Using Access Help

The Access help system is extensive and easy to use. All the new help functions incorporated in Windows 95's 32-bit WinHelp engine are used by Access 97's Help system.

Context-Sensitive Help

Context-sensitive help tries to anticipate your need for information by displaying help windows related to the operating mode, function, and operation in which you are involved or attempting to perform. You can get context-sensitive help in any of the following ways:

• By using the help mouse pointer that appears after you click the What's This? button (located near the top-right corner of the dialog window) in the active dialog. Move the help mouse pointer over the dialog option for which you want help, and click again to display a pop-up help window with information about that dialog option.

• By using the help mouse pointer that appears after you press Shift+F1 or choose Help, What's T his? Move the help mouse pointer over the item for which you want help, and click again to display a pop-up help window.

• By pressing the F1 key. Access displays a help window with information about the active area (dialog control, window, menu command, and so on), or displays the Office Assistant, described later in this chapter.

• By clicking the Help button in a dialog. Use this method, or press the F1 key, for dialogs that donOt have a What's This? button.

To get context-sensitive help in an open dialog, click the What's This? button; the mouse pointer changes to a question mark. Move the help mouse pointer over the dialog control that you want help with, and click. You can also get context-sensitive help on the active dialog control by pressing F1 or clicking the control with the right mouse button. For example, you might want more information about the effects of the Find dialog's Match Case option. To find such information, click the What's This? button, and then click the Find dialog's Match Case option. Figure 3.13 shows the resulting pop-up help window explaining the Match Case option.

Another method for getting context-sensitive help is to press Shift+F1 (or choose Help, What's This?) and then click the item that you want help with to display the related help topic. Figure 3.14 shows an example that explains the purpose of the Table Datasheet toolbar's Find button.

The Help Menu

Access's Help menu provides an alternative to using context-sensitive help. Table 3.13 lists the Help menu's options.

Table 3.13. Access's Help Menu Options

Option	Function
Microsoft Access Help	Activates the Office Assistant, described later in this chapter.
Contents and Index	Displays the Help Topics dialog, which enables you to select or search for help topics through a table of contents, an index, or a Find utility.
What's This?	Changes the mouse pointer to the Help pointer for obtaining context-sensitive help. Move the Help pointer over the object or menu choice for which you want help, and click to display a pop-up help window.
Microsoft on the Web	Displays a submenu list of Web sites related to Microsoft, Microsoft Access, frequently asked questions, free software, and other topics.
About Microsoft Access	Displays the copyright notice for Microsoft Access, and the name and organization that you entered during setup. The About dialog also contains two command buttons: one that displays sources of technical support for Access in North America and throughout the world, and another that displays information about your computer system, such as how much memory you have installed, whether you have a math coprocessor, and the amount of remaining disk space.

The Help Topics Dialog

For a more general form of help, choose Help, Contents and Index. In this case, you always start from square one—the Help Topics dialog for the entire help system, shown in Figure 3.15. The Help Topics dialog contains three tabbed pages: Contents, Index, and Find. Each page is described in the following sections.

The Contents Page. Figure 3.15 shows the Help Topics Contents page (you might have to click the Contents tab to bring the table of contents to the front of the dialog). The Contents page is like the table of contents in a book; it shows the structure of the topics in the Help system based on the topic's title.

Each table of contents entry that has subheadings is indicated by a book icon to its left. To see subheadings for a topic, double-click the closed book icon. The Help system expands the topic list and changes the icon to an open book. (Double-click the open book icon to hide the expanded subheading branch and change the icon back to a closed book.)

Table of contents headings that lack subheadings have to their left an icon resembling a sheet of paper with a question mark on it. Figure 3.15 shows the "Finding and Sorting Data" heading expanded to show its subheadings; the "Sorting Data in Tables, Queries, and Forms" subheading, in turn, has been expanded, revealing a list of three help topics. To display a topic, double-click it. Figure 3.16 shows the displayed help topic for "Sort records in a table, query, form, or subform."

Understanding the Help Window. You can reposition and resize the help window by dragging its borders with your mouse. To reposition the help window, click and drag the Help title bar. If the help file on the topic that you selected has more information than can fit in the window, a scroll bar appears at the right of the window. Scroll down to display additional text.

Most Access help windows include hotspots that provide additional information about a topic. Hotspots with dotted underlines, such as "Form view" and "Datasheet view" in Figure 3.16, display pop-up windows that usually contain a definition of the term or contain more detailed information about that topic. Figure 3.17 shows the window that pops up when you click the "Datasheet view" hotspot. To close the pop-up window, click anywhere on-screen outside the pop-up window.

