FrameMaker – RoboHelp Integration – when to preserve modifications to a RoboHelp file?

© Ugur Akinci
If you prepare your source files in FrameMaker and then import (or rather, link) them to a RoboHelp project like I do, there is one feature that you should pay attention to.
When you bring in a source file and then save it in RH, the application displays the following warning message:

Due to the way this warning message is worded, you may think that it makes sense to check the “Preserve modifications to this file” check-box. But don’t do that and leave the check-box alone if you’d like to import the changes to your FM source-file carried over to the RH project.
If you select the “Preserve modifications to this file” check-box check-box, your changes to the source file will not be carried over to RH and you will have to link the same file all over again to your RH project.
But the downside is, if you are applying any master pages or special CSS to your RH file you will need to re-apply them after the changes to the FM source-file are updated in the RH file.
To update the RH project file so that it displays the changes to the source-file, select the RH file in the RH TOC or the Project Manager, then select File > Update > Update.