Link to Framemaker in RH8

I just upgraded to Robohelp8 with the intention of linking to some of our Documentation Team's Framemaker7 files. I did not purchase the TC suite, since I would not be able to open the Documentation Team's FrameMaker7 files (TC2 uses FrameMaker8). I discussed this online with Adobe Customer Service before purchasing RH8 upgrade.
Do I now understand right that I can NOT use the "link" capabilities in RH8 with the FrameMaker7 files, since I am using RH8 and FM7 as individual products? Is "linking" only available with the TC suite?

Hi folks. Jeff is absolutely right. The linking feature does require the TCS suite. You can still import FM 7 files into RoboHelp.
BTW, RoboHelp 8 now allows you to "link" MS Word docs in addition to FM files (not that a Frame person would be interested in that :-)
Thanks
John Daigle
Adobe Certified RoboHelp and Captivate Instructor
www.showmethedemo.com

Similar Messages

How to add links in FrameMaker that show up unchanged in PDF

When I add a Hypertext marker (newlink <linkname>) to a Frame 8 doc, then make a PDF, the link shows up in the PDF in View>Navigation Panels>Destinations, but the link is re-named from "test1" to "M8.newlink.test1". How can I add hypertext links in FrameMaker that show up unchanged in a PDF? Thanks. best, Paul

I don't think you can force the links through unchanged. FM adds the extra info so it can tell the difference between targets that have identical names but came from different files in the book. I also think your example is missing one of the arguments. A typical newlink marker for me comes out as M7.8.newlink.test1
The first argument can be Mn or Fn, where:
Mn indicates a Marker in the nth file in the book (7 in this case).
Fn indicates the First page of the nth file in the book.
The second argument, which is numeric, indicates the marker type: 8 for hypertext marker, 9 for cross-reference marker.
The last argument (which includes the "newlink" text) is the mangled marker text, in which any periods, underlines, and colons are deleted, and all spaces are then replaced by periods.
newlink t.e_s:t1 becomes
M7.8.newlink.test1
FM adjust both links and targets in the same way, so they both match up in the final PDF document. It's just the way it is. If you're using the targets for other things then you'll just have to adjust those other things so they look for the finished targets in their final syntax.

Lost link to FrameMaker Book

I have my RoboHelp project with a linked FrameMaker book checked into a Mercurial source control repository. The original machine I was working with (XP) was starting to blue screen regularly, so I was given a new Windows 7 64 bit machine.
Having cloned my repository, I opened up the RoboHelp project to find the FrameMaker book link had disappeared, but with the last Update folders for each chapter present. I linked the FrameMaker book again, and this created a new lot of output folders when generating the output (WebHelp). The help system is not picking up the new files, only the existing ones, and I can't seem to delete the old folders.
Anyone else had a similar issue?
Mark

Thank you, Pat.
No, unfortunately, I can't. My old credentials do not work anymore. Some time ago Adobe forums started requiring an email as an only form of a login into the forums. Back then I succesfully 'linked' my old forums ID to the Adobe ID (what is now an only option to get to the forums). But after a breach into Adobe's database and the password reset I've lost a link from my Adobe ID to that old forum ID of mine (witkacy). The only way was to establish a second forum ID (witkacy2). My question is - is there any way to regain the link to my old forum ID to my current Adobe ID.
Thanks again
Regards
m.

Is there a way to link two FrameMaker 12 books with shared content into the same RoboHelp 11 file?

This one might require some back story.
I'm working at a company with roughly 60 business units that will each be getting their own emergency response procedures (.FM files compiled into a single FrameMaker .book file for their department). I then want to link all of these books to a single RoboHelp so that when it comes time to publish all of these plans into WebHelp menus I can do that with a single batch generate/publish.
My problem is that some of the FM files within the books are shared (maybe two or more departments are at the same location or all of them share the same corporate level plans) so that when I try to link two books with a shared FM file it throws an error.
Is there away to allow multiple copies of a FM file to exist in a single RoboHelp? Or is there a better solution to the task at hand?
Any suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated as I am still a moderate beginner with Frame and RoboHelp.
---Corey---
P.S. Just to complicate things this will all be done via SharePoint so books and FM files live there, and then the RoboHelp output will be published there.

