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Home » Eclipse Projects » Platform - User Assistance (UA) » Re: Help plugin functions in 3.3, but not in 3.4
Re: Help plugin functions in 3.3, but not in 3.4 [message #474336] Wed, 10 September 2008 20:43 Go to next message
Eclipse UserFriend
Originally posted by: nospam_kowalskilee.gmail.com

Hi James,

The best newsgroup would be eclipse.platform.ua. I'm adding that
newsgroup to this thread.

Can you describe more about how you are adding the help plug-in to
Eclipse 3.3 and 3.4?

Yes, things have changed between the two versions. In Eclipse 3.4, the
method for providing plug-ins has changed. You can't simply add a new
plug-in to the plugins directory any more. There is a "dropins"
directory into which you can drop plug-ins. Sometimes you have to use
the -clean parameter on startup to ensure that Eclipse recognizes to
check the dropins directory.

Did you create your help plug-in with PDE or some other tool?

Best regards,
Lee Anne

James Hurrell wrote:
> I'm hoping this is the right group, please tell me if not!
>
> I need to intergrate a simple Help plugin into both Eclipse 3.3 and 3.4.
> My test plugin functions correctly in version 3.3, but does not show up
> in version 3.4.
>
> Has something changed between the two versions?
>
> Thanks.
>
> James Hurrell
Re: Help plugin functions in 3.3, but not in 3.4 [message #474337 is a reply to message #474336] Thu, 11 September 2008 07:46 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Eclipse UserFriend
Originally posted by: j.hurrell.don'tspame.castsoftware.com

Lee Anne wrote:
> Hi James,
>
> The best newsgroup would be eclipse.platform.ua. I'm adding that
> newsgroup to this thread.
>
> Can you describe more about how you are adding the help plug-in to
> Eclipse 3.3 and 3.4?
>
> Yes, things have changed between the two versions. In Eclipse 3.4, the
> method for providing plug-ins has changed. You can't simply add a new
> plug-in to the plugins directory any more. There is a "dropins"
> directory into which you can drop plug-ins. Sometimes you have to use
> the -clean parameter on startup to ensure that Eclipse recognizes to
> check the dropins directory.
>
> Did you create your help plug-in with PDE or some other tool?
>
> Best regards,
> Lee Anne

Hi Lee Anne,

Thanks very much for taking the time to respond. I created the plugin
manually - it has very few HTML pages, a few images and the toc.xml and
plugin.xml files. It works perfectly when dropped into Eclipse 3.3 in
the plugins folder (I'm just dropping in a folder containing the files,
not a .JAR).

I removed the plugin from the "plugins" folder in 3.4 and pasted it into
the "dropins" folder. I then started eclipse with the -clean parameter,
but it doesn't yet show up in the help.

-------------
toc.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?NLS TYPE="org.eclipse.help.toc"?>

<toc label="Platform Management Console" topic="html/index.html">

<topic label="Introduction to the PMC" href="html/intro/index.html">
</topic>

<topic label="Description of features" href="html/descript/index.html">
</topic>

<topic label="How to use the PMC" href="html/howto/index.html">
</topic>

</toc>
-------------

plugin.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.4"?>
<plugin>

<extension point="org.eclipse.help.toc">

<toc
file="toc.xml"
primary="true">
</toc>

</extension>

</plugin>

-------------

Any ideas?

Thanks.
Which Eclipse package are you dropping it into? SDK? RCP? [message #474540 is a reply to message #474337] Thu, 11 September 2008 12:23 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Eclipse UserFriend
Originally posted by: nospam_kowalskilee.gmail.com

Hi James,

Thanks for posting your sample plug-in code. I'll try dropping it into
my SDK setup.

I forgot to ask you this: which Eclipse 3.4 packaging are you dropping
the plug-in into? I mean, is it the SDK or RCP or a custom package?

When you say it doesn't show up in the help, do you mean specifically it
doesn't show up in the Table of Contents frame?

Earlier this week, another colleague and I encountered the symptom of
doc plug-ins not showing up in the Table of Contents frame in a 3.4
standalone help system situation. We haven't seen this happen when
dropping it into the SDK packaging, so that's why I'm asking for the
info about your Eclipse environment.

