Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

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Psider
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Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by Psider »

Hi all,

Hopefully this will help other people in future.

I had a project that compiled successfully stand-alone, but failed to build when imported into another project using global project linking (flare project import). The only error given was "10086: Build Failed: One or more errors occurred".

After tearing my hair out, logic suggested the only difference was an extra level or two in the folder structure, so I shortened a bunch of stuff, which solved the issue.

So "One or more errors occurred" can mean that your output path is too long.

Things to consider when shortening the output path:
  • Name of the target: this is included in the output path and might be simpler to shorten that your files and folders
  • Turning on the target setting "Do not use the 'content' folder in output": This might be a simple fix for some projects.
  • Folder names
  • Folder nesting: consider if you can use a flatter folder structure
  • File names
(In my case, just changing the target name was enough, although I do need to reconsider a number of files and folders. :) )
skalgutkar
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by skalgutkar »

Hello Psider,

I almost pulled my hair out trying to figure what is going wrong and where in my project. And then I came across your post. Thank you so much for posting this. It worked for me. In my case, changing the output folder helped. Earlier, without me realizing, it was nested too deep inside multiple folders.

Cheers!
RamonS
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by RamonS »

In general, keep the folder structure as flat as possible. When following DITA, there is no need to have more than a folder for a functional area/feature and if needed folders for the task, concept, and reference topics that apply to that area. Sure, depending on how long the folder names are the path can still be too long. Keep the function/feature folder name in sync what the ToC will show. If the ToC entry is very long you may want to look at condensing that anyway.
PhilAmericus
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by PhilAmericus »

Thanks! Same issue here. I moved the Output folder to the root of my c: drive and it works.
peterb
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by peterb »

Sorry to res this thread, but I started getting this error today under mysterious circumstances.

My co-writer had just successfully built our master project an hour before, but when I tried it, the issue was persistent. I read another thread where the issue suddenly cropped up with seemingly no changes to a project/project structure to cause it. What are the circumstances under which this can happen?

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=26471
ChoccieMuffin
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by ChoccieMuffin »

Is your name longer than your colleague's? A single character can push things over the limit.
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peterb
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by peterb »

Thank you for always being quick to respond and help, ChoccieMuffin. That looks like a very likely hypothesis for what is going on, as my username is more than double the length of my coworker's.

That said, I am not finding a place where this can be configured. Someone in another thread opined that this may be defined by the Windows username (which I hope is not the case). I tried changing user name in the Review tab of Options, but it had no effect on the output folder names.

Thanks again!
peterb
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by peterb »

Hello, I want to respond to this thread to indicate that I had a successful build after I manually set the path for the build directory (at root, as suggested on numerous threads, in order to "unbury" it and shorten the full path). I'm not in love with this solution, but it worked, and I haven't heard a better one. I hope this information in some way helps posterity. Thank you!
Curlyshell
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by Curlyshell »

So what IS the character limit? Is it connected to the "approximate filename length"?
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Psider
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by Psider »

Curlyshell wrote:So what IS the character limit? Is it connected to the "approximate filename length"?

Good question!

I believe it's a Windows limitation of 255 characters. (including spaces)
RamonS
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by RamonS »

Yes, the limitation is 255 characters for commands and path. So depending on which operation is called using external tools the file path could be shorter than 255 and still run into problems because the overall length of command and path is too long.
In Win 10 there is a setting that lifts this character limit. See here
https://www.itprotoday.com/windows-10/e ... windows-10

The article states a different DOS era limit of a total of 260 characters minus a few, but that isn't that far off from what folks here claimed. That said, enabling the long filename support might cause other problems, such as in applications that reserve only 255 characters for saving or handling file paths.
cjobrie
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by cjobrie »

I had one file name that was too long. I shortened it, and Done.

Thank you, so much!
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by doc_guy »

I'm curious to know how you figured out which file was causing the problem? Just looking at your structure?
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Vibeke B
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by Vibeke B »

Hi!
I am having this problem now too. I can produce both PDF and Word content but when I try to produce DITA content with exactly the same files, I get this error. I tried the solution about moving the Output folder directly to C, this didn't work either. The message says it "could not find part of the path..." and then states a path that does not exist in my project, so it is quite understandable that it cannot find it. But why is it trying?

Really looking forwad to input on this one! :?

-Vibeke
Psider
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by Psider »

It could be a link that points outside your project. Try searching your source code for the path, or a distinctive part of the path.
hayleysbrown
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Re: Meaning of Build error 10086 One or more errors occurred

Post by hayleysbrown »

PhilAmericus wrote:Thanks! Same issue here. I moved the Output folder to the root of my c: drive and it works.
This worked beautifully for me too... saved me lots of work!
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