Access to the path is denied

[JimLeft]

Being new to Flare, I took over a project and tried to build a PDF of the topics for review.
It didn't build.
The message was:
Build failed: Compiler: Failed to create the output folder. Access to the path "C:\Users\...' is denied.
Note: The previous project writer's user name is in the path listed, not my user name.

My concern is that the folders in the Source folder show the date I opened the project (in June) and do not reflect the last time I changed topics (in July). There are two user names in the Output folder (the original writer and mine).
This was probably answered in 2011, but it is new to me. and when I searched for the subject, no results were returned.

[devjoe]

In each target, check the entry for Output Folder. If this is blank, it builds in a folder under your username in the output folder within the project, but if anything is specified here, Flare tries to write the output to that folder.

[ChoccieMuffin]

DevJoe has already answered your question, but I'd like to jump in and say "WELCOME". I'm sure you'll find the forums really helpful.

[JimLeft]

Joedev,

Thank you for your answer. Yes there is an Output folder and it does have a folder for each output build attempted.
As mentioned, the build is failing due to access to the path (has the original Writer's username in the path) is denied.
So, not knowing what I was/am doing, I moved that folder to another location. Maybe Flare is smart enough to find it still?

What I am seeing is the Analyzer and Project folders have content that does not show it has been modified since I started updating the project. This project has 4 outputs. What I want to do is build the PDF output so it can be reviewed by the developers. But each build attempted by selecting a different Primary failed.

I suspect there are residual links that are being used. Because I cannot get a build to successfully complete, I cannot see if the revised and new topics are being included or not.

How can I clean up any old files, folders, users, links, paths, etc. so the build will be successful and hopefully use the new content?
After a successful build and publish, I think I will have a better understanding of the sequence of events involved.

[ChoccieMuffin]

I suggest you look at the build log of a failed build. The line before the failure entry should point you to the bit that's causing a problem.

I used to get problems if there was a broken link in the TOC, so you could check the TOC associated with the target as well, just in case.

Also take a look at the General tab of the target, to make sure you don't have anything like "(Missing)" appearing beside any of the entries, like the stylesheet (that was another place I used to get problems if an import hadn't worked properly).

[JimLeft]

ChoccieMuffin,

Thank you for your directions. You were right, devjoe did answer my question. I just did not realize the depth of what was written.

Taking over a project has created some interesting consequences. The crux of the issue was that the Output Folder path entry (of the Target Editor, with the General tab selected) was the problem. It referenced the previous Writer's platform path to the Output Folder. That path does not exist on my platform. Deleting the existing (old Output Folder path) and leaving it blank or specifying a folder path (other than Content or Project) will allow the build and publish to successfully complete.

Wow! Do I have a lot to learn.

Thanks again, I can now successfully build and publish the project.

[JimLeft]

False jubilation.
For the selected build target, even though it indicated the build was successful (Status=Finished and State=Build Complete) the Output folder had my username folder and a mclog for the selected build. Opening that log file showed the following LogEntry text under Errors:
"Project\Targets\PD User Guide.fltar" Message="Build failed: Compiler: Failed to create the output folder. Access to the path 'C:\Users\xxyyjii\Documents\PD TFS Repo\HelpandTips\Printed Output\' is denied.
" LineIndex="-1" CharIndex="-1" Subsystem="Compiler" Target="PD User Guide" ErrorID="10086" />

I do not know where the path listed resides, but as long as user xxyyjii is in the path I believe the builds will continue to fail.

There are 5 builds for this project. Currently only the XXX User Guide (Word) succeeds in the build completing.

I clicked Clean Project, but the same build failed result occurs.

Where can I locate the legacy Writer's path in the Flare structure?

Thank you.

[NorthEast]

Set the Output Folder to (default) for all your targets - that will mean targets are built in the project's Output folder, instead of a fixed path.

If you're also publishing the target, go to the target's Publishing tab and check the destination folders - that's where it's published to.

[JimLeft]

All builds now complete and status is Finished.

The problem, other than ignorance on my part, was not knowing where the "residual" from the previous content author existed. Clicking Select Targets to Build showed me what I didn't know was what needed fixing. I selected all the targets to Build, but could not select any to Publish. Clicking OK produced the same Build Failed result.

Going back and hovering the cursor pointer over the Publish box on the Select Targets to Build dialog box showed: "No destination set for target". After some additional reading, opened the Targets folder and double-clicking a failed target showed the Output Folder with the "residual" from the previous author. Specifying the folder path for this platform and clicking Build resulted in the build successfully completing.

Hopefully I did not mess something else up.

But for now, thank you for your directions and assistance to resolve this issue.

[RikedyP]

Just replying here since this was the first post which appeared when I searched "madcap flare build access denied"

It turned out that my antivirus software was blocking Flare from writing files, so I had to add exceptions

I added exceptions for
- Flare.exe
- madbuild.exe
- madprocess.exe
and my project built successfully. I did not determine which of these specifically required exceptions and which did not.