Best regards,
Lee Anne

James Hurrell wrote:
> Lee Anne wrote:
>> Hi James,
>>
>> The best newsgroup would be eclipse.platform.ua. I'm adding that
>> newsgroup to this thread.
>>
>> Can you describe more about how you are adding the help plug-in to
>> Eclipse 3.3 and 3.4?
>>
>> Yes, things have changed between the two versions. In Eclipse 3.4, the
>> method for providing plug-ins has changed. You can't simply add a new
>> plug-in to the plugins directory any more. There is a "dropins"
>> directory into which you can drop plug-ins. Sometimes you have to use
>> the -clean parameter on startup to ensure that Eclipse recognizes to
>> check the dropins directory.
>>
>> Did you create your help plug-in with PDE or some other tool?
>>
>> Best regards,
>> Lee Anne
>
> Hi Lee Anne,
>
> Thanks very much for taking the time to respond. I created the plugin
> manually - it has very few HTML pages, a few images and the toc.xml and
> plugin.xml files. It works perfectly when dropped into Eclipse 3.3 in
> the plugins folder (I'm just dropping in a folder containing the files,
> not a .JAR).
>
> I removed the plugin from the "plugins" folder in 3.4 and pasted it into
> the "dropins" folder. I then started eclipse with the -clean parameter,
> but it doesn't yet show up in the help.
>
> -------------
> toc.xml:
>
> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
> <?NLS TYPE="org.eclipse.help.toc"?>
>
> <toc label="Platform Management Console" topic="html/index.html">
>
> <topic label="Introduction to the PMC" href="html/intro/index.html">
> </topic>
>
> <topic label="Description of features" href="html/descript/index.html">
> </topic>
>
> <topic label="How to use the PMC" href="html/howto/index.html">
> </topic>
>
> </toc>
> -------------
>
> plugin.xml:
>
> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
> <?eclipse version="3.4"?>
> <plugin>
>
> <extension point="org.eclipse.help.toc">
>
> <toc
> file="toc.xml"
> primary="true">
> </toc>
>
> </extension>
>
> </plugin>
>
> -------------
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Thanks.
Re: Which Eclipse package are you dropping it into? SDK? RCP? [message #474541 is a reply to message #474540] Thu, 11 September 2008 13:07 Go to previous messageGo to next message
test is currently offline testFriend
Messages: 51
Registered: July 2009
Member
Hi Lee Anne,

It is, as far as I know, the standard Eclipse Classic package (151MB)...
is there a way to tell as I can't remember exactly what I downloaded!?

Yes, it doesn't show up in the TOC frame at all...(neither in the Help
window, nor in the main help browser accessed via Help > Help Contents).

The plugin looks like this:

com.company.devplugin.help_1.0.0
-plugin.xml
-toc.xml
-html
--index.html

--CSS
---pmc.css

--descript
---index.html

--howto
---index.html

--images
---several images

--intro
---index.html


So pretty simple really... I've done nothing special except trying it in
the "plugins" and "dropins" folders, to no avail.

Thanks
James

Lee Anne wrote:
> Hi James,
>
> Thanks for posting your sample plug-in code. I'll try dropping it into
> my SDK setup.
>
> I forgot to ask you this: which Eclipse 3.4 packaging are you dropping
> the plug-in into? I mean, is it the SDK or RCP or a custom package?
>
> When you say it doesn't show up in the help, do you mean specifically it
> doesn't show up in the Table of Contents frame?
>
> Earlier this week, another colleague and I encountered the symptom of
> doc plug-ins not showing up in the Table of Contents frame in a 3.4
> standalone help system situation. We haven't seen this happen when
> dropping it into the SDK packaging, so that's why I'm asking for the
> info about your Eclipse environment.
>
> Best regards,
> Lee Anne
Re: Which Eclipse package are you dropping it into? SDK? RCP? [message #474542 is a reply to message #474541] Thu, 11 September 2008 13:25 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Eclipse UserFriend
Originally posted by: nospam_kowalskilee.gmail.com

Hi James,

To see info about the Eclipse package, use Help->About Eclipse. That
will display an About window that states which packaging, and the build
id and other identifying info. Can you post what that info is here,
thanks! Oh, and what operating system are you running on?

I am running on Windows XP and using the Eclipse 3.4 SDK (biggest
package, with PDE and JDT, etc). I made a small plug-in based on your
earlier posting, with a plugin.xml, "Platform Management Console"
toc.xml, and a single html file. I exited the Eclipse workbench window,
copied the plug-in into the dropins directory, and then restarted
eclipse.exe. When the workbench window came up, then I did Help->Help
Contents and I could see the "Platform Management Console" listed at the
very bottom of the table of contents.

