Using the Help

The following procedures explain how to use the Help.

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Opening and closing the window

To open and close the Help, use one of the following methods.

To open the window

On the menu bar, select Help | Contents and Index.
Press F1. This opens the HTML help window and displays the topic relevant to the active window or dialog box.
From the taskbar, click Start | Programs | Barr Print Channel | Help.

To close the window

Click the Close button ( ) on the title bar.
Select Close from the control menu icon.

Copying a help topic

You can copy Help topics to the Clipboard with one of these methods. You can paste the topic text into a text editor, such as Microsoft Word, or into an e-mail message. Complete the following steps to copy a topic.

In the topic pane, right-click anywhere in the topic you want to copy and select Select All.
Right-click again, and then select Copy. This copies the topic to the Clipboard.

If you want to copy only part of a topic, select the text you want to copy, right-click, and then select Copy.

Open the document you want to copy the topic to.
Place the pointer where you want the information to appear.
On the menu bar, select Edit | Paste.

Printing a help topic

You can print Help topics with one of these methods.

To print the currently displayed topic, click the Print button on the Help toolbar.

In the topic pane, right-click anywhere in the topic and select Print.

From the Contents tab, right-click a topic, and then select Print. You will be given the option of printing only the current topic, or the current heading and all subtopics.

When printing an HTML Help topic, you can control the margins and headers and footers. On the Microsoft Internet Explorer's menu bar, select File | Page Setup to access these features. Changes made in Internet Explorer affect printing from the Help view. Use the ? on the Page Setup dialog box to learn more about the features.

Customizing the Help viewer

As with any window, you can easily change the size and location of the Help viewer. In addition, you can resize the navigation and topic panes and set color, font, and accessibility options.

To show or hide the navigation pane

Click Hide to close the navigation pane from view.
Click Show to display the navigation pane.

To resize the navigation or topic pane

Point to the divider between the two panes.
When the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, drag the divider right or left.

To resize the help viewer

Point to any corner of the Help viewer so the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow.
Press the left mouse button and drag up, down, left, or right. The viewer is resized after you release the mouse button.

To reposition the help viewer on your screen

Click the title bar and drag the viewer to a new position.

Changing colors, fonts, and accessibility options

Complete the following steps to change the colors, fonts, or accessibility options of your viewer.

Changing these settings will also change your settings for Internet Explorer.

On the Help toolbar, select Options | Internet Options.
On the General tab, click Colors, Fonts, or Accessibility.
Select the options you want, and then click OK.
To apply the new settings, in the Internet Options dialog box, click OK.

Getting more out of HTML Help

Here are some tips on how to find more information when using HTML Help.

To follow a link to another topic, a Web page, a list of other topics, or a program, click the colored, underlined words.
To view topics that contain related information, use the "See also:" and "What do you want to do?" topic links.
To see if a word or phrase contained in a topic is in the index, select the word, and then press F1.
If you use a particular topic often, you can add it to your favorites list.
Right-click in the Contents tab or Topic pane for shortcut menu commands.

Using the Contents tab

The table of contents in an HTML Help system is a tree outline that displays topics in an expandable/collapsible hierarchy.

Select the Contents tab.
Open or close books by clicking them. A closed book has a plus sign (+) next to it, and an open book has a minus sign (-).
Click the topic you want to view.

Using the Index tab

The index provides a multilevel list of keywords that are found in the Help. The index is hierarchical – like the kind you find at the back of a book – and can include multiple levels.

Complete the following steps to find a topic using the index.

Select the Index tab.
Type a word or scroll through the list of index entries.
To see any topics associated with a keyword, double-click it or select it from the list and click Display.
If there is more than one topic associated with a keyword, select a topic from the Topics Found dialog box.

Using the Search tab

With the Search tab you can perform a full-text search. With full-text searching, you can search through every word in the Help system. A basic search consists of the word or phrase you want to find. Advanced searches can incorporate Boolean operators, wildcard expressions, nested expressions, similar word matches, a previous results list, or topic titles to further define a search.

The basic rules for formulating search queries are as follows.

Searches are not case-sensitive, so you can type your search in uppercase or lowercase characters.
You can search for any combination of letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9).
Punctuation marks such as the period, colon, semicolon, comma, and hyphen are ignored during a search.
Group the elements of your search using double quotes or parentheses to set apart each element. You cannot search for quotation marks.

When searching for words in Help topics, you can have each occurrence of the word or phrase highlighted in the topics that are found. To highlight all instances of a search word or phrase, on the Help toolbar, select Options | Search Highlight On.

To run a simple search

Follow these steps to run a simple search.

Select the Search tab.
Type the word or phrase you want to find.
Press ENTER or click List Topics.
To view a found topic, double-click it or select the topic and click Display.

Advanced search features

The following are the available advanced search features.

Boolean operators: You can include Boolean operators in your search. To insert a Boolean operator in your search, click the arrow next to the search text box and select AND, OR, NOT, or NEAR.
Advanced search options: Use the check boxes at the bottom of the Search tab to select the advanced search options Search previous results, Match similar words, and Search titles only.

The following table lists the advanced search features and their functions.

Option	Description
Boolean operators	The AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR operators enable you to precisely define your search by creating a relationship between search terms. If no operator is specified, AND is used. For example, the query "spacing border printing" is equivalent to "spacing AND border AND printing." The \|, &, and ! characters do not work as Boolean operators (you must use OR, AND, and NOT).
Wildcard expressions	Wildcard expressions allow you to search for one or more characters using a question mark or asterisk.
Nested expressions	Nested expressions allow you to create complex searches for information. You can use parentheses to nest expressions within a query. The expressions in parentheses are evaluated before the rest of the query. You cannot nest expressions more than five levels deep.
Search previous results	This option searches only the last group of topics you searched. This feature enables you to narrow a search that results in too many topics found. You can limit your search to your results list from previous searches by using this option. If you want to search through all of the files in a Help system, this check box must be cleared.
Match similar words	This option finds words similar to your search term. This feature enables you to include minor grammatical variations for the phrase you search. For example, a search on the word "add" will find "add," "adds," and "added." This feature only locates variations of the word with common suffixes. For example, a search on the word "add" will find "added," but it will not find "additive."
Search titles only	This option searches for words in the titles of HTML help files. If you use this option, all HTML topic files will be searched, including any that are not listed in the table of contents.

Search examples

The following table provides examples that demonstrate both the simple and advanced search capabilities found in HTML Help.

Search for	Example	Results
A single word	select	Topics that contain the word "select." (You will also find its grammatical variations, such as "selector" and "selection.")
A phrase	"new operator" or new operator	Topics that contain the literal phrase "new operator" and all its grammatical variations. Without the quotation marks, the query is equivalent to specifying "new AND operator," which will find topics containing both of the individual words, instead of the phrase.
Both terms in the same topic	dib AND palette	Topics containing both the words "dib" and "palette."
Either term in a topic	raster OR vector	Topics containing either the word "raster" or the word "vector" or both.
The first term without the second term	ole NOT dde	Topics containing the word "OLE," but not the word "DDE."
Both terms in the same topic, close together	user NEAR kernel	Topics containing the word "user" within eight words of the word "kernel."
Wildcard expressions	esc*	Topics that contain the terms "ESC," "escape," "escalation," and so on. The asterisk cannot be the only character in the term.
Wildcard expressions	80?86	Topics that contain the terms "80186," "80286," "80386," and so on. The question mark cannot be the only character in the term.
Nested expressions	control NOT (active OR dde)	Topics containing the word "control" without either of the words "active" or "dde."

Using the Favorites tab

It might be helpful to maintain a list of favorite Help topics that you reference frequently. Complete the following steps to add topics to a list, return to a favorite topic, rename a topic, or remove a topic.

To add a topic – Locate the help topic you want to make a favorite topic, click the Favorites tab, and click Add.
To return to a topic – Click the Favorites tab, select the topic, and double-click the topic or click Display.
To rename a topic – Click the Favorites tab, right-click the topic and select Rename, and type a new name and then press ENTER.
To remove a topic – Click the Favorites tab, select the topic, and click Remove.

Using the Glossary tab

The glossary provides an alphabetized list of terms and definitions related to BARR/PRINT CHANNEL. Complete the following steps to use the glossary.

Select the Glossary tab.
Scroll through the list of glossary entries.
Select a term from the list and view the definition in the lower portion of the Glossary tab.

You can also search for a glossary term by typing the first letter of the word you are looking for. The Term window will focus on words beginning with that letter.