The help for Office should be >>local<<, not always going out to .

K

Ken Forbus

It's really annoying to always be going out to the web when using the help
system. It would be much better to have a serious help system locally, and
default to using it first. Even when I'm connected, it's a lot slower to use
the network-based help system than the old system was. And a lot of the time
when I'm on the road I don't have an active network connection.
 
K

kline

Ken Forbus said:
It's really annoying to always be going out to the web when using the help
system. It would be much better to have a serious help system locally,
and
default to using it first. Even when I'm connected, it's a lot slower to
use
the network-based help system than the old system was. And a lot of the
time
when I'm on the road I don't have an active network connection.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with you, Ken. I think it was an asinine move on the part
of Microsoft to make the help files web based. I'm on 700 kb broadband and
accessing Help is still far too slow and damned annoying to the point where
I generally avoid using it and have ended up sticking to what I already
know, rather than exploring the Office suites full potential. I pity the
poor buggers on dial up.

Anyone know what was Microsoft's reason for going down this route with the
help system? If it was claimed that it's to provide more up to date
information this could surely have been done via upgrade patches for local
help files.

Is there a downloadable set of Help files that can be used instead? I'd
settle for older versions if that is all there is.

regards

Kline
 
H

Herb Tyson [MVP]

Is this Office 2003? In the task pane, click Online Content Settings, and
remove the check next to Show Content and Links from Microsoft Office
Online, then click OK. Then close/restart the application, and it should now
use local Help content... until/unless you tell it otherwise.
 
K

kline

Herb Tyson said:
Is this Office 2003? In the task pane, click Online Content Settings, and
remove the check next to Show Content and Links from Microsoft Office
Online, then click OK. Then close/restart the application, and it should
now use local Help content... until/unless you tell it otherwise.
Click to expand...

Herb

Many thanks for the tip - saves me pulling any more hairs out!

Kline
 
M

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

It is primarily because help files can be updated online a LOT faster than
on a local installation. How many of the Office users know that you can get
updated help files from Office downloads? Not many, I would bet.

So, Microsoft decided to add the "optional" online help files that are
updated as needed and as corrections roll in. There is no pleasing users.
D*mned if you do, d*amned if you don't.


--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. Due to
the (insert latest virus name here) virus, all mail sent to my personal
account will be deleted without reading.

After searching google.groups.com and finding no answer, kline asked:

| || It's really annoying to always be going out to the web when using
|| the help system. It would be much better to have a serious help
|| system locally, and
|| default to using it first. Even when I'm connected, it's a lot
|| slower to use
|| the network-based help system than the old system was. And a lot of
|| the time
|| when I'm on the road I don't have an active network connection.
|
| I totally agree with you, Ken. I think it was an asinine move on the
| part of Microsoft to make the help files web based. I'm on 700 kb
| broadband and accessing Help is still far too slow and damned
| annoying to the point where I generally avoid using it and have ended
| up sticking to what I already know, rather than exploring the Office
| suites full potential. I pity the poor buggers on dial up.
|
| Anyone know what was Microsoft's reason for going down this route
| with the help system? If it was claimed that it's to provide more up
| to date information this could surely have been done via upgrade
| patches for local help files.
|
| Is there a downloadable set of Help files that can be used instead?
| I'd settle for older versions if that is all there is.
|
| regards
|
| Kline
 
K

Kenneth D. Forbus

In looking for the Task Pane, I went to health again. Let's see what I get...

Health history questionnaire
Templates > For Providers

Upper/lower respiratory infections form
Templates > For providers

Identify content in the Search Results task pane
Help > Getting help

Medication flowsheet
Templates > For providers

[N.B. this is a lot of irrelevant stuff unless you are in medicine or
physiology.
Not so clear that this should be the default, eh?]

Turn Microsoft Office Online featured links on or off
Help > Microsoft Office Online

Ah, that should be it. But even though it has the help system icon on it,
it's still going online, one minute by stopwatch passes...get the
information, do what it says, restart word. It still shows all the online
links as well as others with the same query (but that could just be a cache,
I'd do the same thing with that kind of system), but halleluia, the
information comes back immediately!

Thanks, that is very helpful indeed.

Ken
 
K

Kenneth D. Forbus

I understand this argument, but there is a tacit assumption that the network
based services are really fast. Empirically, they aren't for most of us.
Sometimes it's our connections, sometimes it's the load on the server side.

