TOC Highlighting Disaster in HTML Help

[JohnMethod -at- aol -dot- com]

List, you won't believe this!

The VERY short version of a VERY bad day:

Problem:
VERY inconsistent TOC highlighting and browser "back" functions with *.chm 
files from both RoboHTML and HTML Workshop.

Fix in RoboHTML:
None known. Suggestions welcome.

Fix in HTML Workshop:
Replace the spaces in folder names, which matched the TOC layout (yes, I'm 
more than a little anal) with underscores.

Longer versions of this nightmare follow, lest someone else have this 
problem. Any other ideas are MORE than welcome.

John G. Boland, president
VisiBit Corporation

********** What I was going to submit **********

<grovel>
Meekly I beseech magic of thee, oh beloved List!
</grovel>

Short version: I have VERY inconsistent TOC highlighting and browser "back" 
functions with *.chm files from both RoboHTML and HTML Workshop.

The problems are neither consistent between the two *.chms, nor between books 
/ topics in either of the two *.chms.

Can anyone help?

TIA

********** WARNING: LOTS of Detail from Here On **********

RoboHTML(R) 7.0
Microsoft(R) HTML Help Workshop 4.73.8320
Microsoft Windows NT(R) 4.0 sp3

Microsoft MMC Snap-in help system will not display (merge when loading, 
whatever) a RoboHTML-generated TOC - it demands a binary TOC.

The help is small by your standards - about one hundred topics, only four 
levels (a topic level under the third book level). Each book has an 
associated topic. The topnode book topic has five simple, direct hyperlinks 
to second and third level books for testing, a couple of second level books 
have hyperlinks to the lower level... clean, no broken links or unused files.

I generate the whole shebang (TOC and topics, no indexing for now) and 
compile a *.chm in RoboHTML, then compile a *.chm with "Binary Index" and 
"Binary TOC" options in HTML Help Workshop.

********** THE RoboHTML Version of the PROBLEM: **********

Invoke the *.chm stand alone (cannot invoke it from MMC), select one of the 
five topnode topic hyperlinks in the topic pane. The hyperlink and the 
browser "back" button change to the proper topic in all cases. In the TOC 
pane, the topnode book "opens", the selected second- or third-level book 
opens and highlights "gray", but the highlighting will not return to the 
topnode book from the lower level.

Select various books and topics in the TOC pane. "Back" with the browser. 
Highlighting backs up until the topnode, but won't go there.

********** THE HTML Workshop Version of the PROBLEM: **********

Invoke the *.chm either stand alone or from MMC, select one of the five 
topnode topic hyperlinks in the topic pane. The hyperlink and the browser 
"back" button change to the proper topic in all cases. The topnode book 
"opens" and the lower-level book highlights "gray" ONLY for the first 
second-level book and the third third-level book (which is not under the 
second-level book which works).

For THE OTHER THREE BOOKS (S H O U T I N G here, 'case you didn't notice), 
the topnode remains highlighted "gray" in the TOC pane. The book does not 
"open".

Select a lower level book or topic in the TOC pane. The browser "back" button 
will return to the topnode topic, but does not change which topic is 
highlighted "blue".

Sequentially select various topics under a single lower-level book in the TOC 
pane. "Back" with the browser. "Blue" highlighting does not back up from the 
last selection - until it returns to the topnode book.

**********Not the End of the Problem, I am Sure **********