Visit our new web pages

We have launched a new extended set of web pages at www.alvechurchdata.co.uk. These old pages will stay on the server because people still have links to them but they will not be updated.

The new version of this page is at www.alvechurchdata.co.uk/hints-and-tips/accassist.html.

Remove the Assistant

When you first start working with Access, the Office Assistant is genuinely useful. After a while though, the animated paperclip becomes a nuisance and you'll want to go straight to the Help topics without waiting for the Assistants to appear. Removing the Assistant is straightforward:

• Press F1 to make the Assistant appear.
• Right-click on the Assistant and pick Options.
• Pick the Options page on the dialog that appears.
• Untick the 'Respond to F1' check box.
• Click OK on the dialog.
• Right-click on the Assistant again and pick Hide.

The Assistant will vanish. The next time that you press F1, Help will appear immediately. If you do want to see the Assistant again, pick Microsoft Access Help from the Help menu.