FINAL BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

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Tim Green
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Larry,
Larry Nelson wrote:My initial trail (sample output included above), however, shows a problem I've been having when using IE11 on a Windows 8.1 machine: the first line of the topic text is superimposed on the topic title (this is often the case; refreshing the page will fix it).
It will also display correctly if you just resize the eBook viewer window. This is happening because the pages load a little more slowly inside the eBook than they do directly in a browser and a small delay is needed to adjust the component heights when the page loads. You can fix it by making the following adjustment in your skin file:

Open the .hmskin file you are using in Help & Manual, go to Configuration > HTML Templates > Default and locate the following lines of code towards the end of the template:

clearInterval(doJump);
toggleJump(false);
if (typeof doResize == 'function') doResize();
$("div#idcontent").focus();


Change the red highlighted line to this:

if (typeof doResize == 'function') setTimeout(doResize,500);
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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Alexander Halser
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by Alexander Halser »

Beta 10 now with a debug function:

Download link:
http://download.ec-software.com/ewriter-beta-10.zip

A couple of users experience problems with loading pages. This could be browser related, or the missing file may not have been included. To find out, we have implemented a debug option, which is on by default.
eWriter debug option
eWriter debug option
ewriter-enable-debug.gif (61.02 KiB) Viewed 6979 times
Alexander Halser
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bsonnino
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by bsonnino »

I've tried beta 10, but it didn't work for me:

- I generated a Web Help format for my help file and pointed to that folder
- e-Writer creates the book and runs it, but it isn't showing in the screen. Task Manager shows it's there (e-Writer book viewer), consuming 15% of an 8-core CPU, but nothing shows on screen

Bruno
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by Alexander Halser »

Hi Bruno,

Do you get this result in general or just with this particular content? For example, if you create a very simple "eBook" with a single HTML page only - or if you change the settings for the viewer in e-Writer, does it display or not?
Alexander Halser
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by jgodfrey »

bsonnino wrote:I've tried beta 10, but it didn't work for me:

- I generated a Web Help format for my help file and pointed to that folder
- e-Writer creates the book and runs it, but it isn't showing in the screen. Task Manager shows it's there (e-Writer book viewer), consuming 15% of an 8-core CPU, but nothing shows on screen

Bruno
This is the same result I've mentioned several times in this thread, but I haven't received any input. I just gave beta 10 a shot, but still have the same result. What does the new Debug option do exactly? Does it create some output that might be helpful in this case? BTW, the original WebHelp project runs as expected.

Jeff
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Mike Linacre
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by Mike Linacre »

Tim, with a small "plain vanilla" Help HTML. The specified icon is in a different folder (not read-only). Only one instance of ewriter.exe is active. The specified eBook file was created: 910KB. When double-clicked, the window opened, but displayed no text and it has the default icon.

Image
bsonnino
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by bsonnino »

Do you get this result in general or just with this particular content? For example, if you create a very simple "eBook" with a single HTML page only - or if you change the settings for the viewer in e-Writer, does it display or not?
I tried it also with a single web page and the same happens.

Then I tried to change it to Kiosk mode and the same also happens.

When I tried "eBook requires Admin mode", I got: "ERROR: Resource update error: EndUpdateResource failed", bot running e-Writer in Admin and non Admin mode. The error disappeared when I removed this setting, but it still wouldn't show.

Bruno
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Larry Nelson
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by Larry Nelson »

Tim, many thanks. I can't find the code in WebHelp_SlateGrey.hmskin. It's there; I should look harder?

