Linking to external topics

Hi - I'm hoping someone can advise me on this:
I have three WebHelp projects. I would like the user to be
able to open one project and then click a link to the starting
topic of one of the other projects. That topic and project would
then replace the original topic/project in the user's browser.
I tried an external link to the starting topic of the other
project, but clicking the link generates the "Page cannot be
displayed" error. (I did de-select the "mark of the Web option," in
case that was the problem, but it didn't help).
I know another option is to merge the projects, but it would
be so nice if the user could just click a link to get into the
other project. Is this even possible?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Rebecca

Just a quick update on the issue I posted a few days ago: We
decided to merge the help projects instead of trying to launch one
project from another. It was easier to implement and, in the end,
will make more sense for the user (who sees one comprehensive help
file, rather than jumping from one to another). Thanks for your
help - it increased my knowledge and I know will come in handy for
some future project.
Just a note for others who might be trying merged help for
the first time: After merging the projects, I struggled to get the
links to work between child projects. Turned out I was linking to
the wrong instances of the topics. So, for external links between
child projects (or child/parent projects), the links need to be
between the projects at the source location (not at the published
location). And, they need to be made to topics located under the
main folder for each project, NOT to the topics under the Webhelp
output folders. Dumb mistakes on my part, but I did struggle to
figure them out.
Thanks again for the knowledgeable, quick responses. It's so
good to know help is available when you need it!

Similar Messages

External Links in Related Topics Control

Hello All
I have a help system with 100 separate chm projects that we
distribute together and link between. I'm using the Related Topics
control, but can only link to topics within the same .chm file. How
do I link to a topic in a different .chm file using the Related
Topics control?
Thanks
Jodie

Jodie,
In the true code editor, in the related topics object, just
append the name of the external file in front of the topic so that
it reads "filename.chm::/topicname.htm" The external file then
needs to be in the same directory as the calling .chm. But you can
include a relative path if needed.
John

Topics missing from link view and topic references

I am using RoboHelp X5 and have come across situations where
I have a URL, and all of the topics that link to it do not display
in link view, in the Show Topics References option, or in the
External Topics report. I want to know if there is an easy way to
correct this so I can see every topic that links to a particular
URL.
For example, I have a link to www.adobe.com that is
referenced in the TOC and 5 different RoboHelp topics. After I
initially set up all the links, all 5 topics show in link view from
www.adobe.com. In topic references, the TOC also appears. Then a
few days or weeks later, I try to view the links again, and some or
all of them no longer appear. If I display the link in link view or
right click and select Topic References, it may only show me the
reference to the TOC. If I remove it from the TOC, it no longer
appears as a URL at all. But it is still actually used in 5 topics.
Also, if I know it is linked from topic A, I could go in and edit
topic A and save. Then www.adobe.com will show up as a link in the
URL list again, and topic A will appear again in link
view/references. But I don't necessary know all of the topics that
link to it, and if I am trying to remove it from the entire
project, or change the URL, that becomes a problem.
I hope this makes sense and if anyone can help, I would
appreciate it!
Chris

Repair the broken links, create a zipped backup of the project, then delete the CPD file before reopening.
See www.grainge.org for RoboHelp and Authoring tips
@petergrainge

How can I multi-find and replace relative paths to external topics?

I am using RH7 and publishing to a company server share. External topics are saved on the same server share and linked on my local drive to create a relative link. How can I do a multi-find and replace on the relative links to change the path to the external docs? The paths do not show up in the Topics List because they are relative, not absolute. Although changing all of the many paths manually would be job security, I would like an easier fix. Thanks for any help.

Hello again
Likely your best bet at this point is to use a good Multi-File Find and Replace utility.
While RoboHelp has one included, it often fails. So we typically recommend something like FAR (Find And Replace) or BKReplace.
Click here to visit the FAR site
Click here to visit the page for BKReplace
Cheers... Rick
Helpful and Handy Links
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RoboHelp eBooks

External Topics in RoboHelp HTML

Let's say I have BOOK1 and BOOK2.
BOOK1 has an external link out to BOOK2.
When I'm viewing BOOK1 and click on the link to view BOOK2,
then click on the "Index" button, why are the topics that show up
from BOOK1? If I'm in BOOK2, shouldn't the index be listing the
topics of that book that I'm viewing?
Thanks very much for any help anyone can provide!
Jenn

When linking to an external topic, the topic is just that -
external. The help viewer window is still owned by the original
.chm.
But all is not lost - instead of linking to an external topic
you can include your "external" .chms as part of your master .chm.
I'm not the best person to help you do this (because I don't
myself) but you need to merge your .chms. Look up how to "Merge CHM
files" in your RoboHelp help, rather than linking to an external
topic.
Hope this helps,
John

Why can't I find external topics in a jump

I am working with RH 8 for Word. I tried to create a hotspot linking it to an external topic. The External HLP file shows up, but there are no topics. I have checked all the settings, and can't find anything wrong. Can anyone help?

