Integrated Documentation for VFC XE in VS 2008 Shell

[Hayen__Jeffrey]

When attempting to access the integrated documentation for VFC XE under Help>Intel Visual Fortran Composer XE 2011>Intel Visual Fortran Composer XE 2011 Help within MS Visual Studio 2008, an error occurs:

A Microsoft Visual Studio window appears, displaying the message "No topics could be located that were relevant to the F1 request."

Also, I am unable to set (per information in the VFC XE documentation) the "Filtered by" option to Intel (within the Contents window).

I have only installed Intel VFC XE 2011 once, and I only see the Visual Studio 2008 Shell (integrated mode) as the only registered version of Visual Studio on my PC (which runs Windows 7 with an i5 Core processor).

I have tried:

1. Several fixes suggested from the support articles

2. Repairing the installation with the VFC XE installation DVD

3. Contacting "Premier Support" and submitting an issue report

None of these actions has remediated the problem.

I can access the alternate HTML-based documentation through my browser, but it is very inconvenient.

The build information on the VFC XE installation is Intel Visual Fortran Compiler XE on IA-32, version 12.0.0 Package ID: w_fcompxe_2011.0.104

[Steven_L_Intel1]

What's the Premier Support issue number?

[Hayen__Jeffrey]

638791

Sorry, Steve. The support person with whom I have been working has not seemed helpful (hence, my post here in the user forum).

I was hoping to tap into your experience and insight.

[Steven_L_Intel1]

Do you also have Visual Studio 2005 Premier Partner Edition installed from an earlier release?

[Hayen__Jeffrey]

I only have Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Shell (integrated mode) [9.0.21022] installed, and (as best as I can tell) it was installed when I first installed VFC XE 2011 about three weeks ago.

Should I uninstall and re-install VFC XE 2011? If so, should I re-install Update 5 instead of the version from my installation DVD?

[Steven_L_Intel1]

You can certainly try that. We have not seen a problem like this in a while, but the fix I saw for the older version doesn't seem to work here. I will ask our documentation people for help.

[Hayen__Jeffrey]

Just kind of wondering whether my inquiry is still on the radar ...

Update: Since we last communicated, I uninstalled both VFC XE 2011 and anything else related to Visual Studio (all versions) on my machine. I also performed a cleaning of the registry.

Then, I reinstalled (the recommended configuration of) VFC XE 2011 from the DVD which I purchased. I still get the same error message -- "No topics could be located that were relevant to the F1 request" -- when I try to access the integrated help topics for VFC via the Help menu in the VS 2008 shell (the default shell supplied with VFC).

Interestingly, though, I am now able to see (and select) the Intel "Filtered by" option in the Contents window of VS 2008. But it does not seem to affect anything.

From viewing past posts, it seems as though this integrated documentation issue (within VS) has occurred in previous versions of IVF compilers.

[Steven_L_Intel1]

I will have to ping the developers on Monday.

[Hayen__Jeffrey]

@ Steve -- Another Clue

I just noticed in the Contents window, underneath the "Filtered by Intel" selection, the message:

"No table of contents has been defined for the current Help collection."

Perhaps, all that I need to be instructed on how to do is to define the table of contents for VFC XE 2011 within the VS 2008 Shell (provided with VFC)?

[Steven_L_Intel1]

The basic problem is that the documentation is not "registered" with the help system. I knew how to do this for 11.1 but the method does not appear to work for XE 2011. I have pinged the developers and will let you know when I have some info.

In the meantime, you can use http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-fortran-composer-xe-documentation/

[Hayen__Jeffrey]

Thanks -- not trying to nag anyone -- just trying to pass along new information as I discover it.

I will (attempt to) patiently wait until I hear back from you.

Jeff.

