Changing the Office Assistant

Summary: How to change the Office Assistant character in Word. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, and Word 2003.)

Some days you feel like a paper clip, other days you feel like a genius or a dog. You can change the Office Assistant used by Word to reflect your moods, if you so desire. To do so, follow these steps:

If the Office Assistant is not visible on your screen, asking you what you would like to know, press F1. If the Office Assistant still does not display, choose Show the Office Assistant from the Help menu.
The Office Assistant should be displayed under a cartoon balloon that has two or three buttons at the bottom. If so, click on the Options button. If not, right-click on the Office Assistant and choose Options from the resulting Context menu. Either way, Word displays the Office Assistant dialog box.
Click on the Gallery tab. (Click here to see a related figure.)
Scroll through the available Office Assistant characters by using the Back and Next buttons.
When you find an assistant you like, click on OK.

Tip #1890 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

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