"Exclude content not linked directly" not excluding

[fvila]

I'm using Flare 11.
This issue has been discussed in other streams, but I'd like to make a statement in favor of the Target properties > Advanced > "Exclude content not linked directly" option really doing what it says it does.
We have a mammoth project with conditions and relationship tables all over, that has been passed down from writer to writer. Topics manage to squeeze into html outputs despite all attempts to cut the links to the target concerned. In the output logs, I could not find any trace of exactly why they were there and how to avoid their presence. The only way out seems to be to set a condition on the topic and target, resulting in added complexity.
(Since posting, my colleague pointed out making such a change might mess up existing projects. Maybe add in a second box like "REALLY exclude content not linked directly")

[ChoccieMuffin]

I don't know if this will help but I'll put it out there anyway, just in case.

I'm assuming you have identified some topics that should be excluded but haven't been.

With one of those files (could be a topic, image, TOC etc), in the Content Explorer (or Project Organizer) right-click the file and click View Links. A new pane appears (usually on the right) that displays what links to it and what it links to. You might find that somewhere you have a cross-ref, or relationship table, or TOC, or something else, that does actually link to the file. If you find a link, you can break it. You never know, you might even find it's mentioned in an image map (I've recently gone through and removed all image maps in our projects because they were such a massive pain to maintain and had got out of date.)

Another suggestion to try to find out what's going on is to make a COPY of the project, in the copy DELETE the misbehaving files and rebuild, then see what errors or warnings appear relating to the removed topic.

Hope that helps.

[Nita Beck]

I'm using Flare 11.
This issue has been discussed in other streams, but I'd like to make a statement in favor of the Target properties > Advanced > "Exclude content not linked directly" option really doing what it says it does.

Just to make sure everyone follows the discussion, the option reads "Exclude content not linked directly or indirectly from the target". In other words, for any topic associated with a target, however obscurely and even if it's not on the target's TOC, will be included.

Choccie's advice is good, to use the Link Viewer to examine the associations.

[moshe]

"Exclude content not linked directly or indirectly from the target" not totally implemented:

I have found that if a CSS stylesheet included in a Flare project imports a font (using @font-face), that font is NOT included in the output when "Exclude content not linked directly or indirectly from the target" is selected. That is certainly at least an indirect link, yet it isn't picked up by Flare (using the latest version 12.0.5939). The actual font files have to be manually added to the output.

Moshe

[moshe]

"Exclude content not linked directly or indirectly from the target" not totally implemented:
I have found that if a CSS stylesheet included in a Flare project imports a font (using @font-face), that font is NOT included in the output when "Exclude content not linked directly or indirectly from the target" is selected. That is certainly at least an indirect link, yet it isn't picked up by Flare (using the latest version 12.0.5939). The actual font files have to be manually added to the output.
Moshe

I just realized that the font files do not have to be manually added to the output. Our indomitable leader Dave Lee mentioned a method for linking the font files so that they will be pulled into the output even when the Target has the setting "Exclude content not linked directly or indirectly from the target" selected. Dave suggests adding links to the font files in the header of a topic. I found that adding the links as metadata in the header of the master page of the project does the trick:

Code: Select all

    <head>
		<link href="../../Resources/Stylesheets/fonts/custom-webfont.eot" />
		<link href="../../Resources/Stylesheets/fonts/custom-webfont.woff2" />
		<link href="../../Resources/Stylesheets/fonts/custom-webfont.woff" />
		<link href="../../Resources/Stylesheets/fonts/custom-webfont.ttf" />
		<link href="../../Resources/Stylesheets/fonts/custom-webfont.svg" />
    </head>

My source font files are located in the Flare project in \Content\Resources\Stylesheets\fonts\ .
Dave's post is in the thread "Including Fonts in Online Help Builds" viewtopic.php?f=13&t=21965.
Note that if you attempt to enter the links as metadata through the Flare interface Target editor > Advanced > Add meta tags to content the links ARE NOT added to the output (Flare bug?). I added the links manually to the Master Page XML file using a text editor.

[roboHAL]

fvila, yes the topic has been discussed in other threads. I know because invariably I've been part of the discussion! Over the years (many Flare versions I believe from 8 to 12 inclusive) I've found that the feature does work, however, at one point I did have considerable back-and-forth with MadCap over some disagreement, but I forget now exactly what I found that drew my ire.

However, I haven't responded to this thread merely to rehash that aspect, but instead to offer what could potentially be the cause of your issue

Check if you are using any proxies, and if you are, determine if those proxies in some way reference the file(s) that are appearing in your output and are the files you believe should not be.

Hope this helps.

[roboHAL]

Now I recall what my peeve is with this feature

I use a "list of" proxy. I have the exclude feature deselected. If I select the feature, Flare excludes my topics that are referenced by the list of proxy. In my view it should not do that, based on the literal label of the feature "exclude content not linked directly or indirectly from the target". At a minimum, the label of the feature should be changed.