Office 2008 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual

Appendix B. The Office Help System

Given enough time and determination, it’s possible that you could figure out Microsoft Office 2008 all by yourself. But the fact that you’re reading this book indicates you have better things to do with your time. When you need help, there are various resources available, starting with Office’s built-in Help system. Of course, the help system can’t substitute for a good book, but it can get you out of a jam, show you different—and often faster—ways of doing things, and reveal Office features you never knew existed.

Part of Office 2008’s help system is always with you, like a friend tapping your shoulder with the occasional unsolicited hint. Tooltips often pop up to reveal, say, the names of toolbar buttons or AutoText suggestions. The often-ignored Description panels of dialog boxes clarify what you’re looking at. (Open Word → Preferences, click any of the preference buttons and watch what happens at the bottom of the box when you pass the cursor over the various options.)

But if you’re really having trouble figuring out how to make an Office program do what you want, you can turn to Office’s online help screens.

Note

If you used earlier versions of Office for the Mac, you’ve been amused or annoyed by Max, the Help system’s excitable Assistant, in the form of a little Mac Plus with feet and a repertoire of cutesy mannerisms. Always alarmingly out of place in the serious universe of Office, Max has waved his last animated goodbye and shuffled off the ...