Windows XP Bible
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Figure 3-1: About to open the Windows Calculator applet
If your Windows desktop or taskbar sports an icon for the program you want to start, you can, of course,
just click (or double-click) that icon. No need to go through the menus in that case.
Cross-Reference
In Chapter 4, you’ll learn how to create your own shortcuts to favorite programs.
Chapter 13 shows you how to customize your Start menu for easy access to
favorite programs.
Getting help in programs
Most programs come with their own online help, similar to Windows online help. The help a program
offers, however, is geared toward that particular program rather than toward Windows XP. To get to a
program’s online help, while you’re in that program, try either of these methods:
• Choose Help Help Topics (or some similar option) from that program’s menu bar.
• Or, just press the Help key (F1) on your keyboard.
The Help window that appears will be about the program you’re currently using. Typically, the left pane
initially shows a table of contents titled “Contents” on its tab. In the Contents view, you can click any
item that has a book icon to “open the book” and see the “pages” within. Clicking an item that sports a
“page” icon opens that page in help. In Figure 3-2, for example, I opened the book named Calculator,
and then clicked Perform a Simple Calculation to view the help in the right pane.
Figure 3-2: Viewing the “Perform a Simple Calculation” page in Calculator’s help
Windows XP Bible