From 872d1fb4f6359e601e89689404daf9d3eb43bc68 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Piotr Rozyczko <piotr.rozyczko@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 09:19:47 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] check if the doc location is correct. Needs installer.

---
 src/sas/system/_help.py   | 20 ++++++++++++++++----
 test/system/utest_help.py | 31 ++++++++++++++++++++++++-------
 2 files changed, 40 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/sas/system/_help.py b/src/sas/system/_help.py
index 086a62b5de..d5945c855d 100644
--- a/src/sas/system/_help.py
+++ b/src/sas/system/_help.py
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 import webbrowser
 from pathlib import Path
 
+from packaging.version import parse
+
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
@@ -10,12 +12,23 @@ def _release_version(version_string: str) -> str:
 
     Strips dev/pre-release suffixes so the version matches deployed documentation URLs.
     """
-    from packaging.version import parse
-
     version = parse(version_string)
     return f"{version.major}.{version.minor}.{version.micro}"
 
 
+def _online_doc_base(version_string: str) -> str:
+    """Return the best online documentation base URL for a version string.
+
+    Released documentation is archived under ``docs/old_docs/X.Y.Z``.
+    Development and pre-release builds should point at the current docs root.
+    """
+    version = parse(version_string)
+    if version.is_devrelease or version.is_prerelease:
+        return "https://www.sasview.org/docs"
+
+    return f"https://www.sasview.org/docs/old_docs/{_release_version(version_string)}"
+
+
 class _HelpSystem:
     """Extensible storage for help-system-related paths and configuration"""
 
@@ -75,8 +88,7 @@ def _online_url(self, relative_path: Path, fragment: str = "") -> str:
         """Construct the online documentation URL for the current version."""
         from sas.system.version import __version__
 
-        version = _release_version(__version__)
-        base = f"https://www.sasview.org/docs/v{version}"
+        base = _online_doc_base(__version__)
         url = f"{base}/{relative_path.as_posix()}"
         if fragment:
             url += "#" + fragment
diff --git a/test/system/utest_help.py b/test/system/utest_help.py
index d56453397c..99d3b486b8 100644
--- a/test/system/utest_help.py
+++ b/test/system/utest_help.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 from pathlib import Path, PurePosixPath
 from unittest.mock import patch
 
-from sas.system._help import _HelpSystem, _release_version
+from sas.system._help import _HelpSystem, _online_doc_base, _release_version
 
 
 class PosixTestPath(PurePosixPath):
@@ -29,6 +29,22 @@ def test_post_release_stripped(self):
         assert _release_version("6.1.2.post1") == "6.1.2"
 
 
+class TestOnlineDocBase:
+    """Tests for online documentation base URL selection."""
+
+    def test_release_uses_archived_docs(self):
+        assert _online_doc_base("6.1.2") == "https://www.sasview.org/docs/old_docs/6.1.2"
+
+    def test_post_release_uses_archived_docs(self):
+        assert _online_doc_base("6.1.2.post1") == "https://www.sasview.org/docs/old_docs/6.1.2"
+
+    def test_dev_release_uses_current_docs(self):
+        assert _online_doc_base("6.1.2.dev159+g77be83657") == "https://www.sasview.org/docs"
+
+    def test_pre_release_uses_current_docs(self):
+        assert _online_doc_base("6.2.0a1") == "https://www.sasview.org/docs"
+
+
 class TestHelpSystemOnlineUrl:
     """Tests for _HelpSystem._online_url()"""
 
@@ -43,7 +59,7 @@ def test_online_url_basic(self, _mock):
                 Path("user/qtgui/Perspectives/Fitting/fitting_help.html")
             )
         assert url == (
-            "https://www.sasview.org/docs/v6.1.2"
+            "https://www.sasview.org/docs/old_docs/6.1.2"
             "/user/qtgui/Perspectives/Fitting/fitting_help.html"
         )
 
@@ -52,7 +68,8 @@ def test_online_url_dev_version(self):
             url = self.hs._online_url(
                 Path("user/qtgui/Perspectives/Fitting/fitting_help.html")
             )
-        assert url.startswith("https://www.sasview.org/docs/v6.1.2/")
+        assert url.startswith("https://www.sasview.org/docs/")
+        assert "/old_docs/" not in url
         assert "+g77be83657" not in url
         assert ".dev159" not in url
 
@@ -115,7 +132,7 @@ def test_online_fallback_when_local_missing(self, mock_wb, tmp_path):
 
         opened_url = mock_wb.open.call_args[0][0]
         assert opened_url == (
-            "https://www.sasview.org/docs/v6.1.2/user/fitting.html"
+            "https://www.sasview.org/docs/old_docs/6.1.2/user/fitting.html"
         )
 
     @patch("sas.system._help.webbrowser")
@@ -138,7 +155,7 @@ def test_online_fallback_when_path_is_none(self, mock_wb):
             self.hs.show_help("user/fitting.html")
 
         opened_url = mock_wb.open.call_args[0][0]
-        assert opened_url.startswith("https://www.sasview.org/docs/v6.1.2/")
+        assert opened_url.startswith("https://www.sasview.org/docs/old_docs/6.1.2/")
 
     @patch("sas.system._help.webbrowser")
     def test_absolute_path_stripped_for_online(self, mock_wb, tmp_path):
@@ -151,7 +168,7 @@ def test_absolute_path_stripped_for_online(self, mock_wb, tmp_path):
 
         opened_url = mock_wb.open.call_args[0][0]
         assert opened_url == (
-            "https://www.sasview.org/docs/v6.1.2/user/fitting.html"
+            "https://www.sasview.org/docs/old_docs/6.1.2/user/fitting.html"
         )
 
     @patch("sas.system._help.webbrowser")
@@ -166,7 +183,7 @@ def test_posix_absolute_path_stripped_for_online(self, mock_wb):
 
         opened_url = mock_wb.open.call_args[0][0]
         assert opened_url == (
-            "https://www.sasview.org/docs/v6.1.2/user/fitting.html"
+            "https://www.sasview.org/docs/old_docs/6.1.2/user/fitting.html"
         )
 
     @patch("sas.system._help.webbrowser")