User Guide 1/1553-CRAH 301 1061 Uen H

How to Get Started with Active Library Explorer

Contents


1 Introduction

Active Library Explorer is software that allows users to browse Ericsson Customer Product Information (CPI) libraries in a standard web browser. This document is an introduction to the use of Active Library Explorer to read Ericsson CPI.

The document is written for Active Library Explorer version 16.3 or later.

1.1 CPI Library Types

Table 1 shows the CPI library types.

Table 1   CPI Library Types

Icon

Type

Description

Single CPI Library

A CPI library is a container file that includes HTML, PDF, and Excel® files.

HTML is the recommended format for viewing documents on screen. A PDF version of the document is also provided allowing the documents to be printed.

CPI Library Collection

A library collection is a group of related libraries that are browsed in the same window. It consists of a top-level library and sublibraries referenced from the top-level library. The top-level library of a collection is the entry point. Click the title of the top-level library to open the library collection for viewing.

A library collection can be downloaded as a single package.

1.2 Document Formats

Active Library Explorer supports the document formats shown in Table 2.

Table 2   Supported Document Formats

Icon

Format

HTML.tif

HTML

PDF.tif

PDF

Excel.tif

Excel

1.3 Active Library Explorer Variants

Active Library Explorer is available in two variants, a server variant and a standalone Windows®-based variant:

  • Active Library Explorer Server is used for web-based browsing. It is installed on a web server and is accessible from a web browser. Users do not need to install the software on a local workstation.

  • Active Library Explorer for Windows is used on PCs with no web connection. It is a Windows program that displays locally stored libraries already downloaded from a web server or read from a CD/DVD.

Find Active Library Explorer Version describes how to find the version of Active Library Explorer you are using and how to download the latest version.

The latest version of Active Library Explorer Server is installed on the Ericsson e-business portal at https://ebusiness.ericsson.net/, where the latest CPI is available for online browsing.

1.4 Active Library Explorer Functions

Active Library Explorer has two sets of functions:

  • Library functions are used for accessing libraries in a library structure. You can, for example, search for libraries, compare library variants, and download libraries.

  • Document functions are available when you view an open library. These functions are used with documents in a library, for example, to search for a document.

Note: This document describes only the basic document functions. For information on library functions, refer to the Help information available in Active Library Explorer Help , see Get Help.

2 Active Library Explorer Window

2.1 Frames

An example of an Active Library Explorer window is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1   Active Library Explorer Browser Window

The window is divided into three frames:

  • The toolbar frame, at the top of the browser window, contains the Active Library Explorer toolbar, described in Table 3.

  • The tree frame, on the left side of the browser, displays the library or document structure that is used to navigate the library collection, the library, or the document depending on which tab is selected. See Navigation.

    The library Collection tab, shown in Figure 2, is displayed when a library collection is open, and shows all libraries included in the library collection.

  • The document frame displays library information when first opened. When a folder is selected, the contents of the folder are displayed, the subfolders and document icons. When a document is selected, it is opened in this frame.

2.2 Library Collections

When a library collection is opened for viewing, the tree frame a third tab is displayed. See Figure 2.

Figure 2   Collection Tab

Select the Collection tab to display a list of all the libraries in the library collection. Click a library title to open the front page of that library in the document frame. The folder structure of the library is displayed by selecting the Library tab.

2.3 Active Library Explorer Toolbar

The Active Library Explorer toolbar is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3   Active Library Explorer Toolbar, Document View

Table 3 lists the Active Library Explorer tools.

Table 3   Active Library Explorer Toolbar

Icon

Name

Purpose

Start document search

Search for documents matching the search terms.

See Search.

Next search hit

Find and highlight the next search item.

See Next Search Hit.

Go back

Display the previous page.

Go forward

Display the original page.

Add a bookmark

Add a bookmark to the current document to your browser favorites.

See Add Bookmarks.

Create and display annotations

To add comments about the current document and display any comments that have been made previously.

