Search not working in HTML5 output/Flare 11

[devans]

I have two projects. In both of them, I am using the HTML5 Tripane skin. In one project, I can search for phrases and find virtually any phrase I search for. In the other, nearly every phrase I search for returns the result "Your search for xxx returned 0 results", even when I know it is a common phrase that is used multiple times throughout the manuals. I have checked all the options set in the HTML5 Tripane skin for both targets, and all the options in the targets for both projects. They are identical. Is there something I am missing? The project where the search is not working is very large and sometimes (but not always) shows that the build has terminated even though the log file shows that the build completed. However, this problem also occurs when the build completes correctly. Inserting quote marks around the phrase makes no difference.

Not being able to search for common phrases makes this output unusable and I have to stick with Webhelp until I can resolve this issue.

[Feebeegeebee]

Hi,
I am experiencing similar problems whilst testing my existing project in Flare 11.
It is also a really large project and several terms that are used prolifically (e.g. 900+ times) are not being returned in the search results.

I'm currently in contact with Madcap Support regarding this issue, but it helps to know that someone else appears to be experiencing the same issue.
Regards,
Feebeegeebee

[devans]

Thanks Feebeegeebee. I'll look forward to hearing whether Madcap Support comes up with a solution.

[StraygoatWriting]

Same issue here. Not returning any search results at all.

[Paul Griffiths]

MadCap's regression testing seems patchy, at best. Flare 10 broke stuff in Flare 9 which is still, AFAIK, not fixed in Flare 11.

[Feebeegeebee]

Just a quick update on this.
Madcap support have reproduced the issue using my data and have passed it to development to investigate.
The only workaround at the moment is to disable Partial Word Searching (in the Primary Target > Performance tab), which is a bit of a backward step, but at least it does mean you get some search results.
Can't really move to Flare 11 while this issue persists.
Regards,
Feebeegeebee

[devans]

Thanks for the update, Feebeegeebee. Let's hope they fix this problem soon.

[ToddPh]

I had a different problem with search breaking, but out of curiosity do you have a call to load JQuery in any of your pages?

I ask because I had one that was the root cause of my broken search issue. If you do, try commenting it out and see if the problem goes away. Of course, my suggestion may have nothing at all to do with what you are facing, but still.

[wclass]

Just adding to the data points here.
We have been experimenting with Top Navigation in HTML 5 and had a search problem.
We narrowed it down to a jQuery reference we had in a master page - took out the reference and it all works now.
Still need to do some testing here, but it is a step further.

[devans]

Sorry for my ignorance but I have no idea what a JQuery is. Is it something you insert manually or something that is created automatically when you build HTML5 output? I have not inserted anything manually.

[wclass]

It's something we inserted manually. jQuery is a javascript library. Flare generates javascript when it builds webhelp/HTML5, and it includes links to relevant javascript libraries, including jquery.
We had a master page that included some functionality that needed some of the jquery functions - we possibly had a conflict of the libraries. That is what we are now testing (but might takes us a day or two).

For reference, the javascript we were testing was to show or hide different elements on a page. For example, we develop screens used globally, but some fields only show up for particular countries - we want to select a country and only show the relvant fields and hide the rest - we are doing this with condition tags we applied at source level.

[devans]

Thanks for the answer, Margaret. Unfortunately it doesn't relate to my issue.

Like Feebeegeebee, I also logged an issue with Madcap Support and got the answer that there is a bug to do with the Partial Word Search option when the Search Chunk Threshold reaches a certain number (i.e. in large projects). They are investigating and will hopefully fix the bug soon. However, until they do, I cannot move my project to HTML5 output.

[devans]

I have found a workaround to this issue for the time being. As well as turning off Enable Partial Word Searching, I increased the search chunk size from the default 30,000 bytes to the maximum 100,000 bytes. This means I have fewer search chunks and my searches are now working. Of course, the bug is still there and if my project grew a whole lot more, I would run into the same issue again. However, this might help some others who are encountering this problem.

[Feebeegeebee]

No jQuery in my project either, just for reference.
However, I will try increasing the search chunk size to see if that resolves my issues too.

[Feebeegeebee]

Well, what do you know...? I tried building with an increased Maximum Chunk Size of 100000 and ALSO decided to leave Partial Word Searching enabled (and set to 3) to see what the result would be, and...it worked. The items that were previously not found are now picked up. There must still be a bug in there, but switching to Flare 11 is no longer such a backward step.

Have you tried enabling Partial Word Searching on your project and rebuilding?
Thanks for the initial suggestion of increasing the chunk size, I hadn't thought of that.
Regards,
Feebeegeebee

[devans]

Hi Feebeegeebee, I increased the chunk size and then tested with Partial Word Searching on and then off. I still had the same problem when Partial Word Searching was turned on but I'm glad this worked for you.

[paul_collins]

I have just had a problem where if I build "Top Navigation" help and view it locally on my PC, then the search works fine. If I put all of my output files onto a web server and perform the same search there, then the search doesn't seem to trigger at all:
a) I stay on the same page as from where I submitted the search i.e.I am not taken to the search results page
b) The url of that page changes to add an extra ?# at the end

All other navigational aspects of the target worked fine - it's just the search that was broken.

After a bit of testing, the issue appeared to be that my target had 'Do not use "Content" folder in output' selected. Clearing that option and then rebuilding and republishing made the search problem go away. I'd rather have a longer url than a broken search

I have raised a bug report for this.

[Feebeegeebee]

There is now an upgrade to Flare 11 (v11.0.1) which may resolve this.
Both of the following issues have apparently been addressed:
101095 No search results when searching whole word with partial word search enabled
102223 In a large project_ when 'Chunk Large Search Database Files' is set to 30000 bytes_ not all search results are showing up
Fingers crossed.
Regards,
Feebeegeebee.

[jjw]

I notice that the upgrade doesn't fix the problem with script errors preventing search results from being displayed. As far as I can see, the Top Nav and the Tri Pane skins both load the same version of JQuery (and RequireJS). Did you come up with any solution to this wclass?

J

[Gareth Power]

I have a similar problem. I have a very large HMTL5 help project, and I've just noticed that searches are now spinning endlessly without producing results. I'm not sure if this is associated with my recent upgrade to Flare 11, but it seems likely.

I have a small help project with identical settings, and the search works fine in that one.

Adjusting "Chunk Large Search Database Files" and "Enable Partial Word Searching" makes no difference.

Has anyone seen this happen?

[kathryngz]

I was having the same problem with search not working. Increasing the chunk size didn't help. I even installed the latest Flare 11 update today, and that didn't help either. But when I disabled jQuery in my master page, search started working again.

Trouble is, I was using jQuery to create the title in my header because I didn't want the downsides of using an image (see viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18878&p=111683). So disabling jQuery is not a good solution.

I'm going to see if I can append the title using CSS or maybe plain JavaScript. I'll report back on the results in case it's helpful to anyone else.

[NorthEast]

But when I disabled jQuery in my master page, search started working again.

Trouble is, I was using jQuery to create the title in my header because I didn't want the downsides of using an image (see viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18878&p=111683). So disabling jQuery is not a good solution.

When you say you've "disabled jQuery in my master page", do you mean you had a link to the jQuery js file in your master page?
If so, then that's the problem - it shouldn't be in your master page (or anywhere).
The HTML5 output already includes jQuery (it's added at build time), so if you add it yourself then you'll have two versions of jQuery, which is why it's not working.

[SLR]

I've found that search breaks when I use an initial underscore in my master TOC.