Root Element Missing issue

[chrisj]

I'm experiencing an issue where a build for a specific target is failing as soon as it gets to the "Processing Source Files" task. It flags it with the cryptic "Root Element Missing" error. The strange part is that other people on my team can build the target just fine. What I've deduced thus far is that the issue is with a specific topic. For example, if I go into that topic and delete all of the content and insert some dummy text, the target will build. I've tried to deduce what area of the topic is causing problems by going through and deleting sections and trying to build. There doesn't seem to be any specific thing that I can see.

For clarity, I have two other writers who can build the target jut fine. We are all using the latest Flare version and are using Git for source control.

[chrisj]

Update: The build seems to run fine if I clear the Exclude content not linked directly or indirectly from the target check box. This is not ideal because it increases the build time significantly, and still doesn't fully answer why it fails with that check box selected.

[ChoccieMuffin]

Sometimes Flare gets its knickers in a twist, so I suggest you close your Flare project and delete the Output and Analyzer folders, then re-open your project and try to build again.

[allkindsosass]

Thanks for the removing of the Exclude... selection. Saved my bacon!

[Paulie]

Hi there,

I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but I'd recommend running a report for database errors and non-XML topics. It sounds like one of the XML files has lost its root element.

See the following URL for information about the structure of an XML file (including the root element):
https://www.w3schools.com/xml/xml_tree.asp

[arkana]

For me, I changed the Startup topic to another one and problem solved. Very scary indeed, and very difficult to troubleshoot!

[Marc]

Sometimes Flare gets its knickers in a twist, so I suggest you close your Flare project and delete the Output and Analyzer folders, then re-open your project and try to build again.

And this is what fixed it for me. Sometimes the old solutions are the best ones!

[kathryngz]

Sometimes Flare gets its knickers in a twist, so I suggest you close your Flare project and delete the Output and Analyzer folders, then re-open your project and try to build again.

And this is what fixed it for me. Sometimes the old solutions are the best ones!

Worked for me too! Thank you, ChoccieMuffin!

[jonathanlolley]

Just had this happen to me. Contacted MadCap and they deleted the Output and Analyzer folders. That resolved the issue.