Accessing z/OS documentation

Product documentation for z/OS® base elements and optional features is available in several formats to accommodate different uses.

HTML for online use: IBM® Documentation (hosted) provides online consumable product documentation in HTML format.

HTML for offline use: Use downloaded HTML plug-ins with IBM Documentation for z/OS (KC4z), which is an element of z/OS, for offline consumption of product documentation.

PDF, individual or grouped: Most z/OS product documentation deliverables are provided in PDF format. The primary purpose for providing PDFs is for printing either a specific topic or the entire deliverable. You can view a PDF online or download one or many to your own repository.
Note: When you view a PDF online, it is recommended to always use Acrobat Reader. If you view a PDF within a browser, depending on the browser, links might not work.; Starting with z/OS V2R3, individual PDFs are served from Resource Link®. You can select and download either single or bulk sets of individual PDFs.

PDF, indexed set for search: For advanced search capabilities across all z/OS product documentation PDFs, download the Adobe Indexed PDF collection compressed file (SC27-8430).

The z/OS Internet library serves as a hub for all z/OS product documentation information and repositories, so start there when you need to access or obtain z/OS content.

Cross-document linking

PDFs of z/OS product documentation deliverables include cross document links to move directly from one PDF to another. While you are reading a PDF, you can click the highlighted section or title of a referenced PDF to open it. After you read the related material, you can close the referenced PDF to return to the original PDF. The links are typically indicated by blue highlighting either under or around the PDF title or topic reference.

Linking across PDFs works for all z/OS product documentation when the PDFs are physically colocated. If the linked PDF is not physically colocated with the linking PDF, for example when you view a PDF directly from Resource Link, cross-document links do not work. To ensure optimum usage of cross-document linking, download and use the Adobe Indexed PDF collection.

Important: When you use an intranet or local repository, ensure that the linking PDFs are in the same directory.

When you link from one PDF to another using the back function in Adobe Reader, you return to the original location in the first PDF. If you use the same link within an internet browser, the back function in the browser takes you to the original location in the first PDF.

By contrast, an IBM Documentation topic links by file name, which typically stays the same from release to release. An unchanged file can usually link successfully to an updated target file. In addition, the z/OS product documentation is indexed by search engines, so you can find z/OS documentation titles and individual topics with a browser.