See Create and Display Annotations.

Show current document in PDF

Open a PDF version of the document, if one is available.

See View PDF Version of Current Document.

Print

Print the contents of the document pane.

See Print.

Help

Open Active Library Explorer help.

See Get Help.

What's new

List all the changes made in the present Active Library Explorer Version.

Once this option has been selected once, it is no longer displayed.

A fuller description of these functions is found in the Active Library Explorer Help, see Get Help.

2.4 Context Menu

The context menu is activated by right-clicking inside Active Library Explorer. It is not available in PDF documents: the Adobe® Reader® has its own context menu. The menu contents vary depending on where the mouse is pointing when right-clicking, showing only the commands that are relevant in that particular context. See example in Figure 4.

Figure 4   Context Menu

Some commands previously located in the toolbar are now found in this menu.

A full description of these commands is found in the Active Library Explorer Help, see Get Help.

Ordinary browser commands are shown by right-clicking while pressing the Ctrl key.

3 Basic Functions

This section describes the basic document functions.

3.1 Back and Forward

Use these two buttons on the main toolbar to navigate to the most recently viewed pages.

3.2 Search

This section describes the search functions in Active Library Explorer.

In the Document View you can make the following searches:

3.2.1 Document View Search Syntax

This section describes the syntax to use when searching documents.

Capitalization  

Active Library Explorer search is case-insensitive, treating all letters as lower-case, for example, searches for rbs, RBS, or Rbs give the same result.
Spacing  

Spaces between words in the search pattern are treated as a logical AND, that is, both words must be present somewhere in a document to make a match.
Wildcards  

Wildcard symbols expand the scope of a search. The Document View search function supports the following wildcard characters:

  • A question mark (?) representing any single character

  • An asterisk (*) representing an unlimited number of characters in a word

Wildcards can be used in all types of Document View searches, except phrase search.
Phrase Search  

Multiple words entered in the search field (for example, CPI for RBS), are treated as a phrase only when placed within quotation marks ("). Phrase search is supported only in Instant document search for HTML documents, not, however, for PDF or Excel documents.
Logical Symbols  

Logical symbols define the relationships between words or groups of words and can be used to expand or limit the scope of the search. A logical symbol must be preceded by a space, otherwise it is treated as part of the search term.

Symbol

Purpose

|

Extends the search and retrieves items containing any of the words it separates (logical OR)

–

Limits the search and retrieves items that do not contain the term following it (logical NOT)

Logical symbols are supported only in Instant document search. In Advanced document search, the logical operators can be selected in the input form.

3.2.2 Instant Document Search

Instant document search is started from the Search in this library field on the toolbar, see Figure 5.

Figure 5   Search in This Library Field

To make an instant document search:

Steps

  1. Begin entering the search term into the Search in this library field.

    As you type, you get instant feedback in two ways:

    • Suggestions of complete words are shown below the search field. These suggestions are from words existing in the body text of all documents in the library.

    • Documents in folders that match the search pattern in the document title, keyword, or identity are shown in the document frame.

  2. To complete the search, including matches in document body texts, do one of the following:

    • Press Enter .

    • Click the Search icon ( ).

    • Click one of the search suggestions displayed below the search field.

    • Click Show All Results in the document frame.

Results

The search hits are displayed in the document frame in the following order, see Figure 6:

  1. Folder title

  2. Document keyword

  3. Document title

  4. Section keyword

  5. Document identity

  6. Body text (available only for a complete search result)

Figure 6   Search Results

For more information, see Active Library Explorer Help, Get Help.

3.2.3 Advanced Search Options

Advanced searching allows the use of logical operators as well as searches for specific document types. For more detailed information, see Active Library Explorer Help, Get Help.

To make an advanced search:

Steps

  1. Right-click in the document frame and select Search for Documents Using Advanced Options from the context menu. The Advanced Search page opens.
  2. Enter the search terms in the search fields, and click Search.