Some hotspots lead to additional help topics. These hotspots are usually shown in bold text with a solid underline (like all hotspots, they're typically displayed in green text). You click the hotspot that represents the subject about which you want to learn. This action causes a jump to the subject's first help window, which often provides several additional choices for more detailed help on a specific topic.

Most help windows, in addition to providing information about a particular topic, also have tutorial, step-by-step instructions for the task about which you are inquiring. In Figure 3.16, notice that the help topic has a section titled "What do you want to do?" (visible near the bottom of the window). This section lists a variety of tasks that you might be trying to accomplish if you're looking for help on sorting records (the list extends beyond the bottom edge of the dialog in Figure 3.16). Each item in the list has a button to its left. After you click this button, Access displays a help screen with step-by-step instructions for accomplishing the indicated task.

For example, Figure 3.18 shows the step-by-step tutorial help window that Access displays if you click the button next to Sort Records on Demand in Datasheet View or Form View at the bottom of the dialog in Figure 3.16.

Notice the icon near the bottom of the step-by-step help window shown in Figure 3.18. This icon, which depicts the Sort Ascending toolbar button described earlier, is also a hotspot. Clicking this hot spot displays a pop-up window describing the action of the Sort Ascending toolbar button. Many help topics throughout the Access Help system contain graphic hotspots like this one.

The Index Page. You can also look up help topics in an index much like that which is at the end of this book. Click the Index tab in the Help Topics dialog to bring the Index page to the front of the dialog. Figure 3.19 shows the Index page as it appears after you type the topic help in the text box.

Using the Help Topics Index is simple—just type in the text box at the top of the dialog the name of the topic on which you want help. As you type, the Help system adjusts the topic list to show the topic that most closely matches the text that you've typed so far. In Figure 3.19, the user has typed help in the text box at the top of the dialog, and the help topics list shows the first matching entry: "Help Authoring kit." To display a topic from the list, double-click it (or click once to select it and then choose the Display button). If you want, you can also use the scroll bar to view the list of available help topics.

The Find Page. The Help Topics Index is only an alphabetical listing of the help topics available. The Find page provides you with a way to search quickly through the actual text in the available help topics so that you can quickly find topics even if you donOt know the name of the topic.

Click the Find tab in the Help Topics dialog to display the Find page. Figure 3.20 shows the Find page after a search for the words getting help.

The Help Topics Find page works essentially the same as the Index page. In the text box at the top of the dialog, you type words related to the topics that you want help on. Find uses its word list to locate all the topics that contain the words that you type. The list in the center of the dialog displays additional matching words, and a list at the bottom of the dialog displays matching help topics. Unfortunately, explaining all the options available in the Find page is beyond the scope of this book. For most searches, the default settings work just fine. To get more help about the specific controls in the Find page, click the What's This? button.

The Help Window Options. The Help system lets you print, copy, or annotate the displayed help topic, or change the help window's style or appearance. To display a menu of options, click the help window's Options button or right-click the dialog. Table 3.14 summarizes each menu choice and its effect.

Table 3.14. Help Window Options

Option	Function
Annotate	Enables you to add your own comments to the current help topic.
Copy	Copies selected text from the help window to the Windows Clipboard.
Print Topic	Prints the currently visible help topic on your printer.
Font	Enables you to select one of three predetermined font sizes for text displayed in the help window: Small, Normal, and Large.
Keep Help on Top	Enables you to choose whether the help window always displays on top of other windows, never displays on top of other windows, or displays with the default setting.
Use System	Tells the Help system to use the window border and background colors Colors defined for the Windows 95 system as a whole. By default, the Help system uses its own color scheme for its windows.

The Office Assistant

One important new feature in Access (and all Microsoft Office 97 applications) is the Office Assistant. The Office Assistant integrates several features found in previous versions of Access, Word, and Excel; in particular, the Office Assistant is the new embodiment of the Tip Wizard and the Answer Wizard. When the Office Assistant is on, it displays tips related to activities that you are currently performing and provides a means for you to search for help on specific tasks.

The Office Assistant appears as an animated character in its own floating window, and displays its messages in a "speech" balloon. You can choose one of several available office assistant characters. Figure 3.21 shows Clippit, the default Office Assistant character (an animated paper clip) as it appears while asking whether the user wants to save changes to a table's layout. In this case, the Office Assistant takes the place of WindowsO standard message box.

By default, the Office Assistant is activated. You might find the Office Assistant distracting or prefer to use the Office Assistant only when you specifically want help. You can turn the Office Assistant off by clicking the Close button on the Office Assistant's floating window, or by right-clicking the Office Assistant and then choosing Hide Office Assistant from the pop-up menu.

