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 green, underlined topic you want to view.

Or press TAB to select the topic. Then press ENTER.

Introduction

Help Basics

How To...

Annotate a Help Topic

Copy a Help Topic onto the Clipboard

Define and Use Bookmarks

Get Help

Keep Help on Top of Other Windows

Move Around in Help

Open Another Help File

Print a Help Topic

Quit Help

View an Application and Help Together

Commands and Buttons

File Menu Commands

Edit Menu Commands

Bookmark Menu Commands

Help Menu Commands

Help Buttons

Keyboard

Help Keys


Help Basics

Windows 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 hot spots, which you can click on (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.

For information about the basics of using Help, choose one of the following tasks:

Choosing a Hot Spot

Moving Around in Help

Quitting Help

Scrolling Through a Help Topic


Choosing a Hot Spot

Help includes graphics and words or phrases that are hot, meaning they provide a link to another Help topic or to more information about the current topic.

Text that is hot is usually identified by color and an underline. Whether words or graphics are hot, the pointer changes to a hand icon whenever it is on a hot spot.

To choose a hot spot

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

Or press TAB to select the hot spot, and then press ENTER.

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

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

To display all hot spots 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

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 in dialog 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.

A Help window appears. The topic that is displayed depends on which Help command you chose or what was selected when you pressed F1. 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 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 hot spot 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 Hot Spot

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 available options depend 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.


Quitting Help

To quit Help

From the File menu in Help, choose Exit.

Or press ALT+F4.


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.

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 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, press BACKSPACE 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.

See Also

Viewing an Annotation

Copying and Pasting an Annotation


Viewing an Annotation

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

To view an annotation

1	Click the paper clip to the left of the title of the Help topic.

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

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

See Also

Adding Text to a Help Topic


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 to the left of the title of the Help topic.

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

2	Choose the Delete button.

See Also

Adding Text to a Help Topic

Viewing an Annotation


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 to the left of the title of the Help topic.

Or press TAB to select the paper clip, 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 to the Clipboard and then choose the Copy button. You can drag the mouse pointer over text to select it. Or press and hold down SHIFT 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 that you want to paste the annotation, click the paper clip to the left of the title.

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

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

Or press SHIFT+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.

See Also

Adding Text to a Help Topic


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 which topics you have viewed is removed each time you close 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

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 Notepad and open the Help file for 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


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 keyword that you want to search for. All Help topics associated with that keyword are listed, and you can select one to view. For example, to find out how to save a file, you could select "save" from the list of keywords. Every topic that has the keyword "save" associated with it would then be listed in the Search dialog box.

To search for Help information

1	In the Help button bar, choose the Search button.

Or type s.

2	Select the word or phrase you want to search for. If you start typing, the list box scrolls to those keywords that most closely match what you type.

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, you select it from this list.

To use the History button to return to a topic

1	In the Help button bar, choose the History button.

Or type t.

2	Select the topic you want to return to.

If necessary, use the scroll bar to see more topics.

The History window stays visible 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. Also, the browse buttons (<< and >>) only appear if the application's Help offers this feature.

Button	Function

Contents	Displays Help Contents for the application you are using.

Search	Lists all the Help keywords for the application. By typing or selecting a keyword, 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 them.

History	Displays the last 40 topics you have viewed in the Windows 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. Then the button is dimmed.

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

See Also

Opening Another Help File

Print Topic

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

See Also

Printing a Help Topic

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.

See Also

Printing a Help Topic

Exit

Quits Help and saves any annotations or bookmarks you created.

See Also

Quitting Help


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.

See Also

Copying a Help Topic onto the Clipboard

Annotate

Adds text to the current Help topic.

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

See Also

Annotating a Help Topic


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.

See Also

Defining and Using Bookmarks

List of Bookmark Names

Appears after you have defined a bookmark so you can choose 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 names given to the topics.

See Also

Defining and Using Bookmarks


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.

See Also

Keeping Help on Top of Other Windows

About Help

Displays version, mode, and copyright information about Windows.


Help Keys

Use the following keys to get Help.

Press	To

F1	Start Help and display the Contents for the application. If the Help window is already open, pressing F1 displays the Contents for the Using Help topics.

In some applications (such as Program Manager and File Manager), pressing F1 displays a Help topic on the selected command, dialog box option, or system message.

SHIFT+F1	Add a question mark to the pointer. You can use this pointer to choose a command, click the screen region, or press the key or key combination you want to know more about.

This feature is available only in certain applications. It is not available in any of the applications supplied with Windows, such as Calculator, Write, and Paintbrush.

Use the following keys while working in Help.

