Search Tips: Local Documentation Set

This topic includes tips for searching WebLogic Workshop Help when you are using the local version of help on your computer. In addition to searching on simple expressions, you can perform more complex searches using boolean operators and nested expressions, as described in the following sections.

Search Engines in WebLogic Workshop Help

By default, WebLogic Workshop displays help content from a public BEA server available over the Internet, e-docs.bea.com. The help that is available on the e-docs server is always the most up-to-date. The e-docs server uses the Google search engine for searching Workshop Help and documentation for other BEA products as well.

A local version of the help is also installed on your machine. If you prefer to use the local documentation set instead of the online help content from e-docs.bea.com, you can set an option to specify that WebLogic Workshop displays the local help content. In the Workshop IDE, choose Tools -> IDE Properties, select the Help tab, and set the WebLogic Workshop Help Location option to "Local Disk." The search tips outlined in this topic apply only to searches made against the local help content.

Regular updates are available on e-docs.bea.com so that you can download the latest help content to your computer.

Search Caveats

Boolean Operators

You can use the AND, OR, and NOT operators to narrow your search by creating a relationship between search terms. The following table shows how to use each of these operators. If no operator is specified, the AND operator is used. For example, the query asynchronous web service is equivalent to "asynchronous AND web AND service."

If you are searching for a term that contains more than one word, and you want to restrict the search results to return only topics that contain that phrase, you can put the phrase in quotes. For example, a query on "asynchronous web service" will return only topics containing the complete phrase asynchronous web service.

Search For

Example

Results

Both terms in the same topic.

asynchronous AND callback

Topics containing both the words "asynchronous" and "callback"

Either term in a topic.

callback OR polling

Topics containing either the word "callback" or the word "polling" or both.

The first term without the second term.

EJB NOT control

Topics containing the word "EJB" but not the word "control"

Note: The |, &, and ! characters don't work as boolean operators (you must use OR, AND, and NOT).

Index Fields

WebLogic Workshop topics are indexed into two index fields named title and contents. You can specify which index field you would like to search for each term in your search query by prepending the index field name to the query term. For example, you can search for the word "control" in only the topic titles by searching for title:control. contents is the default index field for all terms, so you never need to specify it.

An example of a complex query using fields is title:asynchronous page flow. This query will return only topics that have "asynchronous" in the title and "page" and "flow" in the contents.

Nested Expressions

Nested expressions allow you to create complex searches for information. For example, asynchronous AND (message NOT buffer) finds topics containing the word asynchronous and the word message but not the word buffer.

The basic rules for searching Help topics using nested expressions are as follows:

The Java Plug-in

The Search function of WebLogic Workshop Help requires that the Java Plug-in be installed and your web browser be configured to use it. The search function is provided by a Java applet that requires a JVM (Java Virtual Machine) that supports Java version 1.4 or higher. Many browsers do not provide native Java support that is current. The Java Plug-in configures your browser to use an external (and more current) JVM.

Java Plug-in with Internet Explorer

WebLogic Workshop Help is supported in Internet Explorer version 6.0 and higher.

In Internet Explorer, you are automatically prompted to download the Java Plug-in the first time you attempt to use WebLogic Workshop Help's Search function. Simply follow the instruction in the Java Plug-in download and installation dialogs. If you have a version of the Java Plug-in installed that is older than version 1.4, you will be prompted to download and install a newer version of the Java Plug-in.

The Java Plug-in installer will, by default, configure all installed browsers to use the Plug-in. This includes Netscape Navigator version 7.1 and higher and Mozilla version 1.1 and higher. You may also configure browser use of the Plug-in in the Java Plug-in Control Panel after installation.

Java Plug-in with Mozilla and Netscape

WebLogic Workshop Help is supported in Mozilla version 1.1 and higher and Netscape Navigator version 7.1 and higher.

If you use the Mozilla or Netscape browsers, you must download and install the Java Plug-in manually before you can use WebLogic Workshop Help's Search function. On the Linux and Unix operating systems, you must also manually configure your browser to use the Java Plug-in. The Java Plug-in, which is bundled with the Java 2 Runtime Environment (J2RE or "JRE") is available at java.sun.com.

To download and install the Java Plug-in for Microsoft Windows:

  1. In a web browser, go to http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html
  2. Select the appropriate download link for your operating system.
  3. Run the downloaded installer.
  4. Restart your browser. You must exit all running instances of the browser.

To download and install the Java Plug-in for Linux and Unix:

Note: You may need root privileges to perform the following procedure.

  1. In a web browser, go to http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html
  2. In the list under Download J2SE v 1.4.x, find an appropriate row for your operating system and click Download in the JRE column of the same row. If you are running RedHat Linux or another flavor that can accept RedHat Package Manager (RPM) files download the RPM version. Otherwise, download an appropriate alternative archive format.
  3. Unpack and install the JRE. The default installation location is typically /usr/java or /usr/local/java, but the actual location depends on your Linux distribution.
  4. Tell your browser about the plugin. Please consult the documentation for your browser for instructions on configuring plugins. The procedure will be similar to the following:
    1. cd to the plugins directory in the Mozilla or Netscape installation directory. If Mozilla is installed in /usr/local/mozilla, cd to /usr/local/mozilla/plugins
    2. Create a symbolic link to the plugin library with the following command (assuming the JRE is installed in /usr/java). The actual command will depend on the version of the JRE you have installed and its location. The following is an example:

      ln -s /usr/java/j2re1.4.2_04/plugin/i386/ns610/libjavaplugin_oji.so

Your browser should now use the JRE to execute all Java applets encountered on web pages. Once the Java Plug-in is installed and your browser is configured to use it, you may use the search function in WebLogic Workshop Help.