Few Questiond

Ok, i think something is not right.

Ive cleared all my cache (it wasnt on though) and ive set the alias up correctly but the urls within the site that are generated using ContentHelperRoute still refer to the original sef advance generated url and not the alias. Any ideas?

Ive also noticed that sef advance only appearto be applied to items in my main menu and not my other menus

cheers

Why don't you use JRoute::_()?
It should be applied to all links generated by Joomla, I can't guarantee for 3rd party components like Xmap.

ok, I'm still having issues which is preventing me taking it live.

I have article Ids for which i need to link to within my content, so using:

JRoute::_(ContentHelperRoute::getArticleRoute(id))

on my live environment using the above still refers to:

bingo-reviews/wink-bingo-2008112441.html

and not my alias i set up as:

bingo-reviews/wink-bingo.html

Also, when assigning aliases  ive noticed my menu does not highlight the correctly selected menu item. Usually I have 7 menu buttons, and if i visit an article whose parent is the menu item, then said menu item should be highlighted, however visiting via a SEF Advance this does not work.

Cheers

First JRoute::_() should have non-sef URL input:
JRoute::_('index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id='.$id);

Then it's possible your alias non-sef URL is not setup right. Turn off SEF and copy the exact link from the place you want changed.

The last issue is Itemid issue. Check FAQ for that: www.sakic.net/support/faq/sef_advance/#19

Hmm Strange.

URL with SEF turned off:

index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=41&Itemid=12

SEF Alias Setup:

Non-SEF URL:  index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=41&Itemid=12
Alias: bingo-reviews/wink-bingo
  Canonical:  bingo-reviews/wink-bingo

Reference:
JRoute::_('index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=41&Itemid=12');

Expected:
bingo-reviews/wink-bingo.html

Actual Result:
bingo-reviews/wink-bingo-2008112441.html

Yes, it's strange. Send me the access info if possible including admin password and FTP and I will take a look.