I find the Office updates download scheme very useful, personally.

Ken
 
C

Chris Schatte

Excellent point on online help. For the amount of help access (specific to
application) achieved online, there is no physical way this could be locally
stored.
This is the entire point of the system in Office 2003, access beyond local...

Chris Schatte

use the Office Online web based newsreader here:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx
In Office System 2003 applications:
Help/Assistance Pane/open Communities

Kenneth D. Forbus said:
In looking for the Task Pane, I went to health again. Let's see what I get...

Health history questionnaire
Templates > For Providers

Upper/lower respiratory infections form
Templates > For providers

Identify content in the Search Results task pane
Help > Getting help

Medication flowsheet
Templates > For providers

[N.B. this is a lot of irrelevant stuff unless you are in medicine or
physiology.
Not so clear that this should be the default, eh?]

Turn Microsoft Office Online featured links on or off
Help > Microsoft Office Online

Ah, that should be it. But even though it has the help system icon on it,
it's still going online, one minute by stopwatch passes...get the
information, do what it says, restart word. It still shows all the online
links as well as others with the same query (but that could just be a cache,
I'd do the same thing with that kind of system), but halleluia, the
information comes back immediately!

Thanks, that is very helpful indeed.

Ken

Herb Tyson said:
Is this Office 2003? In the task pane, click Online Content Settings, and
remove the check next to Show Content and Links from Microsoft Office
Online, then click OK. Then close/restart the application, and it should now
use local Help content... until/unless you tell it otherwise.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
F

frostbite

Thanks for the tip. I thought 2003 was going to be an
improvement on 97. No such luck. MS Help has got to the
point where almost every other software developer has
copied the format.
Why the hell change it now???
 
K

kline

Milly Staples said:
It is primarily because help files can be updated online a LOT faster than
on a local installation. How many of the Office users know that you can
get
updated help files from Office downloads? Not many, I would bet.

So, Microsoft decided to add the "optional" online help files that are
updated as needed and as corrections roll in. There is no pleasing users.
D*mned if you do, d*amned if you don't.
Click to expand...

Well from what I can recall the online help files were selected by default
when I installed Office and the feature to switch back to local is pretty
well hidden...

Whilst it may well be the case that help files can be *updated* faster
online, they sure as anything *cannot* be accessed faster than a set of
local files.

Kline
 
H

Herb Tyson [MVP]

Most of us don't want to get into our cars and drive to Redmond each time we
press the F1 key. :)

Even with an exceptionally fast computer and T1 connection, I'll choose
local help, every time. Using local help, I can discover in a matter of
seconds that the Help system doesn't contain the information I seek. With
online help, it takes considerably longer to arrive at the identical
conclusion.
 
T

THOMAS AND ANGELINA

IF YOU SAVE THE HELP ONLINE PAGE TO YOUR FAVORITES AND THEN CUSTOMIZ THE PAGE
YOU SAVE TO RETAIN ALL LINKS IT SOULD GIVE YOU ALL THE HELP INFORMATION YOU
NEED.
 
S

Steve Anderson [msft]

I was looking at feedback items and ran across this post. One point I'd add
to this one in particular is that although you may not find what you're
looking for online, if you tell us (using the rating controls on items
delivered from Office Online) we have the possibility to fix it--that is, the
writers are constantly looking at failed search result data and feedback on
articles and updating them in response. You can't do that with local-only
help.
--
-Steve Anderson
Program Manager, Office

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
 
B

Bartleby

Two and a half years later, this post is still correct, the complete remedy
is stated in the second sentence, the glib responses about the currency and
breadth of information available through an Internet-based help system are
still as irrelevant, and we are still stuck with the same miserable crap.

Sorry for writing all that: I needed something to occupy my time while the
online help for Visio 2003 loaded.
 
J

Johnbes

Hi Bartleby, Thanks for your comments, for Office 2007 Help we added a
search scope dropdown to help narrow your search to a particular
context. (It’s the dropdown arrow to the right of the Search button on the
2007 Help toolbar). Useful if you just want Client or Developer Help only,
without having to view Templates and Training resources in the search
results. Another method to help scope results is 'dialog help'. With an
Office dialog open, press the F1 key and you'll get help specific to the
dialog you currently have open.

Thanks,
John
[email protected]
 
Top