Search not working with CHM output

Jsut in case someone comes across this post who is having the same issue, I had a problem using any of the links in here as they did not exist anymore so I went directly to Adobe support who were very helpful. They always replied immediately.  They confirmed that this was the problem i.e. I needed to download HTML Help Workshop.  This caused great problems in my organisation as it was so old and potentially a security risk etc, but Adobe gave me a customised link which I was eventually given permission to use. And it worked!

@Amebr 's link works fine - must be something blocking your access to it.

[Edit - sorry missed that it was the Download link that wasn't working anymore.]

Official site: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/desktop/htmlhelp/microsoft-html-help-downloads

Running the diagnostics will not actually fix the issue, but it will tell you what is wrong or missing.

I already went down the rabbit hole myself, so I can spare you some investigative work there. The problem seems to be that RoboHelp 2020 does not install Microsoft HTML Help Workshop 1.3. This is a Microsoft product that is no longer receiving official support from Microsoft. In fact, I couldn't find an official download link on Microsoft's website or Microsoft download center.

So, I had to resort to download the file from here:

https://www.helpndoc.com/downloads/htmlhelp.exe

This is not an official Microsoft source, so I scanned the file for threats and it's clean. After that, I went ahead and installed it. I then started RoboHelp and re-generetad the chm output. The search issue with chm is now resolved.

Knowing that you are in a highly secured environment, you will most likely need to have your IT department install this for you. (You do need administrative privileges to do so) Once done, this will most likely resolve the search issue, as it just did for me.

Now, the issue being resolved this way highlights an issue with RoboHelp 2020 which still needs to be addressed. Although Microsoft HTML Help is a supported output, not all components required to do so are installed by RoboHelp out-of-the-box, and that is an issue in of itself. In the past (with RoboHelp 7 at least) these components were bundled with the installer. I can confirm this with my laptop which is still running RH7. This no longer seems to be the case with RH2020. HTML Help Workshop seems to be harder and harder to find from reliable sources, so if this is really supported by RoboHelp, then all the necessary components should be available and installed out-of-the-box.

The dlls are the most likely issue.  It's quite likely they aren't installed or registered properly on a new machine. They are Microsoft files and haven't been updated since about 2004. You can use MJs diagnostics. Then install or register any dlls as required.

http://kb.helpwaregroup.com/ms-html-help/mj-s-diagnostics

If you find they aren't installed or registered, do log a bug with Adobe so they can fix it. You can request features and report issues here: https://tracker.adobe.com/

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

I'm experiencing the same issue here, in addition to many other issues with Map files and Map ID's. I've created a very simple test project with only 2 topics, and when searching for anything within the resulting CHM, I always come up with "No topics found" or something to that effect.

I'm very sorry I don't have a solution to bring to the table, but at least you know that you are not alone!

Because of the many functionalities lost specifically with chm's, I will need to continue using RoboHelp version 7 for that specific purpose until a solution is provided by Adobe.

You may want to check these issues out, as they apply to you, in addition to the search problem:

https://tracker.adobe.com/#/view/RH-10308

https://tracker.adobe.com/#/view/RH-10307

https://tracker.adobe.com/#/view/RH-10303

I'm preparing a detailed support request that I will be submitting shortly via e-mail. I suggest you do the same