Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

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tinat
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Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by tinat »

Hi,
Using the following settings on a lifebook, the search box is cut off on the Webhelp version of the manual:

OS: Windows 8.1, Version 6.3
Screen Resolution: 2560 x 1440
DPI Scaling: 192dpi
Pixel Density: High

I am using H&M 6.5., Build 2971
Premium Pack 2.41
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Thanks, Tina
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Tim Green
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Re: Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Tina,

That's not WebHelp, that is a CHM file in the Microsoft HTML Help viewer, which is a standard Windows component. There's nothing that you can do about because the Microsoft viewer is not configurable. It has not been fixed or updated in any meaningful way since it was originally introduced with Windows 98. 8)
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tinat
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Re: Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by tinat »

Thank you very much Tim for the quick response! Luckily this isn't really a show stopper, just a nuisance.
Thanks, Tina
tinat
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Re: Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by tinat »

Hi Tim,
I hate to bother you again, but is there anything else available to use? The powers that be want this resolved somehow.
Thanks, Tina
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Tim Green
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Re: Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Tina,

I'm afraid that the CHM viewer just doesn't accommodate that. Windows is pretty bad with scaling anyway, and the viewer was created many years before even the rudimentary scaling now available in Windows was a possibility. Where and how is this documentation going to be deployed? Depending on your needs it might be possible to use a different format.
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tinat
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Re: Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by tinat »

Hi Tim,
We've integrated it into our software so our clients can just open it from there. We also publish a WebHelp that does not have the same display issues.
Thanks, Tina
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Tim Green
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Re: Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by Tim Green »

If you need the CHM for your application help you can't change that. It's really not something you need to worry about, however, because the huge majority of all users will be using the standard dpi setting. It's generally very rare for a Windows user to change anything in the default settings...
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tinat
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Re: Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by tinat »

Hi Tim,
I have passed the information along. Just as an FYI, the Surface Pro 3 comes defaulted at 150 DPI and the Fujitsu T904 comes defaulted at 200 DPI. These are the two hottest devices in our market for providers. I think the 200 DPI settings are what is causing the problem.

I am assuming CHM is the best output for what we are looking to accomplish in making the manual available through our software.
Thanks, Tina
tinat
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Re: Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by tinat »

I created a brand new project and published as CHM. The search is fine. (Search new)
I have tried comparing the setups to figure out where the issue could be, but when I publish the original project I was working on, the search is still cut off (Search original). I do not know where else to look at why there could be such a difference.
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Thanks, Tina
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Tim Green
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Re: Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Tina,

Check your setting for "Default Font:" in your language settings, in Configuration > Common Properties > Language Settings. That is the font that is used for the TOC and dialogs in CHM. My guess is that it has been set to a larger font size that is too big for the entry boxes. The default setting is MS Sans Serif,8,0 and that is what the CHM viewer is optimized for and is generally the best choice for English.
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Re: Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by Tim Frost »

tinat wrote:I am assuming CHM is the best output for what we are looking to accomplish in making the manual available through our software.
We are in the process of ditching CHM completely and using instead the new EWriter (you can download the final beta of this from the thread in the announcements forum) in our next major release. The EXE is about the same size as the CHM, and has none of the quirks of the old CHM format. Changing our apps to call the EXE needed only minor tweaks to the routines that invoke help, and the review process also caught a handful of places where we were using an incorrect context number. Although we have on-line help available on our website as well, for calling from applications we find the launching of a browser less effective, and the EXE format works well.
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Tim Green
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Re: Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by Tim Green »

A note on the e-Writer format: For those concerned about the help file being in an EXE (because it includes the viewer) the eWriter creation program includes the ability to sign the file with your code-signing certificate. If you are using it for software documentation you will already have a certificate anyway, and this provides confidence for your users because it prevents alteration of the EXE without a warning. :)

The eWriter EXEs include full context help capabilities and combine the benefits of CHM (compact single file, context help, each context call opens in the same window) and WebHelp (fully customizable skins, supported on network drives as well as local drives).
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tinat
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Re: Search box not displaying correctly with high DPI

Unread post by tinat »

Thanks Tim - that fixed it! I believe I had changed the font settings because users wanted the TOC font size larger. Hopefully this is a trade off they can live with.

I will start playing around with the eWriter.

Thanks again for your help and patience.
Thanks, Tina
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