Images in Word output: a cycle of bugs

[shinyotter]

So, I've used Flare extensively in the past at a different company. I introduced it there, found it good, and had few, if any, problems. When I joined my current employer, and found they were authoring Help in native XML on an in-house platform developed over 10 years ago, I agitated for Flare to be purchased. I told them how awesome it was; how efficient; how good at importing (known) legacy formats, such as Word docs; how they could have output in a number of formats. They bought it.

Now, I'm trying to get our Word training manuals imported into Flare. I need to be able to output them in Word format, though PDF will be the main print medium. There are a lot (a **lot**) of screenshots in these files, and the output quality needs to be good. Unfortunately, I seem to have stumbled on a cycle of bugs that has quite stuck.

- The image quality in the Word output was dreadful. I figured out this was due to the 'resize images' option, and disabled it.
- Then, the images in the output lost all resizing information. I found that if I turned off the much-loved 'embed images in Word file' option, this problem went away. After all, I know how to break image links - I've had to do it before, right?!
- Now I find that breaking image links *won't work* for me in Word 2010. And I know i@m not the only person to have this problem.

So - any ideas how I get well-formatted images embedded in a Word doc? (There is a macro I could use to break the links - but really, I shouldn't have to!)

[Techno]

Might this help?

http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/2011/09/1 ... word-2010/

George.

[shinyotter]

Hi George, and thanks for your reply!

Your post itself didn't help - the break links dialog was simply not working for me, at all - but one of the comments did. If I convert the document out of compatibility mode, I can suddenly embed all the docs.

I can't say I'm pleased with this state of affairs, though (not that it's any of your fault or problem): Flare does not seem to be producing Word output without a lot of wrangling, which is disappointing. The bugs that I wrote about here are one issue.

I've also got a problem where, no matter what I do, the first few pages in the output (which use a different pageLayout) are a different size to the rest. Letter instead of A4, I think.

And also, Word is also refusing to acknowledge various page break settings, which I want to use to force the correct blank pages between sections. None of these are issues in PDF output.

After this experience, I think I would be hesitant to recommend Flare to a future employer who needed me to be able to generate Word output with tight adherence to any kind of formatting requirements at all: it just doesn't seem to be reacting as I'd expect.

[SteveS]

I think your page issues are related to the masterpages or page layouts being used.

If the page is changing from Letter to A4, find the page in the TOC used to create the output and open properties. Check it against the frist topic in the TOC and apply the correct settings to the incorrect page (you didn't say if you wanted A4 or letter...).

If you are getting extra pages that aren't following your page breaks, check the masterpage/ page layouts to make sure you aren't using a syatem with right and left pages, or forcing a new section to start on a right or left page.

I'm guessing you inherited this project. The worst thing is trying to find where someone else has used advanced settings, particularly if they havene't documented what has happened, where its been set up, and why its been done!

Cheers,

[GeorgeBell]

I' d agree with Steve here. I absolutely MUST obtain Word output as well as .chm files. It may be no consolation to you right now, but I've been through all of the issues you mention myself, and all have been problems on my part. The page size issue was a nasty one initially because the Americans want Letter and Europe wants A4.

However, by far the worst issue for me, and Flare have this recorded as a bug, reported around 3 years ago, is the failure to carry over Alt Tags with Images. I cannot see how they can claim Section 508 compliance, when Fededal employees who are a blind screen reader users, cannot obtain the same description of an image when viewing a Flare generated Word file, as he or she can when they view the .chm. And not surpringly, the Library of Congress agree we me.

[kwag_myers]

Might this help?

http://www.onemanwrites.co.uk/2011/09/1 ... word-2010/

George.

I realize this is an old thread, but I tried this procedure and I wanted to add that Steps 5 and 6 are two separate operations. I was only able to make this work when I clicked OK after Step 5, Save picture in document. This closes the dialog box, so you need to open it again to select the link(s) and perform Step 6, Click the Break Links button.

[buffbc]

I just came across this thread and was thrilled that my problem had an answer that I could actually find with a bit of searching.

Unfortunately breaking the linked images then made them disappear completely in my Word doc, rather than embed them. The Edit Links to Files option is completely gone from the File area.

We are using these Word files for review, as the finals are in PDF which displays all our images no problem. I really don't want to go in and manually insert all of these images again, as that would be hours of work for something that a customer is never even going to see.

Any ideas on how to change this? Could it be a Flare setting?

Thanks,
Joel

[Paul Griffiths]

FWIW, we found that Word did a better job of resizing images than Flare does, so currently we don't embed or resize when we generate to Word. Instead we run a post-generation Word macro that embeds the images. It's not quite that simple, because of a Word bug that forgets image sizes when embedding, and in Word 2010 you have to convert from compatibility mode first, but it works (reasonably well) and is relatively painless.

[buffbc]

Thanks for the info - I fixed the images not displaying, as somehow the target file didn't have "embed images in output" checked. Now I just have to work on image quality, so will take the advice above. I appreciate the help!