For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

This forum is for all Flare issues related to getting started and installing the application.
Post Reply
Phlawm53
Sr. Propeller Head
Posts: 442
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:58 am
Location: San Francisco, CA
Contact:

For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by Phlawm53 »

------
For Flare 10.1 today, although I've seen a similar occurrence in Flare 9, too.

I doubt there'll be an answer to the questions I ask in this Topic, but I thought I'd share my experience just for fun.

What third-party dependencies, if any, does Flare have for processing SVG images?

EDIT / tl-dr: You'll need a 32-bit version 7 or 8 JRE. I'm using version 8 and it's working. The key is that on my 64-bit Windows 7 computer with a 64-bit JRE, I needed to also install a 32-bit JRE.

BACKGROUND

I have a Flare 10 project (Slideshow) that includes an SVG graphic. Before Flare 10, I've used the same graphic in a different Flare 9 project. In both cases, Flare imported the SVG graphic as expected.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

I uninstalled then successfully reinstalled Python 3.4 on my Windows 7 64-bit laptop. No problems, the reinstalled instance of Python runs fine and is connected to my Eclipse IDE.

BUT I just happened to have the Flare 10 topic containing the SVG graphic open while I uninstalled and reinstalled Python 3.4. Flare has never had any need for Python, yet when I viewed the topic Flare had replaced the SVG graphic with a small gray box that said Import. Or something like Import: the box was too small to actually read.

I deleted the gray box and reinserted the formerly operative SVG graphic. No graphic, just another gray box. I then closed and restarted Flare 10, then reimported the graphic into the topic. This time everything worked as expected.

So the sequence of events was:
  1. Start Flare 10, open the XML Editor, view a Slideshow HTM file that contained a lovely SVG graphic.
  2. With Flare open, uninstall then reinstall Python 3.4. No problems with Python, works great.
  3. Return to the Flare XML Editor. Flare had replaced the previously displayed SVG image with a small gray box.
  4. Attempt to reimport the SVG image but receive only the gray box.
  5. Restart Flare and re-import the SVG image. No problem, works great.
MY QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1: What on earth happened? Surely my uninstalling and re-installing of Python 3.4 had nothing to do with Flare 10's ability to process an SVG image that it formerly had no problem processing?

QUESTION 2: What third-party dependencies, if any, does Flare have for processing SVG images?

I've tried researching Flare 10's system dependencies in the product's online help and received no guidance (I did instead receive lots of "hits" for Pulse system requirements). It'd be fun to know what, if anything, Flare 10 needs in addition to Windows and .NET…(?)

I have no problem at this point, but remain curious…

Cheers & thanks,
Riley
SFO
Last edited by Phlawm53 on Tue Oct 29, 2019 7:03 pm, edited 4 times in total.
iand
Sr. Propeller Head
Posts: 131
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:46 am
Location: London, England

Re: For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by iand »

Flare needs a certain version of java for SVG. I got the following from Madcap support>

Hello Ian,

Thank you for contacting Madcap Support.

Can you please download and install Java (x86) version 7 update 51 from the following link?
This has resolved similar behaviors for other users.
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/ ... 80261.html

I wasn't able to try it though as I need another version of Java for the product I am documenting! Software dependencies are great :-)
Phlawm53
Sr. Propeller Head
Posts: 442
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:58 am
Location: San Francisco, CA
Contact:

Re: For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by Phlawm53 »

iand wrote:Flare needs a certain version of java for SVG. I got the following from Madcap support
…
Can you please download and install Java (x86) version 7 update 51 from the following link?
…
Software dependencies are great :-)
I had already filed an Enhancement Request against the Flare 10 online help system for its unsearchability for Flare's system requirements. The OLH currently returns, indeed features, results for Pulse system requirements but Flare's system requirements are nowhere to be found.

I did so because when I used Flare 10 to generate a WebHelp system, it reported its need for a JRE. But I already had a 64-bit JRE that was happily running Eclipse, jEdit, and a couple of other JRE-using utilities. Fortunately I was already familiar with similar Java issues so that I knew that Flare wanted a 32-bit JRE. Note, please, that Flare's error message did not specify what version of 32-bit JRE was required.

Additionally, if one searches for JRE, one gets a list of Target types that require it. That leaves one to go spelunking to identify what Flare needs to import the aforementioned SVG images, as well as deal with Flare's Eclipse Help Targets, et alia.

I may now file this as a bug.

Cheers, thanks, & hope this helps,
Riley
SFO
Last edited by Phlawm53 on Thu Mar 12, 2015 9:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
ChoccieMuffin
Senior Propellus Maximus
Posts: 2630
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:01 am
Location: Surrey, UK

Re: For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by ChoccieMuffin »

I have now added a new word to my lexicon - "spelunking" - love it! :D
Started as a newbie with Flare 6.1, now using Flare 2023.
Report bugs at http://www.madcapsoftware.com/bugs/submit.aspx.
Request features at https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback ... quest.aspx
RamonS
Senior Propellus Maximus
Posts: 4293
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:29 am
Location: The Electric City

Re: For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by RamonS »

Just as an FYI - the current version of JRE is 7u55.
Phlawm53
Sr. Propeller Head
Posts: 442
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:58 am
Location: San Francisco, CA
Contact:

Re: For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by Phlawm53 »

RamonS wrote:Just as an FYI - the current version of JRE is 7u55.
For what it's worth, version 8 is working well with all the programs I run that require a JRE. The programs that come immediately to mind are Eclipse 4 (a.k.a. Kepler), jEdit 5, a file synchronization utility called DirSyncPro, and of course Flare 10.1.

