Robohelp 2022: Adding Hyperlinks

[Lija SN]

Hi

I have added a hyperlink in one of the topics as

<p>Click <a href="/Help/API" title="API Documentation">API Calls</a> for more details.</p>

I added the above link via HTML.

But when I generate responsive html5 output: The link is shown as "file:///".

Because of "file://, the link is not working.

How to fix this issue - I just want the responsive html to show the hyperlink as "/Help/API" instead of  file:///Help/API"

[Peter Grainge]

Am I right in thinking the target is on your PC but not part of the project? Targets must be part of the project or a web address. 

Also there is no file extension so what are you wanting to open when the user clicks the link.

Tell us more about what you are trying to achieve here.

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Amebr]

To add to Peter's questions, why are you typing the link manually rather than using the Insert Hyperlink dialog box? That may also help us understand what you're trying to achieve.

[Lija SN]

There are two different projects - for example, Project 1 and Project 2. Once I check-in the files.

Consider that project two is manually moved to a different place. Assume that it is a project requirement

Now my work is to add a hyperlink (in Project 1) to a topic in project 2. As I said, project two is manually moved to a different location (for whatever reason). The hyperlink is a relative link.

This new RoboHelp does not have any provision to add a relative link that looks like /Help/ABC/help.htm.  When I generate the responsive HTML, this link converts to file:/// /Help/ABC/help.htm. The link do not work in the deployed server.

I tried Inspect element in the browser and edited the following link from file:/// /Help/ABC/help.htm to /Help/ABC/help.htm.  It was working.

I need a solution to add a hyperlink like this /Help/ABC/help.htm. it should not get converted into file:/// /Help/ABC/help.htm.

For now, the only fix is the relative link should have a double dot and a forward slash to make it work -  ../Help/ABC/help.htm. In this case, the resp. HTML output do not add "file://" in front of the hyperlink. the link works perfectly in the deployed server. But still I need a solution to add a hyperlink that starts with "/". Let me know..

Thanks @Amebr @Peter Grainge 

[Amebr]

After a lot of googling I found out that the initial slash is an implicit domain syntax and means "assume this starts with the same domain name as the current file" (loosely translated). https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Common_questions/What_is_a_URL#absolute_urls_vs._rela...

I'd never heard of it before and have only ever use absolute or relative URLs in Robohelp. Unless there is some technical reason from your IT people for using this syntax, I think you will either need to use an absolute path that includes the domain, or the ../ relative link. Or you could get your IT people to write a script to put in the output preset "Post Generation Script" field which would edit the links in the output after it's been generated.

Did this used to work in Classic? If so you could also submit an issue ticket for it to be fixed in a future release of Robohelp. Although do note this may take some time depending on if/when Adobe schedule it.  https://tracker.adobe.com/

Post the item number in the discussion so people can easily vote if they want the same functionality.

[Lija SN]

Thanks @Amebr 

Re: Did this used to work in Classic? If so, you could also submit an issue ticket for it to be fixed in a future release of Robohelp. Although do note this may take some time depending on if/when Adobe schedules.

yes, I was using Robohelp 2019 (not the classic version). The links were working. I will definitely raise a ticket. Thanks.

I am also facing a new issue -  If I scroll down too much, then the scroll stops working, i.e. I cannot see the heading itself.  Then either I had to close the page and reopen it or switch to HTML (source mode), then switch back to author. mode. let me know if there is a solution for that.

[Lija SN]

Ticket details - https://tracker.adobe.com/#/view/RH-11311. Please do vote. I really need this feature. 

[Peter Grainge]

I really don't think that is going to help as I believe the issue is in your hands.

I notice in the screenshot from Classic the link ends API.htm whereas in 2022 you don't have the htm extension. Also I think you need to be entering the link in the source code and entering an absolute path or the relative path that is required on the server, rather than on your machine, as @Amebr has explained.

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Lija SN]

It's not always ending with .htm. There is another hyperlink like this    /Help/API. 

In the 2019 version, it worked perfectly.

But in the 2022 version, it is not working, and the output is displaying the link as file:///help/API.

As of now, I have updated to ../help/API.

but there are a few more links where I cannot give ../ in front of the hyperlink, and so I need a provision to add such relative links

@Peter Grainge , Please could you explain this: Also I think you need to be entering the link in the source code and entering an absolute path or the relative path that is required on the server, rather than on your machine, as @Amebr has explained.

[Peter Grainge]

Surely it must be ending with some extension?

Here I have created a link by dragging a topic from the contents panel to some preselected text.

I could have done that by using the Insert Link icon in the top toolbar (paperclip). The result would be the same.

Note the Local Files option. You would browse to the source topic in Project 2 and that would normally create the relative link you want in the output.

The problem is that the relative path between your projects is not the same on the server as I understand it. Therefore after creating the relative path, you would need to amend to reflect how it is set up on the server. Personally I would set up my source projects to reflect what is on the server.

For example, the projects are say

RoboHelp Projects

----Project 1

----Project 2

but on the server it is

Project 1

----Project 2

So change your set up to 

RoboHelp Projects

----Project 1

----Second Project\Project 2

If that's not clear I'm sure one of your developers can help but feel free to come back here.

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Lija SN]

Re: Surely it must be ending with some extension? - No. 

After editing (i.e. removing file://, it takes me to 

There are links with and without extensions

I know, technically, I might not be correctly explaining. But there are relative links without extension.

Thank you very much @Peter Grainge . 

[Peter Grainge]

It is possible to have links without a file extension such as www.grainge.org. Certain filenames are understood by browsers. However, your path in Classic did include .htm whereas now it does not. 

I haven't seen reports of the scrolling freezing. Is it really freezing or is it pausing and restarts after a while? Whatever it is, I don't have an answer.

Maybe it's time to contact Adobe Support. 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. 

The bug report will get looked at but that will only get fixed in some future update, if indeed Adobe see it as a bug. Support should get back to you much sooner.

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Lija SN]

It is neither freezing nor pausing.

It's like scroll down, really down, and then scroll up. Example - I added a topic title, and let's say there are around five subheadings. Now when I try to scroll up. it will scroll up to a particular point, and I will not be able to see the title itself.

In this case I either have to save and close the topic or switch to source mode and scroll up and then switch back to author mode.

Sometimes the left side of the page also gets hidden. In this case too,  I either have to save and close the topic or switch to source mode and scroll to the left and then switch back to author mode.

[Peter Grainge]

Sorry but I haven't seen that happen or be reported. Support can screenshare with you so that would be the best way forward.

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Peter Grainge]

You could try creating a duplicate of the topic and see if it happens there.

If not, then trash the original and rename the copy.

It it still happens, try removing chunks of content to see if something suddenly fixes it.

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Lija SN]

I will try that. Thank you very much for all replying to all my questions. Thanks a lot!!

Regards,

[Lija SN]

It is not working. Below is the master page. The left side is not visible.

[Peter Grainge]

I suggested creating a duplicate of the topic where scrolling was an issue. You have posted a screenshot of a master page. You have lost me. 

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Lija SN]

I added the screenshot to just show how the left side gets hidden. 

Also, I tried duplicating the topic too. This issue is still there. 

[Peter Grainge]

In that case I would go to Support.

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Lija SN]

sure, thank you