Hard to say, as you provide almost no information.. I would guess that you are looking in the wrong place.

Can't find External Topics

I am trying to create a jump to an external topic, and can't
find any of the topics after selecting the hlp file.
Using RoboHelp for Word version 6 build 099. The Primary
Source Layout is Winhelp 2000.
I have added the hlp files to the primary layout, and to the
External Dependencies. Yet, when I select the help file from the
hotspot screen, the external topics do no show up.
My output help files are not stored in the same folder as the
working files are.
Does anyone have a suggestion?

Thanks for the replies everyone. As I have Frame11 I tried opening the Insets pod as Winifred suggested and it was very easy to find and delete the bad link.
Many thanks....I appreciate how fast and helpful all of you are in this forum!!
Bob Gaydos
[email protected]

External topics does not work

Hello,
in my project I am using both external and internal links to
topics. when I made the hypherlinks at first , I made them to the
HTML files of the external project. I don't know if this is right.
so the problem is when I preview my topics individually , all
the external and internal links to topics work fine but when I
compile the project and view the whole chm file, only internal
topics work fine.
please help me with this..
thanks.

Hi,
First compile the sub projects. Next, go to the master
project and use the 'New Merged Project' icon in the TOC toolbar to
import the sub-project .CMH files into the master project. These
will be stored in the parent directory of the the main project.
Next, click on the 'insert hyperlink' option in the toolbar
and select the 'Link to Remote Topic' option. Select the imported
sub-projects in the parent directory of the master project and link
to the required topics in those.
Generate the main project. This should result in a SSL
(Single Source Layout) output subdirectory which contains the main
project .chm file and all the sub-project CHM files you imported
into the main project.
There's a Robohelp bug to watch out for here. If there are
versions of any of the .CHM files already in the output SSL sub
directory they will not be overwritten.
To get around this go back to the sub projects and set the
output target for the SSL's to the output directory to the SSL in
the master project. This will mean the .chm files you ship will
always be the latest versions.
To update the master project with any updated sub project:
(a) Reimport the .chm file from the sub-project using the
'New Merged Project' icon on the TOC toolbar. (This is only really
necessary if you've got new topics you want to link to in the sub
project).
(b) Generate the .chm file in the sub-project so that it goes
to the output directory of the main project. (Your SSL in the
subp-project should already be set up to this target - see above).
If you go through this step by step I think you''ll find
things will work.

External Topics

I am using RoboHelp for Word version 6. I have to make a jump
to an external topic but the topics do not appear within the Insert
Hot Spot window. I added the documents to the project, but still
the external topics do not appear.
My documents are in one drive, and the output is in another.
Could anyone help?

Hi,
First compile the sub projects. Next, go to the master
project and use the 'New Merged Project' icon in the TOC toolbar to
import the sub-project .CMH files into the master project. These
will be stored in the parent directory of the the main project.
Next, click on the 'insert hyperlink' option in the toolbar
and select the 'Link to Remote Topic' option. Select the imported
sub-projects in the parent directory of the master project and link
to the required topics in those.
Generate the main project. This should result in a SSL
(Single Source Layout) output subdirectory which contains the main
project .chm file and all the sub-project CHM files you imported
into the main project.
There's a Robohelp bug to watch out for here. If there are
versions of any of the .CHM files already in the output SSL sub
directory they will not be overwritten.
To get around this go back to the sub projects and set the
output target for the SSL's to the output directory to the SSL in
the master project. This will mean the .chm files you ship will
always be the latest versions.
To update the master project with any updated sub project:
(a) Reimport the .chm file from the sub-project using the
'New Merged Project' icon on the TOC toolbar. (This is only really
necessary if you've got new topics you want to link to in the sub
project).
(b) Generate the .chm file in the sub-project so that it goes
to the output directory of the main project. (Your SSL in the
subp-project should already be set up to this target - see above).
If you go through this step by step I think you''ll find
things will work.

