tech comm suite? I'm trying out the demo, using a relatively simple
Framemaker 8 book and using the feature where I can add the book to
my RH project, make changes in FM, and then have the changes
reflected in the RH project. After a few changes, I inevitably get
a corrupted project and RH either won't open it any more, or the
program quits when I try to do the ''update'' in RH, causing me to
have to start over with a new project.
I've found the documentation to be very sparse concerning the
integration between the two programs and how to use the FM/RH
workflow. Does anyone know if the full version comes with more
documentation regarding the ''enhanced'' features?
Tks,
LindaTC version of RH7 crashing
Hey, Linda!
Doh! I wrote this long answer only to find that you do indeed
have the TCS version! Anyway maybe some of this info will help
lurkers who may not be familiar with the new versions.
So other folks will understand, there are two versions of
RoboHelp that have just been released. One a standalone and one
which is part of the
Adobe
Technical Communications Suite (TCS)
As for your specific crash problem, I'm afraid I can't answer
it offhand. Maybe it was the process you went through?
The update/linking feature of FrameMaker files in RoboHelp
projects is part of the TCS version.
There are certainly benefits in the standalones, but the
Suite is more than the sum of its parts.
Even if you don't have the TCS and just have both standalones
on the same computer you can import (.FM, .MIF, .FRM, .BK, and
.BOOK) files.
In the Suite version of RH, you can ''link'' the FrameMaker
file to the RoboHelp project and ''update'' it to reflect changes
that have occured in the FrameMaker file. Instead of importing in
the normal way, you use a command called ''Add by reference.''
I am not a FrameMaker practitioner, but I wanted to see how
the process worked. So when Adobe asked me to write a RoboHelp 7
Reviewer's Guide, I wrote a tutorial (from a RoboHelp author's
perspective) for importing.
You can download Adobe RoboHelp 7 Reviewer's Guide here:
http://www.adobe.com/products/robohelp/pdfs/robohelp_7_reviewers_guide.pdf
Things are still being posted on the Adobe website because
the product has just launched. I see they haven't yet posted the
downloadable exercise files I included for the tutorial. That said,
you might get some tips from the ''Try it'' narrative in Part 3.
If you subscribe to this post, I will update this topic when
the files (and Adobe Captivate movies!) are posted.
Also, here is the Adobe RoboHelp 7 live online help site. I
realize you may have already done so, but check out the Importing
FrameMaker Files topic
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/RoboHTML/7.0/
There is also a separate TCS Reviewer's Guide that I see has
not yet been posted. It will have more tutorials as well.
Because the products are brand new, you will be seeing a LOT
more articles and tutorials published in the coming weeks on the
Developer Connection. I'll keep you posted on that here in the
forums.
Meanwhile, I'm sorry I couldn't give you a simple, direct
solution to your problem, but I'm glad you're giving the new model
a spin
Thanx,
John
Adobe Certified RoboHelp InstructorTC version of RH7 crashing
Hi John,
Thanks for your input! I had watched the eseminar that Adobe
did that showed how to add by reference FM files to a RH project,
so I followed that procedure. Since then I started over again and
just added a FM file one at a time (rather than a book), and I
haven't had crashes doing that. Next I'll try adding a book with
only two files in it to see what happens (adding the files via a
book appears to be necessary so the cross references between files
work).
I had looked at your reviewer's guide - that was very
helpful. Yeah, I noticed that the movies weren't posted - I was
going to ask you about that until I read your email more thoroughly
:-).
So there is one for TCS? If it's not posted yet, is there a
way to get it? There are a lot of things that could use more
explanation - for example, how is the glossary in RH automatically
generated - that is, how does the glossary have to be set up in FM
for this to work? I haven't been able to figure that out yet. Or
even small stuff, like what exactly is the difference between
''Update'', ''Force Update'' and ''Update All''. There's other things to
consider as well, especially if you're already used to using RH and
customizing it a lot... How can you easily still maintain some
customization while keeping all your content maintained in FM, and
so on... Other things, like for example how the program uses the
fmstyles.css file. I already had a css file that I was using in
RH6, so after a little experimentation, I realized that the
fmstyles.css file is the one that RH uses for topics that are FM
files. So I added my custom css to that file. Now, if you add the
FM files individually, each file has it's own css file that it
references that is generated from the fmstyles.css file. Well, the
program doesn't copy all the customized css from the fmstyles.css
file, just what it thinks it needs. So, for example, it didn't copy
my definitions for links. This leads to a conundrum - if you copy
the missing css to the file, you have to either mark the file as
not to be updated automatically, or else each time you update your
FM file, you'll lose the added css declarations. Another method
would be to just link another css file with your customizations to
the topic, but that would have to be re-added every time that the
topic is updated.
Well, this is the first time I've tried to do some kind of
''single-sourcing'', and I have projects that are due soon that I
want to use this with, so that's why I'm anxious to see more help
info and get feedback from others using the product :-). There's
nothing like being an early adopter :-).
By the way - you mention the ''try-it-assets'' folder in your
guide - where is that? I can't seem to find it, but maybe it wasn't
included in the trial. (My company is supposed to be ordering the
upgrade the beginning of next week.)
Thanks for your help,
Linda
Hey Linda.
A couple of things here. The easy one first. The ''Try-it
Assets folder'' refers to the Sample download files I mentioned
which (like the Adobe Captivate Demos) have not been uploaded to
the site yet. In an effort to get stuff up quickly, not all of it
is posted. The same is true for the TCS Reviewer's Guide. I've seen
a draft of it and I think it will be very helpful when it's finally
posted.
The way I've found content that is brand spanking new, is to
type in ''reviewer guide'' into the search box of any Adobe website
page. Keep pinging that and hopefully it will pop up.
I've asked the Adobe folks to look into this. Though I try to
keep these threads open, you are welcome to email me offline for
more information (see my address in the view profile).
Thanx,
john
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