OS X Yosemite: Onscreen help in OS X

Onscreen help in OS X

The Finder and most other Mac apps have a Help menu in the menu bar. Use the Help menu and Help Window to get information about OS X, your Mac, and your apps.

Help menu

In the Help menu, you can search for menu items and help topics.

See how the Help menu works: Click the Finder icon in the Dock, open the Help menu, then enter “clipboard.” The results include the Show Clipboard menu item and help topics about the Clipboard.

See a menu item: Open the Help menu, enter the menu item you’re looking for, then place the pointer over the menu item result.

For example, in the Finder, enter “clipboard” in the Help menu, then place the pointer over Show Clipboard. The Edit menu opens with an arrow pointing to the command.

Get help: Open the Help menu, enter a search term, then choose one of the help topics, or choose Show All Help Topics to see more topics.

Help window

If you choose a help topic from the search results in the Help menu, or if you choose Mac Help or an app’s help (such as Mail Help or iTunes Help), the Help window opens.

Search: Enter a word or two in the search field, then choose a suggestion or press Return.

See more topics for the help you’re viewing: Click the Table of Contents button in the Help window.

See previous topics: Click the Back and Forward buttons.

See a list of recently viewed topics: Click and hold the Back or Forward button until a list appears, then choose the topic you want.

Make text bigger or smaller: Press Command (⌘)-Plus (+) or Command (⌘)-Minus (–).

Find words within the current topic: Press Command (⌘)-F.

Print or share a topic: Click the Share button in the Help window, then choose an option.

If help doesn’t answer your question

Enter different words in the search field.

If you searched for one word, search for two or three words. If you searched for many words, search for fewer words.

Open the specific app you want help for, then choose Help > [App name] Help.

Make sure you’re connected to the Internet. If you’re not connected, most of the help topics are unavailable.

Last Modified: Sep 23, 2015
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