Synchronizing linked FrameMaker documents with RoboHelp projects

You can update a linked FrameMaker document if the source FrameMaker document has changed or conversion settings in the RoboHelp project have changed.
Note: Linking eliminates the need to reimport the FrameMaker document and overwrite the topics when you update.

Update the topics generated from linked FrameMaker documents in the following scenarios:

  • Source FrameMaker documents changed after you added or linked them to the RoboHelp project.

  • You changed the pagination settings in the RoboHelp project.

  • You changed the style mapping in the RoboHelp project.

  • You updated the CSS in the RoboHelp project.

  • You edited the topics generated from the linked documents.

Icons of the project files in the Project Manager pod indicate whether the documents are in sync with the RoboHelp topics.

On the other hand, if the documents were imported into the project, the Project Manager pod does not indicate the synchronization status. If either the FrameMaker documents or the conversion settings change, reimport the FrameMaker documents and overwrite the RoboHelp topics already generated. When you update the documents, RoboHelp updates the converted HTML topics, TOC, index, and glossary.

FrameMaker book synchronization status indicators

Icon

Description

FrameMaker book missing. The source FrameMaker book that you have linked to the RoboHelp project is either moved to another folder or deleted. Locate the source book and link them to the new location.

FrameMaker book out of sync because of changes in the source document. Update the RoboHelp topics.

Topics generated from the linked FrameMaker book are out of sync because of changes in the RoboHelp Project Import Settings. Update the RoboHelp topics generated from the FrameMaker book.

Topics generated are in sync with the linked FrameMaker book.

FrameMaker document synchronization status indicators

Icon

Description

Linked FrameMaker document missing. The source FrameMaker book that you have linked to the RoboHelp project is either moved to another folder or deleted. Locate the source book and link them to the new location.

FrameMaker document out of sync because of changes in the source document. Update the RoboHelp topics.

Topics generated from the linked FrameMaker document are out of sync because of changes in the RoboHelp Project Import Settings. Update the RoboHelp topics generated from the FrameMaker document.

Topics generated are in sync with the linked FrameMaker document.

Update FrameMaker documents

From the Project Manager pod, right-click a FrameMaker book and select Update, then choose one of the following:
Generate
Generates HTML topics from the linked FrameMaker document for the first time. After generating the topics, the option changes to Update.

Update
Updates topics generated from the selected book or document alone.

Update All
Updates all topics generated from all linked FrameMaker documents.

Force Update
Overwrites the current set of topics generated from the selected FrameMaker book or document. Use this option to force update the topics generated from the linked FrameMaker book or document.

Force Update All
Updates all linked documents and overwrites all generated topics.

Alternatively, you can select the linked FrameMaker book or document and update the RoboHelp topics generated from the linked FrameMaker book or document.

Preserve changes to a topic during an update

Normally, when you update a linked document, all topics generated from it are updated, overwriting any other changes you made in the generated topics. However, you can selectively preserve changes in generated topics and retain your edits.
  1. Right-click the linked document in the Project Manager pod and select Properties.

  2. In the FrameMaker Document Settings dialog box, select the File Update Settings tab.

  3. On the left column, select the edited files you want to preserve changes during update and click OK.

    Any files that you had selected earlier for preserving changes are displayed in the right column.

Set alert when editing generated topics

You can set RoboHelp to alert you when you edit topics generated from linked documents. When you save the changes to such topics, RoboHelp alerts you that the changes would be lost when the linked documents are updated.
  1. Select Tools > Options.

  2. In the General tab, select Show Alert On Modification Of Auto Generated Topics From Linked Documents and click OK.

Mark topic edits for preservation

If you enabled alerts when saving changes to generated topics, you can mark the topic edits for preservation during an update. Topics marked for preservation during updates are automatically added to the list of preserved topics in the File Update Settings dialog box.
  1. Edit a generated topic and save the changes.

  2. In the alert message that appears, select Preserve Modifications To This File and click OK.

Delete a generated topic

When you delete a generated topic, you have two options. You can regenerate the deleted topic when you update the linked FrameMaker document or completely remove the deleted topic from your project. By default, RoboHelp regenerates the deleted topic when you update the FrameMaker document.
  1. In the Project Manager pod, expand the linked FrameMaker document to display the topics generated from it.

  2. Right-click the topic that you want to delete, and select Delete.

  3. Do one of the following:
    • Click OK to delete the topic from the project permanently. The deleted topic is not regenerated when you update the FrameMaker document.

    • Select Generate This File On Next Update and click OK to delete the topic. When you update the FrameMaker document, the deleted topic is generated again.

Regenerate a deleted topic

If you delete a topic generated from a linked FrameMaker document, the topic is removed from the project. However, you can regenerate topics deleted from a linked document.

  1. Right-click the linked FrameMaker document in the Project Manager pod and select Properties.

  2. In the FrameMaker Document Settings dialog box, select File Update Settings tab.

  3. On the right column, select the deleted files that you want to retrieve and click OK.

  4. Update the FrameMaker document.

Edit a linked FrameMaker document

You can edit linked FrameMaker documents directly in FrameMaker.

  1. Right-click a document and select Edit.

  2. Edit the FrameMaker document.

  3. Click Save. The modified FrameMaker document now appears in the Project Manager pod with a different icon. This icon indicates that the source content is now out of sync with the topics generated from the linked FrameMaker document.
    Note: Force an update of the document after you edit the source in FrameMaker.

Delete a linked document

You can directly delete documents linked by copy from the Project Files folder, and you can delete the references of the documents linked by reference.

Right-click a document and select Delete.

When you delete a linked file, all its associated documents, such as CSS, images, baggage files, and multimedia files, are also deleted.

Notes:

  • If a referenced file is moved to a different location, its icon changes. You can restore the link to the document by pointing to its new location.

  • Do not rename files generated after linking a document.

  • You cannot drag the generated topics outside the source document folder to some other location in the Project Manager pod.

Restore a link to a missing or renamed document

If any of the linked documents are moved or renamed, RoboHelp displays a missing link icon for the linked document in the Project Manager pod. You can restore the link to a moved or renamed file and have all the topics already generated from the document retained in the project.
  1. In the Project Manager pod, right-click the document that has the missing link icon.

  2. Select Restore Link To FrameMaker File, and browse to select the new location of the missing file.

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