Context sensitive Help: Alias.xml file empty

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tana
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Context sensitive Help: Alias.xml file empty

Post by tana »

HI, I have read every existing post that I can find, but am still stumped.

I have created an alias file and a header file, but when I compile the Help system, the Alias.xml file in Output/Data is almost empty. It contains only the following:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<CatapultAliasFile Version="1" DefaultSkinName="NewWindow" />

Not surprisingly, my CSH is not working. ;-)

When I look at the header file and the alias file in Flare, they both show entries for the four (yes, still testing so only four) topics for which I have assigned identifiers and values.

The developer has attempted to hook up a test Help button with the URL I gave him, but we just get a lovely blank web page:

<a href="www.surgient.com/v60/base/SurgientHelp/ ... H.htm#1000" target ="_blank">

Any suggestions would be great. I dont know why the entries that I make in the Alias editor show up in the header file fine, but do not get merged into the Alias.xml file??

THANKS!
tana

*******************
And I should have mentioned I am using Flare 3.1. Also, I have just noticed that even after recompiling the Help system, the timestamp on the empty Alias.xml file was not changing. In desperation, I deleted the file from the Output/Data dir, and well, now I cannot get another one when I compile. Ugh. This is making me crazy. Sadly, I can't remember what I did to get it in the first place... because I was not getting one when I first compiled, even though I had created a header and alias file. Then I tweaked something (this is why i am not in QA) and suddenly it was generated. Also, maybe related, I noticed that I have two "errors" listed when I compile, both complaining about identifiers not being declared in any header file, even though they are not identifiers I ever created. And I just started this process today.. so I think Flare made them up for me. ;-)
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Re: Context sensitive Help: Alias.xml file empty

Post by SteveS »

Hi Tana,

Welcome to the forums.

CSH is not my strong suite but I'll make a few suggestions until a guru sees your post :) .

First recommendation, and this is a broad one (not limited to your CSH probelms) is to clean your project when building, particularly if you are having problems. Easiest way is Build -> Clean Project... menu commands. Flare will remove the old stuff from the output directories.

Header files and alias files can be added using the Project -> Advanced -> Add Header File... and -> Add Alias File... menu commands.

To get your CSH help to build, make sure the target specifies the alias file - open the target properties, select the Advanced tab and select the Alias File from the drop down list.

HTH
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Re: Context sensitive Help: Alias.xml file empty

Post by QBF »

tana wrote:HI, I have read every existing post that I can find, but am still stumped.

I have created an alias file and a header file, but when I compile the Help system, the Alias.xml file in Output/Data is almost empty. It contains only the following:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<CatapultAliasFile Version="1" DefaultSkinName="NewWindow" />
Did you select the Alias file from your Output Target after you created the file? If you have more than one Alias file, and selected the wrong one, that could cause this problem.
tana
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Re: Context sensitive Help: Alias.xml file empty

Post by tana »

Hi, and thanks for the Welcome and the replies. I think that the issue was indeed that the Alias file had not ben selected in the Target Editor. Now I have that selected, and I am getting entries in the Alias.xml file. Yeah! Thanks so very much. There are a lot of moving parts in this tool... ;-)

However, I am getting two error messages in the Build Progress dialog box about two mystery idenitifiers, complaining that the identifiers are not declared in any header file. I never created those identifiers through the Alias Editor or any other way. I think these two entries must be coming from another header file somewhere (a default one) but I did a search in Windows Explorer and found only the one, valid header file that I created. So where could those entries be coming from? The workaround I am doing is to use the Alias Editor to Assign the msytery identifiers to a topic, then simply Remove that whole row from the Alias Editor. That clears them from the error list when building the Help.

One other tip, in case this ever helps someone, is that I am pretty sure you have to assign a skin to every entry in the Alias Editor. The URL to the sch topic will not resolve otherwise. The Flare Help indicates that this is optional, but it doesnt seem to be.

