Clean XHTML output target publishes all topics

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JRtechw
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Clean XHTML output target publishes all topics

Post by JRtechw »

Flare 2017 r2
Windows 8.1
Outputting Clean XHTML to local folder

I'm trying out this new Clean XHTML Output Type in prep for a Proof of Concept integration with Dynamics CRM. However, even though I have:

1. Created a test TOC with a subset of half a dozen topics only
2. Set the Target > General > Master TOC to the test TOC

Flare still publishes my entire project as Clean XHTML output, rather than the topics listed in my Test TOC only.

Have I missed something here? Is there another magic setting somewhere else I need to make? I looked at the r3 release notes, but couldn't see anything about a Clean XHTML fixed issue.
Psider
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Re: Clean XHTML output target publishes all topics

Post by Psider »

I haven't used Clean XHTML, but I imagine it works the same as other web outputs.

The table of contents doesn't control what is included in online outputs, just what displays in the table of contents.

You will need to use conditions on the topics you don't want to include in Clean XHTML and exclude that condition tag in the target. Make sure you tag the topics, and not the table of contents entry; conditioning the TOC entry only controls the display for the TOC, not the underlying topic.

Note: I advise tagging the content you don't want to include, because the build will include any topics without a tag, plus any topics not explicitly excluded. I'm not aware of any settings to exclude untagged topics.
Nita Beck
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Re: Clean XHTML output target publishes all topics

Post by Nita Beck »

It’s not just CleanXHTML output that will include all topics by default. It’s any online output. This has been the prevailing paradigm in Help authoring tools (HATs) going back more than 25 years, back to the original Microsoft Help Workshop.

This question as it relates to Flare comes up with some regularity. Here’s a old forum post that is relevant and that you might find of interest: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=15494
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JRtechw
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Re: Clean XHTML output target publishes all topics

Post by JRtechw »

Thanks for the replies people. To be honest, I just assumed that the use cases for 'Clean XHTML' were so specific that the target wouldn't be considered part of the 'online output' family and exhibit the default behaviour.

I stand by that assertion, however. The obvious use case for this target is to export a subset of your knowledge base to a third-party platform, for integration in an environment that has its own page structure, styles, etc. I cannot think of a single reason why you would export ALL of your topics, home pages and such included. As per the PDF target, the TOC is and should be the natural home to tell the target exactly which topics you want published externally. You are far more likely to publish a small subset of topics in the project than have to manually indicate which topics should be left out.

Going through my entire project and using conditioning to 'opt out' those topics that aren't destined for integration is completely infeasible. I'll have to write a file list for my pickup script that ignores all other files.

Cheers.
Nita Beck
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Re: Clean XHTML output target publishes all topics

Post by Nita Beck »

(Kindly forgive me for perusing discussions quickly... Perhaps I missed something in your description.)

So are you using the target option to “Exclude content not directly or indirectly linked to the target”? That option is intended for helping one to output only a subset of topics, as associated with a target and its associated TOC.

More on that feature here: http://help.madcapsoftware.com/flare201 ... argets.htm
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JRtechw
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Re: Clean XHTML output target publishes all topics

Post by JRtechw »

Yep, I have that flag ticked in Advanced. But it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. It culled some extraneous files, but all of my 'regular' topics are still included in the output.

My master page is stripped down and only has a body proxy.
There is no glossary, relship table, or index in the target.
The stylesheet only references a few images. I only use local stylesheets for half a dozen topics.

My project is pretty hyperlinked and xreffed, so it's conceivable *in theory* that a large chunk of the project has been gravitically dragged into the output through linkage. As these hyperlinks will have be culled in the final output anyway, I'll do a test run that conditions out all links and see what happens.

Thanks again.
Psider
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Re: Clean XHTML output target publishes all topics

Post by Psider »

If you use View > File List you can bulk select files and apply conditions using right-click > Properties, if that helps.
JRtechw
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Re: Clean XHTML output target publishes all topics

Post by JRtechw »

And I can set up my topic templates to have opt-out turned on by default. I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet and bulk-condition the project.
Nita Beck
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Re: Clean XHTML output target publishes all topics

Post by Nita Beck »

An idea, as a workaround: You might try exporting the CleanXHTML target to a new (albeit temp) project and then build your output from there. The export-by-target should, in theory, take only those files that are linked to that target. I realize that your project is heavily hyperlinked, but this method might cull some of the hangers-on.
Nita
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RETIRED, but still fond of all the Flare friends I've made. See you around now and then!
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