Search Tab Not Working

[Vaughn]

I'm building HTML Help with Flare, using an imported RoboHelp project as a starting point. I'm using Contents, Index, and Search tabs.

When I compile the project, the Search tab is displayed as expected, but regardless of the search term entered, it returns a "No Topics Found" pop-up message. No topics are ever found, even when searching for words I know exist in the project (such as the product name).

I've double-checked the Search tab in output of the original RH project, and it does work as expected. I've tried rebuilding the new help without the Search tab, then adding it back in, but that produced the same results. I've tried enabling and disabling the "Use Advanced Search" option in the HTML Help setup tab of the main Skins page, with the same results.

Search works fine in other HTML help systems I've built with Flare. Any idea what I'm doing wrong with this one?

[Edited to add...]

Scratch the comment about it working in other projects. I've now seen that it's also not working in the help system (also built with Flare) for another one of our products. It was working in builds done in February, but not now.

By the way, I'm running Flare 3.0, since 3.1 was unable to build one of my French help projects. (I'm off to go install 3.1 to see if it handles the Search problem, but I'll still be unable to build the French project.)

[Edited again to add...]

Nope, still getting the same problem with V3.1.

Thanks in advance for any ideas -

[LTinker68]

Did you apply the patches for version 3? Go to the MadCap knowledgebase (http://kb.madcapsoftware.com), click on Flare, then click on Patches.

[Vaughn]

Thanks, Lisa. I've not applied the 3.1 patch, but as I mentioned, I'm seeing the problem in V3.0 as well. (Didn't see a 3.0 patch.)

[Vaughn]

Found the problem. A DLL had somehow become unregistered. The solution was in this KB Article.

[Pat Aiello]

Thanks, that KB article solved my problem with the Search and with Concept Links not working in a chm file.

Pat

[bk1200]

If that does not work for someone in the future, another solution is to ensure that the start page is not just set to 'default', but an actual file name. This also fixes help calls that use the search facility.

[amb]

Thanks! The KB article solved my problem as well with the search tab not working in compiled .chm output.

Just a note, I did have my start topic set to an actual file and not just "default" when the problem occurred.

[adunlap]

I am running Flare 3.1 (patch installed) on Vista Ultimate. I am generating HTMLHelp. I have specified a start page other than the default, and I have run the RegisterItcc.bat to register the itcc.dll (Wdws confirmed success). My skin has search checked, and the skin is attached to the target. Search tab is still not working. I get the message "No topics found." Please help.

[RamonS]

Did you try what bk1200 proposed a few posts above?

[Pat Aiello]

No, I did not as what I read in the KB article worked. As I reread bk1200's message, I need to ask what specific item should be set to a file name rather than to default? The Link? excuse my dah'ness ...it is Friday afternoon. Pat

[LTinker68]

They're referring to the Startup Topic field in the Target Editor. It's the topic that will appear when the help is launched (assuming it's not launched to a specific topic using CSH).

[Pat Aiello]

That is set to a specific file name. Yes.
That is how it has always been as our startup topic changes with each version.

[Pete Lees]

Hi,

I am running Flare 3.1 (patch installed) on Vista Ultimate. I am generating HTMLHelp. I have specified a start page other than the default, and I have run the RegisterItcc.bat to register the itcc.dll (Wdws confirmed success). My skin has search checked, and the skin is attached to the target. Search tab is still not working. I get the message "No topics found." Please help.

Is the search function broken in all the help files on your machine? If so, the most likely explanation is that the HTML Help viewer component itircl.dll is missing or incorrectly registered on the machine. This component should be in your WINDOWS\system32 folder, and you can re-register it by typing the following at a command prompt:

Code: Select all

regsvr32 %windir%\system32\itircl.dll

You could also copy the help file to another machine and try using the search there. This should help to determine whether the help file itself is at fault (because of missing or unregistered compiler components) or whether there is a problem with the HTML Help viewer components on your Vista machine. You can check the status of all these components by running MJ's Help Diagnostics, available from here:

http://helpware.net/downloads/index.htm#MJs

To ask the obvious: are you searching for terms that you know are present in the help content, in an English or Western European language help file? (There's no reason why the search function shouldn't work in Asian and other non-European languages as well, but it is sometimes necessary to change your machine locale before you compile.)

