Publishing and Destination problems

This forum is for all Flare issues related to the HTML5, WebHelp, WebHelp Plus, and Adobe Air Targets
janecoulter
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Publishing and Destination problems

Post by janecoulter »

I am at least 2 problems in trying to publish Help files:

1. Setting up an FTP target. When I click Login credentials, I get this message:
Unhandled exception has occurred ..... Value cannot be null. Parameter name: s.
2. When I try to publish to my C drive, I get a similar-looking error message:
Problem(s) in background thread: Value cannot be null.
Parameter name: s [System.ArgumentNullException]
Could this be related to a problem I am having with an imported stylesheet? Flare has captured most of it, but I am unable to add values to properties listed as not set, for example, background color.

When I build the project, everything looks fine.
Last edited by janecoulter on Wed May 09, 2007 4:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Richard Ferrell
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Post by Richard Ferrell »

Does this occur in all projects? If you create a new project and attempt to publish what happens?
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janecoulter
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Post by janecoulter »

This is my one and only project to date -- I imported from previously exisiting HTML help files.

Even when I try to build a new stylesheet in Flare, it doesn't let me set properties, for example for body or H1.
Could I create a new project using existing, already converted files?
jbarwick
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Publishing Publishes All Files Regardless of Target

Post by jbarwick »

I am having a problem that I hope others do not have...I hope it's just me...

I have files and folders with a conditional tag for \"Exclude\". (i.e. Files for \"library\" purposes that I don't want published).

Flare is publishing ALL files in the \"Content\" directory for the target, even if the target is set to \"exclude\" those files.

This is a huge problem.

I am also struggling with the fact that flare is publishing all files even when there are no links to them through documents in the table of contents.

I know it would be difficult to exclude any file that doesn't have a link...but...why when I explicitly exclude the file/folder.

Any suggestions?
LTinker68
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Post by LTinker68 »

I believe the general rule is that if there is no condition tag set then everything is included. Setting a condition on a topic and specifying that that condition is to be excluded only works on that particular topic. In other words, if TopicA has no condition tag and TopicB has the \"PrintOnly\" tag which is excluded in the Target, then TopicA will be included in the output even though it hasn't explicitly been included or excluded.

And if I recall correctly, included takes precedence over excluded.
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Madwoman
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You are correct Lisa and I am in love....

Post by Madwoman »

...with Condition tags! They are working great for me. I have one for print only and one for Under Construction.

It did take me a little while to figure out that if I have a topic in my project that does not have a tag set and it is not in the TOC, it would still come up in search lists. But now that I understand this and I have set my tags, my outputs have included/excluded the correct topics without fail. :D

Happy Friday!
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jbarwick
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Post by jbarwick »

There's nothing wrong with the TOC and the navigation. Things seem to be working fine.

And the topic is excluded from all navigation.

The Target sets \"exclude\" for the topic's Conditional Tag.

The topic is not linked or pointed to by any file.

The topic is still published with all other files. I can get to it if I explicity put in a URL in my browser.

I really shouldn't say topic...I should simply say \"folder\" or \"file\" in the Content Explorer

This is a problem.
KevinDAmery
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Post by KevinDAmery »

Are you applying the condition to just the folder? or are you also including the contained topic files? You might want to try setting the condition for the files directly to see if that has an effect.
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jbarwick
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Post by jbarwick »

that's about 2000 files and 300 sub folders. That's impractical.

I did a test with only one file. And it publishes. Even when excluded.

I would expact all files in a folder that was excluded to be excluded.

Please note: During compilation, it says this is excluded. However, it is still uploaded during publish.
Last edited by jbarwick on Fri May 11, 2007 1:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
LTinker68
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Post by LTinker68 »

Does this only happen when you use the Publish feature, or does it also happen if you use the Build feature?
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KevinDAmery
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Post by KevinDAmery »

Not necessarily....

- Set your Content Explorer to cover 1/2 the screen (you'll want the real estate for this)
- Turn on the \"Show Files\" option (second icon from the left)
- Open the folder you need
- Select the top file, hold Shift, then select the bottom file. If necessary, you can scroll
- Apply the condition

This should apply the condition to the entire range of files in one step.
Until next time....
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jbarwick
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Post by jbarwick »

All the files are not contiguous.

So this is impossible

I have gone through and individually marked the 147 top level sub directories as excluded.

However, all files under that folder are still published.

But as I said...The compiler says \"excluded\"

But they are still published

This happens on files as well as folders. ( I will double-check...you seem to be stating that they should not be published... let me make sure that the actual file was marked )
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Post by jbarwick »

I have found the issue is that the publisher will not delete old rennamed/moved/deleted files from the server.

