Types of Help

Online help can be divided into three general categories:

• Automatic help--The application determines when help is needed and what to present. This is sometimes called system-initiated help.

• Semiautomatic help--The user decides when help is needed, but the system determines what to present. Semiautomatic help is initiated by a user's gesture or request for help, such as pressing F1. The system's response is called context-sensitive help because it considers the user's current context in deciding what information to display.

• Manual help--The user requests specific information, such as from a Help menu.