OFF: How to Find Technical Information About Office Products

• Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition
• Microsoft Office for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft Office for Windows, versions 3.x, 4.0, 4.2, 4.3
• Microsoft Office for the Macintosh, versions 3.0, 4.0, 4.2.1
• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

When you use Microsoft Office products, you may have questions regarding how to perform a task or how to troubleshoot a problem. This article discusses resources that you can use to find answers to your questions.

The following resources contain useful product information:

• The Knowledge Base
• The Office Program Help files
• The Office Assistant
• The Answer Wizard
• Sample files
• The "Getting Results with Microsoft Office for Windows 95" manual

                               MORE INFORMATION
                               ================
  
  

THE KNOWLEDGE BASE

When to Use the Knowledge Base

The Microsoft Knowledge Base includes thousands of articles that answer common questions about using any Microsoft product. The articles contain technical information regarding a wide variety of basic- and advanced- level product issues and problems. The variety of content available makes the Knowledge Base an excellent resource for topics of any level of complexity.

How to Access the Knowledge Base

The Knowledge Base is available on the World Wide Web and on The Microsoft Network. You can also access the Knowledge Base if you purchase a Microsoft TechNet subscription.

Microsoft Knowledge Base on the World Wide Web

To access the Microsoft Knowledge Base on the World Wide Web:

1. Connect to Support Online at the following Internet address:

         http://support.microsoft.com/support/default.asp
   

   NOTE: If you've never visited this site before, you will be required to register.

2. In the My Question Is About box, select All Products.

3. Type your question in the question box.

4. Click Find (next to the My Question Is box).

   This search will return from one to several article titles. The Article ID appears in the upper-left corner of the article. You can see the Article ID only after you click to view the article.

5. Click the title of the article to view it.

   http://www.microsoft.com

   ARTICLE-ID: Q139887
   TITLE     : Office Product Articles on Internet, FastTips

   ARTICLE-ID: Q129725
   TITLE     : Obtaining Knowledge Base Articles on the World Wide Web

How to Find Information in the Knowledge Base

There are thousands of articles in the Knowledge Base. To find information without looking at every article, you can search for a list of articles that are related to your topic. To query for articles, decide on the search criteria, type the search words in the appropriate text box and then initiate the search.

You can use the following search criteria:

• Keywords
• Boolean operators such as NOT, AND or OR
• Descriptive words you think may be in the article
• The Q number (identification number) of the article

Using Keywords to Search for Information in the Knowledge Base

Keywords are used to categorize all articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base and to make information easier to find. Microsoft Office, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, and Word articles contain some additional product- specific keywords. The product keywords are called KBSubcategory keywords.

For additional information regarding how to use keywords, please search for the Q number of the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q94671
   TITLE     : Categories and Keywords for All Knowledge Base Articles

   ARTICLE-ID: Q123516
   TITLE     : How to Search for Office Product Articles by
               KBSubcategory

   Keywords:

   kbtool     For articles discussing Microsoft Query, add-ins, ToolPak
              functions, spelling checker, function wizard, chart wizard

   kbprg      For articles discussing programming issues (macros or
              Visual Basic procedures)

   kbcode     For articles that contain sample Visual Basic code

   kbmacro    For articles that contain Microsoft Excel version 4.0
              macro code

   kbbuglist  For articles that contain the program's official
   kbfixlist  published bug/fix list or are listed in the program's
              bug/fix list

   kbsetup    Setup and installation

   kbusage    Description of product features or functionality

   KBSubcategory Keywords:

   Major Topic
      Minor Topic KBSubcategory
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

   Office
      Font Assistant fontasst
      Article applies only to Office for the Macintosh offmac
      Article applies only to Office for Windows offwin
      Disk contents/directory for Microsoft Office offdir
      Interoperability between Office products officeinterop
      Office Assistant offasst
      Microsoft Office for Windows setup offwinsetup
      Microsoft Office for the Macintosh setup offmacsetup
      Microsoft Binder offbinder
      Internet offweb
      Interoperability offinterop
      Help offhelp
      Microsoft Office Resource Kit offork
      Network Install Wizard offniw
      Web Find Fast offwebfind
      Microsoft Office Personal Web Server offpws
      Microsoft Office Service Pack offsrvpak
      Microsoft Office Value Pack offvalpak
      Microsoft Office Small Business Pack offbundle
      Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar offosb

   Microsoft Excel:

      For information about KBSubcategory keywords for Microsoft Excel,
      please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

         ARTICLE-ID: Q123516
         TITLE     : How To Search for Office Product Articles by
                     KBSubcategory

   Microsoft Word:

      For information about KBSubcategory keywords for Microsoft Word,
      please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

         ARTICLE-ID: Q123901
         TITLE     : How To Search Microsoft Word Articles by
                   KBSubcategory

   Microsoft Access:

      For information about KBSubcategory keywords for Microsoft Access,
      please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

         ARTICLE-ID: Q119526
         TITLE     : How To Search for Microsoft Access Articles by
                     Subcategory

   Microsoft PowerPoint:

      At this time, Microsoft PowerPoint articles do not contain
      product-specific keywords.

