Using Help

Windows XP Starter Edition Help is a reference for you to look up specific instructions for completing a task. You can also use it as a learning tool for using and navigating Windows, as well as successfully using Windows features and programs.



Navigating Help

Navigating Help in Windows XP Starter Edition is easy. Each set of Help topics is organized by subject area, such as Using E-Mail or Printing. The sections covering each major subject area is visible and accessible to you from the My Support home page. Each section contains all the Help topics related to that specific area.

The Help section of the My Support home page is grouped into three sections and covers the following areas.

  • Using Windows—Get help with common Windows tasks, such as using e-mail and printing
  • Using Windows Programs—Get help with the most frequently used Windows programs, such as Paint and Messenger

Using the Table of Contents

The Help Table of Contents is located in the left pane of your Help viewer. The Table of Contents allows you to display the contents of each section. You can also select and view any individual topic. Single topics display in the right pane of the viewer.


To do this Do this
Scroll through the Table of Contents Click below or above the scroll box on the vertical scroll bar
Display an item Click the corresponding link in the Table of Contents

Searching the Help contents

To perform a basic search

  • Type the word or phrase you want to search for in the Search for box, and then click Go.

To perform an advanced search

  • Click the Advanced Search link, and then set the options that you want.

Available OptionDescriptionExample
All wordsSearches for all of the words you entered in the Search for boxWhen you type CD disk copy in the Search for box, the search results will show a list of pages that contain all three words.
Any wordSearches for any of the words you entered in the Search for boxWhen you type CD disk copy in the Search for box, the search results will show a list of pages that contain any of the three words you typed.
Exact phraseSearches for the words you entered in the Search for box in the order and sequence in which they were enteredWhen you type Internet Explorer in the Search for box, only pages that contain instances of that exact phrase will be presented in the search results.
BooleanSearches allowing the inclusion or exclusion of certain words through the use of operators such as AND, NOT, and OR.

Note: The operators must be in all uppercase letters for the search to be performed correctly.
When you type Windows Messenger OR Windows Media Player in the Search for box, pages that contain instances of Windows Messenger or Windows Media Player or both will be presented in the search results.
Current title selected in the Table of ContentsLimits the search to the currently selected section title 
All titles in the Table of ContentsIncludes all of the section titles in the collection when performing the search 

To navigate through Search results

  • Do one of the following:
  • To view search results, move through the results list by clicking any link presented under the Search results header.
  • To view more results than what is available on a single page, click Next to see more results.
  • To go back to the previous page of results, click Previous.
  • To move between search result pages, click the appropriate page button at the bottom of the page.

Printing Help topics

Windows XP Starter Edition Help topics are designed so that you can easily print them for study and reference.

To print a Help topic

  1. Go to the Help section that you want to print.
  2. Do one of the following:

  • Click the Print button on the top toolbar.
  • Right-click on the page and choose Print from the pop-up menu.
  1. Select your printer, specify any additional printing instructions, and then click Print.