eliminated from RoboHelp 2017, and especially anyone who has an actual solution to the fact that this leaves some of us with trashed projects, I would appreciate hearing from them.

PS: There is another thread from a previous version that looks familiar and references a "BaseApplication.DLL" file. See most of the way down this thread: Not able link to framemaker files in robohelp 11

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Hmm, this is exactly why I wanted to get on both betas for the 2017 release - I only succeeded in playing around with FM this time.

[Matt-Tech Comm Tools]

If linking in an updated project fails, create a new Rh project. I've had this cause issues a number of times, and the new project only takes a few minutes to produce.

[Matt-Tech Comm Tools]

Sorry to hear that!!

I'm using Fm 14.0.0.361 and

I'm using Rh 13.0.0.255

I generally choose the more direct route of publishing from FrameMaker, but the integration is working for me.

ONE THOUGHT: Try renaming the preference folders (to something like "14-old") in your Roaming directory. There may be something in there that's keeping you from operating properly. These directories will autogenerate upon your next launch of Fm and Rh, but of course you'll lose any customizations stored there. If you want to switch back to the old versions, you simply delete the new prefs folders and rename the original folders accordingly.

In my example, I have Fm 12, Fm 2015 and Fm 2017 loaded on my machine. Thus changing 14 to 14-old preserves my prefs folder in case I want it back.

-Matt

techcommtools.com

[gbarrelet]

Greetings!

I can see people were struggling with this 20 days ago and there's no resolution. ADOBE!! Look here -- This is a SERIOUS bug!

Context:

• I had TCS 2015 installed (with the monthly subscription) with Frame and Robohelp running. I created projects in RH, imported Frame books, and everything was fine.
• The 2017 update came out and I updated everything. I updated all the frame files to the new 2017 format.For some reason, the 2015 version of Framemaker did not uninstall itself.
• Then I opened RH and tried to import a new Frame file. It registered an error and refused to load the file. I noticed that the process launched Frame, but then noticed it launch Framemaker 2015. I deduced that RH 2017 was launching Frame 2015 by accident and I thought that Frame 2015 could not open the converted Frame 2017 files.
• I uninstalled everything: Frame 2015, RH 2017, Frame 2017. Ran CCleaner. Rebooted. Re-installed in this order:
  1. Frame 2017.
  2. RH 2017.
  Rebooted.
• Launched Frame 2017 and opened my files successfully. Closed Frame 2017.
• Opened RH 2017, started a new project, tried to import a Frame file, and got the following error:

• Closed RH 2017, opened Frame 2017, opened the project in question -- no issues.
• Leaving Frame 2017 open, I reopened by RH 2017 project and tried to import (not link) a Frame file. Got the same error.

THIS IS A SERIOUS BUG -- A DEAL KILLER. If RH 2017 cannot work with Frame 2017 to produce the online help, then we will need to evaluate another tool.

Come Adobe... You cannot let this slide. The sad truth is that RH worked better when it was owned by Bluesky and Macromedia. The fact that you cannot link Frame files to a RH Project is bad enough. You've had 12 years to work this out -- what's the hold-up?

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

gbarrelet​ - try contacting Adobe Support - the forums are user-to-user & we've exhausted all our suggestions.

[gbarrelet]

I'm in contact with Adobe Support and he says that "Adobe is working on the problem right now." Seriously bad bug, if you ask me.

His suggestion is that I reinstall the 2015 version and work from there. That means I'll have to save everything down to the 2015 version. Bloody hell.

I wonder if there are people at BlueSky and Macromedia who look like this:

[abhi_AdobeTC]

Hi,

We have replicated the issue at our end and fixed the same. The fix will be available in the first update of RoboHelp (2017 release).

Thanks!

Abhishek

[gbarrelet]

And when should we expect the first update of RoboHelp 2017 to be? Because this bug is making itself a Critical Stopper for me right now (and if you look in the thread, it has caused at least one other person to miss a deadline).

[abhi_AdobeTC]

Hi,

This is scheduled for later half of April.

Thanks!

Abhishek

[mdsameer87]

Hi,

Can you please try keep running FM2017 in background and try import/link of FM file to RH2017.

Thanks,

Sameer

[gbarrelet]

Greetings!

Here's what I have installed, as suggested by Adobe Support:

• Adobe Robohelp 2017
• Adobe Framemaker 2015
• Adobe Framemaker 2017 (files I've worked on have been opened and saved in 2017 format)

I launch Robohelp and open my project. I create a new folder and try to import a Book file.

Framemaker 2015 launches automatically and the following error box appears:

I try to import single Frame file (*.fm) instead. I get this error:

I try to open the Frame file in question in Framemaker 2015, I get this error:

So here is my theory of what has happened: when Frame 2017 was released, I upgraded all my Frame documents to the 2017 format, which means they cannot be opened in Frame 2015. Robohelp 2017 has a bug that causes it to launch Frame 2015 to access the Frame files, but they are no longer compatible because they have been converted to 2017 format.

I tried uninstalling Frame 2015, then ran Robohelp 2017, but it does not recognize Frame 2017 as a valid Frame application, so it no longer works.

THIS IS A CRITICAL, SHOW-STOPPING BUG. This means I must re-save all my documents to 2015 format, uninstall the 2017 versions of Frame and Robohelp, and continue working in the 2015 versions until Adobe decides it's going to deal with this. But seeing as I'm paying a monthly subscription to get updated, bug-free software, this situation is EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING.