Obtaining Help Online

If one were to really stop and think about it, there are a vast number of resources available at your fingertips for obtaining help with your Mac® or Mac OS X. These include:

  • Help built-into Mac OS X and your applications.
  • Help available on your applications' vendors' Web sites.
  • The AppleCare® Knowledge Base, Frequently Asked Questions, and Discussions.
  • The Internet, including numerous Web sites dedicated to the Mac and Mac OS X.

This FAQ — from a corresponding chapter in our book Troubleshooting Mac OS X — provides step-by-step instructions for obtaining help online by effectively using these resources.

Questions about using your Mac

The first place to look for help about using your Mac is the Help Viewer.

Select Finder > Help > Mac Help.

Questions about third-party applications

  • Review the application's help. In the application, go to the menu bar, select Help, then select one of the application's Help options.
  • Next, consult the application vendor's Web site. Most vendors provide a Support link on their home page. This usually leads to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), their own knowledge base, their hosted user-to-user discussions, and other information about obtaining support for the application.

Questions not answered in Mac Help

  1. Search the AppleCare® Knowledge Base. It is very likely that the answer to your question is already in the Knowledge Base.
  2. Next, familiarize yourself with the many categories of AppleCare Discussions available by reviewing the Discussions home page. You can search all of the Discussions at once by typing your search criteria into the Search field at the top of the Discussions home page.
  3. Select the category of Discussions most appropriate to your question. For example, if you have a hardware question about your Power Mac®, select the Power Mac Discussions. Then select the appropriate subcategory of Power Mac discussion matching the type of Power Mac computer you have.
  4. Likewise, for help with applications such as iCal™ and Safari™, select the Discussion dedicated to the application for which you are seeking help.
  5. Next, review or search the FAQ sections of the Discussion category you selected in step (3). For example, if you selected Mac OS X, review or search the Mac OS X FAQs or the User Tips Library.
  6. If none of the FAQs answered your question, search the Discussion category you selected in step (3). It is likely that your question has already been asked and answered. By searching you will find the answer faster than posting a new question and waiting for a response.
  7. If you've still not found the answer:
    • If there is an existing Topic describing the problem, post your question and related information to that Topic by selecting the Reply link at the top of the Topic. This will help provide additional data to assist others trying to resolve the problem, and consolidate all data related to the problem in a single Topic.
    • If no Topic describes your problem, post a new question by selecting the Add Topic link in the Discussion.

When posting to Apple® Discussions, be sure to:

  • Adhere to the Terms and Conditions of Apple Discussions.
  • Familiarize yourself with Discussions Help so you know your way around.
  • Provide complete information about your system in order to get an answer quickly. By providing complete information on the system in question, others will be better equipped to help you resolve the problem. Include the following:
    • Complete the computer-related sections of your Apple ID profile by clicking My Settings in the Welcome... box in the top-right border of any Discussions page. Include your Mac's model, installed RAM, hard drive size, Mac OS version, and list any relevant peripherals.
    • Select the Show information about your computer check box below the text input field for the post.
    • If you have listed multiple systems in your Preferences, specify which system is giving you problems, including any additional details about that system which may be relevant.
  • Provide a meaningful subject line for your post that describes the problem succinctly.
  • Subject lines such as Help! convey nothing useful. A well-crafted subject line — Kernel panic on start up or Grinding noise from hard drive — describes the problem succinctly and will attract the attention of those with expertise in that problem.
  • Provide a complete description of the problem:
    • Describe, step-by-step: what you did, what happened, and what you expected to happen. If the problem is repeatable, include steps describing how one might reproduce it.
    • Describe the steps you have already taken to solve the problem.
    • Describe any changes you made to your Mac before the problem arose.
    • If the problem involves a third-party application, specify the version of that application.
    • If the problem involves third-party hardware, include the manufacturer's name and the product's model name and number.
    • Note anything special about the Mac, or the affected account on the Mac in question, that may be helpful. For example:
      • Are Parental Controls enabled on affected the account?
      • Are you using multiple monitors or a processor upgrade card?
      • Has the Users folder or the affected account been moved to another volume?
  • Neatness counts! If you want an answer to your question, make your post easy to read:
    • Write in paragraphs and include white space between them. Long posts that consist of a single block of text are difficult to read and hence often ignored.
    • Write in proper mixed case, with attention to proper punctuation and spelling. Your post is intended to obtain help: it is not a ransom letter.
    • If you intend to pose multiple questions in a post, number each question individually. This makes it easier for someone to respond by the numbers, tying their answers to your questions without the need to quote the text of your question in their reply in order to match it with their answer.
  • Preview your post before submitting it. If you find you have made errors in your post, make corrections accordingly.

Other sources of help online

  1. Search Google™ or Google Mac. You'll be amazed to find how many answers to Mac-related questions can be found on the World Wide Web.
  2. In addition to Apple Discussions and The X Lab, there are many other Mac-dedicated Web sites. For example:
    • Two excellent sites dedicated to Mac OS X are Mac OS X Hints and OSXFAQ.
    • MacWindows provides outstanding information on integrating Macs with PCs running Microsoft® Windows®.
    • There are also subscription-based services like MacFixIt.com®.
    • Searching Google Mac or consulting the X-Links will help you find others.

Related Links
Did you find this FAQ helpful? You will find a wealth of additional advice for preventing or resolving Mac OS X problems in Dr. Smoke's book, Troubleshooting Mac® OS X.
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