The RAD Studio Help includes conceptual overviews, procedural how-to's, and reference information, allowing you to navigate from general to more specific information as needed.  

Additionally, the persistent navigation panes in the Help window make it easier to locate and filter information. By default, no filter is set, allowing you to view all of the installed Help. However, to narrow the focus when searching the Help or using the index, use the Filter by: drop-down list on the Content, Search, and Index panes. To display the navigation panes, use the ViewNavigation menu command.

pane, click the Sync Contents button on the toolbar of the CodeGear Help viewer.

The conceptual overviews provide information about product architecture, components, and tools that simplify development. If you are new to a particular area of development, such as modeling or ADO.NET, see the overview topic at the beginning of each section in the online Help.  

At the end of most of the overviews, you will find links to related, more detailed information. Icons are used to indicate that a link leads to the partner Help, or to a web site. The icons are explained later in this topic.

The how-to procedures provide step-by-step instructions. For development tasks that include several subtasks, there are core procedures, which include the subtasks required to accomplish a larger task. If you are beginning a development project and want to know what steps are involved, see the core procedure for the area you are working on. In addition to the core procedures, there are several single-task procedures.  

All the procedures are listed under Procedures in the Content pane of the Help window. Additionally, most of the conceptual overviews provide links to the pertinent procedures.

The reference topics provides detailed information on subjects such as API elements, the Delphi language, and compiler directives. 

All of the reference topics are located under Reference in the Content pane of the Help window. Additionally, most API references are underlined and link directly to the appropriate reference topic.

Context sensitive Help is available throughout the IDE by selecting an item and pressing F1:

• In the Code Editor, select and highlight the entire element, such as a namespace, keyword, or method
• On a form Design tab, select the component
• In the Messages window, select a message
• Within IDE windows, such as the Project Manager or Model View, click within the window

on an element that is part of the VCL displays the RAD Studio Help. Pressing F1 on an element that is part of the Microsoft Windows Platform SDK framework displays the Microsoft Windows Platform SDK Help.

RAD Studio is distributed with the Microsoft Platform SDK, which includes extensive online Help. Where appropriate, the RAD Studio Help provides links to the SDK online Help. Alternatively, you can access the SDK Help directly from the Contents pane of this Help system.

CodeGear offers a variety of support options to meet the needs of its diverse developer community. To find out about support, refer to www.borland.com/devsupport. From the web site, you can access many newsgroups where developers exchange information, tips, and techniques. The site also includes a list of books, technical documents, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Additionally, you can access the CodeGear Developer Network.

The RAD StudioQuick Start guide provides an overview of the RAD Studio development environment to help you install and start using the product right away. The Quick Start guide is shipped along with your product.

The following typographic conventions are used throughout the RAD Studio online Help.  

Typographic conventions  

Microsoft Help on Help 

Finding Information with the Index