Pete

[adunlap]

Thanks for the reply, but still no progress. I verified the .dll is in the Windows System32 directory, and re-registered it by command line for good measure. Wdws verified success. I've run the .chm on a non-Vista computer and the search still does not work. I've even created a test HTMLHelp file using just Flare defaults with just the one default topic.htm. I ran the MJs diagnostics tool you suggested. It reports the .dll is registered. Search does not work. In desperation, I installed a Wdws language pack patch this a.m. with no results. Search needs to work by the time the release date rolls around. I'm not out of time yet, but I am out of ideas. Any more suggestions?

[RamonS]

The only ideas that I can think of is to compile the CHM using HelpWorkshop rather than Flare. You will find a temporary folder in the output folder that contains a .hpj file. Flare first creates this help project and then sends it to Microsoft's CHM compiler. Since CHM is a proprietary format Flare is dependent on that compiler. Within HelpWorkshop you can also check if particular settings are present that may prevent the help from having Search enabled.
The other idea is to install Flare on a different PC and compile the project there and see what happens. And idea number three is to delete everything in the output folder and compile again. Maybe some file got goofed up and never replaced, with nothing in the Output folder Flare needs to put something new in there.

[KevinDAmery]

I know there were a few patches for 3.1 related to CHM output - maybe double check and make sure you downloaded the correct one?

I don't recall a case where the search wasn't fixed by either a patch or by the itcc.dll registration, so it would be odd if neither of those helped.

[Pete Lees]

Hi,

If you're still struggling with this, it would be good to see the contents of your MJ's Help Report, and of the project (.hhp) file for your help system. Can you attach them to a reply?

Pete

[adunlap]

Unfortunately, our company is new to the world of commercial software delivered with help, so they have invested in Flare. They have never had RoboHelp Workshop. Madcap does not indicate that this is a prerequisite for HTMLHelp output. Is it?

[RamonS]

No, no, it is not RoboHelp anything. I'm talking about the compiler from Microsoft, which is either on Windows systems by default or gets installed by MadCap (or both). And the HTML Help Workshop is a tool that can be downloaded from Microsoft here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... layLang=en
It is Microsoft's "help authoring tool" that can be used to configure various settings for the compilation of CHMs. Some of these settings are exposed within Flare, but by far not all. I'd just load the .hpj file in and compile without changing anything, then check if search works now in the new CHM that was created. If not, then it is a more fundamental problem that is either in the help project or not compile related, but a display problem on the current system.
Other than that...the only thing I could think of is that maybe all topics were set to be excluded from search? But since one has to explicitly set this option I doubt that you forgot about that. Still, one more thing to check. And since the CHM Viewer uses IE, you don't have any overly aggressive restrictions in place?

I'm grasping for straws here.

[LTinker68]

Other than that...the only thing I could think of is that maybe all topics were set to be excluded from search? But since one has to explicitly set this option I doubt that you forgot about that.

Actually, if you set one topic to not be searchable and then kept copying that topic over-and-over again as a sort of template for the topics, then that no-search option would be enabled in all of those topics.

[Richard Ferrell]

If you are still having problems Then I would open a support ticket using the following webfrom

https://www.madcapsoftware.com/support/contact.aspx

[alien]

I've tried the suggestions above, registered all dlls, and tried helpworkshop (that continues to tell me that my itircl dll is not registered), but the search does not work on other machines either. However, the search tabs of old robohelp projects work on my machine and others.

[LTinker68]

... that continues to tell me that my itircl dll is not registered...

I didn't review the whole thread, so I may have missed this, but... Were you able to successfully register the itircl.dll? Do you have permission to register DLLs on your machine? I believe you need admin rights for that.

Also, do you use roaming profiles? I'm not all that familiar with them, but I remember there being other posts in the forum where roaming profiles caused the issue and the user had to log in as an administrator, I think, and make the changes so that it would work for all users. (Stab in the dark there, but perhaps something to check.)

[KevinDAmery]

If itircl.dll isn't registered, it isn't going to work. So what I would probably do is try to figure out why it isn't registering successfully. Lisa's suggestions would be a good place to start. Also, if you've been registering the dll using the Windows start menu Run command, try it instead in a command window (which you can get by typing cmd in the run field in the start menu). The advantage of this is that the commands and the results stay on screen after you finish them, so if there are any errors in the registration process you'll be able to see what they are.

[RamonS]

Although, when Windope cannot register a DLL it will throw an error message the same way as it tells you when it worked. My guess is that even through the DOS box you will get the same GUI (error) message.