FYI as of this date (2014-04-24): "The new release of Java is first made available to developers to ensure no major problems are found before we make it available on the java.com website for end users to download. If you are interested in trying Java 8 it can be [at this time, must be] downloaded from Oracle.com."

IF you have a 64-bit computer (I happen to have Windows 7 64-bit), NOTE that Flare evidently requires a 32-bit JRE to process SVGs. Flare couldn't process SVGs until I installed a 32-bit JRE (version 8) in addition to the 64-bit JRE that was already installed.

Cheers & hope this helps,
Riley
SFO
Last edited by Phlawm53 on Tue Oct 28, 2014 9:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Msquared
Propellus Maximus
Posts: 848
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 10:19 am
Location: Southampton, UK

Re: For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by Msquared »

Thank you Riley! :-) :-)

One of our developers and I have just been puzzling why Flare's SVG images stopped working. We have recently had to downgrade the version of Java 7 installed on our build machine from the recommended 7.51 or greater to 7.45 because one of our major customers asked us to. So we installed Java 8 for Flare to use, and the SVG images stopped working.

The key was as you said, to use the 32 bit version. So thanks for rescuing a rather frustrating afternoon. Onwards to the next obstacle. :-)
Marjorie

My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dogs already think I am.
TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
Sr. Propeller Head
Posts: 130
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2006 12:52 pm
Location: Glen Mills, PA

Re: For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by TheGreatAndPowerfulOz »

Thanks to all who've posted information on this topic!

I attempted to generate some PDF output yesterday whose content references several SVG resources, only to receive a rather unspecific Error Processing SVG File message during the build. Gee... What could that mean?

If it hadn't been for eventually finding this post, I'm afraid I would have missed my deliverable yesterday! While I understand that it's not always possible for software developers to provide detailed information about any given error that's encountered, the "Error Processing SVG File" message was really not very helpful, and I could not find any MadCap documentation (even in the Release Notes) to indicate what the possible cause(s) of the error might be. And so, my troubleshooting journey began...
  1. My first thought was that perhaps some recent updates I'd made to one of the SVG files caused it to be invalid in some way in Flare's eyes. I checked the source control history for the file and discovered that those updates were actually made prior to the last time I had generated PDF output (with no incident), so that wasn't the issue.
  2. With the hope of ruling out the SVG resources altogether as the issue, I had one of my colleagues run the build on her machine. No problem: perfect PDF output with no reported errors. Okay, so now what? It must be something to do with my specific environment...
  3. So, I tried closing and re-opening Flare a few times, to be sure no general Windows "funkiness" was going on (memory issues, etc.). No good.
  4. I rebooted my machine for good measure (sometimes Windows issues are miraculously cured by this means). No joy.
  5. I figured I'd better start checking the Flare knowledge base at this point. I found a couple of instances of the elusive "Error Processing SVG File" message having been addressed in a Flare product release, but no explanation of what had actually caused it. I still hadn't come across this post at that point...
  6. Okay, left to my own devices and going out on a limb, I suspected that perhaps my installation of Flare v10 had somehow gone "bad". I had been putting off updating from 10.2.1 to 10.2.2 for a while, so why not try now to see if that could "fix" my installation? Did not work.
  7. Maybe I should try v9 (I always leave the previous major version of Flare installed alongside the latest version, "just in case"). Same error on attempt to output the PDF target. Grrrr.
  8. How about uninstalling Flare v10 completely, then re-installing, in case the existing installation has truly run afoul? Sure, why not? Alas, 'twas in vain! I still received the same error during the build process.
  9. Back to the Web to see if I can find some thread of information that might lead me in the right direction, and then... (enter glorious choral music) I found...
    Flare needs a certain version of java for SVG.
    ... in iand's post! So, I got the latest available 32-bit version of the Java JRE (Java 8 Update 40 at the time of this writing) and installed it. As part of the process, the installer alerted me that two older versions of Java were at that time still installed on my machine. I accepted the offer to uninstall them.
  10. With some trepidation, yet with a sense of excitement that I may actually have conquered the issue, I opened Flare and clicked "Build". A few seconds passed, then a few more. Et voila! I beheld a PDF document containing SVG images in all their glory!
This would have been a lot easier if the "Error Processing SVG File" message had only also included a statement something like, "Possible issue with Java installation". :roll:

Well, again, thanks to all who contributed to this topic thread. The information here really saved my bacon yesterday!
Last edited by TheGreatAndPowerfulOz on Tue Oct 10, 2017 1:04 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Austin Wright

Flare 2022 r3 (18.2.8431.26678) :: TopNav HTML5 / PDF output
Phlawm53
Sr. Propeller Head
Posts: 442
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:58 am
Location: San Francisco, CA
Contact:

Re: For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by Phlawm53 »

TheGreatAndPowerfulOz wrote:Thanks to all who've posted information on this topic!

