4 ms·

Here I want to ask a question: did any of the HN users ever get helped by anything put into the "Help" menu in an application?

by Mavrik 15y ago

brianleb 15y ago
In the last decade, I think I've only used it to find version numbers. Here's an embarrassing(?) example, though: I was typing a response in this post and I wanted to italicize a word. I know different systems have different ways to do that, so I just guessed and tried <i></i> like in HTML, which I learned in fourth or fifth grade. No go, which didn't surprise me because nothing takes HTML input anymore. So I tried [i][/i] as if typing a message on a phpBB forum. No go. So I clicked to edit the post again and just surrounded the word with /slashes/ to indicate it was italicized in my mind. And then I noticed the little tiny help link next to the text box and clicked on it. Help, to use italics? Lame. But it worked (see what I did there?). Here is something interesting: that help link doesn't show up for an initial comment, only if you go in to edit it.
stdbrouw 15y ago
Sure, e.g. in Adobe applications it points to the manual, which is always really detailed, logical and comprehensive. But you're right, developers often just put garbage there, items they can't find room for in other menus.
- BoppreH 15y ago
  See "Check for updates" and "About". Especially "Check for updates", which is the worst thing you can do to a user who is looking for help.
svnv 15y ago
Yes, I'm currently doing some consulting on a lotus notes application and the help contents in the Domino Designer IDE has a lot of useful documentation.
- stan_rogers 15y ago
  And note that there's a feedback option in every entry in Designer Help -- if something is unclear or misleading, you can point it out and/or suggest a fix. Lotus does pay attention to the Help feedback, and needed fixes are usually incorporated into the next point release. And since the Help file is just another NSF, you can edit your own useful changes, notes and examples into your own copy (or the copy that's usually installed on the server for the edification of others).
Bockit 15y ago
If I can't find a menu item but I'm pretty sure it exists/should exist I type in versions of it into that help text area (on OSX) to find it. It works probably 60% of the time, the other 40% being that it didn't exist in the first place, or I was completely wrong about what it should be called.
- robin_reala 15y ago
  For people who don’t use OS X, every application has a search box in the Help menu (as seen in the 5th image in the original article). If you type in it the computer will search through all of the available commands in the menus and submenus, then open the menu parents of the most likely result and place a big floating marker next to it.
  - masklinn 15y ago
    It also highlights the item found, so you can just press [Return] to activate it. It's basically spotlight/windows search for menu items.
illdave 15y ago
I've only ever been helped by something in the "Help" menu through the search bar on a Mac (which I switched to about 2 years ago) - because it actually highlights with a massive arrow what you need. I don't remember finding anything useful with the Help nav on Windows. Having said that - the HN audience is most likely a massively different audience to the sort of people that would ordinarily rely on the Help button - people like Joe.
masklinn 15y ago
Yes, although not directly: on OSX, the Help menu has a search box. This searches not only various topics but submenu items, and when selecting a match it opens the menu recursively until it can highlight the item. In software with big, deep menus with an unclear logic/organization, I've used this quite a bit.
- ralfd 15y ago
  The OSX help menu is pretty cool. A friend was yesterday puzzled because she couldn't figure out how to delete someone from her Skype contacts. I am still on 2.8, she upgraded to the stupid 5.x version. So I dont know if the UI changed or she is just blind. "Just right click and choose delete." "But there is no delete, only block!" She was just ready to google a solution, as I asked for using help menu, which indeed helped her. She used it before but typed in "remove" instead of "delete" (or vice versa, in reality it was entfernen vs löschen)
nodata 15y ago
Yes, to access the documentation.
binarymax 15y ago
Rarely, except for finding out the version of the software. Also there is nothing worse on a windows machine than hitting F1 mistakenly when going for F2, and having the gargantuan and useless Windows Help spin up.
redthrowaway 15y ago
It used to be standard to have your "About x" submenu(?) there, so whenever I had to file a bug report I'd click through help. Actually, on OSX Chrome has the bug report link there, too. I wish I knew that earlier.
Joakal 15y ago
Yes, games, office and even problem solving all had help mentioned.
kaens 15y ago
Yes, generally when "Help" opens the documentation for all the features of the program. Last time I used it was circa 2000, microsoft word, I think. I now use man pages and google mostly.
roel_v 15y ago
Yes, quite often. Usually it has a link to the manual which is what one is really looking for.
statictype 15y ago
Now that I think about it, in the last ten years, after ubiquitous internet access and Google, I don't think I've ever clicked on the Help link in any app. It never even occurred to me to do so until you asked just now. I do recall using it a long time ago, say, 15 years earlier to, to find my way around Excel and Word, but not in the last decade.
tomjen3 15y ago
Hell yeah, I use it to access the manual for XCode.
jules 15y ago
Yes, to get the version number. And the help in Microsoft Office is quite good, I got help there a couple of times too.
jodrellblank 15y ago
I do sometimes resort to help - it seems like when I want some very task-local information, e.g. What's the syntax for this textbox? Recently I just needed the Exchange recipient policy codes and the help from that dialog box goes right there. But normally help doesn't help - it asks me for a foo-binding-string, I go to the help to see what one should look like for this program, the help says nothing more than "enter your foo-binding-string here".
vacri 15y ago
since the advent of fast internet and search engines, only for version numbers
omaranto 15y ago
Yes, the About dialogs are usually there and are a convenient way to figure out what version of a program you're running.

