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In my application the search hang is not about Firefox - it is completely
browser-independent. A Java exception is thrown every single time the Search
button is clicked, terminating the search session and causing a hang.
But my help system is an integral part of a web archive, so there is an
additional layer that may explain the reliability of that failure.
Another difference is that my help system does not hang on any local
instance in any browser - only when it is accessed through the application's
Help link. In fact, the problem was invisible for a long time because local
WebHelp searches worked just fine when I tested it on my desktop.
The search hang issue wasn't discovered until it was reported by one of our
engineers in India. I filed an internal bug in April of last year, but there
were so many possible causes to rule out that I didn't file it with Madcap
until June, when I was finally sure it was a Flare 3.1 bug.
I have since updated Flare several times (I am now on 4.1.30) and the
problem persists. I've confirmed that the bug is still open at Madcap. The
fact that you have experienced the same problem under different
circumstances suggests that this is a really difficult problem to fix.
In the meantime, the Filters.xml patch process is still preventing search
hangs and the users are not seeing it. I hope it works for you too.
Bee
On Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 5:43 AM, McLauchlan, Kevin <
Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> wrote:
> Cool.
> Thanks. Seems to work.
>
> Do we have any idea why the other browsers don't show the problem?
>
> - Kevin
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* beelia [mailto:beelia -at- gmail -dot- com]
> *Sent:* Monday, January 05, 2009 10:14 PM
> *To:* McLauchlan, Kevin
> *Cc:* techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> *Subject:* Re: Madcap Flare and Firefox 3
>
> Kevin,
>
> This sounds exactly like the "Search Hang" bug that I filed with Madcap
> some time ago. It's not fixed yet.
>
> The search session terminates and hangs because of a problem with the
> Search Filter Set feature, which I've never used. The process is
> unsuccessfully looking for a file called "Filters.xml", which does not exist
> if you haven't defined a filter set.
>
> To patch this problem, every time I do a build, I drag an empty
> "Filters.xml" file into the Data folder (under Output) after the WebHelp
> build completes. This keeps the search from hanging because the file,
> although it is empty, is found, so the session termination does not occur.
>
> Because my help is part of the application, I then submit the patched set
> of output files to the build via Perforce.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Bee
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 12:50 PM, McLauchlan, Kevin <
> Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> wrote:
>
>>
>> I was just reviewing my WebHelp with Firefox 3.0.5 on Win XP Pro X64,
>> when I noticed that the Search function cannot be invoked. Click the
>> "Search" tab in the accordion menu, and a frozen "LOADING" progress bar
>> just sits there forever.
>>
>> Didn't we already have that fixed, months ago? Firefox says there are
>> no new updates pending, so . . .
>>
>> Anybody else makin' WebHelp? Is Firefox 3 working OK for you?
>>
>> I don't see the problem on my old machine that still has Firefox 2.
>>
>> IE7 works fine.
>>
>> Safari 3.2.1 works fine, but it does display the lower half of a bogus
>> horizontal scroll-bar at the top of the accordion menu - which the other
>> browsers do not.
>>
>> Opera? Wish I could tell you, but I can't get through to their download
>> site, today (that might be just somebody goofing with our company
>> network, though).
>>
>> - Kevin
>>
>> The information contained in this electronic mail transmission
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>>
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>
>> ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
>> solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
>> HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals.
>> http://www.doctohelp.com
>>
>> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
>> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
>> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control!
>> http://www.helpandmanual.com/
>>
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. http://www.doctohelp.com
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
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