Therefore, I cannot use the publisher.

Back to the old FTPSync programs.

Abandoning Flare tools left and right. I'm sad.

No Version Control
No Publisher
Takes Hours to Rename folders

What to do? Frustration mounts.
janecoulter
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Publishing Problems

Post by janecoulter »

I think my original post has been hijacked! I am still unable to publish and am getting the same error messages.

It would be good to have a list of required elements for publishing; I'm obviously omitting something. It seems odd that the builds work just fine, and my project looks lovely. However, it's overdue and I'm very frustrated.
RamonS
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Post by RamonS »

I'd just use one of the many free FTP clients (I use FTP Commander) and push the files up that way. Better than being late on a project...

I know, that still doesn't fix your original problem, but avoidance is a valid approach.
Madwoman
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RE: Publishing and Destination problems

Post by Madwoman »

janecoulter:

Unhandled exception has occurred ..... Value cannot be null. Parameter name: s.

This error is familiar. We got around it by setting up the directory and default start page on the server before we published. For example, if your directory for your destination is /ABC and your output filename (target) is XYZ, make sure they are the same in your destination and target. And make sure your server URL refers to your target filename (XYZ.htm) as the default startup page.

I do not think that your second error is related to your stylesheet. Are you trying to publish Webhelp to your C drive? If yes should you choose the html taget instead? Webhelp is only for webservers as far as I know.
Madwoman

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RamonS
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Re: RE: Publishing and Destination problems

Post by RamonS »

Madwoman wrote:Webhelp is only for webservers as far as I know.
No, it can also be used as stand alone, local help system. For that purpose, make sure that the "Mark of the web (MOTW)" option is set, otherwise Windope throws a fit and thinks you are about to dismantle the bit of security that this OS offers.
janecoulter
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Publishing and Destination problems

Post by janecoulter »

Madwoman,

Thanks for the tip about using HTML target to publish to my C drive -- will try that.

Meanwhile, I downloaded FTPZilla, which allowed me to drag my Build files over to the server. (Thanks for that tip, RamonS) I still can't view them there -- that's a different problem that the server admin will have to work.
janecoulter
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Publishing and Destination problems

Post by janecoulter »

I still can't publish anywhere -- not to the server and not to my C drive. (I get the same error -- \"Value cannot be null, Parameter name:s \")

I did FTP the Build files to the server, but whenI open the FTP'd files, I see only the topic, not left accordion tabs, etc.

Mark of the web didn't help for publishing to my computer; plus, I see it's not advised for files containing links to non-HTML files, which would be a problem.
LTinker68
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Re: Publishing and Destination problems

Post by LTinker68 »

janecoulter wrote:I did FTP the Build files to the server, but whenI open the FTP'd files, I see only the topic, not left accordion tabs, etc.
You need to open the Default.htm file -- that's the frameset that includes the navigation, toolbar, and topic area. It will open with your "welcome" topic showing.

In the Publishing tab of the WebHelp Target, what values do you have set for the destination, as indicated in the Destination Editor screen?
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janecoulter
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Post by janecoulter »

Ltinker68

Sorry I didn't see this reply (Too busy putting out simultaneous fires.) That may be the problem -- I think I deleted the Welcome (default.htm) topic; I call my home page userhome.html. I will try to work this angle and see what happens.
janecoulter
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Post by janecoulter »

This is my local destination when I try to publish:

C:\\Documents and Settings\\jcoulter\\Desktop\\NGTWebPublishedFiles

This is also where the files go when I build; I get no error with Build, just with Publish.
LTinker68
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Post by LTinker68 »

Are you trying to FTP to your desktop? You need an FTP service running on your computer in order for you to FTP to it. At least, that's how I think it works. Likewise if you want to FTP to a server, the server has to have FTP running on it.

I tried publishing to a folder on my desktop with the publish options set for \"File System\" instead of \"FTP\" and it worked. Although it seems a bit weird (and annoying) that I have to build my output before I can publish it. Well, I have to build first if I want the latest changes to be uploaded.

Try changing the publish settings to \"File System\" and see if you can publish to your desktop then.
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Lisa
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Warning! Loose nut behind the keyboard.
janecoulter
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Post by janecoulter »

Lisa,

I do have it set to File System.

Jane
LTinker68
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Post by LTinker68 »

Hmm. I think this has to be bumped to tech support. I've run out of things to try. Sorry.
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Lisa
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