Two users get different PDF output from the same target

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kimberlyenger
Jr. Propeller Head
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2019 1:55 pm

Two users get different PDF output from the same target

Post by kimberlyenger »

Summary: User A gens a PDF from a target, sees the expected graphic on the title page of the PDF. User B gens a PDF from the same target, does not see the expected title page graphic (but everything else in the PDF is fine). The graphic is on a shared drive.

Details:
We are generating PDF output in Flare 2018 r2 (Windows) from a layout defined in the project’s BookLayout.flpgl file as follows:

- Title page: contains a header graphic, book title lines (sources from three variables: product name, product edition, and book title), and publish date (sourced from a target variable).

- Subsequent pages: contain a common header and footer, both of which have a combination of text and a graphic

Target A, which uses TOC A (consisting of the title page, topic 1, topic 2a, and topic 3), produces the expected PDF output. That is, all elements on the title page and in the header and footer of subsequent page render correctly.

Target A is copied as Target B in the same project. Target B’s TOC is identical except that instead of topic 2a it contains a topic 2b. When Target B is used to generate a separate book (where the only change made to the target file is the TOC it uses), the resulting PDF lacks the graphic that is in the header of the title page. All else renders correctly.

This consistently occurs when User A attempts to generate a PDF using that target. However, when User B generates a PDF from the same target, the resulting output is as expected (the title page contains the header graphic).

User A has tried cleaning the project, exiting and reopening Flare, deleting User A’s output subfolders.

This is not a huge, graphics-intensive document. It’s less than 100 pages, and only about 20 pages contain graphics. (The PDFs are less than 5MB.) The attachment shows the title pages for the two users.
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SteveS
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Re: Two users get different PDF output from the same target

Post by SteveS »

Can you get the users to log on the the other's machine and see if they can produce the pdf?

I'm trying to separate the user from the machine...
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Steve
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ajturnersurrey
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Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2010 3:30 am

Re: Two users get different PDF output from the same target

Post by ajturnersurrey »

This may not help, but I have to say that this seems to tap into the inherent weirdness of pictures embedded in page layouts, which I have come across before.

I have seen that when one page layout is copied to create a new one some embedded images stop displaying, for reasons I have not been able to fathom - as a result I include company logos etc in my title topics, not in the page layout, if at all possible.

I think this is probably linked with the quirk that if an image embedded in a page layout is updated on the project, that update is not reflected in the page layout or targets built thereafter without deleting and reconnecting the page layout to that image.

I think that Flare must somehow make a "local" copy of an image that is embedded, a bit like the way that a skin behaves.... but here I am completely out of my depth. Maybe someone from MadCap can explain the mechanics. I would like to understand them better. As I say, it has just made me find ways to avoid adding anything but the simplest and most stable graphics to my page layouts.
NorthEast
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Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:33 am

Re: Two users get different PDF output from the same target

Post by NorthEast »

Have you checked the build log?

I've seen this before if the path in the output files is over 260 characters; the path length will be affected by the project location, and the user name and target name used in the output folder.
kimberlyenger
Jr. Propeller Head
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2019 1:55 pm

Re: Two users get different PDF output from the same target

Post by kimberlyenger »

The length of the file/pathname was indeed the problem. There were other graphics dropping out, too, but we didn't notice. We shortened a bunch of names and everything is good now. We're relatively new users and up to now, have not been watching the logs. We'll be watching them from now on. Live and learn!

Thanks for the tip.
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