54 replies to this topic

[Michael Miles]

Earlier today I purchased the upgrade to the Accordance 10 Essential package and installed using the slim download package. After downloading the resources that I have purchased, I went ahead and fired up Accordance 10 only to find that the Help system is not working.

If I attempt to access the Help system via the Accordance main menubar all I get is an empty Help framework with a completely blank Contents menu pane with zero contents. Clicking on the Index or Glossary tabs results in a never ending spinner session.

If I access the Help system via the Question Mark icon in the software, I get an actual Help page pertaining to The Search Tab. From that page, if I attempt to click on the hyperlink "Open topic with navigation", I get dumped back into the Help framework with zero contents.

According to the lower portion of this Search help page, the help system that I have is version 10.0.2.

Still lower on the page I see the following, which leads to an online help system for Accordance 9, which is not what I need:


Some illustrations may differ slightly from your version; functionality remains the same
This Help continues to be updated between releases. Click here to view the most up-to-date version on our website.

[Ken Simpson]

Hi Michael,
I don't have the specific experience to know if this will solve your particular issue, but I do remember I had similar problems with the Help when I was using an older version of Safari. So I think it might be helpful to know:

MacOS X version (10.7.5/10.8.2 etc etc)
Which browser is your default browser (usually Safari, but I know that a significant number of ppl use Chrome or Firefox (or even something else!)
What version of the browser are you using (under the menu item - for example: Safari==>About safari.
Do you have any extensions installed on your browser?

If you use Safari, there is a menu item in the Safari menu "reset Safari", make sure that at least the top 6 items are checked (the bottom few you might find annoying if you leave them checked). Reset it, and see if you still get the problem.

Let us know how you go.

Edited by Ken Simpson, 06 October 2012 - 09:55 PM.

[Michael Miles]

Hi Ken,

I had completely wiped my OS X installation and reinstalled Mountain Lion with all current patches just prior to purchasing the upgrade to Accordance 10. The Safari install is brand spanking new (Safari Version 6.0.1 (8536.26.14)). I did not install my version 9 of Accordance prior to purchasing and installing Accordance 10, so if Accordance expected 9 to be on the machine for some reason, it wasn't.

There are no Plug-ins for Safari installed at all. I have no Flash installed either. Safari is the only browser installed thus far.

The OS X version that I'm running is 10.8.2, fully patched. The machine is a MacBook Pro 17" early 2011 with a 2.3 GHz Core i7 with 8 gigs of ram.

Thank you for your assistance. I was not of the mind to install another browser, but I may do that just for the purpose of trying to find out why the Help system is non-functional.

[Michael Miles]

I just now installed Firefox 15.0.1 and the Help system works fine. It still doesn't work at all in the brand new Safari install.

Afterwards I also installed Chrome and it works great as well. I tried Safari again and no joy.

While I was not of the mind to go around installing all sorts of extra bits (kind of why I reinstalled Mountain Lion to begin with), it is pleasant to know that I can use the Help system in my Accordance 10.

Thank you once again Ken for your assistance.

Edited by Michael Miles, 07 October 2012 - 01:56 AM.

[Helen Brown]

This is definitely NOT due to a problem in Accordance or the help. It's due to Javascript not working properly in the browser. We had another user with a similar problem. He ended up reinstalling his system.

[Ken Simpson]

Glad to be of help Michael. Make sure that you have Java installed (you can disable Java itself in the Safari preferences  Screen Shot 2012-10-07 at 22.29.08 .jpg   42.61K   12 downloads.

The easiest way to install Java (if it isn't) via terminal


Using the terminal

• Open Terminal.app
• Type "java"
• The following message should appear:
  
  • 
    No Java runtime present, Requesting install.
• The installation starts normally

hope that helps.

Edited by Ken Simpson, 07 October 2012 - 06:36 AM.

[J. T.]

Good catch, Ken. Yes, for Users experiencing this issue with Safari, it is due to a changed preference regarding Java. Apple decided to make some changes re: java due to its vulnerabilities and potential for exploitation.

Edited by James Tucker, 07 October 2012 - 09:05 AM.

[Michael Miles]

This is definitely NOT due to a problem in Accordance or the help. It's due to Javascript not working properly in the browser. We had another user with a similar problem. He ended up reinstalling his system.

I just now finished completely erasing my OS X installation and reinstalling yet again. The Help system in Accordance 10 doesn't work in Safari yet again.

[Michael Miles]

Glad to be of help Michael. Make sure that you have Java installed (you can disable Java itself in the Safari preferences  Screen Shot 2012-10-07 at 22.29.08 .jpg   42.61K   12 downloads.

The easiest way to install Java (if it isn't) via terminal


Using the terminal

• Open Terminal.app
• Type "java"
• The following message should appear:
  
  • No Java runtime present, Requesting install.
• The installation starts normally

hope that helps.

Since Java and javascript are two completely different animals, I have my doubts that installing the Java runtime environment is going to be of any help, BUT I'm going to do that now just to see if my tin foil hat and geek badge still work. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Michael Miles]

Installing the Java Runtime Environment made no difference whatsoever. I'm going to download Mountain Lion once again fresh and set up a new USB thumb drive on the outside chance that the thumb drive that I set up for Mountain Lion fresh installs is somehow bent.