But then upon reading your latest post, where you state the name of the
plug-in com.company.devplugin.help_1.0.0, I renamed my plug-in by adding
the _1.0.0 portion, and now it doesn't show up!

So, please try removing the _1.0.0 portion of your plug-in directory
name and refresh/restart and see if it shows up.

Best regards,
Lee Anne

James Hurrell wrote:
> Hi Lee Anne,
>
> It is, as far as I know, the standard Eclipse Classic package (151MB)...
> is there a way to tell as I can't remember exactly what I downloaded!?
>
> Yes, it doesn't show up in the TOC frame at all...(neither in the Help
> window, nor in the main help browser accessed via Help > Help Contents).
>
> The plugin looks like this:
>
> com.company.devplugin.help_1.0.0
> -plugin.xml
> -toc.xml
> -html
> --index.html
>
> --CSS
> ---pmc.css
>
> --descript
> ---index.html
>
> --howto
> ---index.html
>
> --images
> ---several images
>
> --intro
> ---index.html
>
>
> So pretty simple really... I've done nothing special except trying it in
> the "plugins" and "dropins" folders, to no avail.
>
> Thanks
> James
>
Re: Which Eclipse package are you dropping it into? SDK? RCP? [message #474543 is a reply to message #474542] Thu, 11 September 2008 13:44 Go to previous messageGo to next message
test is currently offline testFriend
Messages: 51
Registered: July 2009
Member
Hi Lee Anne,

Thanks for this great support.

So, here's the Eclipse info:

Eclipse SDK

Version: 3.4.0
Build id: I20080617-2000

I tried removing the _1.0.0 from the folder name, but still no luck. I
even rebooted my PC and then reloaded Eclipse.

I am using Vista Business... maybe that is of relevance?? Eclipse is
unpacked to e:\eclipse3-4, I also have 3.3 in e:\eclipse3-3, but that
shouldn't make any difference I wouldn't have thought.

I will have access to an XP Pro machine tomorrow, so will try again with
the same plugin.

Very odd..!

James

Lee Anne wrote:
> Hi James,
>
> To see info about the Eclipse package, use Help->About Eclipse. That
> will display an About window that states which packaging, and the build
> id and other identifying info. Can you post what that info is here,
> thanks! Oh, and what operating system are you running on?
>
> I am running on Windows XP and using the Eclipse 3.4 SDK (biggest
> package, with PDE and JDT, etc). I made a small plug-in based on your
> earlier posting, with a plugin.xml, "Platform Management Console"
> toc.xml, and a single html file. I exited the Eclipse workbench window,
> copied the plug-in into the dropins directory, and then restarted
> eclipse.exe. When the workbench window came up, then I did Help->Help
> Contents and I could see the "Platform Management Console" listed at the
> very bottom of the table of contents.
>
> But then upon reading your latest post, where you state the name of the
> plug-in com.company.devplugin.help_1.0.0, I renamed my plug-in by adding
> the _1.0.0 portion, and now it doesn't show up!
>
> So, please try removing the _1.0.0 portion of your plug-in directory
> name and refresh/restart and see if it shows up.
>
> Best regards,
> Lee Anne
Re: Help plugin functions in 3.3, but not in 3.4 [message #474544 is a reply to message #474336] Fri, 12 September 2008 04:22 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ketan Padegaonkar is currently offline Ketan PadegaonkarFriend
Messages: 873
Registered: July 2009
Senior Member
I'm facing a similar issue, I'm packaging the help in a 3.4 based
product, and my help plugin does not seem to contribute to the help at all.

Did you get to resolve this issue ?

