When specifying an explicit jat file path name in the shared.loader property of catalina.properties file, the jar file is not loaded. The problem occurs between the Bootstrap.createClassLoader method and the StandardClassLoader.addRepositoryInternal method. In the form method, a File instance is created in which the path name has a File.separator appended. This occurs only if the resource path ends with ".jar" and does not end with "*.jar". In the latter method, the pathname in the File instance passed in the "unpacked" parameter is checked to see if it ends with the "/" character. If so, it is not opened and its manifest is not added to the opened Jars. To workaround, simply make the explicit jar file pathname a URL; that is, prefix its path with "file:" in the shared.loader property in catalina.properties.
So, I'm guessing you'd like us to update the documentation to reflect the workaround?
Documentation clarified per your instructions: thanks.