Working with Microsoft Word Help

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Although the Ask A Question box and the Office Assistant are the two most obvious help sources, you have a number of other options available to you. The older-style Contents and Index options are ready for your use, and the Answer Wizard enables you to move directly to the help you seek.

Displaying Help

To display Help in a separate window, first disable the Office Assistant as described in the preceding section and then choose Help, Microsoft Word Help. The help information is displayed in the Microsoft Word Help window, to the right of the work area (see Figure 3-7).

figure 3-7. the microsoft word help window provides a number of different controls that enable you to choose your help and customize the view.

Figure 3-7. The Microsoft Word Help window provides a number of different controls that enable you to choose your help and customize the view.

To select a help topic, click the link, and the help for that item will be displayed. To return to the previous help screen, click Back.

Inside Out


It might seem like the Office Assistant is everywhere. If you have the Office Assistant enabled and you choose Microsoft Word Help or press F1, the Assistant will appear instead of the Microsoft Word Help window. If you want to display the task pane without the intervention of the Assistant, turn the Assistant off in the Office Assistant dialog box before you begin.

Controlling Help Displays

The Help options give you several choices about the way in which you view help. The default display, in the Task Pane, tiles the help windows so you see only one portion at a time. Click Untile if you want to position the window on top of your document (as opposed to changing the width of the document so both the document and the Task Pane are displayed in the screen area).

Click the Show button to display the complete Help window. The left panel of the Help window will appear. This panel includes the Contents, Answer Wizard, and Index tabs (see Figure 3-8).

figure 3-8. click show to extend the display of the help window; here you can work with the content, answer wizard, and index tabs.

Figure 3-8. Click Show to extend the display of the Help window; here you can work with the Content, Answer Wizard, and Index tabs.

Using the Answer Wizard

The Answer Wizard is similar to the Office Assistant in that you can receive answers to English-style questions. Unlike the animated presence of the Assistant, however, the Answer Wizard simply leads you through various help categories until you get to the topic you want.

The Answer Wizard is open when you extend the Help window. Type your phrase or question and click Search; a list of topics is displayed in the list area (see Figure 3-9). Click the help item you want to see and the right panel displays that help.

figure 3-9. the answer wizard tab gives you a quick way to display the help you seek.

Figure 3-9. The Answer Wizard tab gives you a quick way to display the help you seek.

Using the Help Contents to Get Help

If you've used Word for a while, you're probably used to the Help Contents list—those task-focused Help screens that give you in-depth information on key Word features. To use the Help Contents, click the tab and double-click the topic you want to investigate. A list of subtopics appears. Click the topic you want to find out more about, and the more specific level of help, with additional links for more information, appears in the right panel of the Task Pane (see Figure 3-10). Using Contents is helpful when you want to get general information about a certain feature in Word, and also when you want to find out about specific tasks. For example, you can begin in Contents with a general introduction to "Working with long documents" and continue choosing subtopics until you find the specific information on "Inserting headers and footers."

figure 3-10. the contents gives you both conceptual and practical help about common word tasks.

Figure 3-10. The Contents gives you both conceptual and practical help about common Word tasks.

Working with the Help Index

Finally, the Index tab offers another text-based help resource. The Index allows you to search for specific help topics when you might not be quite sure about the task or the topic terminology that you need. To use the Index, follow these steps:

  1. Display the Microsoft Word Help window.
  2. Click Show to extend the Help window, and click the Index tab.
  3. Type the word or phrase you're looking for, and click Search. A list of topics with the word or words you entered is displayed in the Choose A Topic list.
  4. Click the topic you want to view. The help you want appears in the right panel of the Help window.
  5. Click the right arrows or highlighted text in the right pane to display specific procedures for the task you've identified (see Figure 3-11).

Tip - Print the help you want


If you need to print a copy of help information, click the Print button. The Print dialog box appears so that you can enter your options and click Print. Remember to display help at the level you want before printing.

figure 3-11. use the index to search for help on a specific keyword; then choose the topic you want to display help information.

Figure 3-11. Use the Index to search for help on a specific keyword; then choose the topic you want to display help information.

Inside Out


One annoying aspect to the Index is the limitation you have in typing any keyword you want. Instead, Word limits you to typing only keywords that it recognizes. Your only workaround here is to enter a keyword and then navigate through the topics to the one you want to see.



Microsoft Word Version 2002 Inside Out
Microsoft Word Version 2002 Inside Out (Inside Out (Microsoft))
ISBN: 0735612781
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 337

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