About VisualAge for Java online help

VisualAge for Java online help is a collection of help topics, samples, API references, and other information about VisualAge for Java.  Browsing the online help is much like browsing the Internet.  Hypertext links take you from one topic to another.  You can also search for words or phrases you want to find.

Click the plus and minus symbols on the left to expand or collapse the topic contents.

You can find information on VisualAge for Java components in several ways. For more information on each of these methods, follow the links.

By topic
To view topics organized by type -- concept, tasks, reference, sample, or tutorial -- click on the Topics section in the left-hand frame. For example, to find out how to create a new applet in the IDE, look in the Tasks section.
By component 
To view all the information for a given component, expand the Components section on the left, and then expand the section for the desired component.  For example, to find all the information about Data Access Beans, expand Components and then "Data Access Beans".
By following related information links
Most help topics provide a list of related concepts, tasks, and reference information.  To see the list, scroll to the end of the topic.
By searching
To search for a word or phrase, type it in the search field and press Enter.
By pressing F1 from the user interface
To access context-sensitive help for any window in VisualAge for Java, press F1.  To access reference help for Java keywords, classes, interfaces, and methods, select the word or name in the IDE, click the right mouse button and select View Reference Help from the pop-up menu.

Information types
Topics in the online help are grouped by information type:

Concepts
Concept help provides background information on terms, constructs, and frameworks used by VisualAge for Java.  These topics provide an overview or general picture of what a component does.
Tasks
Task help guides you through procedures.  Generally, task topics answer the question, "How do I do this?"
Reference
Reference help consists largely of API reference information for the JDK, JFC, and IBM API classes that are provided in the product.  Other reference topics include compiler and debugger options, Java keyword assistance, and command syntax information.
Samples
Samples documentation describes how to set up, run and, in some cases, re-create samples shipped with VisualAge for Java.

Components
Each major tool, API, builder, framework, and development environment in VisualAge for Java is called a component.  When you install VisualAge for Java, you can customize the installation to include or exclude certain components.  The online help only includes documentation for the components that you have installed.  If you later install another component, its documentation will be added to the online help. The Getting Started tutorial is always available.

One of the VisualAge for Java CDs includes softcopy books for each component, in PDF format.  These documents provide an easy way to view and print much of the important information for a component. Click PDF Documents for more information.

Related information links
When you follow a related link, a Synchronize button appears in the upper right-hand corner of the help topic.  If you click this button, the list of topics in the left-hand frame is refreshed to show you where the new topic fits.

Searching
VisualAge for Java help uses a full-text search engine that ranks results based on your search request.

By default, if your search argument contains more than one word, any of those words may cause a match (logical OR).  For example, the following search argument returns hits on topics that include the terms "mouse", "pointer", or "mouse pointer":

mouse pointer

You can explicitly include or exclude words from search results by using the plus (+) and minus (-) signs. To ensure that a word is included in a multi-term search, precede it with a plus sign (logical AND). To exclude hits that contain a particular word, precede it with a minus sign (logical NOT). For example, the following search argument returns hits that include "mouse", but do not include "pointer":

+mouse -pointer

To search for an exact phrase, enclose the phrase in quotation marks (" ").  For example, the following phrase returns hits on topics that include the term "mouse pointer", but not those that include only "mouse", only "pointer", or the two words non-consecutively.

"mouse pointer"

Click the Search Options link to change the number of search hits returned, whether searches are fuzzy or exact, and which information types are searched.

Context-sensitive (F1) help
Context-sensitive help can be accessed only by pressing F1 from the user interface, or by including F1 help in the search options.