Understand How Help Topics Are Organized (Concept)

AutoCAD 2008 User's Guide > Get Information > Find the Information You Need > Use the Help System Efficiently >

Understand How Help Topics Are Organized

Concept

Procedure

Quick Reference

Most topics in this Help system have three tabs above the right pane of the Help window. The tabs display different types of information.

Concept tab. Describes a feature or function. When you click the Concept tab, the Help Contents list in the left pane of the Help window expands and highlights the current topic. The Contents tab displays the structure of the Help on that topic. You can easily display nearby topics by clicking them in the list.
Procedure tab. Provides step-by-step instructions for common procedures related to the current topic. After displaying a procedure, you can click the Procedure tab to redisplay the current list of procedures.
Quick Reference tab. Lists commands and system variables related to the current topic, with links to detailed descriptions of the commands. If you click an entry on the Quick Reference tab, the Command Reference opens to the command or system variable that you selected.

When you click a different tab, the topic remains the same. Only the type of information displayed—concept, procedures, or quick reference links—is different.

Concept Tab Organization

In a Concept tab, there are two types of information that may be displayed: navigation text and destination text. Navigation text displays links with short descriptions. The purpose of navigation text is to guide you step-by-step to the information that you need. The links on navigation pages lead to additional navigation pages deeper in the Help structure until you come to a destination page. Each link is designed to provide you with more detailed information.

Procedure Tab and Quick Reference Tab Organization

As you navigate deeper into the Help structure on the Contents tab, the corresponding information on the Procedure tab and on the Quick Reference tab becomes more specific, and the number of entries displayed on each of these two tabs decreases.