Help and Support Center

Help and Support Center is an application for getting online/offline help about Windows basics and tutorials about certain functionalities, applications and services included with Windows.

In MS-DOS
Help first started with a basic command on MS-DOS that shows the commands list and how to use them with parameters.

History
In Windows, the Help application debuted as Windows Help ( or  in Windows 3.0. A 32-bit variant  shipped with Windows NT 3.1 up to Windows NT 4.0 and was also ported to Windows 95. WinHelp was enhanced with HTML capability in Windows 98 and was consequently renamed HTML Help . It's successor, the Help and Support Center  debuted in Windows Me build 2358 under the name Help Center as part of the Activity Centers, while the old Help application was kept for compatibility purposes. All help applications include tutorials to help the user get started with using the computer. The app would receive an overhaul in Windows Vista  and be discontinued with Windows 10's release, as attempting to open its executable will not do anything and opening its link there will open up Microsoft Edge instead with the Microsoft Support website.

Location
In Windows 3.0 and Windows 3.1, it is located in the Help menu of Program Manager.

In Windows 95 to Windows 7, it is located in the start menu.

In Windows 8 and 8.1, the user can find it by using Search by typing Help and Support or by navigating to the all apps section of the start screen and clicking on "Windows Help & Support".

In Windows Vista to Windows 11 (with the new command bar disabled), open up an Explorer window and click on the question mark symbol.

The user can press F1 in most cases, but sometimes it takes the user to the application's help itself.

Index
All versions of Help and Support Center since Windows 3.0 have a search index in which the user can use to find a topic they are looking for.