The ever-present Help menu in your Mac's menu bar is an easily overlooked aspect of macOS, but it's home to some surprising and extremely handy features that every user can benefit from.

how to use macos help menu
Apart from being a useful first port of call for any queries you may have about the application in use or your Mac in general, it also serves as a menu navigator. Let's take a closer look.

How to Use the Mac Help Menu

You can use the keyboard shortcut Command-Shift-/ to quickly access the macOS Help Menu. At the top of the Help menu is a Search field for typing in the subject you need help with. Below this, you'll also see a direct link to the help documentation for the currently active application, which is useful for looking up topics manually.

how to use macos help menu 2
If it's an Apple app you're using, search results come from the official macOS User Guide, while the direct help link below the search field takes you straight to the relevant section of the guide, or in the case of Finder, the main contents page.

how to use macos help 3
It's important to remember that if the active app is a third-party one, the contents of the Help menu can differ depending on how much effort the developer has put into it. For example, some apps may include FAQs, manuals, or links to online help, while others may offer very little.

How to Use Help's Action Search Feature

Another neat built-in feature of the Help menu is its ability to point to available actions in other menus for the currently active app.

how to use macos help menu 4
Next time you type into the Help menu's Search field, check to see if the results include any Menu Items. Hover over one of these with your mouse, and macOS will locate the action for you by pointing an arrow at it in the corresponding menu. Hit Enter, and the action will be performed for you.

how to use macos help menu 5

Depending on the app, this feature can even extend to contextual menu functions. For instance, you can use Safari's Help field to search your bookmarks and recent browsing history for keywords to quickly navigate back to web pages. Next time you're in your favorite app, try out its Help menu functions to see how deeply they've been implemented.

Related Forums: macOS High Sierra, macOS Mojave

Top Rated Comments

edgonzalez32 Avatar
edgonzalez32
72 months ago
How to call Apple Support.
How to read MacRumors help articles.
How to read English.
Don't bash. When I first got a Mac In 07, after graduating hs, I had no one to show me how to do the simplest of tasks. And I know my way around a computer.

Tips like these are valuable to almost anyone. If they're not to you, there's no reason to be rude.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacHiavelli Avatar
MacHiavelli
72 months ago

You can use the keyboard shortcut Command-Shift-/ to quickly access the macOS Help Menu. At the top of the Help menu is a Search field for typing in the subject you need help with. Below this, you'll also see a direct link to the help documentation for the currently active application, which is useful for looking up topics manually.
According to Apple, you're inadvertently giving key commands incorrectly. For Help, it should be COMMAD QUESTION MARK, not COMMAND SHIFT SLASH. This (1) makes sense as the user wants to ask a question in looking for help, and (2) the slash and the question mark aren't always positioned together on all keyboards, so telling people to type COMMAND SHIFT SLASH might well lead them up a blind alley.

https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/macos/user-interaction/keyboard/



Attachment Image
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
ArtOfWarfare
72 months ago
How to call Apple Support.
How to read MacRumors help articles.
How to read English.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sailmac Avatar
sailmac
72 months ago
These articles may seem trivial to users who already know the commands, tips, and tricks being explained. In my case, I've been using Macs regularly since 1990 and appreciate learning things I didn't know, along with reminders about things I've forgotten. Thanks, MR.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
szw-mapple fan Avatar
szw-mapple fan
72 months ago
The help menu search is one of my favorite things about macOS. You can just hit the keyboard shortcut and start typing what you want. Really handy when you want something quickly without knowing which menu it’s under.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheFluffyDuck Avatar
TheFluffyDuck
72 months ago
This is pretty meta guys
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
Read Full Article • 136 comments
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Read Full Article • 129 comments
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
Read Full Article • 492 comments
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
Read Full Article • 66 comments
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...
Read Full Article • 38 comments
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
Read Full Article • 133 comments