If you click the Help menu and click Microsoft Project Help, you’ll see a task pane pop up on the left hand side of your screen. (You can also open this task pane by pressing the F1 key on your keyboard or clicking the help icon  on the standard toolbar.)

 

Let’s take a look at that task pane. As you’re reading the steps, you can refer to the sample below. Or, you can open your own task pane.

 

1. You can click the X to close the task pane, or click the down arrow to change the task pane you’re viewing.
2. Use these buttons to go forward, back, or to the main task pane (home).
3. If you’re searching for a particular kind of help, type in your question or topic in the text box seen here. Then click the green arrow to start searching! (You can also click the Table of Contents link below the text box to see a more traditional help screen with a list of topics.)
4. Click these links to access resources on Microsoft Office Online. (These will open up an Internet browser window.)
5. Click these links to access particular types of help. (These links will also open up in your Internet browser.)
6. Click these links to open these help topics. You can use the last link, Online Content Settings, to choose whether or not to show content from the Microsoft Office Web site.

 

If you choose to type in a question, topic, or other query in the text box and click the green Go arrow, your results will then appear in the task pane, like the sample on the right.

 

Your help results will all appear as links. You can click on any of these links and the topic will appear in a separate window. The type of window that appears depends on what kind of content you click.

 

With Microsoft Office Project 2003, you can access several types of content (as long as you have not turned content from Office Online off). These include:

-          Marketplace Tools: Items you can purchase from Microsoft or other companies to provide extra functions not found in Project. Clicking on this type of help will open the link in your Internet browser.

-          Downloads: Add-ins made by Microsoft (and normally available for free) that can add tools to Project.

-          Templates: Pre-made documents to help you get started on a project. These are usually available as free downloads from Microsoft. Clicking on this type of help will open the link in Internet Explorer.

-          Articles: A help item stored on the Microsoft Web site. Unlike regular help items, they are updated from time to time. These may include text, audio demonstrations, video demonstrations, or a combination of media. Clicking on this type of help will open the link in Internet Explorer.

-          Training: A mini-course that usually focuses on one particular task. Clicking on this type of help will open the link in your Internet browser as the training course is located on the Microsoft Web site.

 

Remember that all types of results act the same no matter where you launch help from.