How to view the Spring Framework Javadoc in Eclipse?

Question

I have a folder full of HTML files that comprise the Spring Framework API documentation, http://docs.spring.io/spring/docs/3.2.4.RELEASE/javadoc-api/.

What I'd like is to be able to hover over the name of a Spring method/interface/etc in Eclipse (like the ClassPathXmlApplicationContext class) and have the explanation appear from those documents. At the moment, what I get is "Note: This element neither has attached source nor attached Javadoc and hence no Javadoc could be found".

Is there a way to tell Eclipse to implement that folder and its subfolders to make those Javadocs work? Do I have to package them in some way first? I'm using the Spring Tool Suite, or I can use regular Eclipse.

I've tried some things that were recommended in other answers, but I don't know what's going on.

If anyone can help, that would be nice.

Answer 1

Go to the properties of your project and select Java Build Path, then select the tab called Libraries, there you can expand any jar to select either Source attachment or Javadoc location and click the Edit button. In the dialog that appears you can specify the folder, JAR or zip with the source code, or the location path or URL of the Javadoc.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

It's very easy.

You can simply right click on your project and go to Maven -> Download JavaDoc, you can also select Maven -> Download Sources

If for whatever reasons this doesn't work you can also run :

mvn dependency:resolve -Dclassifier=javadoc

and then select Maven -> Update Project ...

Answer 3

If you want to learn a cool new technology, check out Maven. According to the site,

Apache Maven is a software project management and comprehension tool. Based on the concept of a project object model (POM), Maven can manage a project's build, reporting and documentation from a central piece of information.

You can use it to add dependencies to your project. I won't go into that but when you do, Maven downloads if it is available the source code of those dependencies, typically the source and javadoc jars. You can then simply Open Declaration (F3) of the class you're interested in and check its source or javadoc. When you've downloaded the source code, the javadoc is also made available when hovering over a class, method, field, etc.