-- Ketan

Lee Anne wrote:
> Hi James,
>
> The best newsgroup would be eclipse.platform.ua. I'm adding that
> newsgroup to this thread.
>
> Can you describe more about how you are adding the help plug-in to
> Eclipse 3.3 and 3.4?
>
> Yes, things have changed between the two versions. In Eclipse 3.4, the
> method for providing plug-ins has changed. You can't simply add a new
> plug-in to the plugins directory any more. There is a "dropins"
> directory into which you can drop plug-ins. Sometimes you have to use
> the -clean parameter on startup to ensure that Eclipse recognizes to
> check the dropins directory.
>
> Did you create your help plug-in with PDE or some other tool?
>
> Best regards,
> Lee Anne
>
> James Hurrell wrote:
>> I'm hoping this is the right group, please tell me if not!
>>
>> I need to intergrate a simple Help plugin into both Eclipse 3.3 and
>> 3.4. My test plugin functions correctly in version 3.3, but does not
>> show up in version 3.4.
>>
>> Has something changed between the two versions?
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> James Hurrell
Re: Help plugin functions in 3.3, but not in 3.4 [message #474545 is a reply to message #474544] Fri, 12 September 2008 15:12 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Eclipse UserFriend
Originally posted by: nospam_kowalskilee.gmail.com

Hi Ketan

How did you create your help plug-in? Using PDE or another tool?
Does it have a MANIFEST.MF file?

How are you adding in the help plug-in? Are you putting it into the
plugins directory or the dropins directory or exporting it using the PDE?

In general, I have seen comments from people stating that they have
dropped plug-ins into dropins and sometimes they are picked up, and
sometimes they aren't and then 'magically' they are. For example, see
this eclipse.platform thread from July:
http://dev.eclipse.org/newslists/news.eclipse.platform/msg76 369.html

Ed Merks wrote:
"Yes, I ran into a weird problem where I changed the version of a plugin
from 2.4.0 to 2.4.1 and it caused the plugins to fail to resolve for
mysterious reasons and my efforts to clear the configuration made a
mess; eclipse would start, but Java projects weren't recognized as Java
projects anymore. I'm not sure what the proper way to force a clean
revisiting of all the dependencies. I've heard someone say -clean does
nothing for p2, but that might just be an ugly rumor. "

You could try using the -debug flag to get more details about what
Eclipse is doing as it is starting.

I haven't done any more iterative tests since my last posting. I did get
a help plug-in to appear when I removed the version portion of the
plug-in's directory (so that it was like com.blah.doc and not
com.blah.doc_1.0.9). But I could not get a repeatable experiment yet to
submit a bug or pinpoint the behavior.

Hope this helps,
Lee Anne

Ketan Padegaonkar wrote:
> I'm facing a similar issue, I'm packaging the help in a 3.4 based
> product, and my help plugin does not seem to contribute to the help at all.
>
> Did you get to resolve this issue ?
>
> -- Ketan
>
Re: Which Eclipse package are you dropping it into? SDK? RCP? [message #474546 is a reply to message #474543] Mon, 15 September 2008 08:10 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Eclipse UserFriend
Originally posted by: j.hurrell.don'tspamme.castsoftware.com

I tried the same plugin on a completely different machine using Win XP
Pro to no avail.

I have found that the only way to get a plugin to work in v.3.4 is to
create it within Eclipse using the project wizard and then add to it
manually as before...

Many thanks for your help Lee Anne.


James Hurrell wrote:
> Hi Lee Anne,
>
> Thanks for this great support.
>
> So, here's the Eclipse info:
>
> Eclipse SDK
>
> Version: 3.4.0
> Build id: I20080617-2000
>
> I tried removing the _1.0.0 from the folder name, but still no luck. I
> even rebooted my PC and then reloaded Eclipse.
>
> I am using Vista Business... maybe that is of relevance?? Eclipse is
> unpacked to e:\eclipse3-4, I also have 3.3 in e:\eclipse3-3, but that
> shouldn't make any difference I wouldn't have thought.
>
> I will have access to an XP Pro machine tomorrow, so will try again with
> the same plugin.
>
> Very odd..!
Re: Help plugin functions in 3.3, but not in 3.4 [message #474547 is a reply to message #474545] Mon, 15 September 2008 18:27 Go to previous message
Ketan Padegaonkar is currently offline Ketan PadegaonkarFriend
Messages: 873
Registered: July 2009
Senior Member
Lee Anne wrote:
> Hi Ketan
>
> How did you create your help plug-in? Using PDE or another tool?
> Does it have a MANIFEST.MF file?
>
> How are you adding in the help plug-in? Are you putting it into the
> plugins directory or the dropins directory or exporting it using the PDE?

