Home > Installation > Service Pack History

Service Pack History

Download the full installation with the latest service pack from here: http://www.extremeease.com/download/HelpConsole2008Setup.exe 
Refer to the following installation instructions: http://www.extremeease.com/help/knowledgebase/default.aspx?pageid=applying_a_helpconsole_2008_service_pack

January 22 2010 - Service Pack 3.4
Bug Fixes & Enhancements:
  • Session Timed Out - If a readers session timed out and then they clicked a page link, the messages "imgCloseform = [object]" and "Error. Your session has timed out" appeared.
  • Publish Timeout - If a user deleted a static publish folder and then clicked the 'publish help system' button, a timeout message appeared.
  • Contents Hover Bug - If a page status was assigned and then removed, the 'hover' style did not appear correctly when the cursor was moved over the page name.


    • November 3 2009 - Service Pack 3.3
    Bug Fixes & Enhancements:
  • PDF Contents - If the contents in the PDF template was modified, but not saved until after the session timed out, the PDF contents could have overwriten the main contents.
  • Link Page Scrollbar - If the treeview was expanded past the bottom of the page, a scrollbar did not appear.
  • Default Font Size - If the default font size is changed, it no longer affects fonts on the 'properties' and 'add page' dialogs.
  • Anchors - Links may not have worked correctly if anchor added to the end of the link (eg: default.aspx?pageid=faq#anchor1).
  • Period in Page ID - If a period was included in a page id, breadcrumbs did not work correctly.
  • PDF Template - The page properties icon is no longer displayed in the 'PDF Template' editor.
  • Anchors in Static Help - Anchors now work correctly when linking from one internal page to another.
  • Documents in Merged Project - Document links did not work correctly in merged projects.
  • Support for Windows 7 - Setup Wizard did not create virtual directory.
  • New Project Icons - The 'create' project icons are no longer gray in evaluation mode.
  • PDF Brown Links - Bug related to IE8 fixed. Links in PDF no longer show brown background.
  • Import Page Chars - Import failed if import pages contained special characters such as + & #.
  • PDF Image Caching - If an image was modified and then a PDF was published, the PDF did not display the modified image.


    • June 18 2009 - Service Pack 3.2
    Bug Fixes & Enhancements:
  • Static Page Highlight - If one or more pages were hidden and then the project was published, some pages were highlighted incorrectly in contents.
  • IE8 Dataset Properties - In IE8, the dataset properties were not displayed when the detail or find panel were clicked.
  • Search Scrollbars - When search results or index displayed, scrollbars did not appear (bug introduced in SP3.1)
  • Delete Bug - It was possible to delete the hidden root node by using the up/down arrow keys, hitting enter twice and then clicking the 'delete' icon.
  • IE8 PDF Links - If IE8 is installed on the web server, links in a published PDF are shown with brown background. An option is now included to include links.
  • IE8 Add Field - In IE8 when a dataset detail field was added, two labels were added.
  • Toggle Panel in PDF - Toggle Panels are now expanded in published PDF manual.
  • Popups in PDF - Popups are converted to standard links when PDF manual is published.
  • Pagenames in Reports - Page names can now be included in reports by including the page id with the alias "PageNameFromID" in the SQL Query.
  • Variable in Page Name - If a variable is included in a page name, the variable is not translated for system variables such as 'breadcrumbs'. (introduced in previous SP)
  • Upload button - The upload button on the 'Manage Projects' screen was not visible for Safari or Google Chrome.
  • Popups in Safari - The 'Small Popup' and 'Large Popup' did not work correctly in Safari or Google Chrome.
  • Report Sort Field - The 'sort field' property was not applied if the 'show all' checkbox was checked.



