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

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.