what happened to context sensitive help in PowerPoint 2003 ?

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Joobson - 15 Jun 2007 12:07 GMT

Hi,
PowerPoint used to have a feature where you could use the key command
SHIFT+F1 to change your cursor to a question mark. You could then click on a
menu item and get context sensitive help on it. The 'HelpContextId' Property
within the VBA help still outlines this functionality, though it doesn't
actually seem to work anymore.

Any help would be appreciated.
J.

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Steve Rindsberg - 15 Jun 2007 14:07 GMT

> Hi,
> PowerPoint used to have a feature where you could use the key command
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Any help would be appreciated.

Not much help to be had, I'm afraid.

Unfortunately, this feature's gone. We'll just have to search the regular help
thingie.

-----------------------------------------
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

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Joobson - 15 Jun 2007 14:33 GMT

Thanks for your reply.

Do you know if any resoning for this was given? or if the same goes for
Office 2007 after the Panels were discarded for preference of the ribbon?

I assume they just didn't bother to update VBA's help documentation on the
'HelpContextId' Property.

J.

> > Hi,
> > PowerPoint used to have a feature where you could use the key command
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> PPTools: www.pptools.com
> ================================================

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Steve Rindsberg - 15 Jun 2007 18:27 GMT

> Thanks for your reply.
>
> Do you know if any resoning for this was given?

None that I know of, but understand that I don't work for MS.

> or if the same goes for
> Office 2007 after the Panels were discarded for preference of the ribbon?

There's no context sensitive help in 2007 either. The closest thing: when you
hover the mouse over some buttons on the ribbon in 2007, the "super tooltip" tells
you to press F1 for more help. When you do that, you see help related to that
specific button. Mind you, it may give you more information about Excel or Visio
than it does PPT.

I'm SO glad not to be the perpetrator of this stuff.

> I assume they just didn't bother to update VBA's help documentation on the
> 'HelpContextId' Property.

Case in point: if you search on that string in 2007's IDE, you get quite a few hits,
but all of them are from this cookiecrumb trail:

"PowerPoint Developer Home > Visio > Visio 2007 Automation Reference > Visual Basic
for Applications Language Reference > Visual Basic Language Reference > Properties"

Visio? VISIO? Why am I getting Visio help in PPT?

> J.
>
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> > PPTools: www.pptools.com
> > ================================================

-----------------------------------------
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

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Pia Bork - 16 Jun 2007 06:19 GMT

> "PowerPoint Developer Home > Visio > Visio 2007 Automation Reference >
> Visual Basic
> for Applications Language Reference > Visual Basic Language Reference >
> Properties"
>
> Visio? VISIO? Why am I getting Visio help in PPT?

maybe for those users who never know which software they are using? They
call me and ask "why that table doesn't work any more" - "ok, which table in
which program?" - "I don't know the program, it's the table I always work
with"

So Microsoft thought it would be good to offer help for any program in case
the user doesn't know which program he's working with?

Signature

Mit liebem Gruß
Pia Bork
--
MVP Powerpoint
http://www.ppt-faq.de
http://www.office-training-muenchen.de

Reply to this Message

Steve Rindsberg - 16 Jun 2007 06:37 GMT

> > "PowerPoint Developer Home > Visio > Visio 2007 Automation Reference >
> > Visual Basic
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> So Microsoft thought it would be good to offer help for any program in case
> the user doesn't know which program he's working with?

Or to provide more business for you, who can figure it out. <g>

User first checks help, tries what's suggested there (and of course it doesn't
work because it's for MS Streets and Trips or some such thing) and calls you.

All you need now is to get them to list your name in the help file.

-----------------------------------------
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

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