The help and IE's history

[vefatica]

The v20 help puts itself in IE11's history AND DELETES EVERYTHING ELSE. Here's my history right now. Below is the history (same instance of IE) after switching to TCC and pressing F1.

*************************************************************

 

[vefatica]

In fact, it also seems to delete cookies! After that little experiment above my "Stay logged in" for these forums (and the few other sites I tried) no longer worked!

 

[rconn]

Confirmed here (only when tchelp.exe starts; as long as it's running the browser history & help history are saved).

I sent a query to the developers.

 

[mdlawler]

In fact, it also seems to delete cookies! After that little experiment above my "Stay logged in" for these forums (and the few other sites I tried) no longer worked!

I'm still seeing the cookie deletion problem in 20.11.36 Win 7 32 IE 11. My visited links and the history that pops up in the IE control-o dialog also go away. I ran the command

help set

to duplicate the problem.

 

[vefatica]

I see it too ... not with IE's history as before, but with the contents of

"C:\Users\vefatica\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files".

When I start jphelp, I can watch (with the help of F5) the contents of that folder disappear (including cookies), replaced by a couple dozen files like these:

 

[rconn]

I'm still seeing the cookie deletion problem in 20.11.36 Win 7 32 IE 11. My visited links and the history that pops up in the IE control-o dialog also go away. I ran the command

help set

to duplicate the problem.

Not reproducible here (Win 10 x64 or Win 7 x86).

 

[rconn]

I see it too ... not with IE's history as before, but with the contents of

"C:\Users\vefatica\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files".

When I start jphelp, I can watch (with the help of F5) the contents of that folder disappear (including cookies), replaced by a couple dozen files like these:

Not reproducible here. I'm also not clear why this would be relevant, since that's the cache directory, and doesn't have anything to do with the cookies or history.

 

[vefatica]

Not reproducible here. I'm also not clear why this would be relevant, since that's the cache directory, and doesn't have anything to do with the cookies or history.

When I ControlPanel\InternetOptions\General\(BrowsingHistory)Settings\ViewFiles, the Explorer window shows "Temporary Internet Files" as the location and the contents include various things, including cookies. When I start JPHELP, everything shown in that explorer window is gone and replaced by a bunch of "http://127.0.0.1:8000/helpman" stuff (F5 needed to see the change). And the cookies are really gone. The JPSoft forums' "Stay logged in" no longer works.

Here are images before and after starting JPHelp.

 

[vefatica]

Here's a more detailed (non-explorer) look at what's in there after that last starting of JPHelp.exe. There's almost nothing from the past.

f:\temporary internet files> d Content.IE5\2Q7OLXX5\
2017-01-02  11:37             381  contents_off[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37          16,166  helpman_navigation[1].js
2017-01-02  11:37           1,630  helpman_settings[2].js
2017-01-02  11:37          11,491  helpman_topicinit[1].js
2017-01-02  11:37           4,680  highlight[1].js
2017-01-02  11:37          15,550  hmtopic[1].js
2017-01-02  11:37          50,986  hmwebhelp[1].js
2017-01-02  11:37          16,618  hm_webhelp[1].css
2017-01-02  11:37           8,097  jquery.easing.1.3[1].js
2017-01-02  11:37           2,602  jquery.scrollTo-min[1].j
2017-01-02  11:37           3,069  jquery.tools.min[2].js
2017-01-02  11:37          85,578  jquery[2].js
2017-01-02  11:37          10,368  logo2[1].jpg
2017-01-02  11:37             745  searchoff[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             816  search[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37          52,214  takecommand20[1].png

f:\temporary internet files> d Content.IE5\3WPSF6UU\
2017-01-02  11:13               5  BIWJUDPK
2017-01-02  11:37             821  browse[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             862  ciconidx[1].gif
2017-01-02  11:37             485  emailoff[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             558  email[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37           3,052  hmcontextids[1].js
2017-01-02  11:37             935  index[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             851  index_off[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             742  newtab[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             613  newtab_off[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             743  printer[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             839  showhideoff[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             860  showhide[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             826  tocbg[1].gif
2017-01-02  11:37             592  toc_openbook[1].png

f:\temporary internet files> d Content.IE5\C9LW1ZZT\
2017-01-02  11:37             746  arrow_left[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             743  arrow_right[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37           7,657  cicon_loadindex_ani[1].g
2017-01-02  11:37             196  closetaboff[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             902  home[1].png
2017-01-02  00:08               0  info[1].json
2017-01-02  11:37             647  printer_off[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37           2,440  settings[1].js
2017-01-02  11:37           1,055  tabendleft[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37           1,059  tabendright[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37           1,035  tableft[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37           1,032  tabright[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             345  tabs_menu[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37       1,275,600  zoom_index[1].js
2017-01-02  11:37          35,803  zoom_search[1].js

f:\temporary internet files> d Content.IE5\CH3XDZH7\
2017-01-02  00:08               0  analytics[1].js
2017-01-02  11:37          25,205  bg[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37           3,290  default[1].css
2017-01-02  11:37         409,116  hmcontent[1].htm
2017-01-02  11:37          11,222  hmftsearch[1].htm
2017-01-02  11:37         759,205  hmkwindex[1].htm
2017-01-02  11:37           9,250  hm_topic[1].css
2017-01-02  11:37             389  nav_close[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37          15,547  overview[1].htm
2017-01-02  00:08               0  share[1]
2017-01-02  11:37             807  spacer[1].gif
2017-01-02  11:37             475  tab_left[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             988  tab_right[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             475  toc_closedbook[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37             614  toc_topic[1].png
2017-01-02  11:37         189,492  zoom_pageinfo[1].js

