Lesson1.16.Getting Help

Lesson 1.16. Getting Help

Figure 1-17. Asking a question in the Project Help

Figure 1-18. Search for Offline Help results.

Figure 1-19. Help text for the selected topic.

When you don't know how to do something in Windows or a Windows-based program, don't panic, just look up your question in the Project Help files. The Project Help files can answer your questions, offer tips, and provide help for all of Project's features. Many Project users forget to use Help, and this is unfortunate because the Help files know more about Project than most reference books do!

You can make the Project Help files appear by pressing the F1 key. Then, all you have to do is ask your question. This lesson will show how you can get help by asking the Help files a question about a specific Project feature.

1. Press the F1 key.

   ---

   Tip: Another way to get help is to type your question in the Type a question for help box on the menu bar and press Enter. The results appear in the Project Help task pane. You can also get help by clicking the Table of Contents link in the Project Help task pane and searching by topic.

   ---

   The Project Help task pane appears, as shown in Figure 1-17.

2. Type How do I save a project? in the Search for: text box, as shown in Figure 1-17.

   You can ask Project Help questions in normal English, just as if you were asking a person instead of a computer. The program identifies keywords and phrases in your questions, such as "save" and "project."

   ---

   Note: Microsoft has totally changed the way Help works in Office 2003 with Office Online. Instead of searching for help in the files already stored on your computer, Office Online searches for the topic in its online database. The purpose of this feature is to provide current, up to date information on search topics.

   ---

3. Click the Start searching button.

   ---

   Tip: Office Online will refer to Offline Help files if a connection to the Internet is not detected.

   ---

   Office Online finds results like "Save a project to work on offline" and "Troubleshoot saving projects."

   ---

   Tip: Fortunately, you can change your settings to perform Help searches without Office Online. Go to the "See also" section at the bottom of the Project Help task pane. Click the Online Content Settings link, uncheck the Search online content when connected option, and click OK.

   ---

4. Click the Search list arrow in the Search section at the bottom of the task pane. Select Offline Help from the list, as shown in Figure 1-18. Click the Start searching button.

   The Offline Help search results appear in the task pane.

5. Click the Save a project help topic.

   Project displays information on how to save a project, as shown in Figure 1-19.

   Notice that the Microsoft Office Project Help window has a toolbar that looks like some of the buttons you might have seen on a web browser. This lets you navigate through each help topic just as if you were browsing the Web. See Table 1-10 to find out what each of these buttons mean.

6. Click the Microsoft Office Project Help window's Close button to close the window.

   The Help window closes.

Table 1-10. Help Buttons

Button	Description
	Moves back to the previous help topic.
	Moves forward to the next help topic.
	Prints the current help topic.
	Tiles the Project program window and the Help window so you can see both at the same time.

QUICK REFERENCE

TO GET HELP:

1. PRESS THE F1 KEY.

2. TYPE YOUR QUESTION IN THE SEARCH FOR: TEXT BOX AND CLICK THE START SEARCHING BUTTON OR PRESS ENTER.

3. CLICK THE HELP TOPIC THAT BEST MATCHES WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR (REPEAT THIS STEP AS NECESSARY).

TO TURN OFF OFFICE ONLINE:

1. CLICK THE ONLINE CONTENT SETTINGS LINK IN THE PROJECT HELP TASK PANE.

2. UNCHECK THE SEARCH ONLINE CONTENT WHEN CONNECTED OPTION AND CLICK OK.