Contents for How to Use Help

If you are new to Help, choose Help Basics. Use the scroll bar to view information not visible in the Help window.

To choose a Help topic

Click the underlined topic you want to view.

Or press TAB to select the topic, and then press ENTER.

Introduction

Help Basics

How To...

Annotate a Help Topic

Choose a Jump

Copy a Help Topic onto the Clipboard

Define and Use Bookmarks

Get Help from Your Application

Keep Help on Top of Other Windows

Move Around in Help

Open Another Help File

Print a Help Topic

Scroll Through a Help Topic

Search for a Help Topic

View an Application and Help Together

Commands and Buttons

File Menu Commands

Edit Menu Commands

Bookmark Menu Commands

Help Menu Commands

Help Buttons


Help Basics

WIN-OS/2 Help offers a quick way to find information, such as how to perform a particular task. Within a Help topic, there may be one or more jumps, which you can click (or select and press ENTER) to display a new Help topic.

You can move, resize, maximize, or minimize the Help window, just like any other window.

To return to Contents for How To Use Help, choose the Contents button.


Choosing a Jump

Help topics can include graphics and text that link to other Help topics or to more information about the current topic. These are called jumps.

Jumps are usually identified by a color and an underline (unless the jump is a graphic). When you point to a jump, the pointer changes to a hand shape.

To choose a jump

Point to the text or graphic, and click with the mouse button.

Or press TAB to select the jump, and then press ENTER.

You can press SHIFT+TAB to move backward and select a jump.

If the jump you choose is linked to another topic, that topic appears in the Help window. Sometimes a jump is linked to information that appears in a pop-up window or a secondary window.

Note:	When information is displayed in a pop-up window, the size of the pop-up window is proportional to the size of the main Help window. If you want the pop-up window to be larger, you need to change the size of the main Help window.

To display all jumps in a topic

Press CTRL+TAB.

To close a pop-up window

Click anywhere on the screen, or press any key.

To close a secondary window

Double-click the Control-menu box.

Or press ALT, SPACEBAR to open the Control menu, and then choose Close.

See Also

Moving Around in Help


Getting Help from Your Application

You can get Help while using an application by choosing a command from the application's Help menu or by pressing F1. Some applications also have a Help button indialog boxes.

To access Help from an application

From the Help menu in the application, choose a Help command.

Or press F1 while using the application.

Or choose the Help button in a dialog box.

A Help window appears. The topic that is displayed depends on which Help command you chose, what was selected when you pressed F1, or which dialog box you were using when you chose the Help button. With some applications, the Help Contents for the application appears. With other applications, a Help topic on the selected command or dialog box appears.

Note:	If F1 does not display Help, you must use the application's Help menu.


Keeping Help on Top of Other Windows

When you first open Help, the Help window appears on top of other windows. If you select another window, it might cover up the Help window.

You can choose to keep the Help window on top of other windows even when you switch to other applications. This can be useful if you are using Help to follow a step-by-step procedure in your application.

Note:	If you minimize a Help window that is on top, its icon also appears on top of other windows.

To keep the Help window on top

From the Help menu in the Help window, choose Always On Top.

A check mark appears next to the command, and a shadow appears around the window border to indicate that the Help window is on top.

If you do not want the Help window to be on top, choose Always On Top again.

See Also

Viewing an Application and Help Together


Moving Around in Help

You can use the Help button bar to move around in Help. You can browse through topics, and go back to topics you've viewed previously. You can search for specific information or display Help Contents. You can also choose a jump to go to a new Help topic.

For more information about moving around in Help, choose one of the following tasks:

Backtracking Through Help Topics

Browsing Through Help Topics

Choosing a Jump

Displaying Help Contents

Returning to a Help Topic You Have Viewed

Scrolling Through a Help Topic

Searching for a Help Topic


Printing a Help Topic

You can print any Help topic. A topic prints on the default printer. If you have installed more than one printer, you can make any of them the default printer. You can also change the options for the default printer.

To print the current Help topic

From the File menu in Help, choose Print Topic.

To change printers and printer options

1	From the File menu in Help, choose Print Setup.

2	Select the printer you want to use.

3	To change the default printer options, choose the Setup button.

The options vary, depending on the printer you select.

4	Select the options you want.

5	Choose the OK button to close the printer's Setup dialog box.

6	Choose the OK button.

For help with the Setup dialog box, choose the Help button or press F1 while using the dialog box.

Note:	You cannot print information that is in a pop-up window.


Scrolling Through a Help Topic

If the information in a Help topic doesn't fit in the window, use the scroll bar.

To scroll through a Help topic

Click one of the scroll arrows to scroll one line at a time, or drag the scroll box to scroll quickly through a topic.

Or use the arrow keys to scroll up or down.

To scroll up or down, one window at a time

Click above or below the scroll box in the scroll bar.

Or use the PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys.

See Also

Moving Around in Help


Viewing an Application and Help Together

When you use Help, you may want to change the size of the Help window and move it so that you can see both the Help window and your application window. By positioning windows so that they are both visible, you can follow step-by-step procedures without having to switch between windows.