Cheers, and thanks again for your help!
tana
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Re: Context sensitive Help: Alias.xml file empty

Post by KevinDAmery »

Is this help system built from scratch in Flare, or was it imported from Robohelp? If it was imported, it's possible the phantom identifier was brought along as part of the import.
Until next time....
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tana
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Re: Context sensitive Help: Alias.xml file empty

Post by tana »

Ah, quite likely. Yes, it was imported from RH. At least there were only two, and easy to get rid of.

About contest-sensitive Help, one thing I am struggling with figuring out is that I need to give the developers a mapping file that maps the value (the number assigned in Alias Editor) to the name of the GUI panel in the product (i.e. Home.aspx)... those are the only two things they need to care about (I think)... we are not using the identifiers, just the value, and they just need to be able to map their ID for each GUI panel to the value I assigned in Alias Editor.

If that made any sense, how are most people providing this info? The Help says to give the developer the header file... but unless I use very long and descriptive identifiers, the developers would not be able to easily match the identifier with the appropriate GUI panel. We have a little over 100 GUI panels with Help buttons.

Thanks for any tips... currently I am creating a Word doc with a table, and a column for the GUI panel name, another column for the value given in Alias Editor, and a third column with the Help file name and path.

Getting a project going in Flare is certainly not boring, but then tech writing should seldom be!

thank!
tana
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Re: Context sensitive Help: Alias.xml file empty

Post by wclass »

If you have "phantom" alias entries, you can remove them manually.
  • Open the alias file in a text editor.
  • Find the line with a phantom entry.
  • Delete the line - you need to take out the whole "map" entry fro "<MAP name..." up to the closing " />"
As for header files to developers, you can add in "comments" on the line that has more explanatory text, and will stay valid. You do this by adding two forward slashes at the end of the line, and anything after that is a comment. For example:

#define web_page_name 1000 // hey guys, this one should map to the XYZ page

You can use the internal text editor to add this information - it might be easier than creating an extra Word file.

But as for how I do it, we have put in an automatic function in the development process that generates map ids when screens or pages are created - easy for me and no work for the developer!
Margaret Hassall - Melbourne
tana
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Re: Context sensitive Help: Alias.xml file empty

Post by tana »

Thanks Margaret, for the tip about adding the path and file name to the header file, ussing two forward slashes. That sounds like the way to go.. and then there is not a separate word doc floating around.

I have a question about the process you use... so you get the auto-generated map ID (this is the one in the code, right, behind the Help button?), but then there must be somewhere in the application code also a mapping file that links that auto-generated map id to whatever value or identifier you give the Help topic in Flare. Right? I suspect I am missing something... like maybe my third cup of coffee.

I mean, I understand about getting a list of auto-generated numbers.. but they still have to be mapped over to the topic. The auto-generated number is the map ID for the GUI panel or screen, right? Is it Javascript or URL that the application code uses for CSH?

Thanks for further explanation, I really appreciate it!
tana
wclass
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Re: Context sensitive Help: Alias.xml file empty

Post by wclass »

tana asked
I have a question about the process you use...
The automatic number generation happens at the developers end. Any time a new screen is added, a unique ID is generated and added to the .H file. This file contains the identifiers and map numbers, plus a generated comment using the screens title. This is no work (now) for the developers. The developer who set this years ago found it quite straight forward.

I pick up a copy of the .H file when a screen has been added or removed, and use Windows to copy it into my project folder.

I still have to map the screen to a help topic - this is the minimal work for me.

Our application has a version for Windows where we supply a CHM, and an intranet version where we supply webhelp. The CHM is linked using standard MS calls, and we link CSH to webhelp using the URL method. These links were added to the application framework a few years ago now, so my memory is rusty. The developers wrote a routine that accessed the help as needed when either the F1 key is pressed, or the Help menu of the app is selected - we just had to agree on a file name and a location. We publish our help to the location and they pick it up when they build the app.
Margaret Hassall - Melbourne
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Re: Context sensitive Help: Alias.xml file empty

Post by archana »

What if the project is in .NET at the developer end, he cant add .h file to the project? Nor can he generate one.
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