Toolbook Powerpac menuItem problem

[John Robin Dove]

Hi Clifton,
I thought this must be a Vista related problem because I've been away for a few days and have been using a portable computer which has Vista. (I have not updated to a more recent version of Windows because I like to have a variety of Windows versions on which to test my programs. This is import for VB.NET as every time a new Windows version arrives there are problems to solve! For TB/Powerpac it's not an issue for me but I guess new browser versions keep you busy in a similar way.) I've just got back and am surprised to see that the problem is still there in Windows 8.1. Here is what you see:

[img]http:/www.mediacours.com/tb_examples/powerpacError.jpg[/img]

(For some reason this picture won't display. The address is correct so if you point your browser to it in another tab you should be able to see it. If not here is the message: Not a valid menu item "DynamicParamHelp". addPowerPac in book "C:\..s\PowerPac\PGSD_PowerPac90.sbk"

It occurs when you click on Publish to Web (DHTML)... in the File menu. It is a semi-random bug. I thought it may have been related to one particular tbk file but it doesn't seem to be. The only other thing that I did before this started happening was to download and install the latest Powerpac Beta 12.305.

Fortunately I discovered ways to get round it. I say semi-random but it now happens all the time and it's more the solutions that are random. The first time it happened I opened the Actions editor and clicked on Execute Script. After closing the editor Publish to Web (DHTML)... behaved normally. Sadly this was the only time this 'cure' worked. I then discovered another: pressing on F3 to go to reader level and then once again to return to author. This always works but only on one condition! If going to reader triggers an error message the problem disappears. However if there is no error triggered by pressing on F3, the 'cure' doesn't work. So it's not as bad as I first thought because I have a certain page that always triggers an error so I can open this page before attempting to export to DHTML.

[Clifton]

This is a pretty new feature, so maybe a bug crept in with the version 9.01 sbk. I will take a look and see if I can spot it. We haven't seen any trouble with the other sbk's.

[Clifton]

Should be fixed in PowerPac v12.307+ beta.
THANK YOU for reporting this!

[John Robin Dove]

OK. Thanks.

[John Robin Dove]

Hi Clifton,

I have just downloaded and installed 12.308. The menu item problem has been solved but I have a new issue. When I try to open my program as a DHTML in my browser (after the export to web process) I never get beyond the Loading...please wait message! I've re-installed 305 and this confirms that the new version is the culprit.

[Clifton]

I can't seem to duplicate a freeze on load using ToolBook v9.01 (your version). Have you tried deleting the web export and then creating the export fresh. The latest version removed a depreciated function (setFlashVariable) and this may be causing a problem if it is referenced in any of your objects. ToolBook tends to load all function references in the user properties of every object, so if a depreciated function is referenced but not available, this could cause a problem.

Try the following:

1. Save a backup of your book before trying these steps.
2. Also run the PowerPac menu item called "Trim page memory" as this may clean up depreciated references.
3. Disable the PowerPac and save your book; close it, then reopen it and enable the PowerPac.
   (This is probably the real clincher that will solve the problem.)

If the above steps work, then we will probably have to alert other users who experience problems when upgrading to PowerPac versions which have removed legacy (or depreciated) functions. However, I noticed that later versions of ToolBook seem to clean up after themselves when loading PowerPac-enabled books.

But, if none of the above works, then ...
Try creating a new book and add a little action code and export that as a test to confirm whether the book loads a new, fresh book.

[John Robin Dove]

Hi Clifton,

I followed the steps and everything now functions as it should. Many thanks.