ForeHelp 5.0 Frequently Asked Questions
ForeHelp 5.0 creates online help in Windows, HTML Help and Interhelp formats.
I've learned a lot from the ForeHelp Support folks, by trial and error, and
some from the [email protected] discussion group. Here are some of
the things I've learned about this product.
Question:
I've compared the build properties with other files and I can't figure out
why I get warnings like this for some of the popups:
HHC3015: Warning: An alias has been created to "ATS_Comp_window.htm" but
the file does not exist
The file does actually exist. I've looked at popups that work and don't work
can't see the difference. I haven't set up an alias.
Answer:
I get that message when I have a conditional topic; that is, one that doesn't
build in the current compile. I also get it for mid-topic targets, though
I don't know why. I reported this as a annoyance to ForeFront and they were
going to change it, but ... oh well. To get rid of this code, open the .hhp
file in Notepad, delete the [ALIAS] section, and then recompile using HTML
Help Workshop. HO, it comes back the next time you recompile in FH. I've
never really understood aliases, so I don't use them.
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Question:
I have a problem merging .chm files.
Answer:
About the problem with merging. Here's what I did. I built my
2nd project into a folder under the main projects build directory in the
build dialog, turned off the option to create a binary toc. I only need binary
index. So here's what it looked like:
The main project is built to: c:\test\html_ms
The 2nd project is built to: c:\test\html_ms\build
In contents editor did the include in the contents editor browsing to select
the .hhc and .chm
in the \build folder. This puts full paths in the include statement,
but that's okay. In the Merge tab of the build dialog I changed the
merge statement to look like "build\name.chm". So it has a relative
path to the chm file. Then build the main chm. During the build
I see the include
statement with the full paths and this causes FH to copy the second .chm
into the main build directory "html_ms". That worked for me.
I got the toc from the second chm in the main chm's toc.
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Question:
I have a question about Write Pictures only as Reference in the Generate
Manual dialog. If the project and graphics are on my local drive, but I want
to write the .rtf file on a network drive, how do I get the MS Word rtf file
to use references to the graphics in the network drive. Currently, it writes
the rtf to the network drive, but the graphic references go back to the local
drive. This means that if I move the file to a CD to take it to the printer,
the graphics won't print because the references are wrong. I've tried it
with both Write Pictures only as Reference on and off, but the results are
the same. I'm using Word 2000.
Do I have to copy the project to the network drive before I do a Generate
Manual? I tried that and it worked but it is a lot more work. How else can
I get this done? I wish ForeHelp gave me an option to specify the path for
the graphics target.
Answer:
I'm sorry, there is not another solution to this problem. ForeHelp
can't specify the path for references to the graphics.
You can do a "Print to file" in Word that creates a .prn file. You can move
this to any computer to print it. You also can use pdf format to view it
on another computer. Here are some other things I found out:
To enable the ability to print to a file in Windows NT, open the Printers
folder Start / Settings / Printers. Double-click Add Printer . Select Local
Printer and click on Next. Select Generic from the printer manufacturer list,
and Generic/Text Only from the printer list, then click on Next. Select File
from the ports list, and click Next to add the printer. Once it is added,
go into its Properties ( right-click on the printer icon and select Properties
). Click the Paper tab, and change the paper setting to continuous, no page-breaks
. It may say unavailable - ignore that and select anyway. Print to file capability
is now available. When you print to a file, Windows NT will prompt you for
a file name. I suggest you create a folder for these files. I have found
that printing web pages does not work when sent to this printer. You get
the url to the page printer, not the page.
Need txtonly.dll for NT to do this.
http://www.gallicrow.co.uk/Download.html to download Imprint, a utility that
does the printing of the .prn file. 30 day trial though.
http://www.sonic.net/mdooley/prnt.html
Overview:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This document describes the procedure to print files saved as .prn files
in Windows 9x.
Solution:
1) Open Note Pad. Type:
copy %1 lpt1 \b where ltp stands for the port name.
(1 space between copy and the % sign and 1 space after the 1 and before lpt1.)
2) Save the file as printtofile.bat to c:\
For example, copy G:\GENERAL\Betty\Vantage Point\junk.prn LANpress /b
3) Open Windows Explorer. Select View, Options, File Types, New Type.
4) In the Description of type box, enter print.
5) In the Associated extension box, type in .prn.
6) In the Actions box, click on the New button.
7) In the Action box, type in print.
8) In the Application used to perform action, type in c:\sprint.bat (if c
is where the file resides or the appropriate drive).
9) To print a .prn file go to Start, Run, type in C:\sbprint (filename.prn)
(leave a space between sbprint and the file name).
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Question:
My related topic buttons are not working.
Answer:
For the related topic buttons not working, that has to do with some dlls
that HTML Help requires for compiling them as well as how they work in the
compiled .chm file. I am attaching those dll files from my system so
that you can give them a try on your machine. To use these dlls, first
reboot your PC and make sure that no programs are running, then make a copy
of these dlls on your system (in the windows\system directory) then copy
in the new dlls into your /system directory and register each of them using
regsvr32.exe. To register go to the start/run menu and type in regsvr32.exe
name.dll for each one. Then try building and running your chm file
again and see if the related topic hotspots work.
