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Get Help on demand when working in Access. 

Quick reference

Getting Help

We all need a little help from time to time. Fortunately, Access contains a comprehensive library of help files. We can use these files to look up commands, access instructions, and even watch videos to help us accomplish our tasks. 

When to use

We access the help files whenever we aren't sure how to perform a task and need some guidance and instruction. 

Instructions

Before we take a look at accessing Help, let's start by reopening the contacts database and disabling the welcome screen. 

  • From the Start screen, double-click on the Contacts database to re-open. 
  • On the Welcome screen, deselect the Show Welcome when this database is opened checkbox. 
  • Alternatively, close the Welcome screen and double-click Settings in the Navigation pane. 
  • De-select the checkbox in the Show Welcome column. 
  • Close the Settings tab by clicking the small cross on the tab.  
  • Click Yes to Save. 

Accessing Help

All help in Access is online so we need to ensure we have an internet connection. 

Using the keyboard shortcut
  • Press the F1 key to open the Help pane. 
  • We can browse the categories or search for a specific keyword using the search field. 
  • Type 'create a table' and press Enter. 
  • Click on a link to access the relevant help information. 
  • Click the Back arrow to return to the results list. 
  • To un-dock the Help pane, click in the header and drag the window out to the left. 
Using the Help ribbon
  • From the Help ribbon, click the Help button. 
  • To send a message to Microsoft Support, click the Contact Support button (U.S. only). 
  • To send feedback to Microsoft, click the Feedback button. 
  • To access training videos and reference guides, click the Show Training button. 
Tell me what you want to do

Another way to access help on demand is to use the Tell me what you want to do bar located above the ribbons. 

  • Press ALT+Q to focus the cursor in the Tell me what you want to do box. 
  • Type into the search box what you want to do, e.g. create a table. 
  • Click on the search result in the Get Help on section to jump to the relevant section of the Help files. 
Contextual Help

Contextual help is help that is contextual to where we are currently clicked/what we are currently doing. 

  • From the Home tab, click the small diagonal arrow in the bottom right-hand corner of the Text Formatting group. 
  • Click the question mark (?) icon in the header to jump straight to help files related to text formatting. 

Hints & tips

  • Once un-docked, the Help window can be moved and resized to make the information easier to see. To re-dock back to the right-hand side, drag the window over to the right of the screen. 
  • If the Help ribbon is not displayed in your copy of Access, you will need to turn it on in Excel Options. 
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  • 00:00 Before we move on any further I want to cover a very important topic,
  • 00:08 and that is how to access help in Access.
  • 00:13 And knowing where to go to get help is so important,
  • 00:15 particularly when you're learning Access, because you're
  • 00:19 going to come across things that you're not sure how to do all the time.
  • 00:22 And instead of just sitting there being stuck it's always good to know what
  • 00:26 resources you have available and how to get to them.
  • 00:29 Now, I will say that if you use other Microsoft applications, such as Excel or
  • 00:34 maybe PowerPoint, then help is accessed in exactly the same way in Access.
  • 00:38 Now the most obvious place to go is the Help ribbon at the top.
  • 00:43 This contains following icons and, depending what style of help you need,
  • 00:47 determines which one you're going to select.
  • 00:50 So if you want to have a look at the Microsoft Help files you
  • 00:53 would click on the first icon just here.
  • 00:56 Notice that this also has a keyboard shortcut of F1.
  • 00:59 And if we click this button it's going to open up a pane on the right-hand side.
  • 01:04 Remember, I said in Access you're going to see from time to time a pane open on
  • 01:08 the right-hand side.
  • 01:10 And this is the Microsoft library of help files specifically for Access.
  • 01:16 Now all of the help files are divided down into categories.
  • 01:19 You have a Get Started section, so you could click on this and
  • 01:23 some of these categories contain helpful videos.
  • 01:27 And this one, for example, goes through the basics of creating a database.
  • 01:31 And you have step by step instruction, so it is super helpful.
  • 01:35 Click on the back arrow at the top to go back to the main menu.
  • 01:40 So everything is categorized.
  • 01:42 However, if you're looking for help on a specific subject, so maybe you're not
  • 01:47 sure how to create a form, you can simply type it into the search and hit Enter.
  • 01:52 Access will go away and search through all of the help files and
  • 01:56 present you with a list of topics.
  • 01:58 So here we go, Create a Form in Access.
  • 02:01 Click on the link, it's going to open up in that Help pane.
  • 02:05 Now with this pane, if you find it a bit hard to read are a little bit small,
  • 02:09 you can simply drag the header and drag it out.
  • 02:12 And then you can treat it like any other window and you can maximize it so
  • 02:15 that it's a bit easier for you to read.
  • 02:18 If you want to redock it simply pick it up and drag it or smash it all the way
  • 02:22 over to the right hand-side and let go and it will redock it.
  • 02:26 So F1 or the Help button to access the Microsoft help files.
  • 02:30 The second button here, Contact Support, now this, in general,
  • 02:35 is only available to users in the US.
  • 02:37 I'm in the UK and so I don't have access to contact anyone at Microsoft support.
  • 02:42 But it might be that if you are in the US this option is available and
  • 02:46 useful to you.
  • 02:47 We have a Feedback button here.
  • 02:49 So if you want to give some feedback to Microsoft then you can,
  • 02:53 maybe something that you really like, something you don't like or
  • 02:57 maybe you have a suggestion as to how they could improve the application.
  • 03:01 And then finally we have the Show Training button.
  • 03:04 And this is basically a library of informative training videos,
  • 03:07 much like the one that you're watching now.
  • 03:10 And these training videos are, again, categorized.
  • 03:13 So if we go to Intro to Access, this is going to take you into some training
  • 03:17 videos which will talk you through the basics of Access.
  • 03:21 So really Show Training is more video-based and less text-based.
  • 03:26 The final way that you can access help is by using the Tell me what you want to do
  • 03:30 bar at the top.
  • 03:32 Now this Tell me what you want to do bar, you need to click in it.
  • 03:35 But if you're clicked somewhere else in your database and you very quickly
  • 03:39 want to jump up to that Tell me bar, you can press the keyboard shortcut Alt Q and
  • 03:43 your cursor will immediately jump up there.
  • 03:47 Now this is kind of a multifunction area.
  • 03:50 So if we type in create a form what it's going to do is it's going to show me
  • 03:54 some actions.
  • 03:55 So this is going to allow me to immediately create a blank form or
  • 04:00 at the bottom I can choose to get help on.
  • 04:02 And this is going to jump me back into those help files.
  • 04:06 So that tell me bar can be a really useful way of accessing help as well.
  • 04:12 Another way that you can access help is if you are in one of
  • 04:15 these little hidden menus.
  • 04:17 So if I click the diagonal arrow in the text formatting group,
  • 04:21 if I'm working in here and maybe I decide I need help on datasheet formatting,
  • 04:27 I can click on the question mark icon in the title bar,
  • 04:30 click on it, and it's going to jump me to Microsoft Support website.
  • 04:35 Now you might find that useful, you may not, but just be aware that it's there.

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