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10.0.4 Help System Not Working


Michael Miles

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You should also verify that Javascript is fully enabled for your browser.

 

For Safari:

 

To turn webpage features back on:


  1. Choose Safari > Preferences and click Security.

  2. Make sure these checkboxes are selected: Enable plug-ins, Enable Java, and Enable JavaScript.

  3. Make sure this checkbox is not selected: “Block pop-up windows.”

Please see this help page for more information if you are not using Safari: http://java.com/en/download/help/enable_browser.xml

I hope this is helpful.

 

Deborah Hemstreet

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I tried another route to get the clean Mountain Lion installation that I'm looking for. After setting up Mountain Lion I installed Accordance 10 and tried the Help System. It displays the empty/blank areas on the navigation framework again. I then set up Safari so that the Develop tab is accessible and selected Show Error Console. The Safari browser doesn't appear to be hanging up on any javascript, but rather is hanging up because of this:

 

XMLHttpRequest cannot load file:///Applications/Accordance.app/Contents/Resources/Accordance%20Help/Data/HelpSystem.xml. Cross origin requests are only supported for HTTP.

 

It appears that this HelpSystem.xml file contains a reference to a file on the hard drive and XMLHttpRequest is rather expecting the referenced file to be served via an http server. The specific reference in the HelpSystem.xml file that XMLHttpRequest is expecting to be served up by an http server (and not read off a local filesystem) is content/topics/01_welcome_help/welcome_to_accordance.htm

 

Perhaps another soul with ML installed along with the latest Safari that has a working Help System could enable the Develop aspect of Safari and see if this error comes up in Show Error Console for them.

 

Thank you!

Edited by Michael Miles
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I don't see that error, but ML was installed over Lion on my machine.

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Michael:

 

I mentioned this earlier and haven't seen any response where you tried this suggestion. I would almost guarantee you have javascript disabled in Safari. If you enable it, the Accordance help system will likely work. With it disabled, one gets exactly the white screen to which you keep referring. Please check your preferences in Safari and see if javascript is enabled.

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Michael:

 

I mentioned this earlier and haven't seen any response where you tried this suggestion. I would almost guarantee you have javascript disabled in Safari. If you enable it, the Accordance help system will likely work. With it disabled, one gets exactly the white screen to which you keep referring. Please check your preferences in Safari and see if javascript is enabled.

 

Hi Greg,

 

I checked this a long time ago and javascript has been enabled all along. I've disabled it and re-enabled it as well.

 

What is actually causing the hang that results in blank aspects to the navagation system is an XML error that Safari itself is reporting.

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I will put in a support request with the Help compiler people that I work with. I doubt that this is a Help-files related problem since the Help works for everyone else (unless Java is disabled), but who knows, maybe they can give me a clue as to what you are looking for. It will take a couple of days to get an answer from them, so please let me know if there is any progress in solving the problem. I hope this helps.

 

Deborah

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Perhaps another soul with ML installed along with the latest Safari that has a working Help System could enable the Develop aspect of Safari and see if this error comes up in Show Error Console for them.

No error listed such as you have, but my install was an upgrade from Lion.
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One interesting thing though. Disable Java, Javascript, or both... get Accordance frame with blank pages. Click command-R no change. Open "Show error console" and still white panes, but now click Command-R and it all loads and appears normal.

 

One interesting thing when googling the "Cross origin requests are only supported for HTTP" error it seems that this is actually a security "feature" for not allowing malicious scripts to run from a local file using javascript (or AJAX) in it.

Edited by Ryan G
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I will put in a support request with the Help compiler people that I work with. I doubt that this is a Help-files related problem since the Help works for everyone else (unless Java is disabled), but who knows, maybe they can give me a clue as to what you are looking for. It will take a couple of days to get an answer from them, so please let me know if there is any progress in solving the problem. I hope this helps.

 

Deborah

 

Thank you very much!

 

I've attached three screen captures that illustrate what I see on my end with a clean Mountain Lion installation and Accordance 10.0.4.

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I put in the help request, we will see if they have any insites. Your screen captures look just like the ones related to Java errors though... except for the last one... I filed the help request before you posted, so I can't send them screen capture until they reply. I can't promise they will be able to help... but we shall see. In the meantime, could you please verify the following:

 

Visit the following links and advise if you can view the pages. (I know they will ask for something similar, so I might as well have the answer ready now). Thanks!

 

http://webhelp.madcapsoftware.com/flare8/Default.htm

 

http://accordancefiles2.com/helpfiles/OSXV10/Default.htm

 

http://accordancefiles2.com/helpfiles/OSX/Default.htm

 

http://accordancefiles2.com/helpfiles/Mobile/Default.htm

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I put in the help request, we will see if they have any insites. Your screen captures look just like the ones related to Java errors though... except for the last one... I filed the help request before you posted, so I can't send them screen capture until they reply. I can't promise they will be able to help... but we shall see. In the meantime, could you please verify the following:

 

Visit the following links and advise if you can view the pages. (I know they will ask for something similar, so I might as well have the answer ready now). Thanks!

 

http://webhelp.madca...re8/Default.htm

 

http://accordancefil...V10/Default.htm

 

http://accordancefil...OSX/Default.htm

 

http://accordancefil...ile/Default.htm

 

Here are screen captures for each of your four requests in the order that you listed them.

