The following topics describes how to install and use the IBM(R) WebSphere(R) Help System with product or application documentation that has been packaged as Eclipse documentation plug-ins.
This documentation is intended for anyone who has received documentation in the form of Eclipse plug-ins, for example as part of an IBM software product, and wants to view that documentation in a standalone help browser.
The IBM WebSphere Help System is a viewer for displaying product or application information developed as Eclipse documentation plug-ins. The system provides a graphical user interface for browsing and searching online documentation. The help system includes open source software developed by the Eclipse Project (www.eclipse.org) and only works with information that has been packaged as an Eclipse documentation plug-in.
The help system uses a web server that is included with the system. The web server uses a random port to avoid port conflicts among applications. By default the listener is disabled, but if you would like it enabled, allowing it to serve pages within your enterprise, remove the option "-host 127.0.0.1" from the file "WebSphere help start.bat".
Product or application developers can create their own documentation plug-ins for viewing by their users. To learn about creating and packaging documentation plug-ins, see the Eclipse Project www.eclipse.org.
To install and run the help system, you must have one of the following software environments:
If you have installed an IBM product whose documentation is provided in the form of Eclipse plug-ins, the help system is probably already installed, in which case you do not need to do this task. To confirm, search your file system for a directory called eclipse\plugins.
The help system can be installed from a package that was downloaded from the Internet or frame a CD.
Installing from a package that was downloaded from the Internet
To install the help system, extract the archive containing this document to any location on your system. Ensure that you preserve the folder structure in the archive. For example, if using WinZip(R), enable the Use folder names option.
Optional: The help system requires a Java(TM) run-time environment (JRE) or a Java developer kit equivalent to JDK v1.3 or higher. For support and consistency purposes, it is recommended that you use the JRE provided with the help system. However, if you need to decrease the installed size of this package, you can remove the jre folder under the eclipse folder and direct the system to another installed JRE. For example on the Windows platform, complete the following steps to remove the JRE and call your own JRE or Java developer kit:
java -classpath eclipse\plugins\org.eclipse.help_2.1.1\help.jar org.eclipse.help.standalone.Help -eclipsehome eclipse -command displayHelp
You are now ready to install documentation plug-ins and run the help system to view the information that they contain.
Installing from a CD
If you have received the help system on a CD, you can run it from there. Alternatively, to improve performance, copy the contents of the CD to your hard drive and start the help system from there.
The help system works with any information that has been packaged as an Eclipse documentation plug-in, including IBM product documentation plug-ins. IBM documentation plug-ins are easily identified because they use a common directoy-naming convention (com.ibm.xxx.doc).
Prerequisite: The WebSphere Help System or an IBM product that includes the help system must be installed. To confirm whether you already have the help system installed, search your file system for a directory called eclipse\plugins. To install the help system, see "Installing the help system".
To install or upgrade documentation plug-ins, complete the following steps:
If you have installed an IBM product that provides its documentation in the form of Eclipse plug-ins, you can probably start the help system by clicking Help > Help Contents on that product's menu bar. The instructions given here are for starting the help system as a separately installed, standalone application.
To start a the help system from the hard drive,
Windows platform:
Other platforms:
Run help_start.sh file.
To start a help system from a CD,
Windows platform:
Other platforms:
Run the help_cd_start.sh file.
The help browser opens and the table of contents pane incorporates the documentation plug-ins that were found.
Note: The first time you start the help system, you might have to wait a few minutes before the browser opens and displays the information center.
When you close the help system browser, the help system processes continue to run in the background. (This enables a much faster launch during subsequent sessions.) You must stop these help system processes when you install documentation plug-ins or update the help system with new plug-ins. Completely shutting down the help system also frees up system memory.
To stop a help system that was started from the hard drive,
Windows platform:
Other platforms:
Run the help_end.sh file.
To stop a help system that was started from a CD:
Windows platform:
Other platforms:
Run the help_cd_end.sh file.
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