Introduction

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Use the Help and Support Center

Opening the Help and Support Center

You don't have to remember how to do everything with Windows XP. If you get stumped, Windows XP features an easy-to-use Help and Support Center to assist you.

Microsoft has ended support for Windows XP, so some features in the Help and Support Center may no longer work.

To access the Help and Support Center:

1. Click StartHelp and Support.
2. The Help and Support Center window opens.
3. The home section is displayed.

When you get to the Help and Support Center, you arrive in the home section. Here, you can pick a help topic or task, search, and ask for outside assistance. Notice that the home section looks and acts much like a webpage. As you use Help, notice that some Help files are stored on your computer, whereas others are stored on the Internet.

The Index

Notice the buttons across the top of the home section. The Index option works like any other index, providing you with a fast and easy way to locate topics and resources.

To use the Index:

1. Open the Help and Support Center.
2. Click the Index button.
3. The Index opens. The entire Index is displayed in alphabetical order in the left pane.
4. Type in a keyword that pertains to the topic you're interested in.
5. Double-click a topic you want to explore in the left pane. Information about the topic displays in the right pane, or a Topics Found dialog box appears.
6. If a Topics Found dialog box appears, click Display or Cancel.
7. If you click Display, information about the topic displays in the right pane.
8. Click Cancel to close the dialog box and begin a new search.

Favorites and History

Favorites

The Favorites option works much like Favorites in Internet Explorer. Whenever you find a help-related page you want to visit again in the future, click the Add to Favorites button. The page will be added to a Favorites list.

When you want to review your Help Favorites, open the Help and Support Center and click the Favorites button.

History

The History option, as in Internet Explorer, keeps track of all of the Help and Support Center pages you have visited online. To review pages you've visited in the past, click the History button. Double-click any of the links to display any of the pages.

Support

If you are having trouble with Windows XP that you can't resolve on your own, there is support available to you in the Help and Support Center. To access Support, click the Support button.

You can get support in a variety of ways:

• Ask a friend to help. If you have an Internet connection, you can invite someone you trust to chat with you, view your desktop, and work on your computer.
• Get help from Microsoft. Using an Internet connection, you can allow a Microsoft support professional to answer your questions via email, chat, view your screen, or work on your computer.
• Go to a Windows website forum. Windows Newsgroups are online resources that allow to you to communicate with other Windows users about any problems you may be experiencing.

Help's search function

Searching for help topics is perhaps the fastest and most useful way to use the Help and Support Center.

To use search:

1. Open the Help and Support Center.
2. In the Search box, type a keyword that pertains to the topic you're interested in, then click the green arrow key.
   
3. Your search results are listed in the left pane.
   
4. Click to choose a result that best answers your concerns.
5. The explanation will display in the right pane.

Challenge!

• Open the Help and Support menu.
• Explore the Help options discussed in this lesson.