Robohelp project missing the .xpj file

[rajanh]

Hi, I'm new to RoboHelp. Our company is working with RH 2017.  I am being asked to update the help files after the previous developer left. However, I do not see any RoboHelp project files (*.xpj, *.mpj, *.hhp, *.hlp or *.hpj) that would allow me to open the entire project.

I dont seem to find any other way to open the project.

Sorry for the trivial question but as I have very limited knowledge of RH, I'm not sure where to begin.

Any help is highly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Amebr]

If you don't have an xpj file, then you probably only have the output files, not the source files.

Do your best to find the source files as this will save you a lot of headaches.  Here are some places to look:

• Source control. TFS, GIT, SVN. Perhaps you can find the source project in source control.
• Original developer's computer.  Check in their Documents folder for a My Robohelp Projects folder (you'll need an admin account to access this I think). Or they might have a folder directly off C: that they created - look for help, robohelp or a folder that matches the project name (If there's a log file, that file name is probably the project name). You can also just search all of c: for *.xpj.
• If they left notes or a style guide, that might give a clue if the project is on a network drive. Perhaps a co-worker knows which network folders they typically used?

If you can't find the source files, you have a lot of work ahead of you to reverse engineer your project from the output. Read through Peter Grainge's topic on reverese engineering to understand the full process, which will vary a bit depending on the output you have. Webhelp is the most likely, but if you're not sure, post a screenshot of the output and we can probably tell you.

http://www.grainge.org/pages/authoring/reverse_engineering/reverse_engineering.htm

The manual webhelp instructions I think are now only available via the Wayback Machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20080319133143/http://www.robowizard.com/RoboWizard/MonthlyScry%2F062004...

[sourabh12]

This file should not be deleted as without it you will not be able to open the project. It does contain a few things that you might want to look at in the event of problems and that you could copy between RHPJ files to save a bit of work.

• Condition Tag Groups
• Topic Status List
• Colours      

[Amebr]

My reply is also based on you using RH2017. I note you picked NEW UI as a tag, which is a very different thing, and I'm not sure if the same process holds true for RH2019 New UI.

If you could clarify which version of Robhelp you're using that would help.

[rajanh]

I am using RH 2017, the NEW UI tag was a mistake, I edited that. 

I have tried searching our repos for the project files but no luck so far.

Attched is a screenshot of the files that I have. This is not the complete list, there are lots of GIFs and JPGs that follow. Hope this helps in identifying what kind of project I was handed over. 

thanks

[rajanh]

[Amebr]

I think it's probably webhelp based on the files and folders, but open the R2_Online_Help_System_Release12.1.htm in your browser and take a screenshot as that will give me a better idea.

EDIT: To clarify, I'm 90% sure you need to follow the Webhelp instructions, but it'll be helpful for you to know later if it's actually Responsive HTML5. 🙂

[rajanh]

Sent the screen shot directly to you.

Thanks

[Amebr]

Yep, that's definitely webhelp.

Good luck tracking down the source files. 

[Peter Grainge]

@ sourabh12 I have edited your post as it contained a link not relevant to the question. That is not allowed under forum rules.

Your post refers to the RHPJ file. There is no such file in a Classic project.

[Peter Grainge]

@rajanh Nothing really to add to what Amber has said. It does look as if the project was on the author's machine so if that was wiped with no back up, you are in the doggy do. Reverse engineering becomes the only option.

I have never tried this because I've not had to reverse engineer for real but if you understand regular expressions, I suspect that could be useful to the cleanup.

I have changed your original post tag to Classic.