I think you’re looking at creating a merged RH project – one parent project that subsumes all the linked FM to RH child projects – read up on merged help on Peter’s site (grainge.org)

DHTML hotspots don't work when linked from Framemaker

I'm using Adobes Technical Communication Suite 4 on a 30-day trial to determine how well it will work for single-source publishing. I'm familiar with Robohelp (having used it for over a year) but have had almost no experience with Framemaker (and none with version 11, which is part of the suite).
Until now, we've been writing in Word and importing files into Robohelp. We use the Dynamic HTML features of Robohelp to create drop-down and expanding text (usually to provide the definition of a term). Word doesn't provide a way to create them, so it has to be done in Robohelp after import. However, with Framemaker, I should be able to create these features in FM have them appear in a linked RH file. There is a Framemaker menu to support their creation.
But when I attempt to do this, it doesn't work. The " text caption" (that the user clicks on to see the expanded or drop-down text) imports correctly into RH, but the expansion does not work. When clicking on the caption text in the HTML preview, the only thing that happens is that a single space appears where the drop-down text should be. The drop-down text itself remains invisible. (But I know it's there because I can find it in the HTML source code view.)
I am probably doing something wrong when I set this up in FM. Here is my procedure.
First, I type the text that will be clickable by the user to elicit the drop-down (this is what I presume Adode means by "text caption"). Then, in a new paragraph, I type the text that is intended to be displayed in the drop-down.
The instructions (for drop-down text) in the help say:
"Select the text or paragraph on which you want to place the drop-down text caption. "
So I select the "text caption" text.
"Select Adobe RoboHelp > Dynamic HTML Effects > Drop Down Caption"
I select that menu choice.
"Select the text that should appear as drop-down text in your online help page."
I select the next paragraph, which contains the drop-down text.
"Select Adobe RoboHelp > Dynamic HTML Effects > Drop Down Body"
I select that menu choice.
I save the file and then switch to Robohelp and update the linked file.
The "text caption" then appears in the RH file, but the drop-down text does not appear (except in the HTML source code).
What am I doing wrong?

Problem solved, through experimentation.
For the benefit of those who may experience this problem in the future: the secret is that there must be exactly one return (i.e. one press of the Enter key) between the "text caption" and the "drop-down text".
If the text caption and drop-down text are on the same line, it doesn't work (the coding for the text caption is disrupted) and if there is anything besides a return between them, it doesn't work (the drop-down text is not displayed).

Why Doesn't Robohelp 8 Allow Linking of FrameMaker 9 Docs?

Softwares:
RoboHelp 8
FrameMaker 9
Context Sensitive Help for HTML
My counterpart in Japan is making HTML Help. I have supplied him with our procedures for completing this task, which includes linking (not importing) FrameMaker docs. He tells me that this is not an option for him. The only files he's able to link are Word documents, and that the FrameMaker option is either greyed out or not there (not sure which one). Therefore, he has no choice but to import the FrameMaker files.
We're having these discussions because he can't get pagination to work. So is there any chance that not being able to link FrameMaker documents has anything to do with his pagination problems?
Thanks!

Yes, that's what I mean - you're ok; they're not, because they're missing the integration provided by the TCS.
I remember somebody asking RJ Jacques during his FM to RH webinar if you could do linking with the individual products - "no go," he replied.
Importing works fine (although some weird stuff can pop up if your FM docs consist of a book of books).
Jeff

Linking Word Docs in RH8 - Need Workflow Critique, Best Practices Tips, etc.

Me: TCS 2
Writer 2: Word 97, Acrobat Pro 8
Software industry
Help File Specs: Using RH8 to output to AIR Help (prior to current project = CHM), approx. 500 topic legacy help system (apparently created several years ago from the Word U.G; no CSH, index, or glossary); project uses one master page and one CSS
Project Challenges: Big new features being added at the 9th hour, deadline moved UP by two months, have just been given a writer to help document new features but she only has Word and Acrobat (and we both work from our home offices)
After reading everything in the RH Help on Linking Word docs, Peter's info (RH8 Tour on Grainge.org), the related posts I found here, and watching RJ's demo on Linking vs. Importing, I've come up with a tentative workflow. Going to do some tests, but wanted to get this posted in the meantime.
Workflow
1. Generate separate Word file for each of the existing RH topics Writer 2 will need to update.
2. Apply template to Word files that matches my CSS styles (?)
3. Create Word template matching my CSS styles for Writer 2 to use for new topics.
4. Writer 2 updates/creates content. Each Word file =One RH Topic.
5. I delete the existing topics she now "owns" from the project.
6. When she's done with her first pass, I link all of these into the project.
7. When she supplies revised files, I drop them into the folder, then do "Update" (or "Force Update"?)
8. She also supplies a commented PDF version of each file to me to say "XYZ.jpg goes here" or "Make sure to include this topic in the TOC". (From what I've read, images from Word to RH = headache, and I don't enjoy files names such as "Image0001"...already a big pain since this project originated in Word and my client is in love with screen captures...trying to "wean" them off.)
Questions/Comments
- I know you can bring TOC entries over from Word, but think I'll spend more time messing with trying to integrate into the "master" TOC than just manually doing it.
- Can I just have Writer 2 use the Word Comments feature to pass info on to me, or would those show up in my output or cause some other issue?
- Can Writer 2 use Word cross-references that would become hyperlinks to the correct topics in RH given above (or would all of her "topics" have to be in one Word file to do this)? Any way she can "code" text to end up creating a link to one of my topics, or am I going to have to do this?
- Would I be better off generating one big Word file for her to edit, then telling RH to break it at a certain heading style instead of the 1-to-1 ratio I had in mind?

