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Help Facility Broken

rsadr
1-Newbie

Help Facility Broken

When I click on help (e.g New Users button) facility (e.g. http://www.ptc.com/http://communities.ptc.com/docs/doc-3621). The browser page opens, but I constantly get the message below. I very much appreciate if someone can advise how to fix this or else point me how to get help inside the application without popping up the browser (I have also tried different browser, encountering the same issue)


Best,

-Ramin

Server Error in '/' Application.

A potentially dangerous Request.Path value was detected from the client (:).

Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.

Exception Details: System.Web.HttpException: A potentially dangerous Request.Path value was detected from the client (:).

18 REPLIES 18
AndyWesterman
4-Participant
(To:rsadr)

Hi

Looks like you have 2 web addresses here, try:

http://communities.ptc.com/docs/doc-3621

I can't access the page as I'm not authorised, but the error message doesn't occur.

The address is missing an 's'; it should be https://

Regards

Andy

Folks,

I am using PTC MathCad Prime version 3.0 datecode: 000 (2013.09.12.003/3.0.0.194). I have included the screen capture here for menu bar that when you click on things, most of them go to nowhere land i.e. ...Server Error in '/' Application.

I am just simply clicking inside the application. I should not worry about punching in the html address. The application should properly re-direct the browser (if needed) for help.  To Werner's point, I do not want to go browser each time I want to look up something.

I am a longtime Matchad user, but I got to confess that PTC is well behind the curve for UI, compared to where Matlab and Mathematica have gone, specially on documentation side. PTC have even changed the semantics and grammar of the language (e.g. If statements and etc).  Help facility is important to me to work properly (inside the application), given all the changes in this version.

I think the app is broken, but I yield to the honarable experts to chime in, as I am behind the curve with PTC Mathcad

-Ramin

RS-help.png

Werner_E
24-Ruby V
(To:rsadr)

Which program are you talking about? I may be wrong but as far as I am aware of there is no "New Users button" neither in Mathcad 15 nor in Prime.

Perhaps that meant the following:

Pic_1.png

VladimirN. wrote:

Perhaps that meant the following:

maybe, but on the other hand I got the impression he didn't want to use a browser at all as he wrote:

> I very much appreciate if someone can advise how to fix this or else point me how to get help inside the application without popping up the browser


So I guess he wouldn't complain about a browser opening when he was using a browser first hand.

He should be able to shed some light on this himself.


WE

RichardJ
19-Tanzanite
(To:Werner_E)

This button:

Which does indeed give the error:

Because the URL is wrong (i.e a bug). As Andy notes, it should be http://communities.ptc.com/docs/doc-3621

I get an "Unauthorized" message when I use that URL. I don't know if that's because I don't have current maintenance, or it's another bug.

rsadr
1-Newbie
(To:RichardJ)

I also get the same error on Tutorial

RichardJ
19-Tanzanite
(To:rsadr)

You edited what we see, but the underlying link is still for doc in lower case.

The correct link should be http://communities.ptc.com/docs/DOC-3621 as I already had written.

RichardJ
19-Tanzanite
(To:Werner_E)

Yes, I changed it to upper case, because that is what you noted was necessary

Yes but if I click on your link, it still refers to lowercase "doc"and fails. Had to insert a new link from scratch or edit the HTML code to succeed. 🙂

RichardJ
19-Tanzanite
(To:Werner_E)

That's very strange, because if I click on it then it works fine.

Richard Jackson wrote:

Because the URL is wrong (i.e a bug). As Andy notes, it should be http://communities.ptc.com/docs/doc-3621

I get an "Unauthorized" message when I use that URL. I don't know if that's because I don't have current maintenance, or it's another bug.

The latter 😞

As written in my reply below, DOC in DOC-3621 has to be written in capitals.

And don't think that the address is hard coded in Prime but I guess that the real problem is the redirector at ptc.com.