The dll files are:
iticrl.dll
itss.dll
itcc.dll
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Question:
When I compile my HTML Help .chm file, I get this message: HHC3000: Warning:
<PARAM tag appears outside of an <OBJECT tag.
Is this important or can I ignore it? What can I do to fix it? What happens
if I don't fix it?
I also get a message like this:HHC5013: Error: TOC Error: URL reference cannot
be resolved "Calls_?". I have a topic with an HTML file name of Calls_&_.htm,
but not Calls_?. I've looked at the TOC and found the topic Calls_&_.htm,
but it looks fine to me and works in the chm file. Can I ignore this
message?
Answer:
Microsoft Help Compiler error HHC5013 is caused because of the & in the
URL address of your contents entry. Select Topic|Properties for this
topic and click the HTML tab. Remove the & from the HTML File Name.
We suspect the HHC3000 error is reported for the same reason. Once
you change the HTML File Name for this topic I think this error will go away.
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Question:
I was trying to do a "round trip" so that I could do a grammer check in MS
Word. I know how to do that part. (How I wish ForeHelp had a grammer checker!)
This was my first attempt at round tripping. When I imported the rtf, the
banner on the topics was not there as they had been before. Instead, the
Topic Properties had the banner option unchecked. The topic title was using
the same style code as the footer. The related topics, which I had included
in the banner, were under this topic title. I wanted it to look just like
it did before I started the "round trip".
I tried it 3 times with different settings, but the same thing happened each
time. Also, it took a long time to import -- about an hour. The other strange
thing was that the file size got bigger after I saved the rtf in Word. It
went from 2,887 kb to 3880. I didn't add anything and I had Fast Save turned
off. What did I do wrong? I mapped the rtf styles to the ForeHelp styles.
I don't think I did anything to the "Keep together" setting in Word. Why
did the banner go away and the style change? I want to do this again, so
I need to know how to avoid it in the future.
Answer:
It sounds like some of the special coding in the RTF file was lost when you
edited it in Word. If you take the original RTF file (the one before
you edited it), open it in Word, do nothing except for Saving it, then reimport
it, does it import correctly? If so, then when you did what you did
in Word, some of the winhelp code must have been removed. I don't know
why this happened, you would have to contact Microsoft regarding this. If
just opening it in Word and resaving it without doing anything else also
causes the import back into ForeHelp to lose the banners, then please send
me the original RTF file and RTX files (which were created by ForeHelp) and
the RTF file that was created when you resaved it in Word.
I also do not know why your styles changed. However, there shouldn't
be any reason to map styles, since your RTF file came form ForeHelp, the
styles in the RTF file should already be identical to the style in ForeHelp.
You should just select the Use ForeHelp Styles and don't map any.
If I import the RTF file that you opened in Word and resaved with Word, then
I do not have a banner for the Getting Started topic and in HTML Mode the
R in Related Topics is under the button. However, If I open the RTF
file that you created from your Backup, open it in Word 97, resave it and
import it into ForeHelp, then I do not see these same problems. Everything
appears to have imported correctly. Therefore, what ever your
doing or what ever version of Word your using, must be causing this problem.
When saving the file in Word, you should be saving it as a RTF file. Unfortunatley
there is nothing I can do to trouble shoot the problems with Word on your
PC.
Question:
I did a build, then opened it in Word, saved it, then inserted the rtf file
using ForeHelp styles as you suggested. The "Getting Started" topic no longer
has a banner. The "R" in Related topic is half way covered by the button
to the left of it when I'm in HTML Mode. So I closed the project without
saving it. The default2.rtf is the one that I opened in Word and saved.
After I restored from backup, I did a build.
I'm going to switch the rtf settings for these topics back to the default.rtf.
This one was too big to edit in Word, so I broke it down into smaller files.
But I'm going back to the original state of affairs. I hope this helps you
diagnose the problem, because I would really like to use the grammer checker
in Word.
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Question:
Does the HTML Help compiler not overwrite the file if it is open? It seems
that it does not. The date/time for the file don't change. Perhaps this would
be a good enhancement. I sure wish ForeHelp would warn me. It takes a long
time to compile it and the time is wasted.
Answer:
No Microsoft's HTML Help compiler can not write to the .chm file if it is
open. This is standard practice for all programs. I don't believe
Microsoft will change this behavior. You would have to contact them
with your suggestion.
The HTML Help compiler is Microsoft's program. There is nothing ForeHelp
can do to make their help compiler warn you.
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Question:
My WinHelp and Interhelp builds are different. The Table of Contents in the
Interhelp build leaves out some topics and I can't figure out why. The missing
topics are ones I imported while they were in .htm format. This made them
not build in Winhelp, so I deleted the topics and added them again. Then
they built in Winhelp just fine.