I attempted to generate some PDF output yesterday whose content references several SVG resources, only to receive a rather unspecific Error Processing SVG File message during the build. Gee... What could that mean?
I strongly suggest sending an enhancement request to Madcap with a pointer to this thread:

https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback ... quest.aspx

My experience, based on having received a couple of personal email replies to enhancement requests, is that someone at Madcap actually reads the things.

At different times I have suggested:
  • That Flare include an "environment checker" of some sort that summarizes any and all third-party resources it requires and indicates whether or not they can be found. Imagine, for example, if one experienced problems with SVG or Postscript images, clicked Flare's "check environment" tool, and was told that Flare couldn't find the correct version of the 32-bit JRE it needed (or, similarly, the installation of Ghostscript that Flare evidently requires to process Postscript image files). I will note in passing that the oXygen XML Editor suite provides this functionality.
  • That if one searches Flare's online help return for system requirements, that the number one result is — wait for it — Flare's system requirements. As of today, Flare 10's online help returns copious information about Pulse's needs but nothing about Flare's system requirements; one must instead do a Web search to get a link to the Madcap Knowledge base. Now imagine that the online help not only lists Flare's system requirements, but that the topic about Flare's system requirements emphasizes the need for a 32-bit JRE. Wow!
The key point is that referencing this Forum thread in an enhancement request has, at least in my experience, been a good way to make Madcap aware of these sorts of issues.

Cheers, thanks, & hope this helps,
Riley
SFO
Last edited by Phlawm53 on Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
Sr. Propeller Head
Posts: 130
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2006 12:52 pm
Location: Glen Mills, PA

Re: For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by TheGreatAndPowerfulOz »

Phlawm53 wrote:I strongly suggest sending an enhancement request to Madcap
Suggestion accepted! I've submitted an enhancement request, seconding your past request to include an "environment checker" of some sort.

Thanks, Riley.
Austin Wright

Flare 2022 r3 (18.2.8431.26678) :: TopNav HTML5 / PDF output
Fiona
Sr. Propeller Head
Posts: 117
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2015 7:44 am
Location: U.K.

Re: For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by Fiona »

This still appears to be an issue but I'm floundering a bit with exactly what version of Java I should be installing with Flare 2017 r3. Can anyone let me know (or, even better, send me a link) please? I've just moved to a new machine and none of the SVG files are coming out in the PDFs I generate from Flare!

Thanks. Fiona
TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
Sr. Propeller Head
Posts: 130
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2006 12:52 pm
Location: Glen Mills, PA

Re: For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by TheGreatAndPowerfulOz »

Fiona wrote:... none of the SVG files are coming out in the PDFs I generate from Flare!
Sorry to hear you're having trouble with your SVG files, Fiona! From the statement above, it sounds as though you are able to generate PDF output with Flare, but your SVGs are just not present or displaying. Is that correct? If so, it would seem that your issue is not quite the same as the one we've been discussing in this thread (where we couldn't even generate PDF output containing SVGs, due to an incorrect version of Java on our machines).

If you can actually generate PDF output with Flare, then something else may be amiss. If you could offer a little more detail (perhaps a screenshot of your source topic containing the SVGs, a sample of the corresponding output, etc.), the group can think about other possible issues/solutions.
Austin Wright

Flare 2022 r3 (18.2.8431.26678) :: TopNav HTML5 / PDF output
Phlawm53
Sr. Propeller Head
Posts: 442
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:58 am
Location: San Francisco, CA
Contact:

Re: For SVG graphics, what are the system dependencies?

Post by Phlawm53 »

Fiona wrote:I've just moved to a new machine and none of the SVG files are coming out in the PDFs I generate from Flare!
Do you see the images in Flare's XML Editor (a.k.a. topic editor)? If yes, then Flare is importing the SVG image. When Flare generates PDF output, it converts SVGs to bitmap images (such as PNG).

Background
This thread began when Flare had only a 32-bit version. More recently Flare now has both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. When there was only a 32-bit version of Flare the problem was that 64-bit computers typically only had a 64-bit Java Runtime Environment (JRE). The solution was to download and install a 32-bit JRE on the 64-bit computer. At that point Flare was able to import SVGs (and PDF pages).

Today I believe that one needs a JRE that corresponds to the word-size of the Flare program. If running 32-bit Flare, I'm supposing -- but only supposing -- that one needs a 32-bit JRE.

With that in mind, IF you can successfully import an SVG image into Flare's Topic Editor, THEN the JRE isn't the issue.

Next Steps?
If you see the SVGs in the Topic Editor, what happens if you use the Topic Editor's Preview As tool to preview the topic? Do you see the image then?

You said that you moved to a new computer. How did you migrate your projects?

Cheers & hope this helps,
Riley
Post Reply