To aid the users Test Tool provides a variety of help options including a help index, how-to's, a simple search for topics. The help index consists of a list of alphabetically arranged topics is provided for the user to browse through. A number of how-to tutorials provide the user guides for the more common processes used in the program. The search feature looks for a keyword and return all the topics found to be associated with that keyword.
Figure 2.12.a - The Index of Help Topics
The index lists all the main topics in hierarchical alphabetical order. An example of the index and its organization is shown in figure 2.12.a. In the figure the "User Interface Overview" is the highest level topic. Below it, in alphabetical order, are its main subsections. Under each of these subsections are more subsections in alphabetical order. If a user decides to view a particular topic he or she can click the display button and a description will come up as shown in figure 2.12.b. The yellow display box can be viewed and closed but not edited.
Figure 2.12.b - Index of Help topics with "Generating a Simple Test" selected. The user has clicked the "Display" button.
If the section to be displayed has subsections they will be displayed as well. The simple design is helpful for users who know exactly which section or subsection they are looking for. For users who do not know exactly what part of the help document they need can use the search function mentioned below instead of the index.
Figure 2.12.c - The "How To" option dialog box.
A How-To tutorial has a subject listed by section and subsections similar to the layout of the index. The difference between the how-to and the index is that the how-to includes detailed instructions on the use of each feature. These instructions include both text and pictures to help the user avoid confusion regarding how to perform particular operations. Due to the length of the tutorials each subsection can be expanded to show all details or condensed to allow the user to focus on other parts of the tutorial. Figure 2.12.c shows a dialog box with a tutorial on how to import files into a question.
Figure 2.12.d - An empty "Search" option dialog box.
The search feature is similar to the index but allows the user to find an topic by searching for it. The user types the keyword to be searched for in the text box next to the words 'Type in word(s) to search for.' Next to 'Search Results' the number of related topics found in the search are displayed. The box below 'Search Results' is divided into three parts; title, location, and rank. As the name states the 'Title' field displays the name of each topic related to the keyword used in the search. The 'Location' column displays the section of the help document in which the topic was found. The 'Rank' column assigns a value to each result based on it's relevance. The value assigned to a result is not exclusive as two or more result may have the same rank. Figure 2.12.d shows an empty search form form the help section.
Figure 2.12.e - A filled in "Search" option dialog box.
Figure 2.12.e shows a search dialog box in which the user has entered the word "Question" into the text box and has clicked on the 'Search' button. Next to 'Search Results' the number ten is displayed to indicate that there are ten topics matching the word "Question". Under the column labeled 'Title' is a list of the topics that have been found relating to the search keyword. The 'Location' column states the general section in which the corresponding topic was found. The 'Rank' column displays bullets in a range from one to five to indicate how closely the topic found matches the keyword that was searched for. In the example in figure 2.12.e shows that each topic displayed is located in the "Database Options" section and has a rank of five bullets.
Figure 2.12.f - A filled in "Search" option dialog box with the first result selected and the display button clicked.
Once the user finds the search result that best matches the topic that was searched for he or she can select the topic by click on the row containing the topic. Once a topic has been selected it is highlighted as shown in figure 2.12.f. To view a highlighted topic the user presses display, bringing up the yellow view box as in figure 2.12.f. This box can only be viewed and close. In order to get a more detailed explanation of how to perform a certain operation the user must use the "how to" feature described above.