Hi there
In my own opinion, Panning is a nice attempt, but just doesn't cut the mustard. It's nowhere near as good as the panning one sees with Camtasia Studio.
I might suggest combining Camtasia with Captivate for the ultimate development set. There are aspects Captivate shines in when compared with Camtasia, and there are aspects Camtasia shines in when compared with Captivate. So I say if you can afford it, go for it!
Now I know that both packages are sort of pricey and not everyone can afford both. In that case you might want to try Jing, which is free to use. I've not looked very deeply at it, but it may offer some of what Camtasia does. You could then use that for your panning and enhance Captivate that way.
Cheers... Rick
Helpful and Handy Links
Captivate Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form
Adobe Certified Captivate Training
SorcerStone Blog
Captivate eBooks

Text-only Pop-ups with linked Word docs in RH8 and links in general

Procedures have been written in Word with several words to have pop-up definitions. The Word-styles have been set up in my RH8 project. I plan on linking the Word docs instead of importing them.
What are the impacts to the pop-ups and links when the original Word document gets modified down the road. Do these all need to be set up again?
Am I better off performing an import or will linking be acceptable? I have not tried to create the pop-ups or links at this point.
Additionally, we already called out related procedures at the bottom of our procedure (they are not linked-would do that in RH). Should I remove these in the Word document and perform the drop and drag function in RH8 to add the related documents?

A pop-up menu can be associated only with timelines not with playlists.

RoboHelp 11 for TSC 5 hangs when linking to FrameMaker 12 files

I have TCS5, RH11, FM12, all patched up.
I have a FM book that comprises only FM files and only one of those FM files has any images; the rest just have text that uses paragraph and character styles.
When I do the following, RH just hangs and I have to end task on it. I have given RH several hours, but the problem never resolves well. FM and all other applications except Google Chrome are closed when I do this.
1) Open RoboHelp.
2) Click File > New > Project.
3) Choose Application Help and click OK.
4) Enter appropriate content in the New Project Wizard and click Finish.
5) In RoboHelp, click File > Link > FrameMaker document.
6) Select either the book file OR an individual fm file; experience shows what happens is the same either way.
7) Click Open.
At this point, the Scanning dialog box opens and animations of files moving left to right and being scanned displays. This never goes away. RoboHelp is done for.
How can I link FrameMaker files to a new project?

Hi,
There was nothing to update in FM, no generated lists, etc. Book opened fine as did all the FMs, though. Images in only one place, but PNGs nothing weird. Removed and reinstalled TSC 3 times. Am going to try importing.

Linking to Framemaker

Hello all,
When I link to an FM doc, I can make changes (i.e. add image maps to pics, restructure the TOC) to the help file to make it more of a help file. Tweaks, and so forth.
However, the next time I update from FM, all the customization gets wiped and I must start again.
Is there any way to stop that from happening? Can RH be told to update only things that have changed? There is a box to "not update images", but will that preserve image maps?
If it does this all the time, there really does not seem to be much advantage to be gained by "linking" instead of "importing" a doc. Updating a linked file seems to use a brute force approach, forcing you to start from scratch, with no intelligence involved. Can there be?
Thanks for the help.

Greetings!
Forgive me if this appears twice. I tried replying to it, but it doesn't seem to have appeared, so I'm trying again.
Thanks for the speedy answer! I've never done this before in Framemaker, so please bear with me. I've done some research online and I've found some instructions on setting up a Button Matrix, but the answer still eludes me.
How would I set up the Button Matrix on a graphic so that it hyperlinks to a topic in the Framemaker document (kinda link a cross-reference but with a zone instead of text)? What I'm hoping will happen is that this Button Matrix will be preserved in Robohelp so that the image map points to the right topic in the CHM file (just like a cross-reference does).
Using Framemaker's Paragraph Designer as an example, what I want to do is create an area around each tab that would hyperlink to its topic. So in this case, there would be seven image maps that would point to seven different topics (Basic, Default Font, Pagination, etc.)
Any insight you would have to share would really save my (Canadian) bacon.
JD Hickey
Documentia
www.documentia.ca

Linking Word files in RH8

I've been using RH8's ability to link Word files into a project.
Because I have a project that needs almost constant updating this is a good option. I noticed in RH9 the
y enhanced this feature, Live Link support for Microsoft Word files. Can anyone explain this enhancement?

