For me, it wasn't just getting the javadoc window to open, but also getting the complete javadoc to present. You may still get a sparse javadoc that is based solely on the method signature if you are importing libraries from a Maven repository and do not tell Idea to include the javadocs in the download. Be sure to tick the "JavaDocs" option in the "Download Library From Maven Repository" dialog, which can be found under Project Structure -> Projtect Settings -> Libraries.