"What's this" context sensitive help missing in Word 2003

[stuart k]

Hi everyone,

In previous versions of Office, you could right-click on
dialogue box optins and get a 'what's this' menu option.
This then provided a hint about a particular dialogue item
(e.g. a tickbox). Equally, an application such as Word
had a 'What's this?' button on the main toolbar, which
gave a hint about other toolbar buttons.

In my new version of Office 2003 this isn't working. I
can't right click on dialogue options and nothing happens
when I click on the 'What's this?' toolbar button. I've
installed all help files (I think) and there doesn't seem
to be any repairs needed.

Anyone got any ideas why this is happening? Any help much
appreciated,a

Stu
..

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Context-sensitive Help has been greatly reduced in Word 2003. You can still
get generic help about the dialog but not about a specific item in it.
Clicking on the button should open Word's Help task pane with an appropriate
topic selected.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[stuart K]

Thank you very much for your time Suzanne,

It's a great pity that Microsoft in their wisdom has
chosen to remove the only vaguely useful help in Office.
Context sensitive help is perhaps the most useful to
everyday learners as it solves an immediate problem
without having to do additional searches. The actual help
file organisation is pretty lousy. Try doing a search for
a general dialogue such as 'autoformat as you type' and
see how relevant the results are...the context sensitive
button doesn't even exist on several of the dialogues so
you can't even be taken to the correct help pages. That's
the problem with MS help, you can never actually find the
files that may solve your problem. I really hope they
reinstate this soon.

Help is one of the things that Microsoft do consistently
badly, and it really lets them down.

Sorry if this sounds like I'm shooting the messenger!! I
really do appreciate your help.

Cheers anyway,
Stu

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I will pass on your sentiments. Office Help is one of the topics that is
going to be closely examined at the upcoming MVP Summit.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[stuart K]

Hi Suzanne,

I don't wish to be presumptious, but I would really love
the opportunity to give some detailed thoughts on Office
Help. I'm a usability professional and an e-learning/help
designer who has used office for over 10 years. If you are
interested in this feedback, please contact me at:

(e-mail address removed)

Kind regards,
Stu

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I'll pass along this information. Restoration of context-sensitive Help has
already been added to the wish list.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.