We're building an RCP app, and all stuff lives in plugins, we used the
standard pde templates to create the plugin, and later customized it to
our needs (all of the help and TOC is auto generated out of XML)

The manifest looks like:
Manifest-Version: 1.0
Bundle-ManifestVersion: 2
Bundle-Name: Twist Help Plug-in
Bundle-SymbolicName: com.thoughtworks.twist.help; singleton:=true
Bundle-Version: 1.0.0.qualifier
Bundle-Vendor: http://thoughtworks.com/twist
Bundle-RequiredExecutionEnvironment: J2SE-1.5


The plugin.xml looks like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.2"?>
<plugin>
<extension point="org.eclipse.help.toc">
<toc file="toc.xml" primary="true />
</extension>
</plugin>


-- Ketan
Re: Help plugin functions in 3.3, but not in 3.4 [message #619865 is a reply to message #474336] Thu, 11 September 2008 07:46 Go to previous message
Eclipse UserFriend
Originally posted by: j.hurrell.don'tspame.castsoftware.com

Lee Anne wrote:
> Hi James,
>
> The best newsgroup would be eclipse.platform.ua. I'm adding that
> newsgroup to this thread.
>
> Can you describe more about how you are adding the help plug-in to
> Eclipse 3.3 and 3.4?
>
> Yes, things have changed between the two versions. In Eclipse 3.4, the
> method for providing plug-ins has changed. You can't simply add a new
> plug-in to the plugins directory any more. There is a "dropins"
> directory into which you can drop plug-ins. Sometimes you have to use
> the -clean parameter on startup to ensure that Eclipse recognizes to
> check the dropins directory.
>
> Did you create your help plug-in with PDE or some other tool?
>
> Best regards,
> Lee Anne

Hi Lee Anne,

Thanks very much for taking the time to respond. I created the plugin
manually - it has very few HTML pages, a few images and the toc.xml and
plugin.xml files. It works perfectly when dropped into Eclipse 3.3 in
the plugins folder (I'm just dropping in a folder containing the files,
not a .JAR).

I removed the plugin from the "plugins" folder in 3.4 and pasted it into
the "dropins" folder. I then started eclipse with the -clean parameter,
but it doesn't yet show up in the help.

-------------
toc.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?NLS TYPE="org.eclipse.help.toc"?>

<toc label="Platform Management Console" topic="html/index.html">

<topic label="Introduction to the PMC" href="html/intro/index.html">
</topic>

<topic label="Description of features" href="html/descript/index.html">
</topic>

<topic label="How to use the PMC" href="html/howto/index.html">
</topic>

</toc>
-------------

plugin.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.4"?>
<plugin>

<extension point="org.eclipse.help.toc">

<toc
file="toc.xml"
primary="true">
</toc>

</extension>

</plugin>

-------------

Any ideas?

Thanks.
Which Eclipse package are you dropping it into? SDK? RCP? [message #619886 is a reply to message #474337] Thu, 11 September 2008 12:23 Go to previous message
Eclipse UserFriend
Originally posted by: nospam_kowalskilee.gmail.com

Hi James,

Thanks for posting your sample plug-in code. I'll try dropping it into
my SDK setup.

I forgot to ask you this: which Eclipse 3.4 packaging are you dropping
the plug-in into? I mean, is it the SDK or RCP or a custom package?

When you say it doesn't show up in the help, do you mean specifically it
doesn't show up in the Table of Contents frame?

Earlier this week, another colleague and I encountered the symptom of
doc plug-ins not showing up in the Table of Contents frame in a 3.4
standalone help system situation. We haven't seen this happen when
dropping it into the SDK packaging, so that's why I'm asking for the
info about your Eclipse environment.

