I have two CHM files.  One is English and the other is French.  I have some javascript in each page in each language to switch the topic to the other language's topic whenever the user wants to - because the two CHM files reside in the same directory so I always know what the corresponding topic path will be.

If I open my English CHM, perform a search, open a topic, click the hyperlink to see the French version of that same topic, it opens correctly in the righthand pane.  I can then click on the Contents tab to see my Table of Contents and do whatever else I want to do.  It all works wonderfully.

If I open my French CHM, perform a search, open a topic, click the hyperlink to see the English version of that same topic, it opens correctly in the righthand pane BUT when I click on the Contents tab, the Search tab does not disappear.  It actually stays in the foreground on top of my Contents tab Table of Contents.  I tried flipping back to the Search tab and I no longer see my search criteria section - that's all gray - but I still see my search results.  (Think overlapping divs to get a visual.)

Another variation is that I use only my Table of Contents, open a topic, click my language switch link and then go to the Search tab.  The Search tab is completely gray - I see no inputbox for criteria and no empty search results pane.

I tried the same logical setup in two sample files with 2 topics in each but could not reproduce the problem.  I recompiled the French CHM and it still doesn't work.  I've tried it on a French OS with IE using French but it behaves the same way.

Is there some strange thing I am missing?