If you hide the Office Assistant, it remains hidden until you turn it on again or until you use a wizard or some other feature of Access that automatically invokes the Office Assistant. Access "remembers" the status of the Office Assistant whenever you close Access; if the Office Assistant was hidden at the time you last exited Access, the Office Assistant remains hidden the next time you start Access.

You can activate the Office Assistant by clicking the Office Assistant button on the tool-bar or by choosing Help, Microsoft Access Help. Access also starts the Office Assistant if you press F1 for context-sensitive help but canOt determine the precise context in which you're working.

To use the Office Assistant to search for help on any topic, click anywhere on the Office Assistant window; the Office Assistant displays the text balloon shown in Figure 3.23. Type a question about what you want to do in the text box, and then click Search. Figure 3.24 shows the Office Assistant's text balloon after searching for help topics that answer the question "How do I find text in a field?" The Office Assistant displays a list of topics that answer your question and lead to step-by-step instructions on carrying out various tasks. To initiate a new search, type another question in the text box, and click Search again.

If the Office Assistant has a tip for you, a light bulb icon appears in the Office Assistant window. Click the window to view the tip. You can also view tips related to recent ctivities you have performed by clicking the Office Assistant and then clicking the Tips button (refer to Figure 3.23); the Office Assistant displays a speech balloon similar to the one shown in Figure 3.25. Click Back and Next to move to the previous or next available tip. When you're done with the Office Assistant, click Close to close the text balloon; the Office Assistant remains on-screen.

As mentioned previously, you can select one of several Office Assistant characters. You can also modify the Office Assistant's behavior. To change the Office Assistant character or the Office Assistant's behavior, click the Options button in the Office Assistant's text balloon, or right-click the Office Assistant window and then select Options from the pop-up menu. The Office Assistant dialog appears, as shown in Figure 3.26.

To select a different Office Assistant character, click the Gallery tab to display the Gallery page. Click the Back and Next buttons to view the available Office Assistant characters; click OK to select the character you want. If the animation data files for the Office Assistant character you select weren't installed on your hard disk at the time Microsoft Office 97 was installed, you'll be prompted to insert your distribution disk so that Office Assistant can load the required animation data files onto your computer's hard disk.

To alter the Office Assistant's behavior, click the Options tab to display the Options page, shown in Figure 3.27. The options in the Assistant Capabilities group affect how much help the Office Assistant provides when it is active. The Show Tips About options group contains settings that affect what kinds of tips the Office Assistant shows you, as does the Other Tip Options group. Table 3.15 lists the available Office Assistant option settings and summarizes their effect.

Table 3.15. Office Assistant Options

Option	Group	Function
Respond to F1 Key	Assistant Capabilities	When selected, causes the Office Assistant to respond to the F1 key. If this check box is cleared, the Help Topics dialog appears when you press F1.
Help with Wizards	Assistant Capabilities	When selected, causes the Access wizards to provide help through the Office Assistant.
Display Alerts	Assistant Capabilities	When selected, causes all Access alert messages to be displayed by the Office Assistant; if cleared, Access alert messages appear in a standard dialog, whether or not the Office Assistant is active.
Search for Both Product and Programming Help When Programming	Assistant Capabilities	If selected, causes Access to search for help topics in the VBA programming reference and in the Access application help when you are programming in VBA.
Move When in the Way	Assistant Capabilities	If selected, causes the Office Assistant window to move out of the way on-screen if it would otherwise obscure a dialog, table view, or other on-screen object. Also causes the Office Assistant window to shrink to a smaller size if the Office Assistant isn't used in five minutes.
Guess Help Topics	Assistant Capabilities	If this option is selected, the Office Assistant offers help based on your current activities.
Make Sounds	Assistant Capabilities	If this option is selected, the Office Assistant plays various sound effects as you use it. You must have a sound card and speakers installed in your computer to hear sounds; this option may be selected even if your computer can't play sounds.
Using Features More Effectively	Show Tips About	When selected, this option causes the Office Assistant to display tips to help you learn about Access features you don't know and more effectvely use features you do know.
Using the Mouse More Effectively	Show Tips About	When this option is selected, the Office Assistant also shows tips related to using the mouse more efficiently in Access.
Keyboard Shortcuts	Show Tips About	When this option is selected, the Office Assistant also shows tips related to using keyboard shortcuts.
Only Show High Priority	Other Tip Options	If selected, limits the tips displayed by the Office Assistant to only those with a high priority, such as time-saving alternatives.
Show the Tip of the Day At Startup	Other Tip Options	When this option is selected, the Office Assistant starts each time you start an Office program, and displays a tip of the day.
Reset My Tips	Other Tip Options	Clicking this command button resets the Office Assistant's internal record of tips you have already seen. Click this button if you want the Office Assistant to display tips you have seen previously.