Product Documentation
Abstract
This document provides instructions on how to configure help content for Eclipse clients for ClearQuest as of version 9.0.0.4.
Content
Installing local help on your computer
Installing help on an intranet server
Changing help content connections
Introduction
Products that use an Eclipse client have an installed help infrastructure that presents help content. Some help content might be included locally. Typically, Eclipse clients display help that is on a remote IBM Knowledge Center on the Internet. You can download and install help in the client on your computer so that you can access help without an Internet connection.
To open the help from the product with any of these methods, click Help > Help Contents.
You can configure the product help content in one of three ways. You can use the default connection to the remote IBM Knowledge Center that is on the Internet. Team members can download product help and deploy the help locally on their computers. Or, an administrator can download product help and deploy the help on a server on the network for access by team members.
Setup Type | Description |
Remote help |
|
Local help |
|
Intranet help |
|
Installing local help on your computer
You can install help content on your computer and access it locally from your standalone web browser and/or from a ClearQuest Eclipse client.
About this task
The help in your product client is configured by default to show content that is dynamically accessed from IBM Knowledge Center. This configuration, which requires an Internet connection, ensures that you are viewing the most recent version of the help content. To access help locally without an Internet connection, you can download the help content, disable the remote help connection, enable access to the downloaded help, and open the help locally.
Procedure
- Download the compressed file that contains the product help:
- In a web browser, go to the help download site.
- In the rcp_content directory, download the compressed file that corresponds to your installed product and the version needed. There are versions for 32-bit Windows and Linux, and 64-bit Windows and Linux. For example, if your local server for the remote help is a Linux machine, select the appropriate Linux choice.
- Extract the contents of the compressed help file into the directory where you want to store the help.
- Edit the help.ini file:
- Remove or comment out the first two lines of code so that
-startup
is at the beginning of the file. - In
-Dserver_port
, set a unique port number for the RCP help. In this example, the port number is set to8787
. You can use whatever port number is available.
Example (Windows):
-startup plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_1.2.0.v20110502.jar --launcher.library plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.win32.win32.x86_1.1.100.v20110502 -vmargs -Xmx512m -Dserver_port=8787
- Remove or comment out the first two lines of code so that
- Run the help command to confirm that the help opens. (For Windows, double-click help.exe. For Linux, enter
./help
where you unzipped the compressed help file.) Keep the help open.
Notes:- On some Windows systems, you might have to launch the help.exe from a command prompt.
- If the help does not open, for example, you get error messages about Java (such as “no JAVA found in path”) or Eclipse closes with Java exit codes, you might have to do the following:
- Ensure that Java is set in your system path, or
- Add the
-vm
option and its full path to your Java JRE to the help.ini file. If you have to use this option, be sure to add it before the-vmargs
option.
Example (Linux):
-vm /opt/ibm/java-x86_64-60/jre/bin/java -startup plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_1.2.0.v20110502.jar --launcher.library plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.gtk.linux.x86_1.1.100.v20110505 -vmargs -Xmx512m -Dserver_port=8787
- To access the local help later, create a shortcut for the help command on your desktop. Always launch the help through this shortcut whenever you want to open the local help.
- In ClearQuest Client and ClearQuest Designer (where it is possible to do this), disable the default remote help connection and enable access to the locally installed help from within these product clients:
- Click Window > Preferences, expand the Help section, click Remote Assistance Configuration, select your product name, click Disable.
- Click New and enter
local help
or whatever name you want in the Name field and then enter the URL to the installed help on your local machine in the formathttp://hostname:portnumber/help
.
Note: To determine your hostname, in the RCP help that is already opened from a previous step, open a help topic, right-click on it, and select Properties. On the window that opens, look at the Address (URL) field to see the hostname and port number the help is running on. For example, if the field shows http://127.0.0.1:8787/help/topic/..., then127.0.0.1
is your hostname and8787
is your port number. - To ensure that the URL is valid, click Test Connection.
Note: To avoid the possibility of having the help duplicated on the Help window, only one help entry should be enabled on Remote Assistance Configuration. - Save your changes.
Note: Always open the help outside the product client before you open the product client and before you try to access the help from inside the product client.