Results

The search results are sorted according to the document title.

3.2.4 Search Library Collections

To search in a library collection:

Steps

  1. Right-click in the document frame and select Search for Documents in Library Collection from the context menu. The Search in Library Collection page opens.
  2. Enter the search terms in the search fields.
    In addition to the normal advanced search parameters, select which libraries to include in the search:

    • Select All libraries to search all libraries in the collection.

    • Select Selected libraries to search only within selected libraries. Select the libraries from the list while holding down the Ctrl key.

  3. Click Search to start the search

3.2.5 Change Sort Order

The sort order can be changed by clicking the Title, Type, or Identity column header on the result page.

The selected sort order can be switched between ascending or descending order by clicking a column header.

An arrow next to the column header indicates the column used for sorting, as well as the ascending or descending order.

3.2.6 Show All Titles and Show Context

The contents shown can be changed as follows:

  • Select Show all titles to view the subtitle and English title of the documents, when available.

  • Select Show context to view an extract from the text surrounding the first hit encountered in the body text of the document. This option is available for HTML documents only.

3.2.7 Next Search Hit

Click the Next search hit icon to jump to the next hit.

3.2.8 Search in Document Frame

To search an HTML document, open in the document frame:

Steps

  1. Right-click in the document and select Find in document frame from the context menu. The browser search dialog box opens.
    For other document formats, click anywhere in the document and press Ctrl+F to start the search.
  2. Enter the search word, or phrase, and click OK.

3.2.9 PDF and Excel Document Searches

PDF and Excel documents cannot be searched as fully as HTML documents, as follows:

PDF  

Searching for document title, document number, and body text search is supported, but not a phrase search.
Excel  

Searching for document title and document number is supported but not body text and a phrase search.

Search suggestions are generated one word at a time. There is no guarantee that a specific combination of words is found in the same document.

3.3 Navigation

The tree frame shows the tree structure of either the library or a document by selecting the relevant tab, as follows:

  • Click Library to show the structure of the library in the tree frame to navigate the library.

  • Click Document to display the structure of the document displayed in the document frame and navigate through the document contents.

    Note: This tab is enabled only when an HTML document containing a section structure is displayed in the document frame.

When a library collection is being viewed, the Collection tab is displayed.

Navigate the structures as follows:

  • Click the symbol to the left of a folder or section to expand the tree. The symbol is replaced by a symbol.

  • Click the symbol to collapse and close the folder or section.

  • Click the folder icon or folder title in a Library structure to show the contents of a folder in the document frame.

  • Click the document icon or section title in a Document structure to navigate to that section in the document frame.

  • Click the library icon or library title in a Collection structure to open that library for viewing.

3.4 Library Front Page Images

Many libraries have an image on the front page. Some images are linked to a central resource in the library, for example, a graphical overview of the library. A linked image is indicated by an angle bracket after the title (">"). See Figure 7.

A tooltip, providing more information about the linked resource, is displayed when the cursor is moved over the image.

Figure 7   Example, Library Front Page Image with Link

3.5 Filter Displayed Contents

Filtering helps you to find relevant information. You can see a view containing only the information you need by selecting one or more of the available filters.

This feature is available only in libraries where filters and categories have been defined during library creation. This is indicated by a Show filter options icon in the Active Library Explorer tree frame:

Note: If the icon is gray, no filter is selected and the complete library contents are shown. A red icon shows that the current view is filtered.

For more information about filters, see Active Library Explorer Help.

3.5.1 Set Filters

Steps

  1. Click the Show filter options icon at the top-right corner of the tree frame.
    The Filter Library Contents tab opens, showing the filters defined for the current library.
  2. Select one or more of the filters.
    The content of the document frame is automatically reloaded according to the selected filters. Selected filters affect the ordinary Active Library Explorer functions in an opened library, such as, search.
    Note: The message, This folder contains no documents matching the current filter selections can be displayed if the selected filters produce no results. In such cases, hide the Filter Library Contents tab and use the ordinary navigation functions in the tree frame to display the contents fulfilling the filter criteria.