Performing a Query on the Microsoft World Wide Web Site

1. Connect to the Knowledge Base.

2. To jump to the Knowledge Base interface that is specific to a product, select a Microsoft product or technology in the list and click Next.

   NOTE: The Query interface on the Web is subject to change. For example, the name of the button to click may be changed.

3. Type the search words in the appropriate text box.

4. Click Begin Search.

Using Boolean Operators to Search for Information in the Knowledge Base

Boolean is an adjective that describes a symbolic relationship, as in that implied by the logical operators AND, OR, and NOT. Use the following Boolean operators to qualify your search:

• AND (logical conjunction)
• OR (logical inclusion)
• XOR (exclusive or)
• NOT (logical negation)

MICROSOFT HELP FILES

Help allows you to search for a usage topic, to browse through a list of topics, or to search for specific words and phrases instead of topics.

When to Use Help

Use Help to find more information regarding a specific topic or to browse the topics and get a better idea of what information is available. You can also use context-sensitive Help to view information that pertains to the task at hand.

How to Access Help

The Help files must be installed in order for you to access them. If Help is not installed on the system, run the Setup program again and click Add/Remove to install the files.

Microsoft Office 97 Programs:

   To access Help, click "Contents and Index" on the Help menu.

   To access help, double-click Help on the Standard toolbar, or click
   Microsoft <Product> Help Topics on the Help menu, where <product> is
   the name of the program you are using.

If you are switching from Lotus 1-2-3 to Microsoft Excel, click Lotus 1- 2- 3 Help on the Help menu for commands that provide information to make it easier for you to switch to Microsoft Excel.

How to Find Information in Help

To search for information regarding a specific topic, start Help, click Index, type the description of the Help topic, click Display, and double- click the topic you want to display.

To browse through a list of Help topics, start Help, click the Contents tab, select an item to view and click Open.

To get context-sensitive Help, press the F1 key or click Help in the dialog box while the dialog box is open.

THE OFFICE ASSISTANT

The Office Assistant, which is available in all Microsoft Office 97 programs, can answer your questions, offer tips, and provide help for a variety of features that pertain to the Office program you are using. The Office Assistant is shared by all of the Office programs. Any options you change, such as the type of tips that appear in the Office Assistant, affect the Office Assistant in all the Office programs.

How to Access the Office Assistant

To access the Office Assistant, click Microsoft <product> Help on the Help menu, where <product> is the name of the Office 97 program you are using, click Office Assistant on the Standard toolbar, or press F1.

THE ANSWER WIZARD (available only in Office 7.0)

The Answer Wizard allows you to type, in your own words, a description of the task at hand. When you type a question or a topic, the Answer Wizard lists Help topics that can assist you with your task. For example if you type "Tell me how to print more than one document at a time" and click Search, the Answer Wizard will display several Help topics including a topic that explains how to print several files at once.

When to Use the Answer Wizard

The Answer Wizard is especially useful if you are a new user and you do not know what the exact names of certain commands or tasks are. The Answer Wizard is also useful if you need to go directly to information that helps you to complete the task at hand.

How to Access the Answer Wizard

The Help files must be installed in order for you to access the Answer Wizard. If Help is not installed, run the Setup program again and click Add/Remove to install the files.

To access the Answer Wizard, double-click the Help button, or click Answer Wizard on the Help menu.

How to Find Information in the Answer Wizard

First, in Help, click the Answer Wizard tab, then type a question in your own words, and click Search. Answer Wizard then lists Help topics that can assist you in your task.

To go directly to information that helps you to complete the specific task, double-click a topic listed under "How Do I."

To understand the task better, double-click a topic listed under "Tell Me About."

To type in a new question once you have searched for a topic, click Help Topics.

SAMPLE FILES

Sample files for Microsoft Office are examples that you can use to help you create and enhance your own work. The sample files must be installed in order for you to access them. If they are not installed, run the Setup program again and click Add/Remove to install the files.

Where the Sample Files Are Located

The sample files are installed to the default locations listed in this section. Note that the folder names will be different if you did not pick the default locations during Setup.

Access sample file:

   \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Samples folder

      Northwind.mdb
      Orders.mdb
      Solutions.mdb

   \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Examples folder

      Samples.xls

   \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Examples\Solver folder

      Solvsamp.xls

THE OFFICE MANUAL

The "Getting Results with Microsoft Office for Windows 95" manual has been redesigned to help you find the information you need to complete your tasks quickly.

How to Find Information in the Manual

The easiest way to find information in the manual is to look in the Contents at the front of the book for the title that pertains to the task at hand. The Contents lists broad categories that describe functional uses of Office programs.

If you do not find a topic in the Contents, flip to the back of the book and look in the Index. If you are not sure what the task is called, take a guess as to the name of the task or feature, find the word, and turn to the page referenced in the Index.

If you are unable to find any pertinent information, broaden your criteria and look for words in the index that relate to the broader topic.