[Ken Simpson]

Since Java and javascript are two completely different animals, I have my doubts that installing the Java runtime environment is going to be of any help, BUT I'm going to do that now just to see if my tin foil hat and geek badge still work. Thanks for the suggestion.

That's true Michael, just trying to think around the box a bit! :-)

Sorry you're struggling with it....keep us in the loop.

[Greg Terry]

Something to try. Make sure that the Javascript (not Java) is enabled in Safari as shown in the attached picture. Helen did mention that the Help system uses Javascript.


 Screen Shot 2012-10-07 at 6.20.54 PM.jpg   42.24K   19 downloads

[Michael Miles]

I went ahead and downloaded Mountain Lion again (I first had downloaded it when it was initially released) and made another USB thumb drive to use for a clean installation. This time the installation of Mountain Lion went similarly, but when I went to go patch the newly installed Mountain Lion the patch set was only 195 +/- megabytes vs. the 850 +/- megabytes that the patch set was comprised of after installing the original Mountain Lion release. The currently available Mountain Lion InstallESD.dmg file that I cull and use to make my USB thumb drive clean install kit occupies 4.37 GB of disk space while the original Mountain Lion InstallESD.dmg file that I had obtained on July 26 of this year takes up 4.35 GB of disk.

The bad news is that javascript is broken in Safari 6 on Mountain Lion. If you google with the terms javascript, Safari 6, and Mountain Lion you will find that this has been going on for quite some time.

Why Chrome works and Safari doesn't is interesting as both browsers are WebKit based.

While the tinkerer within me would like to tear into the Help System to see if I can figure out a workaround by banging on it with BBEdit, I think I'll just leave it as is and resort to Firefox and Chrome until Apple gets this sorted out. I might as well try Opera while I'm starting my browser collection.

Be aware that other users of Accordance 10 may hit the wall on the Help System until Apple fixes this.

[Greg Terry]

Michael:

I am using Safari 6.0.1 with ML and have no issues with help. It works fine on my MacBook Air - always has. I don't think javascript is 'broken' on Safari.

[Michael Miles]

Michael:

I am using Safari 6.0.1 with ML and have no issues with help. It works fine on my MacBook Air - always has. I don't think javascript is 'broken' on Safari.

Are you fully patched on ML?

With 3 complete installations of ML under my belt ~just~ to get Accordance 10's Help System working without installing supplemental browsers, I'm going to have to go with there being something "broken" in Safari 6.0.1 on ML. I tried setting my graphics up to make use of the on-CPU graphics capabilities that your MacBook Air uses instead of the Radeon HD 6750M that my MacBook Pro uses, and still had no access to the Accordance 10 Help System.

It's not possible that the three clean installs of ML all resulted in the same problem that only appears in the Accordance 10 Help System without something being amiss.

Too many people are reporting this same problem in Apple's forums for it to not be an issue. Be thankful that your particular configuration works. Perhaps I'll just ditch Accordance on the Mac and try again when they have the Windows offering complete.

Edited by Michael Miles, 13 October 2012 - 06:15 AM.

[Michael Miles]

Michael:

I am using Safari 6.0.1 with ML and have no issues with help. It works fine on my MacBook Air - always has. I don't think javascript is 'broken' on Safari.

I have a question. Did you do a clean install of ML on your MacBook Air or did you perform an upgrade from Lion to ML?

[Greg Terry]

I did an upgrade and yes I am fully patched. I just got the latest upgrade earlier today. Help worked before and after the upgrade.

I would suggest you give Accordance customer support a call. I would imagine they can help you work through this issue.

Problems of this nature are best posed to them. Have a little patience. What you are experiencing is far from typical on Accordance.

I hope you can get your problems fixed soon.

[Michael Miles]

I just erased Mountain Lion and installed Lion with no patches (OS X 10.7) and the browser is Safari Version 5.1 (7534.48.3). I installed Accordance 10 and the Help System works fine with Safari.

[Ken Simpson]

Hi Michael.
that's really strange. I am running a completely up-to-date ML and Safari 6.0.1 and am having no probs with the help.  Screen Shot 2012-10-08 at 17.38.46 .jpg   11.79K   5 downloads

 Screen Shot 2012-10-08 at 17.37.02 .jpg   251.71K   6 downloads

Glad to hear it's working under Lion though. I think I agree with Greg. Might be best to give support a call if you want to chase it out more.

Edited by Ken Simpson, 08 October 2012 - 01:42 AM.

[Michael Miles]

I emailed support Saturday morning very soon after I purchased my Accordance 10 upgrade regarding this. I work night shift hours and sleep during the day, so calling support is not going to work for me.

I just patched Lion to 10.7.5 and Safari to Version 5.1.7 (7534.57.7) and the Accordance 10 Help System works fine.

On to the next patch. I want to see when this breaks. I have a feeling that patching Lion to Mountain Lion in place will result in a working Accordance 10 Help System whereas a clean install of Mountain Lion is going to result in the Help System not working with Safari.