3.5.2 Hide Filter Library Contents

To hide the Filter Library Contents tab, do one of the following:

  • Click the header Filter Library Contents at the top of the page.

  • Right-click, and select Hide Filter Options from the context menu.

3.5.3 Reset Filters

To reset all filters to the default settings:

Steps

  1. Click the Show filter options icon to open the Filter Library Contents tab.
  2. Right-click and select Reset to Library Default Filters from the context menu.

3.6 Add Bookmarks

Click the Bookmark this document in browser favorites icon to create a bookmark to the document currently displayed in the document frame.

Using the context menu allows the following bookmark options:

  • Click Document to bookmark this document revision.

  • Click Latest to bookmark the latest available revision of this document.

  • Click Section to bookmark the section where the cursor is located.

More bookmark options are found in Get Help.

3.7 Copy Links to Clipboard

The link to a document open in the document frame can be copied to the clipboard so it can be pasted where it is required.

3.7.1 Copy Links to Clipboard in Microsoft® Internet Explorer®

Steps

  1. Open the document in the document frame.
  2. Right-click in the document to bring up the context menu.
  3. Select one of the following options:

    • Click Document to create a link to this document revision.

    • Click Latest to create a link to the latest available revision of this document.

    • Click Section to create a link to the section where the cursor is located.

3.7.2 Copy Links to Clipboard in Other Web Browser

Steps

  1. Open the document in the document frame.
  2. Select one of the following options:

    • Click the Bookmark this document in browser favorites icon ( ).

    • Right-click in the document and select Bookmark Document from the context menu.

    • Right-click in the document and select Bookmark Latest from the context menu, to provide a link to the latest available version of this document.

    • Right-click in the document and select Bookmark Section from the context menu, to provide a link to the section where the cursor is located.

    The Add Bookmark dialog box opens.
  3. Right-click the bookmark link and select Copy Link Location (or Copy Link Address, depending on browser) from the context menu.
  4. Click Close to close the dialog box.

Results

The link can now be pasted in mails, web pages, and so on.

3.8 Create and Display Annotations

Click the Annotations icon to annotate a document or read existing annotations.

An annotation is a comment or addition to a document made by a user.

Note: The Active Library Explorer installation on the Ericsson e-business portal has no annotation function. Instead, use the Notes function to provide feedback, see Provide Feedback.

Annotation can be seen by all users of the same Active Library Explorer installation. Annotations are connected to a particular document revision. Annotations for a document revision in one library are also visible in the same document revision in other libraries on the same installation.

Annotations can be edited and removed. There is no authorization mechanism so anybody can modify existing annotations.

For more information, see Active Library Explorer Help, Get Help.

3.9 Provide Feedback

The Notes function allows readers to provide feedback on CPI. Notes are inserted at appropriate places in HTML documents in a CPI library. Notes can be read by other users, retrieved by the owner of the document and, when relevant, used to improve the next revision of the document.

Notes are used to provide comments, to suggest improvements and request clarifications, and so on. The function, however, does not replace a trouble report for a fault in a document. Always indicate missing or incorrect information using a trouble report.

The following applies to notes:

  • The function is available only in CPI libraries in the Product Manuals application on the Ericsson e-business portal. It is not available in CPI libraries downloaded to local installations or in Active Library Explorer for Windows.

  • Notes can be added only to those libraries that are enabled to allow notes to be added. This decision is made by the information owner.

  • Notes are visible to other users of the same company, but not to users from other companies.

  • Only the author of a note can edit or remove it.

For more information, see Active Library Explorer Help.