Cheers, Larry
Tim Green wrote:Hi Larry,
Larry Nelson wrote:My initial trail (sample output included above), however, shows a problem I've been having when using IE11 on a Windows 8.1 machine: the first line of the topic text is superimposed on the topic title (this is often the case; refreshing the page will fix it).
It will also display correctly if you just resize the eBook viewer window. This is happening because the pages load a little more slowly inside the eBook than they do directly in a browser and a small delay is needed to adjust the component heights when the page loads. You can fix it by making the following adjustment in your skin file:

Open the .hmskin file you are using in Help & Manual, go to Configuration > HTML Templates > Default and locate the following lines of code towards the end of the template:

clearInterval(doJump);
toggleJump(false);
if (typeof doResize == 'function') doResize();
$("div#idcontent").focus();


Change the red highlighted line to this:

if (typeof doResize == 'function') setTimeout(doResize,500);
Larry Nelson
School of Education
Curtin University
Western Australia
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Tim Green
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Larry,
Tim, many thanks. I can't find the code in WebHelp_SlateGrey.hmskin. It's there; I should look harder?
No, that just means that the Premium Pack skin you are using is out of date and you need to download the current version anyway. 8) You can get it with the download link and password you received when you purchased the Premium Pack.

If you no longer have the information, or if you have an old link that no longer works, please mail me at support AT ec-software.com (replace the AT with @) and I'll help you out. Please include your current PP version number, which you can find in the introduction sections of the Premium Pack help chapter in the main Help & Manual help.
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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Tim Green
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Mike,

Bug reports like this are actually for Alexander, not for me... :)
Mike Linacre wrote:Tim, with a small "plain vanilla" Help HTML. The specified icon is in a different folder (not read-only). Only one instance of ewriter.exe is active. The specified eBook file was created: 910KB. When double-clicked, the window opened, but displayed no text and it has the default icon.
What happens if you remove the icon reference or move the icon to the WebHelp output folder (for example by putting the .ico file in the skin or project Baggage)? Does the issue go away then?
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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Please do not email or PM me with private support requests -- post to the forum directly.
bsonnino
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by bsonnino »

bsonnino wrote:
Do you get this result in general or just with this particular content? For example, if you create a very simple "eBook" with a single HTML page only - or if you change the settings for the viewer in e-Writer, does it display or not?
I tried it also with a single web page and the same happens.

Then I tried to change it to Kiosk mode and the same also happens.

When I tried "eBook requires Admin mode", I got: "ERROR: Resource update error: EndUpdateResource failed", bot running e-Writer in Admin and non Admin mode. The error disappeared when I removed this setting, but it still wouldn't show.

Bruno
I finally tracked down the error - it was the icon I was using. Removing the icon, the file appeared ok. Are there any issues with the icon for the book?

One other problem - I tried to use kiosk mode and the window didn't appear maximized with no border - it appeared with a random size, with no content in it. Then I tried with another web site, simpler, and it worked fine.

Bruno
jgodfrey
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by jgodfrey »

bsonnino wrote:I finally tracked down the error - it was the icon I was using. Removing the icon, the file appeared ok. Are there any issues with the icon for the book?
Good find! The icon was my problem also. After removing the assignment, the book opened with a visible window. On the surface, it seems functional now, though I haven't played with it much yet. Interestingly, the ICO file I assigned to the book has been used in various places in the past without trouble.

Jeff
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Alexander Halser
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by Alexander Halser »

Bruno & Jeff,

Would you mind to email me the icon files for testing?

To sum it up, we have found the following problems so far:

a) Icons might prevent the eBook from starting

b) Admin mode doesn't work at the moment (but did before)

c) Kiosk mode is unreliable (?)

d) Some content does not work, e.g. Javascript popup windows stay empty and do not load (we are still unable to reproduce that)

e) Webhelp output made with older skins doesn't display correctly - this has to do with CSS and Javascript and the fact that MS Internet Explorer is internally used. Cannot be fixed easily, because it is user defined content.

f) Occasional errors when compiling the eBook ("resource update failed")
Alexander Halser
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jgodfrey
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by jgodfrey »

Alexander Halser wrote:Would you mind to email me the icon files for testing?
Done - thanks.
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Alexander Halser
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Re: BETA: New HTML-to-EXE eBook compiler for download

Unread post by Alexander Halser »

Thanks! I can duplicate the problem as you described it. We are on it...
Alexander Halser
Senior Software Architect, EC Software GmbH
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