Answer:
I have checked the targets for the TOC and they seem fine. I've checked for
conditions (Edit Contents Entry Conditions), but that doesn't look
like it is the problem. The missing topics should build in the default .rtf.
Topic Topic Properties shows no .rtf file on the Winhelp tab and conditions
are Build in All Conditions.
The only strange symptom these topics have in common is that the banner color
in Winhelp mode does not match the other topics. When I open the .rtf I think
they should be in (vphelp.rtf), they are not there.
The problem is that you have vbhelp-toc.xml in baggage so it is copying an
old version of the TOC, over the new version. Remove this file from your
baggage.
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Question:
I have tried to merge 2 .chm files (I use version 3.2) everything > works
fine except for the table of contents which displays > correctly but cannot
find the pages each entry should link to.
Answer:
So the two .chm files are in the same directory, and the TOC entries in the
subordinate .chm work fine when you open it as a standalone file but not
when you open it as part of the modular help system? I think there are several
factors that could give rise to this.
1) The contents (.hhc) and project (.hhp) files that get compiled into the
subordinate .chm are at different levels in the directory structure. What
I mean is: if you examine the build directory for the .chm in Windows Explorer,
are the .hhc and .hhp files in the same directory, or is the .hhc file one
or more levels down from the .hhp? Where this is the case, you should change
the directory structure so that the .hhc and .hhp files are at the same level.
2) There are spaces in the names of the .hhc files that you have compiled
into one or both .chms -- for example, "Table of Contents.hhc". Lots of authors
have reported problems with help systems that didn't work properly until
they removed the spaces in file and directory names.
3) The window definitions in the two .chms are inconsistent, or they do not
share the same default window type. (I don't think this could cause the problem
you described, but it may be worth checking.)
If none of these suggestions helps, and if no-one else can offer any advice,
perhaps you could:
1) Paste the contents of the two .hhp files into a reply. (You can omit most
of the files from the [FILES] sections if there are loads of them.)
2) Open the .hhc file for the main help file in Notepad, locate the Merge
parameter for the subsidiary .chm, and copy-and-paste this into your reply.
The parameter will probably look something like this:
<param name="Merge" value="subordinate.chm::\subordinate.hhc">
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Question:
I get an HC3111: Warning: topic #263 of \VPHelp\text\text\reports.rtf
:
This topic contains keywords but no
title.
when I do a WinHelp build/compile.
Answer:
I fixed the problem by creating a topic report with "Has Banner" &
"#keywords" "RTF file" and "topic type". I found topics that had no banner
but had keywords. Thanks for the suggestion.
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Message: 1
Subject: Conditional topics - conditional keywords?
Hello all;
I am building a help project (html help, Forehelp V. 4) for two version of
a product and want to use conditional help. This works well but I can't
figure out how to get the keywords to disappear when I build the file and
exclude the conditional text. The keyword shows up in the index and
the topic simply appears blank.Any suggestions?
Answer:
You need to set the conditions on the topic, not the text in the topic.
Look in Topic|Poperties for the conditions tab.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Reply:
I actually did that. Created a new topic, set the condition for the topic,
then built the help file. The keyword appears in the index, but the
topic appears blank. I haven't even moved on to setting conditional
text yet.
Any other suggestions on where to look? Are keyword conditions set separately
somewhere?
Subject: RE: Re: Conditional topics - conditional keywords?
OK, I should be able to solve this for you <g> After all, I was
the one
who sent ForeHelp the request for conditional text . . .
When you say the topic is blank, what do you actually get on screen?
There is a second place where conditions are set - in the TOC. But
this
usually results in an error at build time, or a broken link from the topic.
Are you building HTML Help by any chance? If so, are you deleting all
of
the contents of your HTML MS directory between builds? The CHM compiler
has this nasty habit of including *all* htm files found in the directory,
even if they aren't listed in the project file.
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Subject: "Hidden" boxes when importing to RoboHelp
ForeHelp group,
Our writers are importing .hpj files from ForeHelp 5.0.2 to RoboHelp HTML
2002r2. After every attempt we see gray rectangular boxes that contain the
word "Hidden" in our topics in RoboHelp. If we move from one topic to the
next the "Hidden" boxes multiply! They do not appear when we generate the
files but they are in the way when we are editing the topics in RoboHelp.
We cannot find a way to delete them. Has anyone experienced this problem
and/or does anyone know what causes
it?
This problem was discussed a little while ago in the RoboHelp Author Forum
(http://www.helpcommunity.ehelp.com/forums/wbpx.dll/~robohelp). Michael Soulliere
provided this solution:
You need to remove the tags in ForeHelp before you convert the project to
RoboHelp.
1) Open the project in ForeHelp.
2) On the File menu, click Preferences, and then click the
Miscellaneous tab.
3) Select the Exclude ForeHelp Comments from RTF checkbox.
4) Recompile the project.
5) Import the project into RoboHelp.
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