RoboHelp 2020 Slow lag response time

Report · Nov 02, 2020

I have a RoboHelp project that contains approximately 450 topics and 770 images, which I created about 11 years ago and has been working fine in v2017. I recently upgraded to v2020 and am finding it very slow. The lag response times are unworkable. I type text and it doesn't show for a second or two. It takes a few seconds to show an item eg. Properties for text, after I have clicked on it etc. It is very frustrating.

I looked at some other posts in this forum and checked response time for the sample project (Compass Travel) and the response times are good - as expected.

Has anyone had a similar experience and what did they do about it? Is it the size of my project? I wouldn't think this project is that large and previous versions of RoboHelp have handled it fine. Would there be legacy issues with upgrading from a 2017 version to 2020 that could cause this issue? Do I need to create a new project and if so, how do I quickly and easily transfer all the content over? Any advice from similar experiences is appreciated as at the moment v2020 is not really usable for this project.

Report · Nov 03, 2020

This is not an issue I have seen widely reported, indeed perhaps only once.

I doubt it is your project and you can check that by opening one of the sample projects that appear on the Starter Screen. Do they behave in the same way? I suspect they will as this sounds more like an installation or environment problem.

Was RoboHelp installed to its default location and did the logged in user have admin rights?

Speak to your IT people about testing with virus checking disabled for a test. I have known that cause problems, albeit many years ago.

Post back with the results.

Help others by clicking Correct Answer if the question is answered. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.

Report · Nov 03, 2020

In addition to Peter's suggestions, where is the project located? If it's a network location, or OneDrive, try moving a copy to somewhere like C:\RHPRojects and see if that makes a difference.

Report · Nov 03, 2020

Thanks Amebr and Peter. My projects are located on my C drive, so that shouldn't account for slowness. I have been editing styles and applying different styles to content etc, so maybe that caused some issues with such a large project. I have worked on a smaller project today, and response times seem OK. I'll keep monitoring it.....

Report · Sep 20, 2021

I also noticed a lag time -- topics take extra time to spin/load for the end user.

The RH 2020 project output is published to the same server locatation as our RH 2017 files. All is equal between the same (using RH 2020 to upgrade).
The end product for the user seems to work well, except for the lag time. It is much slower.

Report · Sep 20, 2021

@defaultux0omi74q2hp - I think @Cathryn5EA0 was talking about her source RH files, not the output.

@Cathryn5EA0 - you mentioned that your project was on your C:\ drive - if it's in your Documents folder, it might have been configured by your IT as a cloud location using OneDrive. That would definitely slow down your project.

Report · Sep 20, 2021

Yes, I am talking about output after being published to a server (not OneDrive or the C:) -- the output is in the same location as existing RH 2017 output content, which has no lag issue. I have no issue while working on a topic/edit mode.

I wonder if the issue is related to using the "Upgrade RoboHelp Classic Project."

I'm guessing that building a new project, rather than using the Upgrade option, might resolve the lag issue. However, that doesn't seem feasible with hundeds of docs (topics/images).

Report · Sep 20, 2021

Unless you are going to recreate all your topics, you will have to use the upgrade option to convert everything.

What output were you generating in Classic?

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

Help others by clicking Correct Answer if the question is answered. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.

Report · Sep 20, 2021

The output preset was Responsive HTML5.

Report · Sep 20, 2021

Is the output going to the same folder on the server as it did from Classic? If it is it might be worth trashing everything there and publishing afresh.

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

Help others by clicking Correct Answer if the question is answered. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.

Report · Sep 20, 2021

Same server.
Different folder. (published to a new emtpy folder)

Report · Sep 20, 2021

In that case and to the best of my knowledge it should not make a significant difference. I think I would try clearing the folder and uploading afresh just to rule out something having gone wrong. I am doubtful it will help but thinking it is something that has to be tested first.

After that unless anyone else comes along with a better answer, I would try Suppport. See https://helpx.adobe.com/contact/enterprise-support.other.html#robohelp for your Adobe Support options. The email link tcssup@adobe.com is recommended as it reaches a team dedicated to Technical Communication Suite products including RoboHelp.

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

Help others by clicking Correct Answer if the question is answered. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here. "Upvote" is for useful posts.

Report · Sep 14, 2022

I am also facing the same issue. After generating the output, when I open a topic it takes longer time than usual. Its getting buffered for a long time.