What’s new on docs.redhat.com

Working in the technology industry keeps you alert. Change is constant, and so you’re constantly learning new tools, new configurations, and new tricks. Just as often, you’re inventing new solutions to emerging problems. Through it all, there are two things standing in the way: Understanding new technology, and making new technology understood to others. The answer to both is documentation.

Without documentation, technology is doomed to perpetual reinvention. It’s a quirk of digital tech that it’s often easier to write your own code than it is to comprehend the way existing code works. The “not invented here” syndrome isn’t just a matter of misplaced pride, it’s also a pragmatic response to poor documentation. The fact is, you can spend a week reading through source code or poor documentation to essentially formulate your own version of documentation and still not be sure you’re entirely correct or comprehensive. Alternately, you can spend the same amount of time creating your own code, and as a bonus you get the certainty that you understand it completely.

The lack of documentation is responsible for months, if not years, of wasted labor. If those clever configuration files don’t make sense to the person who adopts your role after you’re promoted, then they’re going to get replaced, even if it’s a downgrade. Comprehension is key, because when it’s time to update or stress test or duplicate, that’s all that matters.

Open source software is no exception to this rule. Being open source isn’t the same as being documented. When there’s a choice between an incomprehensible open system and a closed system that can be maintained (even if blindly), it’s obvious which one wins.

In recognition of the importance of documentation, there have been several recent improvements and additions to docs.redhat.com. 

Refreshed homepage

We appreciate your feedback! Use the new Share Feedback feature to let us know how we can improve your experience. 

So that you can more easily find the product documentation and other learning resources without having to browse multiple Red Hat sites, the docs.redhat.com homepage has been updated to better connect you to the content you need.

Red Hat OpenShift essentials

Red Hat OpenShift essentials is a curated collection of guidance, organized by environment and user role, to help you get the most out of your OpenShift product. Previously known as the OpenShift Library, and published as a knowledge base article on access.redhat.com, the content has been refreshed and migrated to docs.redhat.com.

New features available for all product documentation

• Scoped search

  • You can now limit your search scope to the documentation for the product and version you are viewing. Search then returns documentation results only for that product and  version.
  

  A user searches for the term “kickstart” within the RHEL 9 documentation.

• Table of contents filter

  • You can use the new table of contents filter to drill down to the topics you need. Enter a term, and the table of contents shows only those topics with that term in the title.
  

  A user filters for the term “kickstart” in the table of contents of a RHEL 9 doc.

• Share Feedback
  • We are pleased to say that a feedback mechanism is now live on docs.redhat.com. Users can provide feedback on the site or the content. Access the Share Feedback button from the breadcrumbs bar on all hub pages and content pages. We want to understand your goals in visiting the page and to give you the opportunity to submit feedback on the content or on the user experience of the site.

• PDFs now in the Format dropdown

  • You can now access the PDF of the guide you are viewing in the Format dropdown on any content page. 
  

  A user activates the page format dropdown to access a PDF version of the page.

  New features available for selected products
  Some new features are available only for selected products. We plan to roll out these features to all our products and would love to hear your feedback before we do.

• Table of contents changes

  • Previously, accessing different guides within a product's documentation set required returning to the product hub page.  The Table of contents for Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform, Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS and builds for Red Hat OpenShift now includes all documentation for your product version, saving you a step.
  • In the table of contents, all the guides in the documentation set are organized into categories. When you select a guide, the jump links on the right side link you to high level topics on a page. 
  

  You can access all guides for a product from the table of contents. Jump links offer easy wayfinding on the right.

• Version switching available from content pages
  • Find yourself looking at the wrong docs for your product  version? Use the version switcher dropdown on every content page to navigate to the version you need.  If the particular feature content that you are viewing doesn’t exist in the new selected version, a message lets you know.

These features are the latest steps in our redesigned docs experience. We want to hear what you think about our docs experience. Use the Share Feedback button on any docs.redhat.com page to let us know.