There are a couple of linking enhancements made in RH 9:
When you link a word document in RoboHelp 9, it saves the relative path, instead of the absolute path, of linked documents. So the link between RH and word document is maintained even if you change the location of your word document. This is also applicable for linking FM documents.
While linking a document in RH, style properties modified from within Microsoft Word and modified from within RoboHelp can now co-exist. In other words, you can modify the style properties that you want to override in RoboHelp and allow other style properties to be modified in Microsoft Word. RoboHelp 9 maintains two styles sheets to manage the styles of a linked document.

In Robohelp 11, I am not able to link FrameMaker 12 book. The link to FrameMaker is disabled. I am using TCS 5. Any help as this is important for me to setup single sourcing.

I have been looking for solutions, but no luck. Any help in getting this resolved would really help.

I am currently reinstalling TCS5.1, as this recently happened to me as well...
If you initially installed Rh and Fm from the TCS installer, not from Fm and Rh installers, the linking should work.
I had projects I was working on, and then overnight, without any updates, etc., both my client and I lost the ability to update existing linked projects.
I wondered if it was an Adobe server issue, but another member of the client team seemed unaffected.
I'll try to update this post if when I resolve the issue.

File Link Framemaker Document option not appearing

Edition: Technical Communication Suite 2.5 (Framemaker 9.0.4 & RoboHelp HTML 8.0.2)
Hi all,
One of our new tech writers recently installed the Technical Communication Suite v2.5. I was going to show her our process for linking a Framemaker document to a new project, but when she tried to link to a book the only option she saw was to link a Word document.
She used the same install CDs as the rest of our team, then fully upgraded to Framemaker 9.0.4, and RoboHelp 8.0.2. The rest of the team sees the Link > Framemaker Document option.
I have had her restart her computer after installation. Then uninstall Framemaker and Robohelp, and finally reinstall Framemaker and Robohelp. No luck. I have seen other forum topics where the FM Document option is unavailable (grayed out), but nothing about it not appearing at all.
Any ideas? Thanks!

Did she have either FM9 or RH8 installed as point products? If so, you probably need to fully uninstall and then reinstall
-Matt
@mattrsullivan

FrameMaker 11 file link broken when published out to RoboHelp 10

Hello
I have the Adobe Technical Communication Suite 4 and am trying to test publish a FrameMaker 11 file out through
the FrameMaker publish button to WebHelp (by way of RoboHelp 10).
In the FrameMaker 11, file, I have a link to a PDF that sits down in a subfolder. I have used the following approach:
1. Highlighted text in a FrameMaker table.
2. Chose Special>Hyptertext
3. From the Hypertext panel, I selected Message Client from the Command drop down menu
and in the syntax field I entered: message openfile Foldouts/Foldout1.pdf
4. I then tested the link in FrameMaker by using ALT and CTRL and it works.
5. Next, I saved the FrameMaker file as a PDF (File>Save As PDF) and tested the PDF. The PDF links work.
So with all that said, how come I can't select File>Publish>WebHelp and have the link information carry through to the WebHelp HTM output?
I tried this Publish option straight out of the box and it did not work. I also tried creating a custom RoboHelp template (.XPJ file) and it did not work.
I believe there is a PgfId marker that is generated when the Hyptertext is created in FrameMaker (using the process stated above), but that marker is not getting
translated into an HREF, once it gets published out through RoboHelp 10.
I also tried saving the FrameMaker 11 file directly as an HTML file using the FrameMaker 11 - File>Save As HTML process, but no links carried through
using that process either.
I do not know if this is a FrameMaker issue or a RoboHelp issue, so I am now posting this in both forums.
If someone could point me in the right direction, I would really appreciate it.
Are there certain steps one must do to preserve FrameMaker Hypertext links that get published out through RoboHelp 10 to WebHelp?
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Jim

I've deleted the other post as the question is being addressed here. Folks who use Fm only would not be able to help so this is the correct forum as Jeff as explained.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
@petergrainge

Error when linking FrameMaker book or document to RoboHelp project (TCS2)

Hi,
I'm trying to link a FrameMaker (9.0p250) book to a RoboHelp (8.0.2.208) project, but get the following error:
"Failed to get any FrameMaker document from C:\.....\myfile.book" / OK
When I select the book file to link and choose [Open] I get an hourglass for a couple minutes then the error above. No wizard or "Scanning..." progress window.
I've tried linking a book from a network drive, from my hard drive, with the book open in FM9 and not open in FM9 (but FM9 itself is open).
Also tried linking an FM9 document and this time got the "Scanning..." progress window then the message:
""myfile.fm" could not be opened. Please verify that FrameMaker is installed and this is a valid FrameMaker document."
This is my first time trying this since installing TCS2, however I was able to link a book file when working with the trial version.
Any idea what may be the problem?
Thanks in advance.
Heather

I think this was due to a PC or network issue. After redocking my laptop today I can now link without error.

Link to Framemaker in RH8

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