Getting Help

Are you worried that you might not remember everything we ve covered so far? Don t be. If you forget how to carry out a particular task, help is never far away. You ve already seen how the ScreenTips feature can jog your memory about the functions of the toolbar buttons . And you might have noticed that each dialog box contains a Help button ”the ? in the upper-right corner ”that you can click to get information about the dialog box s options. In this topic, we will look at other ways to get help.

About the Office Assistant

The Office Assistant is an interactive Help feature you can use if you want help while you work. To make the Office Assistant disappear or reappear, click Hide/Show the Office Assistant on the Help menu. When it is displayed, clicking the Office Assistant displays a search box where you can type a brief description of what you want help with. If the Office Assistant displays a light bulb above its icon, it has a tip about the task you seem to be performing. Click the light bulb to see the tip. To move the Office Assistant to another place on the screen, drag it. If having the Office Assistant pop up on the screen bothers you or if you would like to customize it, click the Office Assistant and then click its Options button to open the Office Assistant dialog box. Here you can select and deselect various options that control when the Office Assistant appears, whether it makes sounds, and what tips it displays. By default, the Office Assistant appears as an animated paper clip, but other characters are available. On the Gallery tab, click the Back or Next buttons to scroll through the animated characters available for the assistant, and then click OK to change the character. (You might need to insert the installation CD-ROM to complete the switch.)

 

Searching for Help

Office XP programs provide several ways for getting help. The simplest method is to type a word, phrase, or question into the Ask a Question box at the right end of the menu bar, and then press Enter to display a list of Help topics from which to choose. When you click a topic, its information is displayed in the Help window. You can also open the Help window by clicking the Help button on the Standard toolbar, by clicking the appropriate Help command on the Help menu, or in some programs, by pressing the F1 key. Follow these steps to explore:

1. At the right end of the menu bar, click the Ask a Question box (the box that contains the text Type a question for help ), type print , and press Enter .

   You see the list of options shown in this graphic:

   

2. Click Print a document .

3. If you see the Office Assistant, which by default takes the form of an animated paperclip, right-click it, and click Hide on the shortcut menu.

   About the Office Assistant The Print a document topic is now displayed in a window that looks something like the one shown in this graphic:

   

4. Read through the information, and then click the Print a range of pages link to display instructions on how to complete that task.

5. Click other header links to display the help information that is available for them, and then hide the information by clicking the header links again.

6. Click the Help window s Close button to close the window.

Using the Index

Instead of typing a question, you can search through a list of Help file keywords to display specific information in the Help window. Follow these steps:

1. On the Standard toolbar, click the Microsoft Word Help button.

2. If you see the Office Assistant, click Print a document in the list of options. Then right-click the Office Assistant , and click Hide on the shortcut menu. If necessary, click the Help window to make it active.

3. If necessary, click the Show button to expand the Help window.

   You can now see the Contents, Answer Wizard, and Index tabs in the Help window.

4. Click the Index tab to display these options:

   

5. In the Type keywords box, type save .

   The list in the Or choose keywords box scrolls to display common keywords beginning with the letters you type.

6. Click the Search button to display a list of topics that contain the word save .

7. Scroll the Choose a topic list to see what s available, and then click the Save A Document option.

   Help displays the selected topic.

8. Close the Help window.

Using the Table of Contents

The Contents tab of the Help window displays various topics represented by book icons and their subtopics represented by question mark icons. To display a topic s subtopics, click the plus sign to the left of the book icon. When you find the subtopic you re looking for, click it to display its information in the Help window s right pane.

 

Using the Answer Wizard

The Answer Wizard provides a way to type search questions when the Help window is open. In the Help window, click the Answer Wizard tab, type a question in the text box, and then click Search. You then see a list of topics that most closely fit your question. Double-click one of the topics to display its contents in the Help window s right pane.

 

Keeping up to date

If you are connected to the Internet, you can access the Microsoft Office Update web site as well as other Microsoft web sites to get information or technical support. Click Office on the Web on the Help menu to start your default Internet browser and display the Microsoft Office Update web site.