[NETBEANS-656] Help is Broken (Offline and On-line)

• Type: Bug
• Status: Closed
• Priority: Critical
• Resolution: Fixed
• Affects Version/s: 9.0
• Component/s: ide - UI, platform - Help System
• Labels: Regression help help-requested help-system pull-request-available

Environment

Both Windows 10 and Linux 64-bit

• Assignee: Unassigned
• Reporter: aplatypus
• Created: 13/Apr/18 04:40
• Updated: 05/Feb/21 20:56
• Resolved: 02/Jan/21 19:46

Description

expected

• Press [HELP] menu
• Press "Help Contents"
• Loading help settings ... (pop-up)
• Display Netbeans Help window
• page; "Using the IDE Help System"

As well

• Press [HELP] menu
• Press "online docs and support"
• Internal browser page opens
• And see the Help system/pages

actual

• Nothing happens
• The "Help Contents" menu entry is absent
• The Link

  http://www.netbeans.org/kb/index.html
  

  • Appears to be an out of date page
  • Also it points to netbeans.org, should it point to Netbeans.Apache.org?

Impact

• Off line help is essential.
  • Quite a few project don't have internet access (by choice)
• We are a small lab and we both rely and expect people to be self-reliant that includes being able to find answers through tools like help. and documentation.
  • We get a lot to of students who haven't used Java or Netbeans
  • We get C++ and C# programmers who've never used java
  • We have web developers who don't use Java
  • Experienced people may think of help a an "extra" – it is not in a work-a-day environment with many levels of experience.
• If you want people to adopt Netbeans,
  • (Reliable) HELP is an essential;
  • (Reliable) Documentation is essential.
• I appreciate that this is a Beta version and the documents may be not ready
  • Show a placeholder IDE Help System
  • For heaven's sake put that in the landing page for the on-line link

 

Issue Links

• links to: GitHub Pull Request #499