Installing help on an intranet server
An administrator can install and deploy the help content on an intranet server behind a firewall. Then, team members can access the help on their network without using the Internet or downloading content to their computers.
Procedure
- Download the compressed file that contains the product help:
- In a web browser, go to the help download site.
- In the rcp_content directory, download the compressed file that corresponds to your installed product and the version needed. There are versions for 32-bit Windows and Linux, and 64-bit Windows and Linux. For example, if your local server for the remote help is a Linux machine, select the appropriate Linux choice.
- Extract the contents of the compressed help file into the directory where you want to store the help.
- Edit the help.ini file:
- Remove or comment out the first two lines of code so that
-startup
is at the beginning of the file. - In
-Dserver_port
, set a unique port number for the RCP help. In this example, the port number is set to8787
. You can use whatever port number is available.
Example (Windows):
-startup plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_1.2.0.v20110502.jar --launcher.library plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.win32.win32.x86_1.1.100.v20110502 -vmargs -Xmx512m -Dserver_port=8787
- Remove or comment out the first two lines of code so that
- Run the help command to confirm that the help opens. (For Windows, double-click help.exe. For Linux, enter
./help
where you unzipped the compressed help file.) Keep the help open.
Notes:- On some Windows systems, you might have to launch the help.exe from a command prompt.
- If the help does not open, for example, you get error messages about Java (such as “no JAVA found in path”) or Eclipse closes with Java exit codes, you might have to do the following:
- Ensure that Java is set in your system path, or
- Add the
-vm
option and its full path to your Java JRE to the help.ini file. If you have to use this option, be sure to add it before the-vmargs
option.
Example (Linux):
-vm /opt/ibm/java-x86_64-60/jre/bin/java -startup plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_1.2.0.v20110502.jar --launcher.library plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.gtk.linux.x86_1.1.100.v20110505 -vmargs -Xmx512m -Dserver_port=8787
- Open a help topic, right-click on it and select Properties. On the window that opens, look at the Address (URL) field to see the hostname and port number the help is running on. Once you know this information, you can make the URL from which the help can be accessed from other machines on the company intranet. The format is
http://hostname:portnumber/help...
. For example, if the properties show http://server_in_your_network:8787/help/topic/..., then the URL your users would use in their web browser to open the help with the Welcome page would be http://server_in_your_network:8787/help/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.rational.clearquest.help.ic.doc%2Fhelpindex_clearquest.htm. From within a ClearQuest Eclipse client, it would be http://server_in_your_network:8787/help.
Note: The administrator must provide to team member the URLs to use. - For the ClearQuest Eclipse clients (ClearQuest Client and ClearQuest Designer) that let users set the remote help URL, they can add the RCP URL (in the format
http://hostname:portnumber/help
, such as http://server_in_your_network:8787/help and be able to open the RCP help directly from within the product client. See Changing help content connections. - The local RCP help must always be open on the server machine for team members to be able to access it from their machines. To ensure that the local RCP help is always running on the server, configure a startup script to open the RCP help automatically on the server machine.
Note: If the RCP help is not open on the server machine, when team members try to open that help from their machines, the product help will not appear in the Help window.
Changing help content connections
An administrator can install and deploy the help content on an intranet server behind a firewall. Then, team members can access the help on their network without using the Internet or downloading content to their computers.
Procedure
For the ClearQuest Eclipse clients (ClearQuest Client and ClearQuest Designer) that let users set the remote help URL, you can add the base RCP URL and open the RCP help directly from the product.
Note: For team members to be able to access the help on an intranet server, the help must already by opened on the server machine on your network.
- Where this is possible, to disable the default remote help connection, click Window > Preferences, expand the Help section, click Remote Assistance Configuration, select your product name, and click Disable.
- To add the link to the locally installed help on your intranet:
- Click New and enter
local help
or whatever name you want in the Name field. - Enter the URL to the locally installed help that was provided by the person who installed it (such as the administrator) in the format
http://hostname:portnumber/help
, for example, http://server_in_your_network:8787/help - To ensure that the URL is valid, click Test Connection.
Note: To ensure that you do not have the help duplicated on the Help window, enable only one help entry on Remote Assistance Configuration.
- Click New and enter
- Save your changes.
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Document Information
Modified date:
08 August 2018
UID
swg27049443