Help-PDF output giving error
Help-PDF output giving error
Hi,
My deadline is tomorrow and I am struggling to get the PDF output. The error I am getting is "Build failed. The specified path, filename or both are too long....."
I've successfully built the Webhelp target using the same path.
I have also specified the output folder for the pdf as D:\ and given the filename as Manual.pdf to shorten it as much as possible. But no success.
I use Madcap Flare 2019.
Please help...its urgent and I am at my wit's end
Regards,
TeSol
My deadline is tomorrow and I am struggling to get the PDF output. The error I am getting is "Build failed. The specified path, filename or both are too long....."
I've successfully built the Webhelp target using the same path.
I have also specified the output folder for the pdf as D:\ and given the filename as Manual.pdf to shorten it as much as possible. But no success.
I use Madcap Flare 2019.
Please help...its urgent and I am at my wit's end
Regards,
TeSol
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Re: Help-PDF output giving error
If you're building FROM a location that's quite deep, that might be the problem. Just to check, close Flare and drag your Flare project folder to the top level of your machine (e.g. D:) and kick off the build from there. It's possible your topics have quite long names and that can be the cause of the problem, as Flare also creates a \Temporary directory and that can push things over the limit.
Anyway, give my suggestion a go and see what happens - I hope it gets you out of your fix, so you can then work to solve it more permanently without the pressure of a release. Good luck!
Anyway, give my suggestion a go and see what happens - I hope it gets you out of your fix, so you can then work to solve it more permanently without the pressure of a release. Good luck!
Started as a newbie with Flare 6.1, now using Flare 2023.
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Request features at https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback ... quest.aspx
Re: Help-PDF output giving error
Thanks and apologies for the late reply. COVID really has pushed lot of stuff out of our minds! But that's no excuse for not acknowledging your help.
I didnt do what you suggested - instead I changed the output folder alone to Desktop and it worked!
Doing what you suggested would have been the next step in case that failed.
Problem was resolved but has now reappeared with a Word output in a different project. I have posted a question regarding the same.
Thanks for your help.
Regards
I didnt do what you suggested - instead I changed the output folder alone to Desktop and it worked!
Doing what you suggested would have been the next step in case that failed.
Problem was resolved but has now reappeared with a Word output in a different project. I have posted a question regarding the same.
Thanks for your help.
Regards
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Re: Help-PDF output giving error
As a note, Flare uses the /Output/User/Temporary folder (or similar) to build all of the outputs. I believe that just specifying a custom output directory might not be enough - you might need to grab your entire Flare project and put it in a top-level directory somewhere.
in hoc foro dolorem ipsum amamus, consectimur, adipisci volumus.
Re: Help-PDF output giving error
Only just spotted this (almost two years down the line), but I've previously solved this error by shortening some very long image filenames in my project. If just one filename is too long (when you take the complete path of the file structure into account) the build can fail, so it's good practice to keep filenames short if possible to try to avoid this.
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Re: Help-PDF output giving error
Exactly. Including image file names and folder names. They all count towards the limit. I don't know what the limit is, but on my machine, the build is done here:Folkie wrote:Only just spotted this (almost two years down the line), but I've previously solved this error by shortening some very long image filenames in my project. If just one filename is too long (when you take the complete path of the file structure into account) the build can fail, so it's good practice to keep filenames short if possible to try to avoid this.
c:\bitbucket\zzzdocs\Output\Paul.Pehrson\Temp\TargetName\ and then the file names in their respective folders. Here is one with an actual URL from my project:
c:\bitbucket\zzzdocs\Output\Paul.Pehrson\Temp\TopNav2022\Content\Resources\Images\UX-widgets-and-menu-bars\UI-Menu-Bar-17-2.png
That's almost 130 characters. If you have a deep folder structure in your /Content/ folder, or if your project is deep on your drive, it gets worse. Imagine:
c:\Users\Paul-Pehrson\Documents\My_Projects\zzdocs\Output\Paul.Pehrson\Temp\TopNav2022\Content\Resources\Images\UX-widgets-and-menu-bars\UI-Menu-Bar-17-2.png
That's over 150-ish characters.
The content isn't copied to the output folder specified in the target settings until after it finishes the build in the /temp/ folder listed above. So that is where the file name counts make the difference between a working and a failed build. I would guess that the character limit is somewhere in the 250 range, so you do have quite a bit of room.
If you are looking for your longest file names, go into the Content Explorer and use the expand all button (plus icon in the menu). Then scroll through all your content to see where you have deep folder paths, long file name, and long folder names. They all count towards the limit.
Re: Help-PDF output giving error
If you want a file listing so you can get a bit of a visual idea of your longest file path, the following will generate a text file in the project folder which contains a list of all the files in your project, including the full path to each file.
1. Navigate to the project folder in File Explorer.
2. Click in the Location bar at the top of the window, type cmd then press Enter. The Command window opens.
3. Type the following and press Enter:
dir *.* /s /b > projectlisting.txt
dir: list files and folders
*.*: all files
/s: including in subfolders
/b: don't include heading and summary information
> projectlisting.txt: output to the specified file (you can change the 'projectlisting' to whatever you want).
A text file is generated in the project folder from step 1. I like to copy the file contents into Excel for easier viewing.
1. Navigate to the project folder in File Explorer.
2. Click in the Location bar at the top of the window, type cmd then press Enter. The Command window opens.
3. Type the following and press Enter:
dir *.* /s /b > projectlisting.txt
dir: list files and folders
*.*: all files
/s: including in subfolders
/b: don't include heading and summary information
> projectlisting.txt: output to the specified file (you can change the 'projectlisting' to whatever you want).
A text file is generated in the project folder from step 1. I like to copy the file contents into Excel for easier viewing.
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Re: Help-PDF output giving error
Thanks @Psider, that's a very neat trick!
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Re: Help-PDF output giving error
You can copy to a text file and change the file extension to .bat
Place the .bat (for batch) file in any folder (directory) you want to query and double click it.
Code: Select all
dir *.* /s /b > projectlisting.txt
Place the .bat (for batch) file in any folder (directory) you want to query and double click it.
Steve
Life's too short for bad coffee, bad chocolate, and bad red wine.
Re: Help-PDF output giving error
Something to be grateful to Win3.1 for. :pdoloremipsum wrote:Thanks @Psider, that's a very neat trick!
Nice.SteveS wrote:You can copy to a text file and change the file extension to .bat
Place the .bat (for batch) file in any folder (directory) you want to query and double click it.
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Re: Help-PDF output giving error
You could also use View > File List.
Trent.
Certifiable.
umm...
I meant MAD Certified.
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Certifiable.
umm...
I meant MAD Certified.
Official Propeller Beanie Owner
Are you on Flare's Slack channels? PM me for an invitation!