Step 2 Online Documentation

Step 2. Online Documentation

In this step, you will learn about the LANSA online help and documentation search facilities.

1.In the LANSA Editor click on the Help icon at the right hand side of the ribbon area..

     The LANSA User Assistance contents page will be shown. You can use the Search tab from here to search for a topic in all LANSA guides.

     Follow the numbered steps shown below on the left hand side. This is just one way to navigate through the online guide. Once you are experienced, you will find there are many ways to rapidly find the information you need.

1. Select the Documentation Roadmap link at the top of the right hand side.
2. Note that this takes you to links to sections of the guide for different types of user.     Select the Developer link
3. This provides more links to sections of the guide suitable for a developer. Select Product List.
4. From here select Visual LANSA Global Guide link.
The Contents tab shows the guides grouped under the Visual LANSA Global Guide. This opens the Visual LANSA Guides as a separate document.
5. Switch to the Search tab, type in the word compile and select the List Topics button.     Note that there are around 300 topics containing the word compile. This is because you have searched all the guides grouped under Visual LANSA Global Guide.     As you can see, this list is long and unwieldy. To make it more manageable, you can: * sort the listed items by topic title by clicking the Title column heading * sort the items by Location, to split the list by guide. * narrow your search using the search features described in Searching in the Tips Guide.
6. Select one of the topics and select the Display button.     Then select the Contents toolbar button at the top of the displayed page.
This will open the guide in which this topic was found. 7. Switch to the Search tab and again list topics for the word compile. Note that there are around 19 topics found. This is because you are now searching for topics in one guide only. This is often the most efficient way to search for information.

 

 

8.Close the individual guide you have just opened - Visual LANSA Administrator Guide in the example shown to return to Visual LANSA Guides. Close this guide, leaving the LANSA User Assistant guide open

9.  Click the Back button (highlighted above) until you return to the LANSA User Assistance initial view.

10.Select the Technical Reference Guide and note the toolbar is shown for the selected guide – indicating that it may be opened as a separate guide using the Contents button. Most of the guides may be opened in this way.

Documentation Toolbar

11. The individual sections in the LANSA Guides display a common toolbar

    To open a window displaying all the LANSA guides, press the Browse button in this toolbar. The LANSA User Assistance window will be displayed. You can use this window to search all LANSA guides

12. Note that you can also open the LANSA Guides from the folder in the LANSA folder.

13. Of course the editor also has a menu button at the top right.

     Contents open the full Online Guide reviewed above.

     Using the Editor and ShortCuts are more specialized help files.

     LANSA Home Page and LANSA Technical Resources are links to the LANSA web site.

     About provides detailed information for your Visual LANSA software.

     If you are making a support call you may be asked to use the About dialog to save information about your installed software and configuration.

14.The button highlighted below, hides or shows the ribbon area.