OFFXP: Control How and When the Office Assistant Appears (290115)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Access 2002
  • Microsoft Excel 2002
  • Microsoft FrontPage 2002
  • Microsoft Outlook 2002
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
  • Microsoft Publisher 2002
  • Microsoft Word 2002
This article was previously published under Q290115

For a Microsoft Office 97 version of this article, see 158065.
For a Microsoft Office 2000 version of this article, see 199766.

SUMMARY

When you run any of the programs included with Microsoft Office XP and you use a lower screen resolution (800 x 600, for example), or if you have many windows open, or if your screen is very cluttered, you may find that the Office Assistant is too obtrusive. This article describes how to control how and when the Office Assistant appears.

MORE INFORMATION

All of the programs in Microsoft Office XP include the Office Assistant; it is available to help you with questions or problems with Office programs. To ask the Office Assistant a question, click its character, and then type your question. If the Office Assistant is not visible, click Show the Office Assistant on the Help menu.

The Office Assistant appears by default when you start an Office program. To make the Office Assistant appear only when you have a question, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click the Office Assistant. On the shortcut menu, click Options.
  2. On the Options tab, select the check boxes that are appropriate for your needs. The functionality of each check box is described in the following table.
       Check box              Functionality
   -------------------------------------------------------------------

   Use the Office         If selected, turns on the Office Assistant
   Assistant              Wizard. If not selected, turns off the
                          Office Assistant.

   Respond to F1 key      If selected, pressing F1 displays the
                          Office Assistant and prompts for a question. If
                          not selected, pressing F1 displays the Help
                          topics for the current program.

   Help with wizards      If selected, the Office Assistant asks if you
                          want help whenever you use a wizard.
                                                                                                     
   Display alerts         If selected, all alerts are shown in "word
                          bubbles" by the Office Assistant. If not 
                          selected, alerts are shown in normal dialog
                          boxes.                          

   Search for both        If selected, searches for both programming and 
   product and            product Help topics while you work with Visual 
   programming help       Basic for Applications in your program.
   when programming       

   Move when in the way   If selected, the Office Assistant moves away
                          from the insertion point when you type. If not
                          selected, the Office Assistant may hide or
                          obscure what you are trying to edit.

   Guess Help topics      If selected, the Office Assistant guesses the
                          Help topics you want to see, based on
                          your actions.

   Make sounds            If selected, turns on sounds for the Office 
                          Assistant.

  Using features more     If selected, shows tips for features you may not 
  effectively             know and suggestions on how to better use 
                          features you know.

  Using the mouse more    If selected, shows tips about how to use the 
  effectively             mouse to get your work done more quickly.

  Keyboard shortcuts      If selected, shows the shortcut keys you can use
                          to get your work done quickly.

  Only show high          If selected, shows only tips that are considered
  priority tips           important, such as those that alert you to 
                          time-saving features.
  
  Show the Tip of the     If selected, shows a Tip of the Day when an 
  Day at startup          Office program starts, as an easy way to get 
                          familiar with features.
  3. If you want the Office Assistant to appear only when you need to ask a question, clear the Help with wizards, Display alerts, and Guess Help topics check boxes. Make sure that the Respond to F1 key check box is selected.
  4. Click OK.
When you press F1, the Office Assistant appears and prompts you for a question. You can also display the Office Assistant by clicking Show the Office Assistant on the Help menu.

To make the Office Assistant disappear, you can either
  • Click Hide the Office Assistant on the Help menu.

    -or-

  • Right-click the Office Assistant, and then click Hide.

REFERENCES

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

290151 HOW TO: Modify or Remove Microsoft Office Assistant Help in Office XP

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:6/29/2004
Keywords:kbhowto KB290115
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.