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Getting Started with Your Documentation

This chapter introduces you to the Oracle8 Enterprise Edition for Windows NT documentation set. Read this chapter before installing or using Oracle8 Enterprise Edition.

Specific topics discussed are:

Documentation Formats

This table describes the format and availability of documents in your Oracle8 Enterprise Edition kit and the tools required to view them:

Document Format Document Availability Document Tools

HyperText Markup Language (HTML)

All Oracle documentation is available in HTML.

Use Oracle Information Navigator to view your HTML documentation set. For information on how to start Oracle Information Navigator, see section, "Starting Oracle Information Navigator" in this chapter.

Portable Document Format (PDF)

All Oracle documentation is available in PDF.

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader to view your PDF documentation set. For information on how to start Adobe Acrobat Reader, see section, "Starting Adobe Acrobat Reader" in this chapter.

Printed

Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Getting Started for Windows NT
Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Installation for Windows NT
Net8 Getting Started for Windows NT and Windows 95/98

Certain printed guides are also included in your kit. To order printed guides, contact Oracle Documentation Sales at the following locations:

Telephone (1) (800) 252-0303 in the United States of America.

Visit: http://www.oracle.com/documentation/sales/

Document Format	Document Availability	Document Tools
HyperText Markup Language (HTML)	All Oracle documentation is available in HTML.	Use Oracle Information Navigator to view your HTML documentation set. For information on how to start Oracle Information Navigator, see section, "Starting Oracle Information Navigator" in this chapter.
Portable Document Format (PDF)	All Oracle documentation is available in PDF.	Use Adobe Acrobat Reader to view your PDF documentation set. For information on how to start Adobe Acrobat Reader, see section, "Starting Adobe Acrobat Reader" in this chapter.
Printed	Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Getting Started for Windows NT Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Installation for Windows NT Net8 Getting Started for Windows NT and Windows 95/98	Certain printed guides are also included in your kit. To order printed guides, contact Oracle Documentation Sales at the following locations: Telephone (1) (800) 252-0303 in the United States of America. Visit: `http://www.oracle.com/documentation/sales/`

What Documentation Did I Receive?

Your documentation set consists of two types of documentation:

Documentation Type Describes...

Operating System-specific

Installation, configuration, and use of Oracle8 Enterprise Edition products in a Windows NT, Windows 95, or Windows 98 environment. Operating system-specific documents are occasionally referred to in the generic documentation set. These documents are easy to identify because they always mention their specific operating system in their title.

Generic

Oracle8 Enterprise Edition, Net8 networking information, and Application Programming Interfaces information that is uniform across all operating system platforms. The vast majority of documents in your documentation set belong to this category. While reading through the generic documentation set, you are occasionally asked to refer to your platform-specific or operating system-specific documentation for procedures specific to the Windows NT, Windows 95, or Windows 98 operating systems.
To easily identify where these generic documentation references are described in your operating system documentation, see the index of this guide for the following entry:
generic documentation references
All generic documentation references described in this guide appear under this index entry.

Documentation Type	Describes...
Operating System-specific	Installation, configuration, and use of Oracle8 Enterprise Edition products in a Windows NT, Windows 95, or Windows 98 environment. Operating system-specific documents are occasionally referred to in the generic documentation set. These documents are easy to identify because they always mention their specific operating system in their title.
Generic	Oracle8 Enterprise Edition, Net8 networking information, and Application Programming Interfaces information that is uniform across all operating system platforms. The vast majority of documents in your documentation set belong to this category. While reading through the generic documentation set, you are occasionally asked to refer to your platform-specific or operating system-specific documentation for procedures specific to the Windows NT, Windows 95, or Windows 98 operating systems. To easily identify where these generic documentation references are described in your operating system documentation, see the index of this guide for the following entry: generic documentation references All generic documentation references described in this guide appear under this index entry.

IMPORTANT:

Documentation may be included in your package detailing products that you did not buy or license, or whose functionality is not included in the current release. The presence of such documentation does not mean that these products are included in your package or that you are licensed to use them.

Online Documentation Set

Your online Oracle documentation set is divided into the following categories:

Installation

Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Installation for Windows NT

Oracle8 Database

Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Getting Started for Windows NT

Getting to Know Oracle8 and the Oracle8 Enterprise Edition, Release 8.0

Oracle8 Concepts

Oracle8 Administrator's Guide

Oracle8 Backup and Recovery

Oracle8 Distributed Database Systems

Oracle8 Migration

Oracle8 Replication

Oracle Server Manager User's Guide

Oracle8 Tuning

Oracle8 Utilities

Oracle8 Error Messages

Oracle8 Reference

Oracle8 SQL Reference

PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference

Oracle8 Cartridges

Oracle8 ConText Cartridge QuickStart

Oracle8 ConText Cartridge Administrator's Guide

Oracle8 ConText Cartridge Application Developer's Guide

Oracle8 ConText Cartridge Workbench User's Guide

Oracle8 Image Cartridge User's Guide

Oracle8 Spatial Cartridge User's Guide and Reference

Oracle8 Time Series Cartridge User's Guide

Oracle8 Visual Information Retrieval Cartridge User's Guide

SQL*Plus

SQL*Plus Getting Started for Windows NT and Windows 95/98

SQL*Plus Quick Reference

SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference

Network

Task Page-Find out how to do common Oracle tasks!

