Internal Error: Surrogate Pair is Invalid

[holmesdm]

Need help with the following internal error:

"Internal error: The surrogate pair (0xDBC0, OxDBC0) is invlaid. A high surrogate character (0xD800 - 0xDBFF) must always be paired with a low surrogate character (0xDC00 - 0xDFFF)"

Has anyone seen this internal error in Flare 7.0.1? If so, what is it and how do you fix it?

Unable to build the WebHelp until I resolve this error.

[LTinker68]

That's a new one.

Are you trying to do the build when that happens? If so, are you able to see which file was last listed in the progress screen before that error appeared?

[holmesdm]

Are you trying to do the build when that happens? If so, are you able to see which file was last listed in the progress screen before that error appeared?

Yes, I am attempting to do a build when the error occurs. I am unable to see which file was last listed in the progress screen and the error message is the last entry in the log.

[LTinker68]

I'll have to bump this to someone else in the forums to answer then, as I've never seen the error. Or you might want to try contacting MadCap Support.

[holmesdm]

Solution from Technical Support
NOTE: Be sure to close Flare before proceeding.

Open the Registry and Select

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER
  Software
  MadCap Software
  Flare
  Right-click the right pane I select New I select String Value
  Rename the "New Value #1" to SaveXmlWithBom (case sensitive)
  Right-click the entry you renamed
  Enter True in the Value data: field
  Click OK
  Close the Registry
  Open Flare and Build your WebHelp

Error should be resolved.

[LTinker68]

Did they give any indication of what caused the problem?

[holmesdm]

No, and when I asked the response was "this problem should not reoccur" and if you have any other issues you can always remove the registry entry.

[LTinker68]

Well, for anyone reading this, if you're unsure what the registry is, how to access it, etc., then don't attempt to follow the instructions. Contact your local IT department, if you have one (and hopefully you do). Screwing up the registry can have some nasty repercussions.

[rob hollinger]

Byte Order Mark (BOM) is required for certain characters to be read.
This registry edit turns it on for the compiler.

[pe_thiemann]

Hi,
this might work for Windows system, but what about Linux?? Is there a similar trick?

[mechartrand]

Thank you so soooooooo much!!!!
This fixed my issue!

[goodmkat]

I am getting the same Internal error in Flare V9.1.2 while attempting to build a Web Help target.

Applying master page Breadcrumbs.flmsp...
Compiler (Internal Error): The surrogate pair (0xDBC0, 0xDBC0) is invalid, A high surrogate character (0xD800 - 0xDBFF) must always be paired with a low surrogate character (0xDC00 - 0xDFFF).
Aborted.

Do I need to update my registry? This seems like a difficult way to fix the problem. I cannot build my Web Help target.

[goodmkat]

I found the culpret. I looked at the last topic that was listed in the build before the error.

In the Text Editor, I found two squares in this line, in the place I put the Xs.
<p class="BodyBullet1" MadCap:autonum="l ">XX<span class="Bold"> Host activities</span>—Online sends and receives or an add to Store/Forward</p>

I deleted the squares. Now the Web Help builds!
It must have been some leftover stuff from a cut and paste.

I didn't have to mess with the Registry.

[yossikarp]

I experienced this issue in Flare 10 when generating HTML5 output. The registry tweak solved the problem - thanks!