In SOLIDWORKS 3DEXPERIENCE Solutions we introduce a new user assistance system that is designed to deliver relevant help and information without having to leave the app or even your workflow. The key concept is progressive disclosure, which scales the amount and detail of information delivered to you based on your behavior. The system is composed of three main parts:

• Tooltips
• User Assistance Panel (Embedded Help)
• 3DEXPERIENCE User Assistance Portal

Let’s take a closer look at each component and how they all work together:

Tooltips appear automatically when you move your mouse pointer over an Action Bar or contextual toolbar button, controls in dialogs, handles in the Work Area, and most other items in the user interface. Tooltips are useful for getting quick overviews on commands and controls without having to leave your workflow or search through help. The tool tip can also expand after a brief pause to display more detailed information. Tooltips can also include graphics and even animations.

Embedded Help appears in the user assistance panel, docked to the right side of the work area. When you start a command, or press F1 while a command is active or from a tooltip, the user assistance panel automatically switches to the relevant topic.

You can view the user assistance panel 3 different ways:

• Move your mouse pointer over the ? tab, located on the right side of the work area. When you move the mouse pointer away from ?, the panel closes automatically. You can pin the panel to keep it open. To do this, click <, which changes to > to indicate that the panel is pinned open. Click > again to change back to auto-hide.
• Press F1 while a command is active. You can also press F1 when a tool tip containing the message “Press F1 for more info” is visible, which is useful for viewing the help topic for a command while another one is active. This action will pin the user assistance panel open.
• Click ? in the 3DEXPERIENCE top bar and click Help. You can use this method to view the help topic for the currently active command or to return to a help topic if you used F1 from a tooltip to view help for a non-active command. This action will pin the help panel open.

You can disable and enable the user assistance panel using the SOLIDWORKS Help button located in the Tools section of the Action Bar.

The system remembers the state of the user assistance panel, so when you re-enable the panel, it remembers the width, and whether it was pinned open.

The User Assistance Portal is a web-based help system that contains the full documentation for 3DEXPERIENCE solutions, and is where you find more traditional in-depth help content. To open the user assistance portal, click ? then click User Guides in the top bar, or press F1 or ? and then click Help when no commands are running or tooltips visible. You can also open the web help using the hyperlink in the user assistance panel welcome page when no commands are active.

You can also visit https://help.3ds.com using your web browser, although you might have to sign in using your DS Passport.