Another way to make sure that you can see both Help and your application is to keep the Help window on top of the application window while you work.

To change the size of the Help window

Drag the corner or border of the window until the window is the size you want.

Or press ALT, SPACEBAR to open the Control menu and use the Size command to change the size of the window.

To move the Help window

Drag the title bar of the window to the new location.

Or press ALT, SPACEBAR to open the Control menu and use the Move command to move the window.

For more information on moving and sizing windows, see your WIN-OS/2 on line help.

See Also

Keeping Help on Top of Other Windows


Annotating a Help Topic

You can add your own comments to a Help topic. When you annotate a Help topic, Help places a paper-clip icon to the left of the topic title to remind you that you have added text to this topic.

For help on annotating Help topics, choose one of the following tasks:

Adding Text to a Help Topic

Copying and Pasting an Annotation

Removing an Annotation

Viewing an Annotation


Adding Text to a Help Topic

You can add your own comments and notes to a Help topic and view this information later.

To add text to the current Help topic

1	From the Edit menu in Help, choose Annotate.

2	In the Annotate dialog box, type the text you want to add.

If you make a mistake, pressBACKSPACE to remove any unwanted characters, and continue typing.

Text wraps automatically, but you can end a line before it wraps by pressing ENTER.

3	Choose the Save button.


Viewing an Annotation

If you have added comments to a Help topic, you can view them at any time.

To view an annotation

1	Click the paper-clip icon to the left of the topic title.

Or press TAB to select the paper-clip icon, and then press ENTER.

2	When you finish viewing the annotation, choose the Cancel button.


Removing an Annotation

If you no longer need your comments about a Help topic, you can remove the annotation.

To remove an annotation

1	Click the paper-clip icon to the left of the topic title.

Or press TAB to select the paper-clip icon, and then press ENTER.

2	Choose the Delete button.


Copying and Pasting an Annotation

You can copy text from an annotation and paste it into another annotation in Help or into a document. You can also paste text from documents into annotations.

To copy an annotation

1	Click the paper-clip icon to the left of the topic title.

Or press TAB to select the paper-clip icon, and then press ENTER.

2	To copy the annotation to the Clipboard, choose the Copy button.

If you want to copy only a portion of the annotation, select the text that you want to copy onto the Clipboard, and then choose the Copy button. You can drag the mouse pointer over text to select it. Or press and hold downSHIFT while you use the arrow keys to select text.

3	Choose the Save button.

To paste an annotation

1	Copy onto the Clipboard the text you want to paste into the annotation.

2	In the Help topic where you want to paste the annotation, click the paper-clip icon to the left of the title.

Or pressTAB to select the paper-clip icon, and then press ENTER.

3	To paste the contents of the Clipboard at the beginning of the topic, choose the Paste button.

Or pressSHIFT+INS.

Or place the insertion point at the location you want to insert the new text, and then choose the Paste button.

4	Choose the Save button.


Backtracking Through Help Topics

Use the Back button to go back through the Help topics you have viewed, in the order in which you viewed them. If there is no previous topic to view, the Back button is dimmed. The record of topics you have viewed is removed each time you quit Help.

To backtrack through Help topics

Choose the Back button on the Help button bar.

Or type b.

You return to the previously viewed topic. The topic appears as you left it, unless you resized the window before backtracking.

See Also

Moving Around in Help


Browsing Through Help Topics

If the browse buttons (<< and >>) appear in the Help window, it means certain Help topics have been grouped together in a sequence.

To view the next topic in the browse sequence

Choose the >> button on the Help button bar.

Or press the period (.) key.

When you reach the last topic in the sequence, or if there is no browse sequence, the >> button is dimmed.

To view the previous topic in the browse sequence

Choose the << button on the Help button bar.

Or press the comma (,) key.

When you reach the first topic in the sequence, or if there is no browse sequence, the << button is dimmed.

See Also

Moving Around in Help


Copying a Help Topic onto the Clipboard

You can copy some or all of the text in a Help topic onto the Clipboard. From the Clipboard, you can paste the text into another document.

Note:	You cannot copy the graphics in a Help topic onto the Clipboard.

To copy text in the current Help topic onto the Clipboard

1	From the Edit menu in Help, choose Copy.

2	To copy all the text onto the Clipboard, choose the Copy button.

Or select the text you want to copy onto the Clipboard, and then choose the Copy button.

You can paste the text that is on the Clipboard into a Help annotation or into a document from another application.

To copy the entire topic directly onto the Clipboard

Press CTRL+INS.

See Also

Annotating a Help Topic


Defining and Using Bookmarks

Just as you can place bookmarks in a book to mark specific references, you can place bookmarks in Help topics you use frequently. After you have placed a bookmark in a topic, you can access that topic quickly from the Bookmark menu.

To place a bookmark in the current topic

1	From the Bookmark menu in Help, choose Define.

2	In the Bookmark Name box, the topic title appears. If you want to use a different name to identify the bookmark, type a name in this box.

3	Choose the OK button.

The bookmark name now appears on the Bookmark menu in Help.

