OL2000: How to Install and Use Microsoft Outlook Help

In Outlook, the Microsoft Outlook Help files are installed by default. If the Help files are missing, the Office detect and repair system starts automatically if you click any Help topic within the Office Assistant, or if you click Microsoft Outlook Help on the Help menu.

How to Activate Help

You can activate Outlook Help if you:

• Press F1.
• Use Microsoft Outlook Help or the Office Assistant.
• Press SHIFT+F1.

Press F1

You can press F1 at any time to activate the Office Assistant or Outlook Help. In the Office Assistant, you can type a question and let the assistant find a matching Help topic. When you use Outlook Help, you can pick from a list of topics, or search to find a specific topic.

Use Outlook Help or the Office Assistant

You can go directly to a Help topic from the Help menu if you use Outlook Help or the Office Assistant.

To use Outlook Help, on the Help menu, click Microsoft Outlook Help. On the Contents tab, you can click your topic; on the Answer Wizard tab, you can type a question; and on the Index tab, you can type a word to find it in the Index.

To use the Office Assistant, on the Help menu, click Show the Office Assistant. You can type a question, and the Office Assistant finds an answer.

For additional information about controlling the appearance of the Office Assistant, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Press SHIFT+F1

If you press SHIFT+F1, you see context-sensitive descriptions of certain Outlook controls and settings. This type of Help is most useful in dialog boxes where you want to know what a particular setting does.

For example, on the Tools menu, click Options. By default, the focus is on the E-mail Options button. If you press TAB three times, the focus changes to the Calendar Options button. If you then press SHIFT+F1, you see the following description about what the Calendar Options include:

How to Reinstall Help

Missing Help Files

Outlook Help is installed by default and cannot be set to "not available." If Outlook detects that the Help files are missing, you receive the following error message: Click Yes to reinstall the Help files.

Corrupted or Damaged Help Files

If the Help files are corrupted or damaged, Help may open and not display any topics, or the text within the Help windows may be unreadable. For additional information about repairing and reinstalling Outlook Help files, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: