Images show up in PDF output but not in WebHelp

[ccardimon]

Here's an odd one for you brilliant folks. Why would my images show just fine in my PDF output, but appear as as angry red X's in my WebHelp?

Suggestions or ideas are welcome.

[LTinker68]

Check to make sure you didn't apply a print-only condition to the images folder or sub-folders.

[ccardimon]

Check to make sure you didn't apply a print-only condition to the images folder or sub-folders.

Good thinking. Will do.

[KevinDAmery]

If that's not it, another thing to check would be the image format. WebHelp will only work with web-based graphics formats (PNG, JPG, GIF, etc.). OTOH, you can make a PDF with image formats that would never work in a browser (TIFF for example).

[ccardimon]

I know what's happening, but not why. If I am linking to am image from another project, it will flag as an error in PDF, but the image will print.

On the other hand, the image that is being pulled in from another project WILL NOT print in WebHelp. It just won't. I have to manually copy the image from one project to another, replant them on the same page, changing the links and all that nitty-gritty crappy stuff. THEN the WebHelp will work.

If the projects have not been globally linked, the images will not pull in from another project in WebHelp output.

[LTinker68]

If the projects have not been globally linked, the images will not pull in from another project in WebHelp output.

Which makes sense. Very rarely would an author work on a project on the product web server. Most authors would work on a project on their local computers or a shared network drive, then build the output and copy or publish the files to the production web server. When the project is on your local or shared drive, you're using mapped paths to the image files, but your production web server -- for security reasons -- wouldn't have those same mappings, even if the web server was hosted at the same facility.

I haven't used the project linking feature, but I assume when you build the output that it grabs the shared content and puts it within the project's output folder/subfolders so the shared content is local, relatively speaking, to that output. If you're not using project linking, then it won't automatically grab the content and put it in the output, because it doesn't know that you're going to be putting the output on a production web server that isn't tied to your inside file structure, so it assumes it'll always have access to those directories and files, when it really won't.

[NorthEast]

I haven't used the project linking feature, but I assume when you build the output that it grabs the shared content and puts it within the project's output folder/subfolders so the shared content is local, relatively speaking, to that output. If you're not using project linking, then it won't automatically grab the content and put it in the output, because it doesn't know that you're going to be putting the output on a production web server that isn't tied to your inside file structure, so it assumes it'll always have access to those directories and files, when it really won't.

You might be confusing project merging and project linking.

Global project linking will import copies of the files from the other project into your current project - i.e. they're actually files in your project, not just the output.

Project merging is where the outputs of other projects are merged-in to your main project output (and where you have project subfolders).

[ccardimon]

If the projects have not been globally linked, the images will not pull in from another project in WebHelp output.

Which makes sense. Very rarely would an author work on a project on the product web server. Most authors would work on a project on their local computers or a shared network drive, then build the output and copy or publish the files to the production web server. When the project is on your local or shared drive, you're using mapped paths to the image files, but your production web server -- for security reasons -- wouldn't have those same mappings, even if the web server was hosted at the same facility.

I haven't used the project linking feature, but I assume when you build the output that it grabs the shared content and puts it within the project's output folder/subfolders so the shared content is local, relatively speaking, to that output. If you're not using project linking, then it won't automatically grab the content and put it in the output, because it doesn't know that you're going to be putting the output on a production web server that isn't tied to your inside file structure, so it assumes it'll always have access to those directories and files, when it really won't.

Can I link two projects after the fact? They've both been built, but I find I need to share some content.

[NorthEast]

Can I link two projects after the fact? They've both been built, but I find I need to share some content.

Depends what you want to do.

Project merging is adding sub-projects to your main project's TOC. The linked sub-project outputs are added to your main project's output when you build it; and it will have a merged TOC, index, search, CSH. (It's not a godd solution if you need links/xrefs between topics in different projects though.)

Project linking essentially just imports files from other projects into your main project, and lets you update them if the original changes.

[ccardimon]

Can I link two projects after the fact? They've both been built, but I find I need to share some content.

Depends what you want to do.

Project merging is adding sub-projects to your main project's TOC. The linked sub-project outputs are added to your main project's output when you build it; and it will have a merged TOC, index, search, CSH. (It's not a godd solution if you need links/xrefs between topics in different projects though.)

Project linking essentially just imports files from other projects into your main project, and lets you update them if the original changes.

I want to share images, basically. I'm still having problems with that.

[NorthEast]

Reading a few posts back, a normal hyperlink to any image file outside of your project won't work.

But assuming you've tried project linking (i.e. a Flare Project import file), are you saying those imported images still aren't working?

[LTinker68]

You might be confusing project merging and project linking.

Entirely possible, since I don't have a reason to use either and have never played with them.

Global project linking will import copies of the files from the other project into your current project - i.e. they're actually files in your project, not just the output.

So what happens if you make a modification to the source files in Project A? Won't Project B automatically reload the files from Project A when it does the build? Or is it a one-time copy? I thought it would always get the latest version from Project A, unless you broke the link to that file?

[NorthEast]

Entirely possible, since I don't have a reason to use either and have never played with them.

You might want to have a look then!

So what happens if you make a modification to the source files in Project A? Won't Project B automatically reload the files from Project A when it does the build? Or is it a one-time copy? I thought it would always get the latest version from Project A, unless you broke the link to that file?

The files remain linked (until you unlink them), but you can choose to re-import them manually or automatically.