Can't search online Help

Classic Servoy
1

Mac OS X 10.4.1: When I try to search the online Help, no items are found. A very small window briefly flashes on the screen, for only a split second, which I imagine is some kind of alert but it goes by too quickly to read it. I tried taking a movie of the problem with SnapzPro, but during a frame-by-frame review in QuickTime Player, the little mystery window does not make an appearance.

Is anyone else having trouble with searching Help? Any known fixes? Should I just reinstall Servoy?

thanks,

kazar

2

OK, I completely uninstalled Servoy and reinstalled, re-downloaded the “background documentation”, still no luck. I seem limited to using Spotlight (which I truly hate) to search for a term in Servoy help, and then it opens in my web browser instead of in the help browser…

kazar

3

Hi Kazar

Well spotted. Can confirm exactly the same behaviour on Win Xp and Mac OSX 10.2.8.

Help Contents & Index work fine but clicking the Search button results in the same small window flash but no results. The window has title ‘Searching…’

Using Tools/Find you can search in the selected Chapter - but this too limited to be much use.

Graham Greensall
Worxinfo Ltd

Servoy Developer
Version R2 2.2-build 328
Java version 1.4.2_08-b03 (Windows XP)

Servoy Developer
Version R2 2.2-build 328
Java version 1.4.1_01-24 (Mac OSX)

4

thanks for the confirmation, Graham…

kazar

5

This seems specific to the latest help files and not the Servoy version.

I have two OS X setups which are the same but for the help.

I have downloaded the new help files to my primary machine but not to the second one as yet.

Behaviour you mention happens on primary machine help but not second machine running older help files.

May be it is an indexing issue which needs to be remedied in the new help files ?

BTW - The small and fleeting dialogue is a ‘search in progress’ message.

Cheers
Harry

6

Thanks for reporting this issue.

We are currently investigating the problem and will post an update as
soon as the issue has been resolved.

Marc Norman
Servoy

7

Thanks to Ilyse and Harry for reporting this problem.

This issue has been resolved and the Servoy 2.2 Online
Help Navigator update is available for download.

[fix] - entering search criteria and pressing “Search” displays no topics.
[fix] - entering “array” as a search criteria returns no topics.

To download Servoy 2.2 Online Help Navigator after a clean installation
of Servoy 2.2:

  1. Launch Servoy Developer.
  2. Choose the menu Help > Help or press F1.
  3. Press the “OK” button from the “Documentation” dialog.

NOTE: Be patient - the 26MB Servoy 2.2 Help files may take a bit of time
to finish downloading.

To update the Servoy 2.2 Online Help Navigator:

  • Exit/Quit Servoy Developer.
  • Open the Servoy/docs/developer_manual folder/directory.
  • Select and delete ALL the files IN the developer_manual folder/directory.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT DELETE the developer_manual folder/directory -
otherwise the Servoy Online Help Navigator may not function properly.

-Follow the steps 1-3 listed above.

Marc Norman
Servoy

8

Wow, Marc, being a U.S.-based employee of Servoy … you ought to be at someone’s barbeque sluffing down burgers and beers on the 4th of July …

THANKS for the quick fixes.

kazar

9

I’m amazed all you people across the pond are anywhere near a web browser and nowhere near a barbecue !!

Have a beer for me !!

Thanks for the update Marc and perhaps while I have your ear - What is the possibility of using an amended stylesheet.css as a default for the on line help.

I have found the revised version which Ilyse modified to be so helpful in making the help easier to read - come on, gotta dislike the pale grey text colour at the very least :-)

Adopt it as a standard and help us even more !

Cheers and have a good Independence Day everyone
Harry

10

Harry Catharell:
I have found the revised version which Ilyse modified to be so helpful in making the help easier to read - come on, gotta dislike the pale grey text colour at the very least :-)

Adopt it as a standard and help us even more !

Firstly, glad you like the revised stylesheet so much!

BUT, hang in there for an improved version that ought to look pretty good on any platform and any resolution.

Re changing the default stylesheet … in private correspondence Marc explained to me that the stylesheet is auto-generated from the software Servoy uses to build the Help files (which also generates the output for the pdf and printed manuals, if I understood correctly). And Marc said that because the documentation is kept so up-to-date it would be labor-intensive to change the stylesheet every time a new Help file is generated for each new build. Yet, I’m sure he’s already looking into whether it is possible to control the properties of the selectors (classes) the software outputs in the stylesheet.css file.

Since I made my first little foray into bumping up point sizes for Servoy Developer Help in a way that will look good on my 1680x1050 screen (but will look like a damned billboard on a Windows screen running at 1024x640), I have begun to read up on and experiment with css in general, and font-size properties in particular. Hopefully I will find time soon to put together a little article sharing what I’ve learned – as it can be applied not only to Servoy Developer (and possibly Client) Help, but also to our Servoy solutions as well.

But I’ll post the “Improved Stylesheet, Take Two” very soon.

kazar