Best regards,
Lee Anne

James Hurrell wrote:
> Lee Anne wrote:
>> Hi James,
>>
>> The best newsgroup would be eclipse.platform.ua. I'm adding that
>> newsgroup to this thread.
>>
>> Can you describe more about how you are adding the help plug-in to
>> Eclipse 3.3 and 3.4?
>>
>> Yes, things have changed between the two versions. In Eclipse 3.4, the
>> method for providing plug-ins has changed. You can't simply add a new
>> plug-in to the plugins directory any more. There is a "dropins"
>> directory into which you can drop plug-ins. Sometimes you have to use
>> the -clean parameter on startup to ensure that Eclipse recognizes to
>> check the dropins directory.
>>
>> Did you create your help plug-in with PDE or some other tool?
>>
>> Best regards,
>> Lee Anne
>
> Hi Lee Anne,
>
> Thanks very much for taking the time to respond. I created the plugin
> manually - it has very few HTML pages, a few images and the toc.xml and
> plugin.xml files. It works perfectly when dropped into Eclipse 3.3 in
> the plugins folder (I'm just dropping in a folder containing the files,
> not a .JAR).
>
> I removed the plugin from the "plugins" folder in 3.4 and pasted it into
> the "dropins" folder. I then started eclipse with the -clean parameter,
> but it doesn't yet show up in the help.
>
> -------------
> toc.xml:
>
> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
> <?NLS TYPE="org.eclipse.help.toc"?>
>
> <toc label="Platform Management Console" topic="html/index.html">
>
> <topic label="Introduction to the PMC" href="html/intro/index.html">
> </topic>
>
> <topic label="Description of features" href="html/descript/index.html">
> </topic>
>
> <topic label="How to use the PMC" href="html/howto/index.html">
> </topic>
>
> </toc>
> -------------
>
> plugin.xml:
>
> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
> <?eclipse version="3.4"?>
> <plugin>
>
> <extension point="org.eclipse.help.toc">
>
> <toc
> file="toc.xml"
> primary="true">
> </toc>
>
> </extension>
>
> </plugin>
>
> -------------
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Thanks.
Re: Which Eclipse package are you dropping it into? SDK? RCP? [message #619887 is a reply to message #474540] Thu, 11 September 2008 13:07 Go to previous message
test is currently offline testFriend
Messages: 51
Registered: July 2009
Member
Hi Lee Anne,

It is, as far as I know, the standard Eclipse Classic package (151MB)...
is there a way to tell as I can't remember exactly what I downloaded!?

Yes, it doesn't show up in the TOC frame at all...(neither in the Help
window, nor in the main help browser accessed via Help > Help Contents).

The plugin looks like this:

com.company.devplugin.help_1.0.0
-plugin.xml
-toc.xml
-html
--index.html

--CSS
---pmc.css

--descript
---index.html

--howto
---index.html

--images
---several images

--intro
---index.html


So pretty simple really... I've done nothing special except trying it in
the "plugins" and "dropins" folders, to no avail.

Thanks
James

Lee Anne wrote:
> Hi James,
>
> Thanks for posting your sample plug-in code. I'll try dropping it into
> my SDK setup.
>
> I forgot to ask you this: which Eclipse 3.4 packaging are you dropping
> the plug-in into? I mean, is it the SDK or RCP or a custom package?
>
> When you say it doesn't show up in the help, do you mean specifically it
> doesn't show up in the Table of Contents frame?
>
> Earlier this week, another colleague and I encountered the symptom of
> doc plug-ins not showing up in the Table of Contents frame in a 3.4
> standalone help system situation. We haven't seen this happen when
> dropping it into the SDK packaging, so that's why I'm asking for the
> info about your Eclipse environment.
>
> Best regards,
> Lee Anne
Re: Which Eclipse package are you dropping it into? SDK? RCP? [message #619888 is a reply to message #474541] Thu, 11 September 2008 13:25 Go to previous message
Eclipse UserFriend
Originally posted by: nospam_kowalskilee.gmail.com

Hi James,

To see info about the Eclipse package, use Help->About Eclipse. That
will display an About window that states which packaging, and the build
id and other identifying info. Can you post what that info is here,
thanks! Oh, and what operating system are you running on?

I am running on Windows XP and using the Eclipse 3.4 SDK (biggest
package, with PDE and JDT, etc). I made a small plug-in based on your
earlier posting, with a plugin.xml, "Platform Management Console"
toc.xml, and a single html file. I exited the Eclipse workbench window,
copied the plug-in into the dropins directory, and then restarted
eclipse.exe. When the workbench window came up, then I did Help->Help
Contents and I could see the "Platform Management Console" listed at the
very bottom of the table of contents.

But then upon reading your latest post, where you state the name of the
plug-in com.company.devplugin.help_1.0.0, I renamed my plug-in by adding
the _1.0.0 portion, and now it doesn't show up!

So, please try removing the _1.0.0 portion of your plug-in directory
name and refresh/restart and see if it shows up.