Here I want to ask a question: did any of the HN users ever get helped by anything put into the "Help" menu in an application?

by Mavrik 15y ago

Here I want to ask a question: did any of the HN users ever get helped by anything put into the "Help" menu in an application?

brianleb 15y ago

In the last decade, I think I've only used it to find version numbers. Here's an embarrassing(?) example, though: I was typing a response in this post and I wanted to italicize a word. I know different systems have different ways to do that, so I just guessed and tried <i></i> like in HTML, which I learned in fourth or fifth grade. No go, which didn't surprise me because nothing takes HTML input anymore. So I tried [i][/i] as if typing a message on a phpBB forum. No go. So I clicked to edit the post again and just surrounded the word with /slashes/ to indicate it was italicized in my mind. And then I noticed the little tiny help link next to the text box and clicked on it. Help, to use italics? Lame. But it worked (see what I did there?). Here is something interesting: that help link doesn't show up for an initial comment, only if you go in to edit it.

stdbrouw 15y ago

Sure, e.g. in Adobe applications it points to the manual, which is always really detailed, logical and comprehensive. But you're right, developers often just put garbage there, items they can't find room for in other menus.

BoppreH 15y ago
See "Check for updates" and "About". Especially "Check for updates", which is the worst thing you can do to a user who is looking for help.

svnv 15y ago

Yes, I'm currently doing some consulting on a lotus notes application and the help contents in the Domino Designer IDE has a lot of useful documentation.

stan_rogers 15y ago
And note that there's a feedback option in every entry in Designer Help -- if something is unclear or misleading, you can point it out and/or suggest a fix. Lotus does pay attention to the Help feedback, and needed fixes are usually incorporated into the next point release. And since the Help file is just another NSF, you can edit your own useful changes, notes and examples into your own copy (or the copy that's usually installed on the server for the edification of others).

Bockit 15y ago

If I can't find a menu item but I'm pretty sure it exists/should exist I type in versions of it into that help text area (on OSX) to find it. It works probably 60% of the time, the other 40% being that it didn't exist in the first place, or I was completely wrong about what it should be called.

robin_reala 15y ago
For people who don’t use OS X, every application has a search box in the Help menu (as seen in the 5th image in the original article). If you type in it the computer will search through all of the available commands in the menus and submenus, then open the menu parents of the most likely result and place a big floating marker next to it.
- masklinn 15y ago
  It also highlights the item found, so you can just press [Return] to activate it. It's basically spotlight/windows search for menu items.

illdave 15y ago

I've only ever been helped by something in the "Help" menu through the search bar on a Mac (which I switched to about 2 years ago) - because it actually highlights with a massive arrow what you need. I don't remember finding anything useful with the Help nav on Windows. Having said that - the HN audience is most likely a massively different audience to the sort of people that would ordinarily rely on the Help button - people like Joe.

masklinn 15y ago

Yes, although not directly: on OSX, the Help menu has a search box. This searches not only various topics but submenu items, and when selecting a match it opens the menu recursively until it can highlight the item. In software with big, deep menus with an unclear logic/organization, I've used this quite a bit.

ralfd 15y ago
The OSX help menu is pretty cool. A friend was yesterday puzzled because she couldn't figure out how to delete someone from her Skype contacts. I am still on 2.8, she upgraded to the stupid 5.x version. So I dont know if the UI changed or she is just blind. "Just right click and choose delete." "But there is no delete, only block!" She was just ready to google a solution, as I asked for using help menu, which indeed helped her. She used it before but typed in "remove" instead of "delete" (or vice versa, in reality it was entfernen vs löschen)

nodata 15y ago

Yes, to access the documentation.

binarymax 15y ago

Rarely, except for finding out the version of the software. Also there is nothing worse on a windows machine than hitting F1 mistakenly when going for F2, and having the gargantuan and useless Windows Help spin up.

redthrowaway 15y ago

It used to be standard to have your "About x" submenu(?) there, so whenever I had to file a bug report I'd click through help. Actually, on OSX Chrome has the bug report link there, too. I wish I knew that earlier.

Joakal 15y ago

Yes, games, office and even problem solving all had help mentioned.

kaens 15y ago

Yes, generally when "Help" opens the documentation for all the features of the program. Last time I used it was circa 2000, microsoft word, I think. I now use man pages and google mostly.

roel_v 15y ago

Yes, quite often. Usually it has a link to the manual which is what one is really looking for.

statictype 15y ago

Now that I think about it, in the last ten years, after ubiquitous internet access and Google, I don't think I've ever clicked on the Help link in any app. It never even occurred to me to do so until you asked just now. I do recall using it a long time ago, say, 15 years earlier to, to find my way around Excel and Word, but not in the last decade.

tomjen3 15y ago

Hell yeah, I use it to access the manual for XCode.

jules 15y ago

Yes, to get the version number. And the help in Microsoft Office is quite good, I got help there a couple of times too.

jodrellblank 15y ago

I do sometimes resort to help - it seems like when I want some very task-local information, e.g. What's the syntax for this textbox? Recently I just needed the Exchange recipient policy codes and the help from that dialog box goes right there. But normally help doesn't help - it asks me for a foo-binding-string, I go to the help to see what one should look like for this program, the help says nothing more than "enter your foo-binding-string here".

vacri 15y ago

since the advent of fast internet and search engines, only for version numbers

omaranto 15y ago

Yes, the About dialogs are usually there and are a convenient way to figure out what version of a program you're running.