Expert: Amy - 2/8/2010

Question
QUESTION: Working with Illustrator version 9.  When F1 [Help] is pressed, the FireFox web browser is launched.  Do not understand how these two things are linked.  Is there a way to reintroduce the help files from the program CD?  Has this been reported by others? Seeking guidance

ANSWER: Hi again Phil.

Adobe Help use your default browser to open their offline help files. Firefox must be your default browser. If this file is missing: C:/Program Files/Adobe/Illustrator 9.0/help/help.htm

...you'll need to reinstall the help files.

Reinstall Help (Windows):

1. Exit from all applications.

2. Insert the Illustrator application CD into the CD-ROM drive. Autoplay starts. (If Autoplay does not start, open Windows Explorer, right-click the CD, and select Autoplay from the pop-up menu.)

4. Follow the on-screen instructions until the Illustrator Setup dialog box appears.

5. Select Custom.

6. For Destination Folder, select the folder where Illustrator is installed, and click Next.

7. Scroll through the list of components, and ONLY select "Help" (or similar) then click Next.

8. Click Next in the screen that displays the Current Settings list.

9. Follow the remaining on-screen instructions.

10. Restart the computer when the installation is complete.

Mac instructions found online: http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/326/326565.html

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Additionally, are there Adobe PhotoShop, AfterEffects Experts on the About.com site? Could not be found with a casual query.

Answer
Not that I know of. Try going to Adobe.com and signing up for the user forums (forums are found under Support on the Adobe home page). There's a forum discussion topic for each Adobe product. You can ask your questions there and receive answers fairly quickly.
-A