Best regards,
Lee Anne

James Hurrell wrote:
> Hi Lee Anne,
>
> It is, as far as I know, the standard Eclipse Classic package (151MB)...
> is there a way to tell as I can't remember exactly what I downloaded!?
>
> Yes, it doesn't show up in the TOC frame at all...(neither in the Help
> window, nor in the main help browser accessed via Help > Help Contents).
>
> The plugin looks like this:
>
> com.company.devplugin.help_1.0.0
> -plugin.xml
> -toc.xml
> -html
> --index.html
>
> --CSS
> ---pmc.css
>
> --descript
> ---index.html
>
> --howto
> ---index.html
>
> --images
> ---several images
>
> --intro
> ---index.html
>
>
> So pretty simple really... I've done nothing special except trying it in
> the "plugins" and "dropins" folders, to no avail.
>
> Thanks
> James
>
Re: Which Eclipse package are you dropping it into? SDK? RCP? [message #619889 is a reply to message #474542] Thu, 11 September 2008 13:44 Go to previous message
test is currently offline testFriend
Messages: 51
Registered: July 2009
Member
Hi Lee Anne,

Thanks for this great support.

So, here's the Eclipse info:

Eclipse SDK

Version: 3.4.0
Build id: I20080617-2000

I tried removing the _1.0.0 from the folder name, but still no luck. I
even rebooted my PC and then reloaded Eclipse.

I am using Vista Business... maybe that is of relevance?? Eclipse is
unpacked to e:\eclipse3-4, I also have 3.3 in e:\eclipse3-3, but that
shouldn't make any difference I wouldn't have thought.

I will have access to an XP Pro machine tomorrow, so will try again with
the same plugin.

Very odd..!

James

Lee Anne wrote:
> Hi James,
>
> To see info about the Eclipse package, use Help->About Eclipse. That
> will display an About window that states which packaging, and the build
> id and other identifying info. Can you post what that info is here,
> thanks! Oh, and what operating system are you running on?
>
> I am running on Windows XP and using the Eclipse 3.4 SDK (biggest
> package, with PDE and JDT, etc). I made a small plug-in based on your
> earlier posting, with a plugin.xml, "Platform Management Console"
> toc.xml, and a single html file. I exited the Eclipse workbench window,
> copied the plug-in into the dropins directory, and then restarted
> eclipse.exe. When the workbench window came up, then I did Help->Help
> Contents and I could see the "Platform Management Console" listed at the
> very bottom of the table of contents.
>
> But then upon reading your latest post, where you state the name of the
> plug-in com.company.devplugin.help_1.0.0, I renamed my plug-in by adding
> the _1.0.0 portion, and now it doesn't show up!
>
> So, please try removing the _1.0.0 portion of your plug-in directory
> name and refresh/restart and see if it shows up.
>
> Best regards,
> Lee Anne
Re: Help plugin functions in 3.3, but not in 3.4 [message #619890 is a reply to message #474336] Fri, 12 September 2008 04:22 Go to previous message
Ketan Padegaonkar is currently offline Ketan PadegaonkarFriend
Messages: 873
Registered: July 2009
Senior Member
I'm facing a similar issue, I'm packaging the help in a 3.4 based
product, and my help plugin does not seem to contribute to the help at all.

Did you get to resolve this issue ?

-- Ketan

Lee Anne wrote:
> Hi James,
>
> The best newsgroup would be eclipse.platform.ua. I'm adding that
> newsgroup to this thread.
>
> Can you describe more about how you are adding the help plug-in to
> Eclipse 3.3 and 3.4?
>
> Yes, things have changed between the two versions. In Eclipse 3.4, the
> method for providing plug-ins has changed. You can't simply add a new
> plug-in to the plugins directory any more. There is a "dropins"
> directory into which you can drop plug-ins. Sometimes you have to use
> the -clean parameter on startup to ensure that Eclipse recognizes to
> check the dropins directory.
>
> Did you create your help plug-in with PDE or some other tool?
>
> Best regards,
> Lee Anne
>
> James Hurrell wrote:
>> I'm hoping this is the right group, please tell me if not!
>>
>> I need to intergrate a simple Help plugin into both Eclipse 3.3 and
>> 3.4. My test plugin functions correctly in version 3.3, but does not
>> show up in version 3.4.
>>
>> Has something changed between the two versions?
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> James Hurrell
Re: Help plugin functions in 3.3, but not in 3.4 [message #619891 is a reply to message #474544] Fri, 12 September 2008 15:12 Go to previous message
Eclipse UserFriend
Originally posted by: nospam_kowalskilee.gmail.com

Hi Ketan

How did you create your help plug-in? Using PDE or another tool?
Does it have a MANIFEST.MF file?