To view a topic that has a bookmark

From the Bookmark menu in Help, choose the bookmark name for the topic you want to view.

Underlined numbers precede the first nine bookmark titles. You can type the corresponding number to go quickly to a marked topic.

If more than nine bookmarks have been defined, choose More from the Bookmark menu in Help. Select a bookmark in the Go To Bookmark box, and then choose the OK button.

To remove a bookmark

1	From the Bookmark menu in Help, choose Define.

2	Select the bookmark you want to remove.

3	Choose the Delete button.

The bookmark name is removed from the Bookmark menu in Help.


Displaying Help Contents

Help Contents generally lists available Help topics. If you are viewing a Help topic and you want to return to Help Contents, use the Contents button.

To display Help Contents from within Help

Choose the Contents button in the Help button bar.

Or type c.

See Also

Getting Help from Your Application

Moving Around in Help


Opening Another Help File

You can open a Help file for any application that offers Help. You do not have to be using the application to open its Help file. For example, you can be working in WIN-OS/2 Notepad and open the Help file for WIN-OS/2 Program Manager to read about group windows.

To open another Help file

1	From the File menu in Help, choose Open.

2	In the File Name box, select the name of the Help file you want to open.

If the file you want to open is not in the current directory, select a different directory in the Directories box and choose the OK button. Then select a Help file in the File Name box.

If the file you want is not on the current drive, open the Drives box, and select a drive. Then select a Help file in the File Name box.

3	Choose the OK button.

See Also

Getting Help from Your Application


Searching for a Help Topic

You can find information quickly by using the Search button in the Help window. The Search button opens the Search dialog box, where you select a word that you want to search for. All Help topics associated with that word are listed, and you can select one to view. For example, to find out how to save afile, you could select "save" from the list. Topics that have the word "save" associated with them would then be listed in the Search dialog box.

To search for Help information

1	In theHelp button bar, choose the Search button.

Or type s.

2	Select the word or phrase you want to search for. When you start typing, the words that most closely match the text you type are displayed.

3	Choose the Show Topics button.

4	Select the topic you want to view. If necessary, use the scroll bar to see more topics.

5	Choose the Go To button.

See Also

Moving Around in Help


Returning to a Help Topic You Have Viewed

You can use the History button to see a list of the previous 40 Help topics you have viewed. To return to a topic, choose it from this list.

To use the History button to return to a topic

1	In theHelp button bar, choose the History button.

Or type t.

2	Double-click the topic you want to return to (or select it and press ENTER).

If necessary, use thescroll bar to see more topics.

The History window stays open until you close it or quit Help.

To close the History window

Double-click the Control-menu box.

Or press ALT+F4.

See Also

Moving Around in Help


Help Buttons

Help buttons are located along the top of the Help window and enable you to move around easily in Help. If a feature is not available, its button name is dimmed.

Note:	Some applications may have additional Help buttons not described in the following table. The browse buttons (<< and >>) appear only if the application's Help offers this feature.

Button	Function

Contents	Displays Help Contents for the application you are using.

Search	Lists all the words you can use to search for topics in the application's Help. By typing or selecting one of these words, you can search for and go to a specific Help topic.

Back	Displays the last topic you viewed. You move back one topic at a time in the order you viewed the topics.

History	Displays the last 40 topics you have viewed in the WIN-OS/2 session. The most recent topic viewed is listed first. To revisit a topic, double-click it.

<<	Displays the previous topic in a series of related topics, until you reach the first topic in the series. The button is then dimmed.

>>	Displays the next topic in a series of related topics, until you reach the last topic in the series. The button is then dimmed.

To choose a Help button

Click the Help button you want.

Or type the letter that is underlined in the Help button.


File Menu Commands

Use the scroll bar to see more commands.

Open

Opens a Help file.

Print Topic

Prints the topic that is in the Help window. You can print only entire topics.

Print Setup

Sets printer options before printing a topic. You can select a printer and set or change options for the printer. The options available depend on the type of printer selected.

Exit

Quits Help and saves any annotations or bookmarks you created.


Edit Menu Commands

Use the scroll bar to see more commands.

Copy

Copies the text of the current Help topic to the Clipboard.

From the Clipboard, you can paste the text into another application or document.

Annotate

Adds text to the current Help topic.

Annotations are marked with a paper-clip icon, which appears in front of the topic heading.


Bookmark Menu Commands

Use the scroll bar to see more commands.

Define

Places a bookmark in the current topic or removes a bookmark from any topic. The name you specify for the topic appears on the Bookmark menu.

List of Bookmark Names

Appears after you have defined a bookmark. From this list, you can choose the bookmark for the topic you want to display in the Help window.

More

Appears when you have defined more than nine bookmarks. Displays the complete list of bookmark names you have defined.


Help Menu Commands (in Help)

Use the scroll bar to see more commands.

How to Use Help

Displays Contents for How To Use Help. Choosing this command is the same as pressing F1 while you are using Help.

Always on Top

Causes all Help windows to appear on top of other windows. After you choose this command, a shadow appears around the window border to indicate that the Help windows are on top.

About Help

Displays version, mode, and copyright information about WIN-OS/2.