 

Thank you for looking into this.

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Disable Local File Restrictions in the Safari Develop tab plus a browser refresh gets the Accordance 10.0.4 Help System working on a clean Mountain Lion installation.

 

In the first screen capture attached to this email you can see the normal blank Accordance 10 Help system in a clean installation of Mountain Lion when viewed with Safari 6.

 

In the second screen capture I illustrate how to use the Develop tab to disable local file restrictions. You can enable the Develop tab by going to Preferences in Safari and then entering the Advanced area and then clicking on the "Show Develop menu in menu bar".

 

The third screen capture is the results of disabling local file restrictions via the Develop tab ~before~ refreshing the browser.

 

The fourth screen capture shows the Accordance 10 Help System working in a clean Mountain Lion installation.

 

I'm going to see if I can turn over any rocks on my end to see if I can come up with anything else. I'm glad that it's working, but not too keen that I have to resort to tweaking the browser via the Develop tab to get it working.

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From what I'm seeing here, the "Cross origin requests are only supported for HTTP" error is the cause of this and this error seems to be valid as the use of XMLHttpRequest specifically disallows referencing a file on the local filesystem. Using the Develop tools in Safari to disable local file restrictions serves as a way for developers to circumvent being disallowed from using the local filesystem to "serve" up code that should correctly be served up by an http server.

 

http://developer.apple.com/library/safari/#documentation/AppleApplications/Conceptual/Safari_Developer_Guide/2SafariDeveloperTools/SafariDeveloperTools.html

 

It looks to be that perhaps Apple is tightening up security and what things that may have slipped between the cracks prior to Mountain Lion are maybe now being enforced. The fact that I am able to access the online version of the Accordance 10 Help System without tweaking the browser to disable local file restrictions, while having to do just that to access my local version pretty much spells out that XMLHttpRequest is now enforcing the cross origin requests security feature that disallows local filesystem access.

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Debra & others:

 

Let's be real clear. Disabling Java has no negative effect on the Help System. Disabling Javascript causes the dreaded white screen. Java and Javascript are two entirely different things. Even though they both have Java in their name, they are TOTALLY unrelated to each other.

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-deleted-

Edited by Michael Miles
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My favorite example:

 

Java and Javascript are similar like Car and Carpet are similar.

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Re Java and Javascript being different, you are right. My apologies for not specifying the difference.

 

However, according to the instructions I received from the company that makes the software I use to develop the Help, both Java and Javascript must be enabled to optimally view the Help.

 

By the way, with regard to you being able to view the Help on the web, but not locally -- when Google browser was first released, you could not view WebHelp in it, for the same reasons you cited... a lot of people were very angry, and it took a while for Google to get the message, but they finally removed the internal changes they had made that prevented being able to view WebHelp.

 

I think you've proven that the problem is with the restriction and suggest you lodge a complaint with Apple that their "security" is preventing you from viewing WebHelp. You are not the only person who will have this problem. But unfortunately, it cannot be fixed from our end.

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Re Java and Javascript being different, you are right. My apologies for not specifying the difference.

 

However, according to the instructions I received from the company that makes the software I use to develop the Help, both Java and Javascript must be enabled to optimally view the Help.

 

By the way, with regard to you being able to view the Help on the web, but not locally -- when Google browser was first released, you could not view WebHelp in it, for the same reasons you cited... a lot of people were very angry, and it took a while for Google to get the message, but they finally removed the internal changes they had made that prevented being able to view WebHelp.

 

I think you've proven that the problem is with the restriction and suggest you lodge a complaint with Apple that their "security" is preventing you from viewing WebHelp. You are not the only person who will have this problem. But unfortunately, it cannot be fixed from our end.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing what MadCap has to say about this. Another person has reported the same situation on their system - http://www.accordancebible.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8748

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Out of curiosity, Michael, do you run as an admin user?

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I'd be interested to know if the Java update that was pushed out by Apple today resolves the issue.

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Out of curiosity, Michael, do you run as an admin user?

 

Yes, Joel. My account is an admin account.

 

I'd be interested to know if the Java update that was pushed out by Apple today resolves the issue.

 

How was this update pushed? I just got home from work and ran Software Update and it came back with nothing new - this being the software update on the Apple menu.

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I got it today via Software update (ML 10.8.2)

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I got it today via Software update (ML 10.8.2)

 

Oops- these long shifts beat me up. I get no update since I don't have Java installed. I don't like to install stuff that I do not use as anything you install can be a liability to security (too many years of playing with OpenBSD, I suppose).

 

Since the Accordance installation did not require Java, I see no point in installing it on my own. Nothing else here is requiring Java. If Accordance required Java, then I believe that the programmers would have stipulated making sure that it was installed on the target system during the installation process.... eh?

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and if it is needed, you should be prompted to install it when it needs it....

 

Be nice to know - Deborah or Joel - is Java (not Javascript) *required* for the help system?

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It seems that MadCap Flare requires Java, but that is just to run aspects of MadCap Flare - not to use the Help files that MadCap Flare generates.

 

See here - http://kb.madcapsoftware.com/Content/Flare/Installation_-_Activation_-_Registration/IAR1016F_-_V8_System_Requirements.htm

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