3.9.1 Add Note

To add a note in a document:

Steps

  1. Open the document in HTML view in Active Library Explorer.
  2. Select the text about which you want to make note.
    Ensure that sufficient text is selected to enable a reader to understand what the note is about.
  3. Right-click the selected text and select Add Note from the context menu.
    The Add Note dialog box is displayed. The selected text is provided in the read-only Selected text box.
  4. Select the appropriate note category from the Category list box based on the nature of the feedback.
  5. Enter the feedback text in the Enter your comments here field.
  6. Click OK.

Results

The note is added. The HTML document is refreshed automatically to show the Notes icon beside the title of the section to which the note refers.

3.9.2 Edit Note

To edit a note made by you:

Steps

  1. Click the Notes icon of your note:
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Edit the note in the Edit your comments here box.
  4. Click OK.

3.9.3 Delete Note

To delete a note made by you:

Steps

  1. Click the Notes icon indicating your note:
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Click Delete.
  4. Confirm the deletion.

3.10 Print

Click the Print icon to print a document in the document frame. The browser print function can also be used. There is no difference between these two ways of printing.
Note: This button is inactive when a PDF file is opened. Use the Adobe Reader print function instead.

3.11 Save Document to Local Disk

To save a document, open in the document frame, as a PDF file to a local disk:

Steps

  1. Right-click in the document and select PDF Document Save from the context menu.
    The browser file download dialog box opens.
  2. Select the location on the local disk and click Save.

    The function is only available if a PDF file is available for the current document.

    Note: Excel documents are saved in Excel format.

3.12 View PDF Version of Current Document

Click the Show this document as PDF icon to open the current document in PDF format.

The function is not available if no PDF file is available for the current document.

You can also use the context menu: Right-click in the document and select PDF Document Show from the context menu.

3.13 Open a Document in Separate Window

To open a linked document in a separate browser window, right-click on the link and select Open in New Window from the context menu.

4 Get Help

Click the Help icon to show the detailed Active Library Explorer Help information.

The Active Library Explorer Help information also describes the library functions used for navigating libraries at the same location.

5 Find Active Library Explorer Version

This section describes how to find the current Active Library Explorer version in use and how to install the latest available version.

Note: The latest available Active Library Explorer Server version is always installed at the Ericsson e-business portal: https://ebusiness.ericsson.net/.

5.1 Active Library Explorer Server

To find the current version of Active Library Explorer Server on the web server:

Steps

  1. Click the Help button: .
    The Active Library Explorer Help is displayed.
  2. Click the second heading, Active Library Explorer .

Results

The version is displayed in the framed box at the end of the section, for example, Version 16.3.

5.2 Active Library Explorer for Windows

To find the current version of Active Library Explorer for Windows:

Steps

  1. Find the Active Library Explorer for Windows icon in the system tray.
  2. Right-click the icon, and select Preferences.
  3. Click the About tab.
    The version is displayed in the first box, for example, v16.3.

5.3 Download Latest Active Library Explorer Version

Always use the latest available version of Active Library Explorer to ensure that you have access to all the available functions.

To download the latest version:

Steps

  1. Log on to the e-business portal: https://ebusiness.ericsson.net/.
  2. Select My Tools And Applications > Product Manuals.
  3. On the Manuals & Instructions page, click Enter.
  4. In the folder structure that opens, navigate to the following folder:
    CPI > Tools > Active Library Explorer
  5. Select the appropriate Active Library Explorer variant and click the Download libraries button.
    Downloading the Active Library Explorer file is initiated.
    Note: Click the Active Library Explorer version title to display more information on the software. This includes a Description, Release Note, and, for the Active Library Explorer Server versions, an Installation Guide.

6 Access Active Library Explorer Libraries Using URL Hyperlinks

This section describes basic information to access Active Library Explorer libraries in web pages or in external applications by using URL hyperlinks.

