Content files do not open in XML editor

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royj
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Posts: 71
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 1:19 pm
Location: Fargo, ND
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Content files do not open in XML editor

Post by royj »

I only use Flare sporadically, to update the help and users guide for a client. When I came back to their project after several weeks away from it, my content files open in the internal text editor, not the XML editor. This happens whether I double-click the files in the content explorer, or right-click and select Open. If I select Open with from the right-click menu, the options are Internal text editor, Internal browser, Internet Explorer, or Notepad. If I try to open the files from one of my TOCs using Open Link, I get the internal text editor yet again.

And yes, I have tried the Roy Trenneman/IT Crowd "turning it off and turning it back on again" solution: I have tried restarting Flare, restarting my computer, repairing my Flare install, and uninstalling and reinstalling.

I'm using Flare 2021 r2 on Windows 10.

I have opened a ticket with Flare support, but in the meantime, I thought I'd toss the question to the forums. Any ideas?

Thanks!
Roy Jacobsen
Writing, Clear and Simple
Fargo, ND
royj@writingclearandsimple.com
http://rmjacobsen.squarespace.com
superbilliken
Jr. Propeller Head
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2020 10:01 am

Re: Content files do not open in XML editor

Post by superbilliken »

I seem to be having a similar problem. When I open a topic from Content Explorer, it opens in the XML Editor tab, but the content is in HTML format, not WYSIWYG. The topics seem to display properly in a browser, but I dont get to see the content in XML Editor the way I used to. I also only go into Flare occasionally. I am on version 2019 r2 and I'm resistant to upgrade.
Nita Beck
Senior Propellus Maximus
Posts: 3667
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:57 am
Location: Pittsford, NY

Re: Content files do not open in XML editor

Post by Nita Beck »

Sorry for the delay. I've been off all week and now am cruising the Flare community spaces while I await the New Year to begin!

You might need to try something more drastic, but it's not hard. This is official information from MadCap Tech Support that I tucked away years ago. My guess is that the bit about the CatapultMdiEditor folder will fix your issue.
First do this usual stuff 
-Close Flare
-Using Windows Explorer, browse to your project folder.
-Delete the Analyzer and Output folders (make a backup of your output folder if you do not want to lose any previously built targets).
-Browse into your Project folder and delete the Users folder.
-Reopen the project in Flare.

Then, if that fails, try this stuff
-Close out of Flare.
-Browse to the following path with Windows Explorer: C:\Users\[User ID]\AppData\Roaming\MadCap Software\Flare -Delete the CatapultMdiEditor folder.
 
Then reopen Flare and see if you still experience the issue.

Finally, if that fails, try this drastic stuff
When you repaired .NET, are you using 4.0 or 4.5.1? [EDIT from NITA: Or whatever is the latest version of .NET.) We could also try uninstalling Flare V10 and reinstalling, but only if you didn't remove all the files when you uninstalled the last time (including AppData folders and the Registry:
 
- Click on Start and select Control Panel.
- In the Control Panel, double-click the Programs & Features icon
- Find the MadCap Flare program in the Currently installed programs and updates list and select.
- Click the Uninstall button.
 
After the uninstalling of Flare, there will be some files and registry entries that must be removed.
- Click on Start then place your cursor in the Search field
- type in "regedit" and click the OK button.
- In the Registry Editor, go to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/MadCap Software folder.
- Find the Flare folder, select and press the Delete key.
 
Finally, do the following:
- Navigate to C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\MadCap Software
- Delete the Flare directory in this location.

Now reinstall Flare
Nita
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RETIRED, but still fond of all the Flare friends I've made. See you around now and then!
JeanLR1970
Jr. Propeller Head
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue May 24, 2022 2:35 am

Re: Content files do not open in XML editor

Post by JeanLR1970 »

This worked for me too, thank you for sharing. This was in Flare 2023 and I had to follow all the steps to the drastic part to get the WYSIWYG view back.
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