Introduction
This document replaces the outdated article with the ID 25980M and the same title.
The Knowledge Base (KB) is a searchable database in which different document types of technical documentation are aggregated. These vary from traditional manuals to dynamic concepts, cookbooks, guides, video tutorials and many more.
You can access it via https://support.intershop.com/kb/index.php.
Who Has Access to the KB?
The content of the Intershop Knowledge Base is targeted to technicians working with Intershop Software. Therefore, only persons with a background that is validated with a Support contract can access it. This background can either be a declaration as "named contact" by the contract holder or you can register yourself individually ("verified contact") using the e-mail address of a contract holding company or tell us the contract ID of your company: https://support.intershop.com/sws/index.php/Account/Register. Such a self-registered “KB only” account may serve the Knowledge Base to be able to solve smaller issues that could occur in your everyday work with Intershop software. Additionally, one can comment and rate the KB documents. "Named contacts" have extended rights: opening Tickets, downloading updates and maintaining the contact sheet.
What Types of Documents can be Found?
The Knowledge Base is filled with documents of different types, each one targeting a different use case. There are:
User Manuals & Guidelines
This area targets technicians in general.
- Concepts are documents that cover the definition of a single topic. A concept is a common feature or characteristic and inherits Cookbooks and References to this topic.
- Cookbooks are a collection of recipes, each one a more in-depth documentation of a single task that connect to a topic which was defined in the corresponding concept.
- References are intended for developers who want to make use of an easy-to-use API when developing frontend solutions.
- User & Admin Manuals are a collection of pdf manuals that sum up the content of the Software’s online help – based on role-based tasks.
- Guidelines cover workarounds, best practices, style guides and other tasks that are not specifically unique for Admins.
- Feature Lists present the features included in the Intershop software.
- System Requirements Sheets list all necessary hardware and software components for the various operating system and application server versions.
- Developer Manuals collect the content of the online help functionality of Intershop Studio.
- Setup Manuals list mostly PDFs that cover documentation on how systems, cartridges or databases are installed or deployed.
- Readmes provide important product information, including basic setup instructions and configuration tasks.
Support Articles
Support Articles are not part of the official documentation and mostly contain workarounds or tips and tricks that come from the daily work of our support engineers.
Announcements and Newsletters
This section contains the Support Newsletter TechTalk which is sent quarterly to all the users of the KB which are subscribed to it. The newsletter informs about:
- Intershop product documentation updates (important new or updated Knowledge Base documents)
- Newly released Intershop product patches, updates and upgrades
- New Intershop products, their functions, features, and additional modules
- Intershop product life-cycle status changes ("End of Life" or "End of Support" announcements)
- Intershop Customer Support organizational news
- Special offers from the Intershop Training team
- Customer alerts whenever a security issue requires swift communication
This section also contains GA Announcements.
Video Tutorials
Video Tutorials are meant to instruct, teach and explain Intershop features on an audiovisual level.
Product Development Documents
Product Development Documents are targeted to developers to help them customize Intershop software.
- Release Notes inform customers about new features and changes in new product releases.
- JavaDocs contain the API documentation of cartridges for Intershop software - as both CHM and HTML.
- Difference Reports list all differences between two released Intershop versions until 7.3. After that, DiffReports are no longer generated.
- Entity-Relationship Models are data models for describing the information aspects of a business domain or its process requirements, in an abstract way that lends itself to ultimately being implemented in a database.
- Wireframes are screen blueprints, a visual guide that represents the skeletal framework of a webshop.
Defects
No software is free of errors. Here, solved issues are documented.
Seminar & Conference Documents
These documents are a collection of training or presentation material.
- Micro Trainings are made by our developers and offer a really deep insight in special features.
- Developer Day Documents are presentations given by our developers at internal fairs to show current work in progress of their projects.
- Miscellaneous – when nothing else matches, sometimes this container is necessary.
What Functionalities Does the KB Offer?
In the Intershop Knowledge Base you can extend your know-how of Intershop Software. You can search or browse documents, read and comment them.
Is There a Notification for new Documents?
Yes, you can use the RSS Feed to be informed about new documents. The URL is https://support.intershop.com/sws/index.php/RssFeed/Docs or use the button to subscribe:
How is the Search Functionality Used?
Picking the right document in the Knowledge Base mostly requires a two-step search: You need a search phrase in the textbox and to set filters in the left side navigation. Executing only one of these steps works, too, but the search result page may not be specified enough. To do a text search, type in a string of your choice, then hit “enter”. You are now on the Knowledge Base Search Result page and have the possibility to narrow down your results by using filters on the left side navigation.
This graphic presents the structure and functionalities of the Search Results page:
| Position # | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Product and Version filter |
| 2 | Date and Relevance Sorting |
| 3 | Product Documentation and Product Issues |
| 4 | Document title |
A useful functionality is the sorting mechanism. There are two options: Relevance (based on a formula concerning keyword counting, title and document type) and Date. Use it to sort the search results as you need it. You can also change the number of results per page. The two tabs “Product Documentation” and “Product Issues” will help you to concentrate on your search phrase. If you are looking for the solution for an error message, focusing on defects may help. Otherwise you can exclude them to minimize the number of search results.
If you found an interesting document, click on the title to open it. Sometimes (readmes, javadocs, etc.) there is just a .zip file download link, no document page. If this is the case, use the .zip file for your desired task.
If you have a regular document, you can read it on its page.
| Position # | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Document title |
| 2 | ongoing information |
| 3 | Document ID |
| 4 | Properties |
What if I do not Have a Certain Textphrase to Search for?
If you do not want to start with a text search, for example you want to have an overview of all the documents related to a certain topic, you can skip the text search and start by browsing the Knowledge Base right from its Homepage:
8 Can I Give Feedback to Documents?
Yes, at the bottom of each document page, you will find a feedback section:
You can use the free text form (which opens after answering the question if the article was helpful or not) to give additional information, add a comment or contact us if something needs to be edited within the document.
Your note will be sent to the technical writer, who publishes it and, if necessary, escalates the document to be edited, extended, corrected. The technical writer or the responsible engineer can also comment, if something needs to be added to a note.
If the issue (e.g. a broken link) given in the note is fixed, the note will be deleted to avoid misconceptions.Your feedback will be submitted to us just by clicking the radio button. No further submission is required.
9 Who is Responsible for the Content?
The official product documentation (Manuals, online help) is created by the dedicated documentation department at Intershop. They rely on Quality Assurance, legal frameworks and global documentation guidelines.
Concepts, Cookbooks, References and Guides are maintained by Intershops Products & Engineering Teams and edited by technical writers. Support Articles are written by support engineers and also edited by a technical writer to ensure conformity.
Video Tutorials are a collaboration of support engineers, developers, the Training Department and technical writers. Presentations, Micro Trainings and other various documents are published by the responsible persons who create their contents.
You can use the comment functionality to contact the individual authors, if you need to or write an e-mail to kbadmin@intershop.de.