The hard coded addresses in Prime 3.0 are

"New Users" -> http://www.ptc.com/product/mathcad/getting-started

"Engineering Resources" -> http://www.ptc.com/products/mathcad/resource-center

"Adoption Guide" -> http://www.ptc.com/product/mathcad/adoption-guide

Its unclear to me why Ramin wrote that the "Tutorial" button does not work for him, too, as this button opens a local help file (at least it does for me):

Werner

Werner_E
24-Ruby V
(To:rsadr)

Ah! Now I see it. Its on the "Getting Started" .

I also have Prime 3.0 installed but I seldom use it (in fact I never really use it, just playing around out of curiosity) because its such a mediocre version not capable to replace Mathcad 15. At least not yet and some years from now I fear we have to live with that new UI and thats really negative prospects.

 

I can confirm that I experience the very same error as you had reported.

The link should be    PTC Mathcad - All Worksheets - PTC Community  ->  PTC Mathcad - All Worksheets

The reason Andy got his "not authorized" error when he tried to repair the link adress is, that "DOC" has to be written in capitals.

Really sloppy!

The same page should open when you press "Engineering Ressources".

 

But this page is not meant as primary help. You probably know that you have access to normal help by pressing F1 or clicking the question mark at the upper right. The help you get that way was derived mainly from the help pages of Mathcad15 but is in my opinion less helpful and much more cumbersome to use and search in. I also miss the readily available quicksheets and some of the Handbooks/E-Books.

 

When you press  "Adoption Guide" you get a similar error. It was meant that this document should open up

-> http://support.ptc.com/WCMS/files/154493/en/PTC_Mathcad_Prime_3.1_Migration_Adoption_Program.pdf

Thats the 3.1 version of the document, didn't bother to search for the 3.0 version.

 

The other buttons on the "Getting Started" tab work for me (which does not mean that they are all useful).

 

As you are a long time Mathcad user - why not stay happy with Mathcad 15 for a while? Its more powerful, faster and easier to use. And if you have a valid Prime license, Mathcad 15 will work OK using the very same license.

 

Regards

Werner

rsadr
1-Newbie
(To:Werner_E)

Werner-

I wanted to use the latest and best tool. I was preparing eBook for teaching a signal processing course and was naive enough to use PTC Mathcad Prime. I did  not know this release is so funky.  If I would have known this earlier....

I am loosing confidence in this SW and this company's operation. This shows their SW QA failed to even click on their menus before they release it.

I do know their F1 help, but it is abbreviated and not very helpful. My guess is they have also issues with their web services and bugs are coming from their site in addition to the bugs on their UI. 

In the final analysis, you are absolutely right. I got to stick Mathcad 15 and re-do everything in Mathcad. The problem is even the equations do not copy into Mathcad from Prime, as they are turned into graphics. Very frustrating to have wasted so much time on the Prime version.

Thank you very much for your help.

Best regards,

-Ramin

RichardJ
19-Tanzanite
(To:rsadr)

I was preparing eBook for teaching a signal processing course and was naive enough to use PTC Mathcad Prime. I did  not know this release is so funky.  If I would have known this earlier....

I do not believe eBooks will ever be implemented in Mathcad Prime. If someone from PTC disagrees with that statement, they should say so by posting a reply. If you write an eBook for Mathcad 15, then IMO you are writing for a platform that has no long term future.

rsadr
1-Newbie
(To:RichardJ)

You have an excellent point and that is why I started with PTC Mathcad.  Problem with graduate students is they do not like pynb last time I thought this material and they were happy with Mathcad 13. I am still scratching my head which way to go...Thanks for your opinion

RichardJ
19-Tanzanite
(To:rsadr)

If you write everything in Mathcad 15 then the worksheets can be converted to Prime. They can't be in the form of an eBook, and many of the worksheets will require a little tweaking to make them work, but it is possible. If you write everything in Prime the reverse is not true (in fact, if they are in Prime 3.1 format, for example, it is not even possible to save them in Prime 3.0 format! There is zero backward compatibility!). Then your students can choose MC15 or MC Prime (MC15 is still available, and a license for Prime will work for MC15 as well).

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