6.1 Internet Address and Parameters

The link to an Active Library Explorer library on a web server is made by creating a URL hyperlink. This URL consists of two parts separated by a question mark:

<Internet Address>?<Parameters>

Where:

<Internet Address>

An internet address to the Active Library Explorer Server software, see Internet Address

<Parameters>

A set of parameters for the program execution, see Parameters

Internet Address

The syntax for the Internet address is as follows:

http://<Active Library Explorer Server address>/alexserv

<Active Library Explorer Server address> is the name of the web server where the Active Library Explorer Server program, alexserv, is installed. The internet address is case sensitive.

Example 1 shows two examples of the internet address:

Example 1   Internet Address

http://cpistore.ericsson.se/alexserv

https://al4b.cpi.ericsson.net/cpix/ak/alexserv

Parameters

The parameters are used as input for the search. Where several parameters are used, each parameter is separated by an ampersand. The parameters are not case-sensitive.

Each parameter has a name and a value given to it in the format Name=Value. A search with three parameters is then in the format name1=value1&name2=value2&name3=value3.

Use parameters as described in Open Libraries and Search for Documents.

6.2 Open Libraries

A link to a specific library uses the following syntax:

<Internet Address>?li=<library id>

The <library id> is the identity of the library. Enter the identity without spaces. Use wildcards for the R-state to link to the latest available version at the web server.

Examples:

 

en/lzn7990123r1a

Link to library EN/LZN 799 0123 R1A
 

en/lzn7990123*

Link to latest available version of library EN/LZN 799 0123

The library identity is found on the front page of a library, see example in Figure 8.

Figure 8   Library Identity on Library Front Page

Example 2 and Example 3 show examples of links to library EN/LZN 799 0123.

Example 2   Link to Library EN/LZN 799 0123 with R-State R1A

https://al4b.cpi.ericsson.net/cpix/ak/alexserv?li=en/lzn7990123r1a

Example 3   Link to Latest Available Version of Library EN/LZN 799 0123

https://al4b.cpi.ericsson.net/cpix/ak/alexserv?li=en/lzn7990123*

6.3 Search for Documents

This section describes how to search for individual documents in a specified library.

Note: A link with wildcards can result in hits in several documents. In this case, all applicable documents are shown in a list.

Using Document Titles

A link to a document title in a library uses the following syntax:

<Internet Address>?ac=searchext&li=<library id>&st=title&pa=<document title>

The <document title> is the title of the target document. Enter the title by including all words separated by the plus character ("+"). Wildcards can be used to widen the search.

Examples:

 

channel+allocation

Link to document title Channel Allocation

 

bothway+trunk+test

Link to document title Bothway Trunk Test

 

channel*recording*

Link to document title beginning with Channel and having Recording somewhere later in the title

Example 4 shows a link to the document with title Channel Allocation in the latest available version of library EN/LZN 799 0123.

Example 4   Link to Document Title

https://al4b.cpi.ericsson.net/cpix/ak/alexserv?ac=searchext
&li=EN/LZN7990123*&st=title&pa=channel+allocation

Using Document Identities

A link to a specific document identity in a library uses the following syntax:

<Internet Address>?ac=searchext&li=<library id>&st=docno&pa=<document id>

The <document id> is the document identity of the target document. Enter the document identity with the document number and language code as one word, followed by the plus character ("+") and the Rev state. Use wildcards for the Rev state to link to the latest available version in the specified library. The wildcard can be included for the language code too.

Examples:

 

22/00021-fck10105Uen+A

Link to document 22/000 21-FCK 101 05 Uen A
 

22/00021-fck10105Uen*

Link to latest available version of document 22/000 21-FCK 101 05 Uen
 

22/00021-fck10105*

Link to latest available version of document 22/000 21-FCK 101 05 with any language code

Example 5 shows a link to the latest available version of the document with number 22/000 21-FCK 101 05, with any language code, in the latest available version of library EN/LZN 799 0123.

Example 5   Link to Document Identity

https://al4b.cpi.ericsson.net/cpix/ak/alexserv?ac=searchext
&li=EN/LZN7990123*&st=docno&pa=22/00021-fck10105*
Legal |© Ericsson AB 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015-2017