How to: Manage Help Windows 

The following procedures are provided for managing Document Explorer windows:

• Opening and Viewing Topics

• Closing Document Windows

• Manipulating Document Windows

• Manipulating Navigation or Results Windows

Opening and Viewing Topics

By default, topics are displayed in a single document window, in the same way that Web pages appear in a single Web browser instance. This use of the document window allows you to navigate forward and backward in the topic viewing history. You can, however, choose to view a single topic in a separate document window, or have Document Explorer display all topics in separate windows.

To open a topic in a separate document window

1. With the focus in the document window group, choose New Window on the Window menu.

   A new tabbed window is added to the document window group. The next topic you select to view will appear in the new tabbed window, leaving the original topic in the first window.

   —or—

2. From the Tools menu, choose Options and then choose Help.

3. Select General, and then unselect Reuse topic window.

   Each topic you view will appear in a separate document window. For example, if you view a topic and click a See Also link, the topic from the See Also link will appear in a new document window.

When you have multiple document windows, you can view and manage these windows in a variety of ways.

To view document windows

1. From the Window menu, choose Windows.

2. Select the name of the topic you intend to view and then choose Activate.

   —or—

   If the window is hidden behind another window in the group, choose the window tab.

You can also move among all open tool and document windows using the window navigator feature.

To navigate through multiple document windows

1. Press CTRL + SHIFT + TAB to display the window navigator.

2. While holding down CTRL + SHIFT + TAB, use the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW keys to move to the next open document window. Use the Left ARROW and RIGHT ARROW keys to move to the Contents, Index, and other non-document windows.

Manipulating Document Windows

To dock and undock document windows

1. To remove a window from the document window group and dock it at another location in the Document Explorer, select the window and then choose Dockable on the Window menu.

   The window changes from docked to floating and can now be moved to another location in the document explorer.

2. To return the docked window to the document window group, select the window and then choose Tabbed Document on the Window menu.

Manipulating Navigation or Results Windows

To hide a navigation or results window automatically

1. To automatically hide an individual navigation window (Contents, Index, Index Results, Search, or Help Favorites), select the window and click the Auto Hide icon (the pushpin icon) in the upper right corner.

   -or-

   On the Window menu, choose Auto Hide.

2. To automatically hide all navigation windows choose Auto Hide All on the Window menu.

To add a navigation or results window to the document window group

1. To dock one or all of the navigation or results windows to the document window group, select the window you want to dock (Contents, Index, Index Results, Search, or Help Favorites) and choose Tabbed Document on the Window menu.

   A tab for this window is then added to the document window group.

2. Repeat to dock additional windows.

To undock a navigation or results window from the document window group

1. To undock a navigation or results window from the document window group, select the window you want to undock and choose Dockable on the Window menu.

   This returns docked windows to their locations prior to being added to the document window group.

2. Repeat to undock additional windows.

See Also

Other Resources

Customizing Microsoft Document Explorer
Help on Help (Microsoft Document Explorer Help)