Empty glossary in PDF

[chuck_agari]

I've made 2 attempts to create a glossary, primarily for print output (but I imagine they'll work as pop-ups when we start publishing online as well). In two attempts, configured differently, I get a Glossary topic at the end of my PDF--and zero glossary terms.

I'm doing all of my glossary terms as separate topics in a Glossary Terms folder. When I create the actual glossary, I enter the term and link to the appropriate file.

First, I decided I wanted to create a manual glossary, so I followed the instructions in http://help.madcapsoftware.com/flare201 ... Print2.htm. I created the Glossary topic, added a proxy, and added the Glossary topic to the TOC. I generated the target. I got a Glossary page--and no terms. (I believe I also changed the necessary settings in the PDF target as well.)

So today, I tried the auto-generate medod, as documented here: http://help.madcapsoftware.com/flare201 ... -Print.htm. This was for a different product, with more glossary terms. I created a whole bunch of new glossary topic files, created a new glossary, added all the terms, linked all the files. In the PDF target, on the Advanced tab, I selected the "Generate glossary proxy" setting, and in the Glossary tab, I selected the glossary file. I generated the target. Like with the manual, I got a Glossary page (although some odd formatting around the heading). And like with the manual setup, I got zero glossary terms.

What am I missing?

[Nita Beck]

The first thing I'd suspect is that they're being excluded due to conditioning. Is the glossary file itself conditioned and being excluded from the target? Are the glossary term files (a technique I've used myself) in a folder that has been conditioned and is being excluded by the target?

Another idea (a longshot)... Is the containing folder really called "Glossary Terms"? What if you get rid of the space in the folder name? I dunno why that would affect anything, but it's something I'd try as a troubleshooting step.

[chuck_agari]

No, no, and the folder name is "GlossaryTopics" (no space; my bad on the incorrect folder naming in the OP).

[Nita Beck]

In your target on the Glossary tab, is the check box for your glossary file selected? I assume yes, but am trying to cover all the bases.

[chuck_agari]

In your target on the Glossary tab, is the check box for your glossary file selected? I assume yes, but am trying to cover all the bases.

Yup. I went excruciatingly through all the settings to make sure the ones that the documentation said needed to be set to make a glossary work were set. I get a page with a "Glossary" title--and no terms.

[CatVancouver]

In your target on the Glossary tab, is the check box for your glossary file selected? I assume yes, but am trying to cover all the bases.

Yup. I went excruciatingly through all the settings to make sure the ones that the documentation said needed to be set to make a glossary work were set. I get a page with a "Glossary" title--and no terms.

I just found this happened with one of two almost identical pdfs. I don't know why. I can usually troubleshoot Flare well. I think it might have to do with connectivity problems I'm having via our VPN. But one pdf works well. The other one, I had to set up to use the glossary proxy and the toc proxy automatically, then generate them and recombine (because the automatic one puts the Index and Glossary behind the final, back page which we have on all our docs. I ended up manipulating the pdf (extracting and recombining) instead of being able to generate the same output as the other one I have. (Even the text is mostly similar, so I don't know why this occurred. I also use many pdf outputs and have never run into this before.

[robdocsmith]

I suspect Chuck's original issue, is that for print targets, it doesn't make sense to provide a link to a topic instead of a definition. Madcap says:

"In the Definition section, select either Text (if you want to provide a simple text definition for the term) or Topic (if you have created a topic for the definition and want the term to link to it). For print-based output, it probably makes the most sense to use the "Text" option."

But I'd make that stronger. For a print target and a glossary proxy, the glossary process looks for terms and definitions and tries to build those into the proxy wherever it is located (or appended to the document in a new topic if it's an automatic inclusion). Where the definition is empty (that is, a link has been used instead), it decides that the term is invalid and doesn't include it. For an online output the glossary definition or linked topic is fetched and presented as a popup so a linked topic makes more sense.

In fact, elsewhere in the help it is catagorically stated (http://help.madcapsoftware.com/flare201 ... -Links.htm):
"Print-based output does not support glossary term links where a separate topic is used as the definition."

Try adding plain text definitions instead and see if the glossary is built correctly in your print target.

--

Not sure what the issue is with your rogue PDF output, Cat. I'd do a compare with the two documents and see where the differences are in glossary entries, proxy, target etc.

Cheers,
Rob

[CatVancouver]

Thanks, Rob, I've tried the comparisons. I checked my notes (because this has happened before once in a while to me) And at that time, MadCap told me to make certain that in my TOC, the glossary was a chapter-break type. Apparently the system is confused by having a page layout break under a new chapter.
So that worked to fix my problem once I recalled it!
This is not new - but it is a wrinkle and hard to remember.
Missing topics - especially end topics like glossaries, indexes and back pages -

To check for it, go into your TOC in grid view, make sure that if you're using chapter-breaks for new layouts that you are not also using page-breaks under these for a different new layout.
The reason why it grabs glossary pages or back pages is that that is the point at which the page layout changes. BUT if I mark it as a Chapter break with a new page layout, it works fine!