Microsoft HTML Help -builds with no images or formatting

This forum is for all Flare issues related to the Microsoft HTML Help target.
This target produces "CHM" files in the output.
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dale0k
Jr. Propeller Head
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Joined: Thu May 23, 2013 6:24 am

Microsoft HTML Help -builds with no images or formatting

Post by dale0k »

The Microsoft HTML Help build is not happening correctly, and the last product went out with the bad help, without images and with much of the formatting gone.
When I use Cntrl-W to preview any of the pages in Flare, everything looks great, as it is designed. But the build doesn’t show the same – as I said, most formatting and all images are gone – instead of images I see the empty rectangle with an “X.”
This just started happening.
Help?
gbusch
Propeller Head
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Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2014 8:52 am
Location: Germany

Re: Microsoft HTML Help -builds with no images or formatting

Post by gbusch »

Same here. (As for the formatting - images work fine)
When i copy the CHM File to my Desktop and open it, it works fine.
But when the file is opened from our software application hitting the "Help-Key" or even when i open it in the programs directory in the Explorer it shows up without any formatting.
It seems the stylesheet is not loaded.
Any suggestions?

- Flare 9.1.2
- Windows 8 (64 bit)
Nita Beck
Senior Propellus Maximus
Posts: 3667
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:57 am
Location: Pittsford, NY

Re: Microsoft HTML Help -builds with no images or formatting

Post by Nita Beck »

I would suspect that the Flare project is pointing to images and a stylesheet that are actually outside of the project, rather than being part of the project. When you preview or view on your own machine, those images and the stylesheet are present, so topics look complete and formatted. But when the Help system is displayed on a different machine, those images and stylesheet are not present, so one will see the red Xs where the images should be and no formatting because the stylesheet is missing.

(Sorry, I guess I sort of replied to the original poster, but you get the idea with the stylesheet... And welcome to the forums, BTW! :) )
Nita
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RETIRED, but still fond of all the Flare friends I've made. See you around now and then!
KeithM
Propeller Head
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Joined: Thu May 31, 2007 2:19 pm

Re: Microsoft HTML Help -builds with no images or formatting

Post by KeithM »

I'm having this same problem (using Flare V8.1 on Win7 x64), but only with IE10.0.9200.16750 which I think the most recent version. Earlier versions of IE10, or IE8/9/11 display the styles/images as expected. My CSS and images are all within the source project.

I'm trying to revert back to CHM due to issues with WebHelp/IE11/Mark of the Web, now I run into this. :x
gbusch
Propeller Head
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2014 8:52 am
Location: Germany

Re: Microsoft HTML Help -builds with no images or formatting

Post by gbusch »

I have solved my problem for the stylesheets.
(And surprisingly for the images where i thought it worked - but it actually did not. Dunno why it seemed to work yesterday. Maybe i was inspecting the wrong file...).

In Flare I did not specify a filename for the target output. So Flare used by default the target outputs name as filename for the CHM file.
After i created the target output i renamed the CHM file to match the filename that our application is looking for when pressing the help button and copied it manually to my local programs directory to test it -> no luck with stylesheets and images :(

When inspecting the CHM output because of another issue i noticed that inside the HTM files of the CHM output the stylesheets and images were linked using the old file name ( = the target outputs name when the file was created by flare):
<link href="ms-its:MyTargetOutputName.chm::/resources/stylesheets/custom/chm.css" rel="stylesheet" />
<img src="ms-its:MyTargetOutputName.chm::/Resources/Images/Logo.gif" />
So i solved this by specifying the correct filename in the target output in Flare and exporting it again.
So stylesheets are linked like this now:
<link href="ms-its:MyNewFileName.chm::/resources/stylesheets/custom/chm.css" rel="stylesheet" />
<img src="ms-its:MyNewFileName.chm::/Resources/Images/Logo.gif" />
This works.
For me this is okay.
But just for curiousity, is it true that you cannot rename a CHM file after it has been created by Flare without loosing links to stylesheets etc? Is there any setting to avoid using this "ms-its:MyTargetOutputName.chm::" stuff in the links? What is it for? It is not used in our old CHM files that were created with HTML Workshop - and it works. So it shouldn't be mandatory, shouldn't it?

kind regards
Flare 9.1.2 | Capture 6.0.2 | Windows 8.1
wclass
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Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2006 5:56 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Microsoft HTML Help -builds with no images or formatting

Post by wclass »

That was an issue many versions ago. There is an option on the Target Advanced tab called "Patch stylesheet and image links for HTML Help printing" that is related to the issue. Why don't you try building then renaming with that turned on/off (I usually have it clear, but I don't rename after build) and see if it affects your output.
Margaret Hassall - Melbourne
gbusch
Propeller Head
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Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2014 8:52 am
Location: Germany

Re: Microsoft HTML Help -builds with no images or formatting

Post by gbusch »

Never ever even thought about to touch this setting.
But this answers my question :D

Thanks for the tip.
Flare 9.1.2 | Capture 6.0.2 | Windows 8.1
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