Help context

Help is set up to follow the modules' context.

In the Help Viewer you find a drop-down list box at the top left, where you can select another module or context.

When a user opens Help from within Writer, the user will see the Writer Help. The same is true for the other modules, Calc, Draw, Impress, Base, Basic, and Math.

By selecting another entry from the list box, the user can switch to another module's main help page.

Every context has its own set of index entries and find/search inventory. So, when you are inside the Writer help, you cannot search for a Calc function.

However, many Help topics apply to all of the modules, or to at least two of the modules. The respective Help pages and index entries are part of a 'shared' Help module, which is available for all contexts.

Why contexts?

The Online Help source files use custom tags called 'switches' to display different help texts with respect to the current context. A typical part of the source can look like the following example.