ACC97: How to Change or Disable the Office Assistant

Microsoft Office 97 introduces a new type of Help component called the Office Assistant, which is a feature that is shared by all Microsoft Office programs. The Office Assistant is an interactive Help utility that enables you to ask questions about a program, just as you might ask questions of another person. Additionally, the Office Assistant can offer tips and suggestions while you work to help you accomplish your tasks more effectively.

However, you may not want to use the Office Assistant in your application, or you may want to change the settings for this feature. This article contains tips for customizing the Office Assistant to meet your needs.

Customizing the Office Assistant

If you want to hide the Office Assistant, choose a different Office Assistant character, or make changes to the settings of the Office Assistant, you can invoke the Office Assistant shortcut menu. To open the shortcut menu, using the right mouse button (right-click), click the Office Assistant. You can set the following options from the shortcut menu:

• You can hide the Office Assistant by clicking Hide Assistant.
• You can make the Office Assistant interact by clicking Animate!
• You can change the Office Assistant character by clicking Choose Assistant.
• You can change features of the Office Assistant, specify the type of tips you want displayed, or reset your tips, by clicking Options.
  
  NOTE: You can also invoke the Office Assistant Options by clicking Options in the Office Assistant balloon any time the Assistant is active.

If you hide the Assistant, you can view it at any time by pressing the F1 key or by clicking the Office Assistant button on the toolbar.

Removing the Office Assistant

The Office Assistant is a shared component in Microsoft Office 97. Once you have installed it, you cannot remove it using the Setup program. If you do not want to use the Office Assistant, consider hiding it instead of removing it, so that it will be available if you ever do want to use it.



If you must disable the Office Assistant, move all of the Actor files (*.act) in the \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Actors folder to a backup folder on your hard drive. The first time you use Help after doing this, you may notice that it takes longer to open Help. After the first time, however, Help responds as it normally would.

To enable the Office Assistant again, move the Actor files from the backup folder to the \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Actors folder.

For more information about the properties of the Office Assistant, search the Help Index for "Office Assistant," or ask the Microsoft Office 97 Office Assistant.