Word 2007 Help...
"Where in the heck is it?"

The number one question I'm asked is, "where is Word 2007 help?" This Word Tip explains how to find help and how to use it more effectively.

It is no secret that the new interface makes finding help a little more difficult than it was in earlier versions of Microsoft Word!

Users of previous versions usually click the Microsoft Word help menu when they want to access the online help system or to find Help About. But now that the help menu is gone, where is Help, and how do you access it?

If you can’t find the help files, this Tip will lead you in the right direction!

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Accessing the Word 2007 Help System

There are two ways to access the online help system:

1. Click the Help icon.
   
2. Or, press F1.
   (Tip: F1 activates the help system in Microsoft software and many other software programs.)

Okay, that was easy! Read on to learn how to find the help topics you need.

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Finding Help Topics

When you click the Help icon or press F1, the general help window opens.

Then either enter a search term in the search box to find the help you need, or choose a topic from the Browse Word Help window to drill down to more specific topics.

If you find your searches return too many results, you can filter your searches by clicking the black arrow on the Search button and selecting a filter.

You can show (or hide) the table of contents by clicking the book icon on the menu.

I find this help system to be more time consuming to use compared to true context-sensitive help. However, there are instances when context-sensitive help is activated, such as when you select certain group items.

For example, on the Mailings tab, if you open the Envelopes dialogue box from the Envelopes and Labels group, context-sensitive help is activated when you press F1.

But context-sensitive help is not activated when you press F1 if the Header dialogue box in the Header and Footer group on the Insert tab is open.

Go back to the Microsoft Word Help page

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