# Why does the Xl2007 help suck so much?



## snowblizz (May 5, 2010)

Ya'll have to excuse my youthful lingo, but what on earth is with the Excel 07 help?

Am I just too used to the 2003 version? I can hardly make head or tails with the new version. I like to double check the syntax with the help sometimes but I find it almost impossible to get relevant information in 2007.

While in some ways it nice to have my suspicions confirmed that the application help isn't perhaps the most effective one. I am trying to argue that communities such as this is the way to go.

It just seems insane that someone who at least knows HOW and sometimes even WHAT to look for still can't find it.


----------



## RoryA (May 5, 2010)

Are you referring to the main Help or the VBA Help (or both)? The VBA online help used to be the worst thing I'd ever seen but it appears to have changed recently as you can now see the object that the method/property refers to, rather than just a huge list with the method/property name repeated over and over again.
Don't get me started on the MSKB search though - that is worse than useless.


----------



## yytsunamiyy (May 5, 2010)

Congrats on ever finding relevant information in a MS Office help-file. '07 is just as bad as '03 and all the others in my experience. There is a reason for me being on this board ya know?


----------



## snowblizz (May 5, 2010)

Sorry guys (and gals if you are reading), I did refer to the VBA help in the main.

I often want to check the syntax as I STILL can't figure out why .copy destination:= and .paste, .pastespecial are different, other than "they are" so every time I'm going to help someone or use it, I go "wait, which way did I have to do it again". And if I cobble .copy together for someone they actually wanted  a .pastespecial and the darned thing just won't go together again, because the syntax is different. That's when I search the XL help files. And not find anything. Then change the search options to local files (if I'm at school on xl07). And search again and can't really find anything relevant. I think I made a breakthrough today when I realised the *good* answers come on page 2 and not page 1. I just could understand 03 help better than the 07 help, for whatever reason. There's something missing in 07, I just can't put my finger on what it is.

Yes I've been able to source some support from the help files, I did my graduate thesis project with those and some basic internet searching. How I rue not knowing about this place back then. It has indeed been a struggle. Actually it is what has prompted me to investigate the on-line forum as a source of support. I am attempting to prove scientifically a community is a much much better solution.


----------



## RoryA (May 5, 2010)

You may have better luck if you start from the Object Browser.
And at least it's not the Powerpoint help files.


----------



## Domski (May 5, 2010)

I have a habit of hitting F1 when I mean F2 and I might as well go and make a cup of coffee in the time that it takes the bloody thing to open. I'm with Rory, the VBA help was utterly ridiculous when it first came out but seems to have improved a little. Best thing I found was to switch off to on-line search as it just annoyed me as I need all the help I can get but it pretty much gave me the opposite.

Dom


----------



## Smitty (May 5, 2010)

Domski said:


> I have a habit of hitting F1 when I mean F2 and I might as well go and make a cup of coffee in the time that it takes the bloody thing to open.


 
Man, I hate it when I do that!

As for help I think both Excel & VBA help are relatively useless.  2003 would at least return some results.  Now 3/4 of the time I get "Nothing found...Was this information helpful?"


----------



## Greg Truby (May 5, 2010)

Has anyone else's online help gone to he11 in a handwagon today?  True, it's usually rather useless.  But today everytime I've been in the Object Browser and hit F1 to look up something or other, my help is actually failing.  All day I've been getting:

*This page is unavailable*
The page you are looking for is unavailable. Try the following:

Click *Refresh* on the toolbar
Click *Back* on the toolbar, and then click the link to the page again
Show offline content from this computer.
And then I have to use the offline help (not that I'm fussing, 'cause online help ain't noticably better).  I'm just wondering if the guy in charge of online help is off on another drinking binge or sumpin.


----------



## Smitty (May 5, 2010)

Greg Truby said:


> I'm just wondering if the guy in charge of online help is off on another drinking binge or sumpin.


 
Maybe he and the Apple employee who lost the IPhone were out together?


----------



## VoG (May 6, 2010)

See http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=463561


----------



## snowblizz (May 6, 2010)

Thanks Peter that was interesting. I may have to look into disabling the "online (non)content".

Greg, I got the same exact result when I opened the help before I posted this thread. It sort of heightened my awareness of how "unhelpful" the help was being and I thought I'd hear what the community thought. I see I'm not alone.

BTW guys (and gals) doesn't xl2007 have somekind of message posting facility, sort of like a dedicated forum? I remember thinking how that was unlikely to very helpful. I will probably need to look at it a little closer. Does anyone know much about this?


----------



## SydneyGeek (May 6, 2010)

Smitty said:


> Man, I hate it when I do that!
> 
> As for help I think both Excel & VBA help are relatively useless.  2003 would at least return some results.  Now 3/4 of the time I get "Nothing found...Was this information helpful?"



Me too, and it's worse in Access. Haven't got a result yet. I dunno what they feed the guys who write MS Help, because it's not just applications. Tried to troubleshoot an Internet issue (my PC couldn't get an IP address from the router) and, you guessed it, the help was online...

Denis


----------



## SuperFerret (May 6, 2010)

> you guessed it, the help was online...


 
 Oh the person who thought those up! It's just the same when I used to see the adverts advertising broadband (in the days when it was new) and to enquire, you had to... visit the website! I did think to myself if you're looking for an ISP at the time you weren't likely to already have internet access... 

I have mostly given up trying to use the help in Excel or Access, purely because they're as much help as sticking a bucket on your head and hitting it with a large wooden spoon. I prefer to google my problem


----------



## VoG (May 6, 2010)

Similar to


----------



## SydneyGeek (May 6, 2010)

VoG said:


> Similar to





Denis


----------



## SuperFerret (May 6, 2010)

This one cracked me up:





So why are you there?!?!


----------



## SuperFerret (May 6, 2010)

Or the ultimate:


----------



## TinaP (May 6, 2010)

Greg Truby said:


> Has anyone else's online help gone to he11 in a handwagon today? True, it's usually rather useless. But today everytime I've been in the Object Browser and hit F1 to look up something or other, my help is actually failing. All day I've been getting:
> 
> *This page is unavailable*
> 
> ...


I noticed this a couple weeks ago. As far as I can figure, the problem of Non-existent online help is with Office 2007 applications only; earlier versions are unaffected.

If the guy is on a drinking binge for this long, he'll probably never recover from the hangover.


----------



## Jon von der Heyden (May 6, 2010)

VoG said:


> Similar to


Classic!


----------



## RobMatthews (May 6, 2010)

Well if this is the direction the thread has taken...


----------