Press	To

TAB	Select a hot spot. Pressing TAB repeatedly moves you clockwise to other hot spots in the topic.

SHIFT+TAB	Select a hot spot. Pressing SHIFT+TAB repeatedly moves you counter-clockwise to other hot spots in the topic.

CTRL+TAB	Select all the hot spots in a topic.

CTRL+INS	Copy the entire contents of the current Help topic directly to the Clipboard without displaying the Copy dialog box.

Or copy an entire annotation or a portion of it to the Clipboard.

SHIFT+INS	Paste the contents of the Clipboard into the Annotation dialog box.

ALT+F4	Close the Help window.

Key equivalents for the Help buttons are as follows:

Press	To

C	Display the Help Contents for the application.

S	List all the search keywords for the application.

B	Go back to the last topic you viewed.

T	Display the last 40 topics you have viewed.

< (or ,)	Display the previous topic in a series of related topics.

> (or .)	Display the next topic in a series of related topics.


<< button

Displays the previous topic in a series of topics. Use this button to move backward from topic to topic in the order they are organized in Help. It is in the Help button bar near the top of the Help window.


>> button

Displays the next topic in a series of topics. Use this button to move forward from topic to topic in the order they are organized in Help. It is in the Help button bar near the top of the Help window.


application

A computer program used for a particular kind of work, such as word processing. This term is often used interchangeably with "program."


Back button

Goes back to the Help topic you have just seen. Use this button to backtrack through the topics you have seen so far. It is in the Help button bar near the top of the Help window.


Clipboard

A temporary storage area in memory, used to transfer information. You can cut or copy information onto the Clipboard and then paste it into another document or application.


command

A word or phrase, usually found in a menu, that you choose in order to carry out an action.


Contents button

Displays the active application's Help Contents, where you can choose the Help topic you want. It is in the Help button bar near the top of the Help window.


Control-menu box

The icon that appears at the far left in the title bar and that opens the Control menu for the window.


default printer

The printer that applications use when you choose the Print command. You can have only one default printer, and the default printer must also be the active printer on the port. The printer you use most often should be made the default printer.


dialog box

A rectangular box that either requests or provides information. Many dialog boxes present options for you to choose from before the application can carry out a command. Some dialog boxes present warnings or explain why a command cannot be completed.


document

Whatever you create with an application, including information you type, edit, view, or save. A document may be a business report, spreadsheet, picture, or letter, for example.


file

A unit of information.


Help button bar

Contains the Help buttons you can use to move to topics. It is located near the top of the Help window.


History button

Displays a list of the Help topics you have viewed. Use this button to revisit any of the last 40 Help topics you have viewed. The most recent topic appears first. The History button is in the Help button bar near the top of the Help window.


hot spot

Text, graphics, or parts of graphics that provide links to other Help topics or to more information about the current topic. The pointer changes shape whenever it is over a hot spot. If the hot spot is linked to another topic, that topic will appear in the Help window. If the hot spot is linked to more information, Help displays the information in a popup window on top of the main Help window.


icon

A graphic representation of a disk drive, directory, group, application, document, or other item. You can restore an application icon to a window when you want to use the application.


keywords

Words in the Help Search dialog box that are associated with topics. Each application's documentation has its own keyword list, including the glossary words in Help. You select from the list of keywords or type a keyword to see the list of topics associated with the keyword.


Maximize button

The small button containing an Up arrow at the right end of the title bar. Mouse users can click the Maximize button to enlarge a window to its maximum size. Keyboard users can use the Maximize command on the Control menu.


pointer

The arrow-shaped cursor on the screen that follows the mouse's movement and indicates which area of the screen will be affected when you click the mouse button. The pointer usually appears as an arrow, but changes shape during certain tasks.


scroll bar

A bar that appears at the right and/or bottom edge of a window whose contents aren't completely visible. Each scroll bar contains two scroll arrows and a scroll box, which you can use to scroll within the window or list box.


Search button

Displays the keywords you can use to search for related topics. Use this button to look for topics related to a keyword. It is in the Help button bar near the top of the Help window.


topic

Information in the Help window. A Help topic usually begins with a title and contains information about a particular task, command, or dialog box.


wraps

To continue to the beginning of the next line rather than stopping when the cursor reaches the end of the current line.


annotation

A note or comment that you add to a Help topic. You can add comments to a Help topic by using the Annotate command on the Edit menu.


maximize

To enlarge a window to its maximum size by using the Maximize button or the Maximize command on the Control menu.


minimize

To reduce a window to an icon by using the Minimize button or the Minimize command on the Control menu.