Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows XP in 24 Hours

By Greg Perry

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
  • Tell Us What You Think!
  • Introduction
  • Part I: Wake Up with Windows XP
  • Hour 1. Taking a Bird's-Eye Look at Windows XP
  • Hour 2. Getting Started with Windows XP
  • Hour 3. Managing the Windows XP Interface
  • Part II: Morning Windows Desktop Exploration
  • Hour 4. Working with the My Computer Window
  • Hour 5. Navigating Files with Windows Explorer
  • Hour 6. Calling for Help
    • Introducing the Help and Support Center (HSC)
    • Getting Topical Help
    • Obtaining Support
    • Searching the Index
    • Other Forms of Help
    • Summary
    • Q&A
    • Workshop
  • Hour 7. Improving Your Windows Desktop Experience
  • Part III: Early Afternoon Windows Exploration
  • Hour 8. Installing Programs with Windows XP
  • Hour 9. Finding Files, Folders, and Friends
  • Hour 10. Using the Desktop Accessories
  • Part IV: Late Afternoon Internet Integration
  • Hour 11. Surfing the Web with Internet Explorer
  • Hour 12. Tying Windows into the Web
  • Hour 13. Networking with Windows XP
  • Hour 14. Managing E-mail and Newsgroups with Outlook Express
  • Part V: An Evening with Advanced Windows
  • Hour 15. Exploring Your Hardware Interface
  • Hour 16. Understanding Printing and Fonts
  • Hour 17. Using Windows on the Road
  • Hour 18. Giving Windows XP a Tune-Up
  • Hour 19. Managing Your Hard Drives
  • Hour 20. Tinkering with the Advanced System Tools
  • Part VI: Having Fun at Nighttime
  • Hour 21. Using Media Player
  • Hour 22. Picturing Windows XP Graphics
  • Hour 23. Making Movies with Windows XP
  • Hour 24. Advanced Windows XP Tips
  • Part VII: Appendixes
  • Appendix A. Differences Between the Windows Home and Professional Edition
  • Appendix B. Glossary
  • Appendix C. Answers to Quizzes

Searching the Index

As good and complete as the HSC is, you may have difficulty locating exact help on a specific topic that you need help with. The times that you are not sure where to look, check the HSC's Index link. The Index link helps you zero in to a specific item for which you need help.

Follow this To Do item to use the Index link.

To Do: Using the Index in Your Search

1. Click the Index link at the top of the Help and Support Center window. An alphabetical list of all items within the help system appears in a scrollable window pane, as Figure 6.5 shows.
2. To find something in the index, scroll the indexed list to the item you want to find. You can quickly move to an item by clicking the text box and typing your requested entry. As you type, the index item that matches your typed letters begins to appear.
3. Scroll through the entries, looking at the various index items.
   

   Figure 6.5 The Index enables you to find details quickly.

4. Locate the indexed entry, direct cable connections, and double-click the overview entry below the main topic. A detailed overview window opens in the right window pane. A hot spot appears in the right window labeled Related Topics. The help pages are often cross-referenced to other related help pages and Windows accessory programs, so you can read all the information related to the topic in which you are interested and start that topic's program when needed. You can move to other topics by clicking on the index pane's items or by selecting hot spots in the right pane. As you move to various hot spots, the Back button always returns you to the previous help page, so you can always get back from where you came in the Help system.
5. Every once in a while, an indexed topic requires additional information. Sometimes the Help system narrows a search to a more specific item. For example, if you click the indexed item labeled overview, located beneath the entry named accessibility resources (for people with disabilities), a Topics Found dialog box appears like the one in Figure 6.6. When you select one of the dialog box's topics and click the Display button, that topic's Detail page appears.
   

   Figure 6.6 Help needs you to be more specific.

6. Click Home to return to the main Help and Support Center window.

If you know with which specific Windows XP element you need help, you can often locate the help quicker by selecting from the Index page instead of the more general Contents pages that first appears when you request help.

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