[Steven_L_Intel1]

Please open a command prompt and try the following:

1. CD to \help

2. Enter the following commands, in order:
H2Reg.exe -r CmdFile=..\Documentation\vshelp\1033\intel.forprodocs\H2Reg_cmd.ini
H2Reg.exe -r CmdFile=..\Documentation\vshelp\1033\intel.fprocompilerdocs\H2Reg_cmd.ini

Let me know if this helps.

[Hayen__Jeffrey]

1. Opened a command prompt (dos shell)

2. Changed the current directory to C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\ComposerXE-2011\help

3. Entered (in order) the commands which you recommended

[They seemed to execute fine]

4. Rebooted machine; Opened Visual Studio 2008 Shell

5. Atempted to access VFC Help from Help menu

[Help>Intel Visual Fortran Composer XE 2011>Intel Visual Fortran Composer XE 2011 Help]

6. Same result: "No topics could be located that were relevant to the F1 request."

Sorry to disappoint -- I was really optimistic, based upon the other user's experience posted.

[Steven_L_Intel1]

If you are on Vista or Win7, please try one more time, this time right clicking on the command prompt shortcut and selecting "Start as Administrator". Then run the commands again.

[Hayen__Jeffrey]

[Utilizing Windows 7 (Home Premium) on a Core i5 Dell Laptop]

Followed your directions exactly ... still doesn't work.

Alas, it isn't our day ... .

[Steven_L_Intel1]

Sorry to hear that - so far, everyone else who tried this found it worked for them. Hmm...

[Hayen__Jeffrey]

Something that I have wondered about is that I am utilizing only the VS 2008 Shell which is bundled with the Intel VFC XE software; I do not have any standalone version of Visual Studio (2005, 2008, or 2010).

In the other posts I read, it sounded like they did have some version of a standalone VS.

Could that matter?

Another thought -- There are two (and only two) user accounts on my machine: "Celeste" and "Jeffrey"

All of my work is done on "Jeffrey". I installed the VFC XE software while logged into "Jeffrey" (I am an administrator). Yet when I launch VS 2008, it always briefly displays "Celeste" in the temporary information window that appears for a few seconds before the normal VS 2008 environment becomes active.

Could that matter?

I have wondered whether I should uninstall the VFC XE software, delete the "Celeste" user account, and then re-install the software under "Jeffrey" (which would then be the only remaining user account).

Probably, more food for thought than you bargained for ... .

[Steven_L_Intel1]

You're referring to the VS "Splash Screen"? It will display the :registered user" of the Windows install - this is displayed when you first install the product. It has no bearing on who can use VS.

It is possible that your using the Shell has an effect, but as far as I know we don't have any other reports of this. Let me suggest you do this:

Uninstall Fortran and the VS Shell. Download Update 4 from the Intel Registration Center (the full product including VS Shell) and install that. Do you get the help then? After we see what happens there, we can try updating to Update 5.

[Hayen__Jeffrey]

Splash Screen -- uh, yes -- please forgive the ignorance of a neophyte

Currently downloading Update 4 of VFC (825 MB is taking a while)

Preparing to take the actions which you have specified

Quick Question: My installed AVG 2011 anti-virus software has included a Visual Studio 2008 x64 Redistributables program on my machine. Should I (temporarily) uninstall AVG 2011 and purge that program as well before I install Update 4?

I am (understandably) paranoid at this stage of anything on my machine related to VS 2008 that potentially is messing things up.

[TimP]

It's possible AVG may interfere with installation. If they haven't tinkered with the VS redistributables, those should not pose a problem.

[Hayen__Jeffrey]

Thanks, Tim, for your comments.

@ Steve:

I have not forgot about this issue -- I have not had time to pursue it further because of current development work (I am externally accessing the documentation when needed).

When I have tried the Update 4 of VFC (which you suggested), I will let you know the result.

Quick Question: Is there a simple/easy way to find/check the status of my original Thread? I do not see a search utility on the forum webpage. My original Thread is quite a ways down the list now -- I had to locate it via a Google search.