    • May 25 2009 - Service Pack 3.1
    Bug Fixes & Enhancements:
  • Search - When performing a search, File Folders and Comments are now included.
  • [Top Menu ] Variable - Now works when the project is in iframes format.
  • [Child Menu ] Variable - New 'Child Menu' variable displays children and sub-children of the current page.
  • ID Rename Bug - If a page id was renamed to another existing page id, an error occurred.
  • Page Name Characters - The following chracters can now be included in page names: ? / &
  • Long Project Name - If a project name was longer than 255 characters, an error occurred.
  • Project Name Chars - If a project name contained special characters such as ©® an error occurred
  • Add Page Dialog - The 'Page Type' list is now displayed on the default view of the 'Add Page' dialog.
  • Search Bug - If search criteria started with a space, the browser appeared to hang.
  • Search Merge Project - If a project contains an invalid merge project, an error will occur when searching.
  • Page Icon Bug - If an icon was assigned to a page and then it was set back to 'auto', the icon still appeared.
  • New Import Function - Content from external sources such as MS Word, HTML Pages, or Robohelp projects can now be imported.
  • Value List Bug - An error occurred if a double quote was included in a value list entry.
  • Child Icon List - The format of the 'child icon list' and 'sibling icon list' variables can now be changed with styles.
  • Contents Page Drop - If the contents was scrolled, the drop position may not have been shown correctly when dragging a page.
  • [Client Login ] Variable - The 'Client Login' variable can now be included in pages.
  • Show All property - Reports now include a new 'Show All' property that causes all records to be listed when the report is displayed.
  • File Folder Filenames - If & or other special characters are included in a file that is uploaded to a file folder, the file cannot be downloaded.
  • Users Dataset - 'Username', 'Fullname' and 'Security Group' field not displayed correctly after users dataset property set.
  • Lite Edition Variables - The variables form is now displayed for the lite edition but new variables cannot be added.
  • Comments Bug - If the character & is included in a comment, it is not displayed correctly in live mode.
  • URL in comments - If a URL or email address is included in a comment, it is converted to a link when displayed in live mode.


    • March 6 2009 - Service Pack 3
    Bug Fixes & Enhancements:

  • 'Allow Delete' Property - A new 'allow delete' property has been added for 'dataset summaries' to show or hide the delete icon for each record.
  • New Setup Wizard - The initial setup routine now automatically creates the virtual directory and assigns write permissions for all operating systems.
  • Unapproved Leads - The 'Unapproved Leads' dataset summary was not displayed in some cases.
  • Publish Static Help - An error may have occurred if the format was 'flat' and the 'static' folder was previously deleted.
  • File Attachments - Dataset permissions are now applied to file attachments. The browse and delete buttons are hidden if the user does not have permissions.
  • Knowledgebase Link - The 'link' option did not work in published static knowledgebase.
  • Skin Editor Images - The image dialog for the skin editor now shows images from the 'skinimages' folder (not the images folder).
  • ? in Page Names - The question mark character (?) is now allowed in page names.
  • German Characters - The following special characters caused an error if included in page names.
  • Publish Static Help - If the project format was 'flat', the 'frames' checkbox did not take effect when publishing static help.
  • 'Article details' variable - The 'article details' variable was not translated in static help.
  • 'Author' Security Group - The 'Author' security group has been removed from the 'help system' project template.
  • Website URL - If a website was entered in the format www.domain.com for knowledgebase prompts, the link did not work.
  • bookmark - If a project url was specified as www.domain.com/help/project/ The bookmark function did not work correctly.
  • External Pages - External documents and websites are now displayed correctly when opened from search results.
  • External Page Link - The link is now displayed correctly for external pages when the 'link' option is clicked.
  • Contents label - The contents, index and search results label can now be customized by adding 'translation_contents label' variable.
  • Dataset Datasource - If a dataset datasource property was blank, an error occured.
  • New FileFolder Format - File folders are now displayed in a list format and sorted by filename.
  • Page Template Bug - If a page starting with 'template_' was added an error occurred because it was recognized as a template.
  • Required Values - A new 'Required' property has been added for datasets that requires users to enter values for specific fields.
  • Dataset Default Values - Dataset fields may have contained the default value when edited rather than the actual value.
  • Report Field list - Extra insert fields may have been listed when an SQL query was defined for reports or dataset summaries.
  • Conditional content - Conditional content can now be displayed based on the current skin, current user, or SQL statement.
  • Pricing Structure - All templates are now included when HelpConsole is purchased. No longer sold as separate products.



