Excel 2010: The Missing Manual

C.10. Help Menu

The Help menu provides links to Excel's help, the somewhat irritating Office Assistant, and the Office Online Web site where you can read the latest Excel news or apply late-breaking updates.

C.10.1. Microsoft Excel Help

This command shows the Excel Help task where you can search for topics. Appendix A discusses how you can get the most out of Excel's help system.

C.10.2. Show the Office Assistant

Use this command to display the Office Assistant, an animated character that floats at the corner of the Excel window, occasionally contorting itself and offering relatively useless advice. If you still want to use the Office Assistant, see Appendix A for a description of how to configure it.

C.10.3. Microsoft Office Online

This command launches your standard Web browser and points it to the Office Online Web site (http://office.microsoft.com), where you can download utilities, clip art, and templates and get additional information about mastering Excel.

C.10.4. Contact Us

This command launches your standard Web browser, and points it to the Contact Us page on the Office Online Web site (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/contactus.aspx), where you'll find links for getting support and searching the Office knowledge base.

C.10.5. Check for Updates

This command launches your standard Web browser and points it to the Downloads page on the Office Online Web site (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdate), which has a handy tool for scanning your computer and recommending patches and security fixes for Office that you can download and install.

C.10.6. Detect and Repair

If something's gone wrong with your Excel installation (for example, someone's deleted a required file and certain features don't work properly any more), you can use the Detect and Repair command to examine your installation and repair it. In order to perform this step, you'll need to have the Office setup CD handy. You'll also have the option of clearing away all the customizations and settings you've made, or keeping them and just repairing any corrupted files.

C.10.7. Activate Product

As you probably know, Excel recently introduced a new licensing system that requires all customers to activate their copy of Excel by phone or over the Internet after installing it. If you still haven't taken this step (and your trial period is about to run out), you can use this command to activate your product over the Web. Of course, you'll need your license number.

C.10.8. Customer Feedback Options

This command shows the Service Options dialog box. From here, you can join the Customer Experience Improvement Program, which allows Microsoft to track your actions and errors for the benefit of others. (Essentially, Microsoft usability gurus study the problems you've had, and use that to decide what features just don't make sense or aren't organized in the right way.) You can also use the Service Options dialog box to configure whether the Excel help checks for information on the Office Online Web site (just select the Online Content category and turn on or off the appropriate settings).

C.10.9. About Microsoft Office Excel

This window shows the About Microsoft Excel dialog box, which lists the exact version of Excel that's installed on your computer.