Search Highlighting does not mark search keywords

[kashby]

I'm troubleshooting a WebHelp Plus system and have noticed that my search highlighting is not working. When I perform a search, none of the search keywords are highlighted in the results. From what I understand, third-party documents placed in the AutoSearch folder won't work with search highlighting, but I thought that other help systems placed in the AutoMerge folder would work fine.

I don't think it has any relevance, but I have search filters enabled.

Any ideas?

[Richard Ferrell]

If you create webhelp does it work?

[kashby]

The system in question contains only one topic. I have created a single topic system to use as a front-end for a knowledge base containing multiple help systems and third-party content. However, I added a topic and compiled a WebHelp output to test it--the search highlighting worked just fine.

The problem appears to be with marking content that does not belong to the master-level project. Is this feature not supported with WebHelp Plus?

[kashby]

Since the original posting, I have added new content to this project. The search highlighting does not work even for materials compiled into the help system.

Is search highlighting simply not supported for WebHelp Plus systems?

[Richard Ferrell]

If you create webhelp does it work? Does it highlight the text in the open topic?

[LTinker68]

Just to be clear about the terminology... Are you talking about Search or Quick Search?

Search is the one in the accordion button and searches the entire help output. Quick Search is in the toolbar in the output and searches only in the currently opened topic.

When you use the Search function, the searched for term will be highlighted in each topic that's returned in the navigation pane as you switch between those returned results. Quick Search doesn't return a list of topics, and if you switch to another topic, the highlighted word in TopicA won't be highlighted in TopicB until you click back in the Quick Search field and press Enter or retype the word and press Enter.

[kashby]

Search is not working. Quick Search works fine.

A search returns results, but nothing is highlighted in any of the topics.

[Richard Ferrell]

If you Click on the Search on The accordian Frame, It will list all the topics that that the search, but will not highlight any words, Are you saying that the Search is not returning any topics? The quick search on the Toolbar will only highlight the existing topic

[BL_N]

Sounds like the same UI confusion experienced and reported in this topic:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6640

The search bar in the top menu applies only to the open topic, NOT to the entire help system. This is a confusing implementation because there is no means of knowing this by looking (most users will never bother hovering over the thing long enough to read the tip) and there is (obviously) an overwhelming experiential expectation that ANY search box searches ALL areas.

In this case, if the word/phrase you're looking for does not appear in the open topic, you will not get any results, thus no highlight of results.

Addendum: I could be completely wrong. It surely would not be the first time. (grin)

[kashby]

No, there is no UI confusion. The Quick Search applies search highlighting correctlyl to the topic currently on screen (unless it is a non-html file loaded into AutoSearch).

The Search button returns results from the entire system with each search, but no keywords are highlighted when you view any of the topics. However, when I compile the same project as WebHelp (not WebHelp Plus), the search highlighting works just fine. This problem is specific to WebHelp Plus output.

Here are some screen captures of the same system built in WebHelp and WebHelp Plus (sorry, had to blur them). The search keywords are marked in the WebHelp version but not the WebHelp Plus version.

WebHelp.jpg

WebHelp Plus.jpg

[BL_N]

May I ask what version of IE this is?

[kashby]

IE version 6.0.2900.2180.xpsp_sp2_qfe.070227-2300
Update Versions: SP2

[LTinker68]

Just out of curiosity, did you try it in Firefox or on another machine running IE7? That'll narrow down whether it's the Flare output or something in IE6.

[kashby]

My company won't let us install IE 7, but I tried it in Firefox 3.0.1 and Safari 3.1.2 and saw the same thing.