General Questions

• What is IBM Documentation and how do I use it?  What is different than Help Center?

IBM Documentation is the site where you can find documentation for all your IBM products, including Apptio products. The Apptio content is the same as what was hosted on the Help Center, but the IBM Documentation site also includes help for Turbonomic, Kubernetes, and all other IBM products.

• How do I find the documentation for a specific Apptio product?

The easiest way to find your Apptio documentation is to scroll to the View all products in IBM Documentation section or navigate to https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/products. From here, type the name of your product in the filter bar, and the site will display your product. Click that link to navigate to your documentation.

• Is IBM Documentation available in multiple languages?

In most cases, yes. Almost all IBM Documentation is available in Brazilian Portuguese, continental French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese. Apptio will have translations for these products by July 2025.

• How often is Apptio documentation updated?

Apptio updates product documentation every time we release a new feature for that product.

Navigation & Search

• How do I search for specific topics or keywords?

To search for a specific topic or keyword, navigate to the product you want to learn about. From there, type your keyword in the search bar above the left-navigation. The site will provide a list of related topics under the search bar.

• Can I bookmark or save frequently used pages?

Yes! On the Product page, use the filter bar to find your products. When they appear, hover your mouse to the left of the product name. Click the star that appears. This favorites the product so that it appears at the top of the product list every time you load it. Alternatively, to bookmark a specific topic within a product documentation set, use the bookmark feature in your web browser.

• Why do I see duplicates of my product on the Product page?

Apptio supports both Commercial and Federal versions of several of our IBM Apptio and IBM Cloudability products. Both versions of these products share the same name, so they appear under the same name when you filter the Product page.

To determine which is which, hover your mouse over the product name. Most browsers display the destination URL at the bottom left corner of the screen. Commercial products include the word “commercial” in the URL, while Federal products include the word “federal.” Alternatively, click the product. If the product is for Federal, the top-level product name at the top left will include the phrase for Federal—for example, “IBM Cloudability for Federal.” If the top-level product name does not include this phrase, it is for Commercial.

Targetprocess and all Platform products are available to all customers, regardless of whether they are classed as Commercial or Federal.

Once you’ve found your product, bookmark it using your browser’s bookmark feature or Favorite it feature in the IBM Documentation Product page.

Content & Features

• What types of content are included in IBM Documentation (e.g., tutorials, API references, release notes)?

IBM Documentation includes release notes, procedural how-tos, reference material, and API documentation. For trainings, visit Apptio Education. For community content, visit IBM TechXchange.

• How do I know if I’m looking at the latest version of the documentation?

The Apptio product documentation on the IBM Documentation site displays the latest version published. If you’re concerned that a newer version might be available, clear your cache, restart your browser, and navigate to the content again.

• Can I suggest edits or improvements to the documentation?  If so, how?

We love to get suggestions! Please reach out to the User Education team directly at apptio_user_education-dg@ibm.com (IBMers) or Apptio_User_Education@wwpdl.vnet.ibm.com (customers and partners). In your request, please include as much detail as possible about the improvements you want to see. We will triage and prioritize your requests, and address them as soon as possible.

Technical Issues

• Why is a page not loading or displaying correctly?

There are a variety of reasons you might be experiencing interruptions. Here are a few things you can do to troubleshoot:

·       Check your internet connection

·       Make sure your link points to ibm.com/docs (not help.apptio.com or help-gov.apptio.com)

·       Turn off any VPN you might be running

If the page you’re looking for still doesn’t display, please contact the User Education team at apptio_user_education-dg@ibm.com (IBMers) or Apptio_User_Education@wwpdl.vnet.ibm.com (customers and partners) so we can help you troubleshoot.

• What should I do if I find outdated or incorrect information?

Although we try to make sure the content is up-to-date and correct, we do occasionally miss something. Please reach out to the User Education team directly at apptio_user_education-dg@ibm.com (IBMers) or Apptio_User_Education@wwpdl.vnet.ibm.com (customers and partners). Provide the link where you found the incorrect information and a copy/paste of the incorrect section. We will triage and prioritize your request and address it as soon as possible.

• How do I report a broken link or technical issue?

Please reach out to the User Education team directly at apptio_user_education-dg@ibm.com (IBMers) or Apptio_User_Education@wwpdl.vnet.ibm.com (customers and partners). Provide the link to the page that contains the broken link and the name of the link that’s broken. We will triage and prioritize your request and address it as soon as possible.

Access & Permissions

• Do I need an IBM ID to view documentation?

No, you do not need an IBM ID to view Apptio documentation. If you encounter an “Authentication required” message when attempting to access your Apptio documentation, reach out to the User Education team at apptio_user_education-dg@ibm.com (IBMers) or Apptio_User_Education@wwpdl.vnet.ibm.com (customers and partners) so we can correct that error.

• How do I access restricted or internal documentation?

Apptio does not restrict public documentation. If you encounter an “Authentication required” message when attempting to access your Apptio documentation on the IBM Documentation site, reach out to the User Education team at apptio_user_education-dg@ibm.com (IBMers) or Apptio_User_Education@wwpdl.vnet.ibm.com (customers and partners) so we can correct that error. If you want to access non-public/internal documentation, contact the Product Manager for that product to find where their internal documentation is stored.

• Can I download or export documentation for offline use?

The IBM Documentation site does not natively support downloading or exporting documentation. However, most browsers will allow you to print a webpage to PDF. To do this, press Ctrl + P or ⌘ + P on your keyboard. In the Print window, select Print to PDF and choose the destination where you want to save the document. If you need more help, search your browser’s documentation.


Blog Content Owner - @Erin Grace & Technical Documentation Team