Help system overview

The IBM® Rational® help system is the gateway to information that you need to use your Rational product. The help system contains topics that you can use in various situations and provides tools that you can use to find required information.

Help topics

The help system topics cover a wide variety of subjects:
  • Tours and overview topics inform you about what you can do with the software and how those capabilities fit into your business and development processes
  • Getting started topics are road maps to the parts of the help that are important for you, given your particular role or goals.
  • Tutorials and samples provide opportunities to practice using the product.
  • Step-by-step procedures offer instructions for completing tasks with the software. The help also provides supporting conceptual and reference information.
  • Troubleshooting and support information helps you fix problems and find additional resources and communities at IBM and on the Web.
  • Documentation of accessibility support explains how individuals with special needs can use the product.
For a detailed description of how these and other help topics are structured, see Help navigation.

Help tools

The help system includes tools for browsing, printing, and finding topics that matter to you:
  • A view of the help contents in the navigation pane
  • A full-text search
  • An index
  • Print utilities
For a detailed description these features, including Show Me movies that demonstrate each tool, see Help system features, Finding help content, and Printing topics and creating PDFs.

Improving your information experience

IBM Rational software invests in improving the help system to make sure that you get the right information in the right place at the right time. If you have questions about the help or suggestions for improving the help system, click the Feedback link at the end of this and all topics.


Feedback