    • January 23 2008 - Service Pack 2.2
    Bug Fixes & Enhancements:
  • Pass User Credentials - users can be automatically logged in by passing the username and password via session variables.
  • Search Operators - Searches can now include the 'and' and 'or' operators (eg: "car and truck", "car or truck", "car or truck or bus".
  • Personal Comments - logged in users can now submit personal comments that are only visible to them.
  • Field Length - An error occurred if a text field label was longer than 255 characters.
    •
  • Skin Name - If a skin name contained certain special characters, an error occurred.
  • Variable Name - If a variable name contained certain special characters, an error occurred.
  • Security Group Name - If a security group name contained certain special characters, an error occurred.
  • Page Template - If a page template name contained certain special characters, an error occurred.
  • Username - If a username contained certain special characters, an error occurred.
  • Username with space - A username can no longer begin with a space character.
  • Page Anchor - An anchor can now be specified when loading a help system. eg: Default.aspx?pageid=faq&anchor=howto1
  • Link Page - Merge project pages were not displayed in the link page dialog. 
  • Page Anchor - An anchor can now be specified when loading a help system. eg: Default.aspx?pageid=faq&anchor=howto1
  • Lock Pages - Pages can now be either hidden or locked. Previously these settings were combined as (visible for skins).
  • Flat Search - When a search was performed for a flat format help system, the results were not displayed correctly.
  • Close Search - When search results are displayed for a flat format help system, the close button (X) is no longer displayed.
  • Breadcrumbs Style - breadcrumb font size and color were previously hardcoded. This can now be changed via stylesheet.
  • Knowledgebase Template - breadcrumb font size and color were previously hardcoded. This can now be changed via stylesheet. 


    • December 19 2008 - Service Pack 2
    Bug Fixes & Enhancements:
  • Javascript Error - A javascript error occassionally occurred when loading a static help system.
  • Users Table - A new feature has been added that allows users to fill out a form and automatically create a new user account.
  • Dataset - A new feature has been added that allows authors to add searchable data forms to their help systems.
  • Dataset Summary - A new feature has been added that allows authors to display summary information from datasets.
  • File Folders - A new feature has been added that allows authors to include secure file folders within a help system.
  • Reports - A new feature has been added that allows authors to create reports (with parameters)
  • Toggle Panel - A new feature has been added that allows authors to add expandable panels.
  • Max Upload size - The maximum upload size for images, documents and flash files has been increased to 781 KB.
  • Image hotspots - URLs in image hotspots did not work in live help or static help in some cases.
  • Reseller Console - New 'Reseller Console' template added.
  • PDA Help - New PDA Help template added.
  • Search speed - Search performance has been significantly improved. Particularly for larger help systems.
  • Load Speed - Help System Load speed has been improved.
  • Manage projects - The 'Manage Projects' form has been redesigned.
  • Save contents - The error 'XmlException: Data at the root level is invalid' occurred in some cases.
  • Copy Project - A javascript error may have occurred when the 'copy project' function was used.
  • Safari Support - Safari 3.0 is now fully supported in live mode and edit mode.
  • Child icon pages - The 'child icon pages' panels were not displayed correctly if the label spanned more than two lines.
  • Search Parameter - Search text can now be specified in the URL to open the help system and display search results.
  • Publish Bug - If a page id contained the ? character, the contents was not displayed when a static help system was published.
  • Static Flat Margin - The page margin has been increased for help systems published with the 'flat' option.
  • Search not Displayed - Search results were not displayed for help systems published with the 'flat' option.
  • Published Comments - When a help system was published, hidden and pending comments were included.
  • Concurrent authors - If users edited pages in two separate projects a message appeared if the page names matched.
  • Firefox link page - When inserting a page link in Firefox, an error may have occurred and the browser closes.


