Context-sensitive help is a kind of online help that is obtained from a specific point in the state of the software, providing help for the situation that is associated with that state.[1]
Context-sensitive help, as opposed to general online help or online manuals, does not need to be accessible for reading as a whole. Each topic is supposed to describe extensively one state, situation, or feature of the software.
Context-sensitive help can be implemented using tooltips, which either provide a terse description of a GUI widget or display a complete topic from the help file. Other commonly used ways to access context-sensitive help start by clicking a button. One way uses a per widget button that displays the help immediately. Another way changes the pointer shape to a question mark, and then, after the user clicks a widget, the help appears.
Context-sensitive help is most used in, but is not limited to, GUI environments. Examples include Apple'sSystem 7Balloon help, Microsoft'sWinHelp, OS/2's INF Help or Sun'sJavaHelp. An example of context sensitive help familiar to most Wikipedia users are the tooltips that show previews of links within articles, helping readers to determine whether following the link is valuable prior to shifting pages.
A similar topic is embedded help, which can be thought of as a "deeper" context-sensitive help. It generally goes beyond basic explanations or manual clicks by either detecting a user's need for help or offering a guided explanation in situ. Embedded help is not to be confused with a software wizard.
US patent 8151192, Jason Eric Black, "Context Sensitive Help", issued August 6th, 2009
Describes the connection between where the help is needed and how the help is provided.
April 12, 2024
context, sensitive, help, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, j. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Context sensitive help news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Context sensitive help is a kind of online help that is obtained from a specific point in the state of the software providing help for the situation that is associated with that state 1 Context sensitive help as opposed to general online help or online manuals does not need to be accessible for reading as a whole Each topic is supposed to describe extensively one state situation or feature of the software Context sensitive help can be implemented using tooltips which either provide a terse description of a GUI widget or display a complete topic from the help file Other commonly used ways to access context sensitive help start by clicking a button One way uses a per widget button that displays the help immediately Another way changes the pointer shape to a question mark and then after the user clicks a widget the help appears Context sensitive help is most used in but is not limited to GUI environments Examples include Apple s System 7 Balloon help Microsoft s WinHelp OS 2 s INF Help or Sun s JavaHelp An example of context sensitive help familiar to most Wikipedia users are the tooltips that show previews of links within articles helping readers to determine whether following the link is valuable prior to shifting pages A similar topic is embedded help which can be thought of as a deeper context sensitive help It generally goes beyond basic explanations or manual clicks by either detecting a user s need for help or offering a guided explanation in situ Embedded help is not to be confused with a software wizard See also editBalloon Help Tooltip AnswerDashNotes edit US patent 5285709References editUS patent 8151192 Jason Eric Black Context Sensitive Help issued August 6th 2009 Describes the connection between where the help is needed and how the help is provided Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Context sensitive help amp oldid 1124047061, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