How are you adding in the help plug-in? Are you putting it into the
plugins directory or the dropins directory or exporting it using the PDE?

In general, I have seen comments from people stating that they have
dropped plug-ins into dropins and sometimes they are picked up, and
sometimes they aren't and then 'magically' they are. For example, see
this eclipse.platform thread from July:
http://dev.eclipse.org/newslists/news.eclipse.platform/msg76 369.html

Ed Merks wrote:
"Yes, I ran into a weird problem where I changed the version of a plugin
from 2.4.0 to 2.4.1 and it caused the plugins to fail to resolve for
mysterious reasons and my efforts to clear the configuration made a
mess; eclipse would start, but Java projects weren't recognized as Java
projects anymore. I'm not sure what the proper way to force a clean
revisiting of all the dependencies. I've heard someone say -clean does
nothing for p2, but that might just be an ugly rumor. "

You could try using the -debug flag to get more details about what
Eclipse is doing as it is starting.

I haven't done any more iterative tests since my last posting. I did get
a help plug-in to appear when I removed the version portion of the
plug-in's directory (so that it was like com.blah.doc and not
com.blah.doc_1.0.9). But I could not get a repeatable experiment yet to
submit a bug or pinpoint the behavior.

Hope this helps,
Lee Anne

Ketan Padegaonkar wrote:
> I'm facing a similar issue, I'm packaging the help in a 3.4 based
> product, and my help plugin does not seem to contribute to the help at all.
>
> Did you get to resolve this issue ?
>
> -- Ketan
>
Re: Which Eclipse package are you dropping it into? SDK? RCP? [message #619892 is a reply to message #474543] Mon, 15 September 2008 08:10 Go to previous message
Eclipse UserFriend
Originally posted by: j.hurrell.don'tspamme.castsoftware.com

I tried the same plugin on a completely different machine using Win XP
Pro to no avail.

I have found that the only way to get a plugin to work in v.3.4 is to
create it within Eclipse using the project wizard and then add to it
manually as before...

Many thanks for your help Lee Anne.


James Hurrell wrote:
> Hi Lee Anne,
>
> Thanks for this great support.
>
> So, here's the Eclipse info:
>
> Eclipse SDK
>
> Version: 3.4.0
> Build id: I20080617-2000
>
> I tried removing the _1.0.0 from the folder name, but still no luck. I
> even rebooted my PC and then reloaded Eclipse.
>
> I am using Vista Business... maybe that is of relevance?? Eclipse is
> unpacked to e:\eclipse3-4, I also have 3.3 in e:\eclipse3-3, but that
> shouldn't make any difference I wouldn't have thought.
>
> I will have access to an XP Pro machine tomorrow, so will try again with
> the same plugin.
>
> Very odd..!
Re: Help plugin functions in 3.3, but not in 3.4 [message #619893 is a reply to message #474545] Mon, 15 September 2008 18:27 Go to previous message
Ketan Padegaonkar is currently offline Ketan PadegaonkarFriend
Messages: 873
Registered: July 2009
Senior Member
Lee Anne wrote:
> Hi Ketan
>
> How did you create your help plug-in? Using PDE or another tool?
> Does it have a MANIFEST.MF file?
>
> How are you adding in the help plug-in? Are you putting it into the
> plugins directory or the dropins directory or exporting it using the PDE?

We're building an RCP app, and all stuff lives in plugins, we used the
standard pde templates to create the plugin, and later customized it to
our needs (all of the help and TOC is auto generated out of XML)

The manifest looks like:
Manifest-Version: 1.0
Bundle-ManifestVersion: 2
Bundle-Name: Twist Help Plug-in
Bundle-SymbolicName: com.thoughtworks.twist.help; singleton:=true
Bundle-Version: 1.0.0.qualifier
Bundle-Vendor: http://thoughtworks.com/twist
Bundle-RequiredExecutionEnvironment: J2SE-1.5


The plugin.xml looks like:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?eclipse version="3.2"?>
<plugin>
<extension point="org.eclipse.help.toc">
<toc file="toc.xml" primary="true />
</extension>
</plugin>


-- Ketan
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