The Task Page provides easy access to step-by-step instructions on performing many Oracle tasks. Tasks are grouped according to job function at the highest level, then into sub-categories as appropriate. Find the task you are interested in under the appropriate job category. You can access the Task Page from the Oracle Information Navigator welcome page. See section, "Starting Oracle Information Navigator" for more information.

What Documentation Do I Read First?

This table lists the recommended order in which to start reading through your documentation set in order to quickly install and configure Oracle8 Enterprise Edition.

Read Documents in This Order... For Information On...

Customer Support Information Booklet

How to obtain Customer Support information. This document is also available online at:
http://support.oracle.com/support_guide/.

Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Release Notes for Windows NT

Important last minute installation and configuration information.

Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Installation for Windows NT

Installation instructions included in the CD-ROM insert.

Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Getting Started for Windows NT

Post-installation, database migration, database upgrade, and configuration information for Oracle products.

Net8 Getting Started for Windows NT and Windows 95/98

Oracle8 Enterprise Edition client/server networking environment, basic database network concepts, network protocols, and Oracle Protocol Adapters.

Oracle8 Concepts

Basic database concepts.

Oracle8 Administrator's Guide

Basic database administration.

Oracle Enterprise Manager Concepts Guide

Instructions on using Oracle Enterprise Manager.

The remaining documentation in an order appropriate to your needs.

Read Documents in This Order...	For Information On...
Customer Support Information Booklet	How to obtain Customer Support information. This document is also available online at: `http://support.oracle.com/support_guide/.`
Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Release Notes for Windows NT	Important last minute installation and configuration information.
Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Installation for Windows NT	Installation instructions included in the CD-ROM insert.
Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Getting Started for Windows NT	Post-installation, database migration, database upgrade, and configuration information for Oracle products.
Net8 Getting Started for Windows NT and Windows 95/98	Oracle8 Enterprise Edition client/server networking environment, basic database network concepts, network protocols, and Oracle Protocol Adapters.
Oracle8 Concepts	Basic database concepts.
Oracle8 Administrator's Guide	Basic database administration.
Oracle Enterprise Manager Concepts Guide	Instructions on using Oracle Enterprise Manager.
The remaining documentation in an order appropriate to your needs.

Starting Oracle Information Navigator

Use Oracle Information Navigator to view your HTML documentation set. Oracle Information Navigator enables you to search your entire documentation set for information on specific topics.

To start Oracle Information Navigator:

Install Oracle Documentation from the CD-ROM.

Oracle Information Navigator is automatically installed along with your Oracle Documentation.

Use one of the following Java-enabled browsers:

Netscape Navigator Version 3.0 or later

Visit http://www.netscape.com

Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 3.0 or later

Visit http://www.microsoft.com

Oracle Information Navigator can only work with a Java-enabled browser. If you do not use these browsers, you cannot view documentation from the WELCOME.HTM page that is accessed when you choose Start > Programs > Oracle for Windows NT - [HOME_NAME] > Oracle Documentation.

You can still view online documentation by going to \DOC\INDEX.HTM located at the top of your CD-ROM, or to ORACLE_HOME\DOC\INDEX.HTM if you installed the documentation onto your computer.

Choose Start > Programs > Oracle for Windows NT - [HOME_NAME] > Oracle8 Documentation.

Your Web browser is automatically started, and a welcome page appears.

Oracle Information Navigator appears.

Click the icon to access help for instructions on using Oracle Information Navigator.

Notes:

Some notes on using Oracle Information Navigator:

The Java components of Oracle Information Navigator do not work on Windows 3.1. You can still access the Oracle online documentation, however, you will not be able to use the Oracle Information Navigator. To use the Oracle Information Navigator, use a 32-bit Microsoft operating system such as Windows NT, Windows 95, or Windows 98.
Changes to Microsoft's Internet Explorer release 3.02 to address security issues may prevent Oracle Information Navigator from starting and displaying properly. This does not affect your access to Oracle online documentation.

Starting Adobe Acrobat Reader

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print your PDF documentation set.

To start Adobe Acrobat Reader:

Insert the Oracle8 Enterprise Edition CD-ROM into the mapped CD-ROM drive.

The operating system automatically detects the CD-ROM. The Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Autorun dialog box appears and prompts you to make a selection:

Begin Installation
Browse Information
Explore CD

Click Explore CD.
Go to the \ACROREAD directory.
Double-click on Ar32e30 to install the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

A wizard helps you quickly install Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Choose Start > Programs > Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0 after installation is complete to start Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Choose Open from the File Menu and navigate to the \PDFDOC directory on the CD-ROM to read the PDF documents.
Read PDF directly from the CD-ROM, or copy the files to your hard disk.

Notes:

Some notes on using Adobe Acrobat Reader:

After several documents are opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader, you may receive an error message when trying to open an additional document, stating that the document does not exist. This error occurs because memory is low. To solve the problem, close open documents that you are not using, and continue.
You must use Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 3.0 to view the PDF documentation set.