Viewing Systemwide Help in the Help Browser

Although application-specific manuals or handbooks are certainly useful for understanding how to use a particular application, often you need more general help for the desktop environment you're using. The Fedora Core 4 desktop provides a general help system that documents the fundamentals of the desktop environment and the aspects of operation that lie outside the bounds of any particular application.

In this help system, you're likely to find FAQs (frequently asked questions), fundamentals on using the desktop, some discussion of the desktop environment's philosophy for use, and some idea about the basic structure of the desktop and the way in which its components work together to provide you with a friendly computing experience.

Launching and Using the Systemwide Help Browser

To launch the help browser from the desktop, choose Desktop, Help from the menubar. The help browser window opens to display the Help Topics categories for the Fedora Core 4 desktop environment, as shown in Figure 17.5.

Figure 17.5. The help browser gives you access to help documentation for applications, utilities, graphics, and game packages, as well as system commands, man pages, and info pages.

Each main link in the Help Topics categories leads you to a list of documents for that category; each document within a category represents an online manual. For example, clicking the Desktop link leads to the list of documents and online manuals shown in Figure 17.6.

Figure 17.6. The list of documents in the Desktop section of the systemwide help documentation.

Documents in the Desktop help section are likely to be especially helpful when you're new to Linux or the GNOME environment that the Fedora Core 4 desktop uses. Scroll to the bottom of the list for a link to the GNOME User Guide, which covers configuration techniques; basic methods of using the mouse to accomplish file and window management tasks; and efficient use of the file manager, taskbar, and desktop. The Desktop section also includes the following documents that may be helpful to new Linux users:

• Applets, which discusses several small applications that can be launched to reside in the taskbar

• The Accessibility Guide, which gives details on making the desktop more accessible or friendly to users with various physical limitations

• The Search for Files Manual, which describes how to use the desktop's file search functionality to locate files that have gone astray

• The System Administration Guide, which gives more advanced configuration details on the GNOME desktop environment used by Fedora Core 4, so that power users can more easily customize the environment to suit their needs

Browsing Application Manuals in the Help Browser

The help browser also provides a user-friendly way to browse through manuals for most of the desktop applications you'll find in the Applications menu in the menubar. To access manuals for desktop applications, click on the Applications link at the main list of categories shown in Figure 17.5. You'll be shown the list of Applications categories shown in Figure 17.7.

Figure 17.7. Click on Applications in the help browser's main category list to browse through manuals for desktop applications.

The Applications page links to a number of different groups of desktop application manuals:

• Clicking Accessibility shows you the list of available manuals for applications that enhance computing accessibility for users with physical limitations.

• Clicking Accessories shows you the list of available manuals for simple desktop tools, like the dictionary and the calculator.

• Clicking Games shows you the list of available playing instructions for the games you'll find in the Applications, Games menu in the menubar.

• Clicking Graphics or Internet gives you a list of available manuals for graphics or networking-related applications, respectively.

• Clicking Programming gives you the list of available manuals related to applications to aid in developing software for the Linux desktop, using the tools that are installed on your Fedora Core 4 system.

• Clicking Sound & Video gives you the list of available manuals for applications that can record and play back sound or video.

• Clicking System Tools gives you the list of available manuals for applications related to the management of your computer, like archiving tools and the terminal application.