 

[MaartenG]

I haven't tried the 20.10 versions, so some general things to consider:

- What version of Internet Explorer are you using? (support for IE8 has been dropped in the latest versions)
- Do other versions of TCMD also show this behaviour?
- Is TCHELP replaced by JPHELP in this new version or is it something you created yourself?

• Cookie settings and visited sites are - since Internet Explorer 9 or 10 - no longer in Temprary Internet Files, but in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\WebCache.
  If there are (no longer) important settings in that area (cookies, visited sites), you can remove the complete folder. It will be re-created upon starting IE.
  It can't be deleted in an easy way, though. Here's how I do it:
  • Start TCC
    
  • Close Internet Explorer
    
  • Start Taskmanager and close taskhost.exe, dllhost.exe and all instances of explorer (including the shell).
  • In TCC go to the webcache folder and remove it.
    Maybe some files are undeletable. Find out with TCC's FILELOCK which process is responsible and close those processes too.
  • Start Explorer again: Taskmanager > File > New Task .. (Run) > explorer.exe
• Increase the diskspace reserved for Temporary Internet Files:
  inetcpl.cpl > General > Browse History > Settings > Disk space to use.

 

[vefatica]

IE11
No. Previous TCCs used CHM help.
V20 uses a new JPHELP.EXE.

I don't know exactly where the cookies are actually kept. But I see them when I look in "Temporary Internet Files" with Explorer (a bit of smoke and mirrors going on there perhaps). Wherever they actually are, they're gone after starting JPHELP.EXE, along with ALL other old IE cache.

 

[Alpengreis]

Not reproducible here. I'm also not clear why this would be relevant, since that's the cache directory, and doesn't have anything to do with the cookies or history.

This behaviour is not correct IMHO. The cache should not be deleted "automatically" until IE preferencess, an AddOn, a policy, a cleaning task or whatever defines it.

 

[MaartenG]

IE11
No. Previous TCCs used CHM help.
V20 uses a new JPHELP.EXE.

I don't know exactly where the cookies are actually kept. But I see them when I look in "Temporary Internet Files" with Explorer (a bit of smoke and mirrors going on there perhaps). Wherever they actually are, they're gone after starting JPHELP.EXE, along with ALL other old IE cache.

Sorry for being unclear; I meant the 20.0.xx TCMD versions compared to the 20.10.xx and 20.11.xx versions.
The 20.0.x versions have TCHELP.exe

The reason I mentioned the WebCache folder: This *is* the folder where the cookies are stored or - more accurate - : are managed.
Sometimes IE gets "confused". Removing and re-creating this folder wil hopefully give you a fresh start where everything works as expected.

EDIT: According to the Release Notes, there were some changes in the Help system:
20.10.32 HELP - dropped support for IE 8 (& earlier).
My guess was, that this caused some side-effects.

EDIT2: According to the same release notes, "your" problem should be fixed in 20.11.35:
20.11.35 Help - fixed problem with overwriting IE's history

 

[TEA-Time]

Cookie settings and visited sites are - since Internet Explorer 9 or 10 - no longer in Temprary Internet Files, but in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\WebCache.

Windows 7 comes with IE8 and retains its %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files setting through all upgrades to IE11.

It's Windows 8 and 10 that are set to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache (not WebCache).

See Internet Properties->General tab->Settings button in the Browsing history section for where it's actually pointing to.

 

[vefatica]

Wherever things are stored, my "remember me", "stay logged on", google preferences, and all other things that I associate with cookies are GONE after I start TCHELP.EXE. If "Temporary Internet Files" shows cookies before I start TCHELP.EXE, it doesn't afterward. Here's another way to look at it. Below, after starting TCHELP.EXE, I lost more than 7MB of the 10MB that was in "Temporary Internet Files".

 

[Alpengreis]

Is that fixed now? At least with my Windows 10 Pro x64 [Version 6.3.14393] and TC 20.11.38, the Test-Cookie were not deleted in directory "c:\Users\alpen\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCookies\Low\" while I started TC Help ...

 

[vefatica]

Is that fixed now? At least with my Windows 10 Pro x64 [Version 6.3.14393] and TC 20.11.38, the Test-Cookie were not deleted in directory "c:\Users\alpen\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCookies\Low\" while I started TC Help ...

It is not fixed.