Cannot close help window in Office apps

[jkeramidas]

When I click the application specific help option (e.g. Excel Help),
the help window launches and I can navigate it as well as continue to
work with the open document. I cannot, however, seem to find a way to
close the help window when I am finished. The normal window option
buttons (close, minimize, expand) are not visible and there is no
"close window" link either. Any ideas on what might have happened? The
only way to currently get out of this is to quit and relaunch the
application.

Thanks

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

The Help title bar, with the close button, is jammed in the wrong
place--probably under the main menu.

Try changing the resolution to something crazy in System Preferences |
Displays. This should bring the title bar into view. Use it to drag Help
somewhere more reasonable. When you reset the proper resolution, Help
should remember the approximate location.

There might be a VBA solution if that doesn't work, but it did the last
time someone had this problem, I think.

 

[Diane Ross]

When I click the application specific help option (e.g. Excel Help),
the help window launches and I can navigate it as well as continue to
work with the open document. I cannot, however, seem to find a way to
close the help window when I am finished. The normal window option
buttons (close, minimize, expand) are not visible and there is no
"close window" link either. Any ideas on what might have happened? The
only way to currently get out of this is to quit and relaunch the
application.

Command-W closes any open window.

Daiya's solution to change resolution should work, but you could also try in
the Finder under View to "Arrange by Name" or Cleanup to get Help to move
from under the menu bar.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Command-W closes any open window.

That's emphatically NOT true in XL...

Typing CMD-w in XL with the Help window active closes the active
workbook.

The ONLY ways to close the Help window in XL are to (a) use the red
gumdrop in the Help window's title bar, or (b) Quit XL.

It's a bug, and a damned annoying one. Can't tell you how many times
I've closed a workbook accidently...

 

[JE McGimpsey]

The ONLY ways to close the Help window in XL are to (a) use the red
gumdrop in the Help window's title bar, or (b) Quit XL.

Oops - forgot a third way!

If the Help window is active, typing CMD-SHIFT-w will close it.

However, if the workbook is actually active (and there are no visual
cues as to whether the worksheet or the Help window are active),
CMD-SHIFT-w by default toggles the "Shadow On/Off" command instead.

So if you've opened Help, then done anything with the workbook (i.e., if
you've done whatever you've opened Help for), you have to click in the
Help window anyway, before you can use the unique shortcut.

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Oops - forgot a third way!

If the Help window is active, typing CMD-SHIFT-w will close it.

Oh! That's hugely useful in this situation.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

If the Help window is active, typing CMD-SHIFT-w will close it.

Oh! That's hugely useful in this situation.[/QUOTE]

Possibly, though it's still better, IMO, to reset its position.

The really ugly part is that the only way to activate the Help window is
to click somewhere in it - when it opens, the workbook window remains
active. So one HAS to pick up the mouse to dismiss the Help window, no
matter what.