    • July 22 2008 - Service Pack 1
    Bug Fixes & Enhancements:

  • Firefox Flash - An 'F' icon was displayed when a flash animation was inserted in a help page using Firefox 2.0 or Firefox 3.0.
  • Special Characters - If special characters such as ©, ® and + were included in a help page, the characters were not saved correctly.
  • Improved Search - The search function now includes all system, page, and user defined variables when performing a search.
  • Anchors - anchor links were not saved correctly.
  • Upgrading external pages - An error occurred if a Helpconsole 2007 project was upgraded and contained an external page such as "docs/test.pdf"
  • Upgrading hidden pages - When upgrading a project from HelpConsole 2007, hidden pages were not upgraded correctly.
  • Undo Page Content - In rare cases, if text was selected, a page was loaded and the user pressed 'ctrl-z', the page content reverted back to the last page.
  • Conditional Variables - Variables can now contain conditions so that different values can be displayed by skin.
  • Variable Editor - The following functions were added to the 'variable editor': 'Link Page' and 'Insert Conditional Content'
  • Static Page Highlight - When a page is loaded via page link in a static help system, the page name will be highlighted correctly.
  • Project Embedding - Links did not work correctly in a static help system when published from a modular (embedded) help project.
  • Default.aspx conversion - For help systems in frames format, default.aspx?pageid=faq was not always converted to page.aspx?pageid=faq.
  • Upload on Medium Trust - A server error occurred when a HelpConsole 2007 project was upgraded on a medium trust server.
  • Changes to Blue skin - The following changes were made to the blue skin: 'Add to Favorites' relabled to 'Bookmark'. 'Print Page' changed to 'Print'
  • Manual.pdf - When a PDF manual is published, it is now saved at the root of the project folder (was project/docs/manual.pdf)
  • Static Publish Folder - Users can now specify the folder that a static help system will be published to.
  • Static Window Title - The browser title for a static help system will be the name of the static folder, or the project name if the folder is 'static'.
  • Keyword Case - When keywords were displayed they were always converted to lower case.
  • Copy Project Security - The user was automatically logged in when a project was copied, even if a password was assigned.
  • Broken Images - Images may have appeared broken when saving variables, skins or page templates.
  • Search Tabs Skin - The search textbox was not displayed when a help system was published from the 'Tabs' skin.
  • Forward Slash in Page ID - The contents was blank in static help if a forward slash was used in the page ID. The slash is no longer allowed.
  • PDF EditPage Button - The 'editpage' image was broken in the PDF template editor after upgrading from HelpConsole 2007.
  • Duplicate Page Name - If a page was added, deleted and then re-added with the same name before saving, an error occurred when saving.
  • Styles Cancel Button - The 'cancel' button on the 'edit styles' form was removed.
  • Example Help System - The example help system that is included with the installation is now based on the 'HelpConsole 2008' help system.
  • Load Page Directly - If a page was loaded directly before session and application variables were loaded, a server error occurred.
  • Unused Images Report - An 'Un-used Images' report was added to allow users to remove images that are no longer used in the help project.
  • Blank Page Name - If a page is added and a space is entered as the page name, an error occurred when the help system was published.
  • Duplicate Page Names - If two pages are added with the same name before saving, an error occurred when saving.
  • Forward Slash in Page Name - If a page is added with a forward slash in the name, the contents was not displayed when published.
  • Delete Edited Page - If a page was being edited and the user clicked 'delete', a prompt appeared asking to save the page.
  • Flat Format URLS - When the help format is 'flat', page URLs no longer contain the following after the URL: &dummy=12634undefined
  • Flat Format - If the help format was 'flat', the format remained as 'frames' after editing and then logging out.
  • Tools Progress Image - If the edition was 'Lite', the progress image appeared after the tools form was loaded.
  • Lite Edition Page Properties - The 'page name' and 'page id' properties were not displayed when the edition was 'Lite'

    •