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Subject:Register Issues when Testing Help From:"Susan Ahrenhold" <sahrenhold -at- winspc -dot- com> To:"'TECHWR-L'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 2 May 2000 18:46:04 -0400
This isn't a question, merely a report of something incredibly
time-consuming when writing an online help file:
We are running Word 2000 and RoboHelp Office on Windows 98 to create online
help for an application. There are two of us, so we share files through a
network directory.
We were working in separate projects, one of which is included in the other
when the help files are complete.
When my colleague compiled the files, the result was a perfectly normal
*.hlp file, with all the appropriate content.
We saved that file to the network directory, and then copied it to my PC.
When I compiled the same files, we got a completely different set of help
files.
1. Ah, we said, it must be pointers in the *.GID files. So we deleted them.
No, that didn't do it.
2. So we checked all of our settings in both sets of project folders.
Identical.
3. Asked the IT guy who had installed the software if there were any control
or pointer files he had set up during installation that might be pointing to
an old version of the file.
No, he says. Would we please show him the problem. So we did (completely
reproducing the problem took about 1 hr -- good sized files)
4. We call RoboHelp. Repeat the entire process outlined above.
THE ANSWER: On my machine, I had tested the *.hlp in our application, to see
if the MapIDs links were correct in the context-sensitive help.
When we did that, the Registry in Windows 98 had created a pointer that
caused any call to our help file to point automatically to the version of
the help that we put into the build last week.
Delete the registry entry, the RoboHelp setup you are running with kick in,
and you're back in business.
We wanted to spare anyone our misery, and would be glad to provide further
information on the registry entry on request.