Problem with making remote toppics when linking with external chm

Hi to everybody,
i m novice to robohelp html when i am creating chm files from
my exsisting project that is a robohelp word project which take
input doc file in Robohelp word and create .hpj poject and then i
open this .hpj project into robo help Html to create chm file .
when i m opening this project into robohelp html it is making .xpj
project from the hpj project .
but at this time poject has some links with external chm but
when i m making hyper link with external chm using Remote toppic
option this option i couldn't unable to found any where in robohelp
html plz anyone can know help me out from this
probelm....................plz...................i need help
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,if anyone know how to remote toppic occur in
such situation plz let me know,......
Thx
Rgard's

Hi Ruziyo and welcome to the RH forums.
If you are opening up your project via the XPJ file in
RoboHelp HTML the remote topic should be able to be found by:
- Highlighting what is to be hyperlinked.
- Clicking the Insert > Hyperlink menu item (or use the
toolbar icon or Cntl + K).
- Click on the arrow to the right of the "Link To" field.
- Select the Remote Topic option.
- Select the CHM file that contains the topic to which the
hyperlink is linked to.
- Select the required topic.
You will be asked to copy the CHM into your project
directory. Hope this answers your question. If not, please do come
back.

External topics using Hide/Show button

I need to be able to add a Hide/Show button for external topics - i.e. topics that are not part of the RH project, but rather linked to from the TOC using http://
Thanks in advance

Hi there
I'm unclear on what you are wanting. Do you mean that you have perhaps a link to Google, and somehow you need to cause a Hide / Show button to appear on the Google page?
I'm not sure that's even possible.
Cheers... Rick
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Adobe Certified RoboHelp HTML Training
SorcerStone Blog
RoboHelp eBooks

Using External Topics via Resource Mgr?

I am trying to link external topics from another project to my current project through Resource Manager (RH9), but it doesn't seem to be working. When I add a shared location containing topic (HTML) files, the folder and its contents appears, everything except the topic files. Both projects are FlashHelp. I was lead to believe (Usinging RoboHelp 9: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/robohelp/robohtml/WS1b49059a33f77726-14df8d3712b0ab9d010-8000. html) that I could "Drag images, style sheets, and topics from Project Manager to Resource Manager" (quote from help page), but this does not provide any visible results, either. Am I doing something wrong, or is this just not really something RH9 can do?

Hi, Rick;
Thanks for the response. Even though there is no resolution, it's still good to know others are suffering alongside me. I've submitted a feature request to Adobe, pointing out that the lack of this feature diminishes their claim that RH is a great single sourcing solution.
- Chris
Captiv8r <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi there
Long ago I identified an issue with using Topics this way. But so far it has fallen on deaf ears at Adobe.
Indeed Adobe doesn't seem to allow Topics to be used that way. You can certainly configure HTML files to appear there but using them will always be a one way street. There isn't a notification that anything changed or a synchronization of the topic in the project with a changed topic in the Resource Manager.
Please consider submitting a Wish Form to add your voice to others that are requesting topics be available via Resource Manager! (Link is in my sig)
Cheers... Rick
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Link to remote topic

hello,
I Can't linked to remote topic of other chm file. The remote
topic haven`t the underscor character. When i link to the remote
topic, is produced a error "Page not found". Please I need help.
Thanks

If RoboHelp automatically adds these to baggage, I would
delete them. It seems like the whole point of linking to a remote
topic is to access a CHM file that is outside the control of your
own project. If you are going to include this file in your CHM, you
might as well really include it by including the topics in your
CHM. The remote link will work whether the .chm is in baggage or
not.
When RH adds an external file to baggage, any link to that
file calls up the version from baggage rather than the current
version. This can be problematic. I have a help file called
ExperimentalProtocols.chm. It links to another help file called
Instrument.chm that explains how to use the current version of the
instrument software. We need that reference to be dynamic. i.e. the
Instrument.chm must be independent and external to the
ExperimentalProtocols.chm, which we do not modify.
I have not seen RH (version 8) add external .chms to baggage,
but that may just be the way I use it....
John

Archive Link and external URL Link

Hi,
we use Archive Link, NO own documents (like CV01N,..). We want to define different document types (oac2) and link them to via url to an external webserver, the user should see the doc in the normal attachment list.
Doc Typ    url
DOC1        http://www.xsfd.wer/show?...
DOC2        http://www.ssdfs.ver/show?
In oac0 (definition content rep) there is an subtyp called "URL", looks like it could be this kind of rep? All solutions and hints I found where based on DMS/KPRO not ArchiveLink. I don't want to use link to external Document via GOS.
Regards,
Christian

Dear all,
no, I found no solution to access automatically! And I was not able to find a definition of the "URL" Repository.
Best regards,
christian

FF 3.6.12 will not open links from external sources (Outlook, Dreamweaver, Digsby, etc)

I have just upgraded to Firefox 3.6.12 and links clicked in an external source will not open in Firefox.
Firefox is set as my default program for web browsing. I have tried to open links from Outlook, Dreamweaver, Digsby, and other programs.

I have the same issue, opening links from external programs like Word or Thunderbird does not work. This used to work before the update to 3.6.12

Linking to external topics

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