Upgrade to Robohelp 9: Your project file cpd is corrupt

[Guest]

Hi

I have installed Robohelp 9, and is now trying to upgrade a version 6 project to version 9. When I press upgrade in Robohelp, I keep getting the error "Your project file ...cpd is corrupt and cannot be opened". I have tried to delete it and open the xpj-file again, but there is no difference. Then I found something about a file called rhvariable.apj. I copied this file from a project that I already have upgraded and which were fine. But this gave no solution either. I also read something about deleting the cpd-file and the xpj-file and then edit the hhp-file. The problem is that my corrupt projects - I have 3 at this point - have no hhp-file. So there is a difference.

Could anyone help me? I have search and search

Best regards

Else

[Amebr]

Are you projects on your local hard drive, not on a network drive? If they are on a network, move them onto your C drive.

Can you confirm that the rhvariable.apj you copied contains text and is not completely blank?

I'd also get a fresh copy of your backup and try upgrading again, just to make sure it wasn't some temporary glitch (I've had 3 attempts fail and the 4th work, for unknown reasons).

Let us know how that goes.

Amebr

[Guest]

Thank you for your answer.

My projects is on my local hard drive. I use Visual Source Safe as source control. In rhvariable.apj in the succesfully project it says:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<rhpml majorversion="4" minorversion="0">
<variablesets/>
<variables/>
</rhpml>

So I copied that file to the folder with my failed project. Deleted the cpd-file I tried to upgrade again.

I even tried deleting the project i Visual Source Safe so it is only my local hard drive. That didn't work either.

Robohelp makes a new cpd-file everytime I try to upgrade. And I can see that in my corrupt projects the cpd-file is exactly the same size, 772 kb, where the cpd-file in my succesfully projects has different sizes.

I have tried upgrading many times over the last 3-4 days, but there is no change.

Else

[Peter Grainge]

Also try opening the supplied sample projects. That will help confirm the problem is related to your projects.

Click Open on the RoboHelp Starter page and then click Samples in the ribbon on the left.

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See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Guest]

Thank you for your answer.

I have opened one of the sample projects, and there is no problem. But i guess my problem is related to the upgrade from to version 9.

Else

[Peter Grainge]

OK so we know RoboHelp 9 installed OK. I'm not a source control user but I am wondering if you checked out the whole project? Hopefully a source control user will confirm the upgrade process.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Amebr]

I'd recommend checking out the entire project manually through source control, to be sure everything is writable before you start the upgrade process. "Theoretically" RH should do it as it goes, but it's possible something gets missed in all the other processing.

[Guest]

Thank you both for your answers. It is very nice that someone is trying to help me

I tried both suggestions now. First I deleted all files on my local hard drive. Then I got latest from Visual Source Safe and checked all files out from Visual Source Save. I copied my rhvariable.apj from a succesfully project and overwrite the file from Source Safe in this project. Then I opened Robohelp 9 and opened my project. Unfortunately same result: I started to upgrade but then I  god the message: "Your project file cpd is corrupt...".

Then I fould out that I have a Robohelp version 8.0.1 on my computer too. I tried the same procedure as before. Checked out all files from Source Safe, copied the rhvariable.apj. But this did'nt work either.

I trying now to reach an old collegue of mine, that perhaps has a cpd-file from version 6 on her local hard drive. Do you think I could use that in some way?

Else

[Peter Grainge]

You should not use 8.0.1. Version 8 without the 802 update had a serious bug that damages projects.

If you still have a copy of your project that has not been opened in anything later than Version 6, get that out of source control and remove its link to source control. Get your friend to open the project to check all is well. Then try upgrading that copy.

Are you checking the CPD in and out? I don't use source control but there is a Snippet on my site where Leon Descouteaux lists certain files that should not be checked in and out. I'm wondering if that is the cause.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Guest]

Hi Peter

all my projects I have tried opening with version 9. So unfortunelately I don't have an untouched version 6.

My cpd-file is not checked in and out - only generated locally. I got a copy of my collegues cpd-file which were made in a version 6. But can I do something with that? The cpd-file is generated everytime I try open a project - isn't that correct?

Any other suggestions that I can try?

Thank you.

Else

[Peter Grainge]

If you have ticked the Clear Project Cache option, then RoboHelp will create a new CPD everytime.

Before upgrading you should always have a backup. Isn't that what source control gives you, the ability to pull out an old version?

The next thing I would try is opening the project using the HHP file. See Opening Projects on my site.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[Guest]

Hi Peter

I have now tried creating an hhp-file and open my project with that. And that works for me. I have to set up the conditional build tags again, and for one project I also have to recreate the index. But now I have upgraded all my projects and checked them in again i Sourcesafe. After upgrading I had to delete my files in Sourcesafe and check them in again, because the connection to Sourcesafe apparently was lost in the hhp-file.

But now it is all fine. So thank you very much for your help.

Best regards

Else

[Peter Grainge]

It should be as simple as creating the build tags with exactly the same name including case. After you set up a tag, right click it and you should see that it has recognised the topics.

With a backup, you could try copying the index from a backup in source control.

---

See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips

@petergrainge

[MarshBermy]

In case this helps anyone I will share my experience...

I've been waiting ages for the purchase order to go through for my new license for the latest version of RoboHelp.  My Help project was in version 6.  I had on one PC a trial download of RH 8 and on my other PC a trial download of version 9.  (I work in IT hence the multiple PCs)

So, just a couple of days ago, I tried bringing in my v.6 project into v.9.  I got the cpd file corrupt error and I tried deleting it several times.  I even tried re-copying it in, etc.  Nothing worked.  I was annoyed....so just to try something I opened up my trial v.8 and loaded in my old project and it upgraded fine with no problems.  I took this upgraded project and brought it into v.9 and, lo and behold, it worked!  (Both being trial versions and just yesterday I got my v. 9 license key and registered with no issues)

I am up and running and everything looks great and I've generated and started playing around with all of the new features I am unfamiliar with...having been stuck with v.6 for so long!

Hope this helps someone....

thanks,

liz

[Mona_girdhar]

Hi Liz and Evind,

Can you please share your RH6 project so that we can isolate the issue?

Please perform the following steps to share the project -

1. Click on the Sign Up button to sign Up for a free account at http://acrobat.com.

2. Once you log into your account, upload the project.

3. Once project is uploaded, please share the same with us.

   (Share File option is available at the bottom-left corner of the page and as an option available for the specific file).

Regards,

Mona

(mona@adobe.com)

RHTeam

[David_Hutchinson]

I see that this was originally posted in 2011, and we're now in 2015, I'm using RH11 and the same problem still happens. RH is still temperamental it seems.

I did get the clue to my issue when Visual SourceSafe was mentioned. I starting using it yesterday for the first time for source control through the RH interface, and in no time I had this error. Even if I deleted the cpd file, the error came back each time I tried to open the xpd. The Clear Project Cache option was selected so RH created a new CPD everytime automatically. So I cleared that option and tried again. And the project opened - even though the cpd was created by RH again without the Clear Project Cache option selected.

Explain that! Problem solved anyway (even though I needed to get the latest project files from VSS afterwards - at least the project opened).