Introduction

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Use Microsoft Help
  

The Help menu

When you are running an Office application, you may have questions. Fortunately, there are several ways to get help in Office 2000.

Depending on the type of question you have, each of these methods can be useful.

To use Help:

Click the Help menu.

OR

Click the Help icon.

The various help options:

The first option: Microsoft Word Help

Microsoft Help provides specific help for each of its applications. For example, if you are running Word, Microsoft Word Help is the first option in the Help menu. If you are running Excel, Microsoft Excel Help is the first option. When you choose this option, the Office Assistant (and its dialog box) appears, ready for you to type your question.

For more information on using the Office Assistant, read our Office Assistant lesson.

Second option: What's This?

The What's This? command lets you point at any icon on the screen to have Office 2000 display a short description explaining the function of that particular icon.

To use the What's This? command:

• Choose HelpWhat's This? (or press Shift+F1).
• A question mark appears next to the mouse pointer .
• Move the mouse pointer over a menu command or icon, then click the mouse button.
  
  
• Office 2000 displays a note that provides a brief explanation.
  
  
• To make the What's This? window disappear, click anywhere outside the note, or press Esc or any other key.

Another Help menu option: Office on the Web

This option provides you with the latest in Microsoft Help. News, tips, software updates, patches, and bug fixes are all available on Microsoft's Office on the Web website.

When you choose this option, Office 2000 starts your Internet browser and immediately loads the webpage. To use this option, you must have an Internet connection.

To use Office on the Web:

• Choose HelpOffice on the Web.

Browse the pages until you find the information you need. Choose FileExit from the menu bar, or simply close your browser window to return to your work.

Microsoft Publisher and PhotoDraw don't have an Office on the Web command. Instead, they have a Microsoft Web Site command.

The Word Perfect Help feature provides assistance for people who already know how to use Word Perfect, another word processing application. If you select About Microsoft Word, you will see copyright information.

Challenge!

• Start or Maximize Word.
• On the Help Menu, select What's This? Notice that a question mark appears next to the mouse pointer.
• Click the Underline tool button on the Formatting toolbar. (The Underline tool button looks like the letter U underlined.) Notice that a note appears.
• Read the note about the Underline tool button.
• Click any area outside the note. Notice that the note disappears.
• Minimize Word.