Errors When Opening Reference Help
Older versions of XSI used WinHelp for help on property editors and the interface. Sometimes, you may encounter an error message when clicking "?" or choosing Help > XSI Reference. Some of these messages include:
- winhelp32.exe has generated errors and will be closed
- can't open si3dmain.cnt
Typically, these errors are caused by an outdated or corrupt .gid file. The .gid file is a look-up table and is automatically created or updated when the help is first opened. Normally, it is created in the same folder as the help files, but in some situations (for example, lack of file permissions), it is created elsewhere, such as in your Personal Settings folder. When this happens and the help files are later updated, the old .gid file interferes with the new help.
To fix the problem, search your disk for si3dmain.gid and delete any instances you find. On Linux, you may need to delete a similarly named file, such as si3dmain.gid_le in ~/.mw/help. While you're at it, you should also search for and delete si3dmain.ftg, which contains the full-text search database. These files should be correctly recreated the next time you open help or run the full-text search.
Note that this does not apply to problems with HTML, compiled HTML (.chm), or PDF documentation.
