page layout issue

[owetcf1122]

Hello!

For some reason once my counterpart published a repository in Robohelp, there are red squares on all of the pages and the master page property was removed from all master pages. I am not sure how this happened or how to fix it. We have added the master page back on but everytime we publish, it is removed again. We have no designated contact for Robohelp assistance with our employer and are trying to figure everything out on our own. Please help!

thanks!

[Amebr]

Which version of Robohelp? If 2019 are you using Classic or New? Are the red squares in the output or when you are editing topics in Robohelp?

While waiting for your answers, I'll try to find a reference for fixing the situation it sounds like you have.

[owetcf1122]

I am using 2019 classic. The red boxes are present in the actual project pages. Does that help?

[Captiv8r]

I'm guessing you see the red squares in the RoboHelp editor and not the actual generated files.

Generally speaking, the red squares indicate JavaScript code. And it sounds to me as if someone has managed to take a set of OUTPUT files and managed to copy them so that they replace the SOURCE files.

When you generate WebHelp from RoboHelp, a process unfolds that copies all your source files into memory, makes many modifications to them (for example, adding all kinds of JavaScript) and places that modified copy in a different folder.

Likely someone has configured a Publish function that is the culprit. And in that function, they chose a publish destination that is the source location of your project.

Just as with a snake bite, the first step is to move away from the snake so you aren't repeatedly bitten! This means first, correcting or simply turning off the Publish function.

Recovering from this situation is going to need lots of cleanup. You might try this link.

Cheers... Rick 🙂

[owetcf1122]

[Amebr]

As Rick said, it looks like your source files have been replaced with output files.

If you have source control, or a backup, you may be able to use that to go back to a version before this happened. This is the recommended option. 🙂

Otherwise you'll need to manually clean up the files to recover your project. 

First, read through Peter's site so you understand what the options are and what you will lose:

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

If you are generating webhelp or responsive html5, you want to follow the Webhelp instructions. Unfortunately both sites linked from Peter's site are down.

However, the Wayback Machine has a record of the manual method here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20080319133143/http://www.robowizard.com/RoboWizard/MonthlyScry/062004.h...

If you are generating some other output, follow the relevant instructions.

When you have everything set up, ensure the Output Folder and Start Page is different from the location of your project. I personally set the Output Folder outside the project so it's really easy to see. So my project will live in c:\MyProject and my output folder will be c:\Output\MyProject

Also make sure the Publish destination is different from your project location. Typically this would be a web server or a network file share for the developers to access.