Open help for this page
When you need help with what you are looking at right now, open context-sensitive help. Big Picture Money opens the built-in Help window on the matching article — for example the Transactions overview when you are on the register, or Add a transaction when that dialog is open.
Prerequisites
- Big Picture Money is installed and open.
- No internet connection is required — documentation is bundled with the app.
Open help for the current screen
- Go to the page or dialog you want help with (for example Transactions, Spending, or Settings → AI assistant).
- Do one of the following:
- Press F1 (all platforms).
- On a Mac, you can also press ⇧⌘? (Shift-Command-?).
- In the title bar, click the Help icon and choose Documentation for this page.
- A separate Help window opens (or comes to the front) on the article for that context.
How the app chooses an article
| What is open | What help opens |
|---|---|
| A dialog or modal on top of a page | The article for that dialog |
| A page with no dialog | The article for that page |
| A Settings category (for example AI assistant) | The article for that category, not a generic Settings page |
| Set up budget vs Track budget | Different articles for setup and tracking |
| Nothing mapped for the surface | The documentation home page (same as Help → Documentation) |
While the Help window itself is focused, F1 and ⇧⌘? do nothing — they do not change the article or open another window.
Examples
| You are looking at | Help opens |
|---|---|
| Transactions register (no dialog) | Transactions |
| Add transaction dialog | Add a transaction |
| Spending | Spending |
| Track budget | Budgets |
| Set up budget | Set up a monthly budget |
| Settings → AI assistant | Configure AI provider |
| Settings → Export | Export and backup |
| Welcome | First steps on Home |
| Unlock | Unlock the app |
Browse instead of context help
To start from the documentation home page and browse the table of contents, choose Help → Documentation — see Open documentation.
Expected result
- On the Transactions register with no dialog open, F1 or Documentation for this page opens Help on the Transactions overview article.
- With Add transaction open, the same actions open Help on Add a transaction — not the register overview.
- On Settings → AI assistant, help opens the AI provider settings article.
- On budget setup vs track, help opens different articles.
- On Welcome, Unlock, or the license gate, help opens the matching getting-started, unlock, or licensing article.
- Help → Documentation still opens the documentation home page.
- Documentation for this page appears directly under Documentation in the Help menu.
- Unmapped surfaces open documentation home without an error.
- While the Help window has focus, F1 and ⇧⌘? do nothing.
What opens where (reference)
Use this table when you want to know which article context help targets. Titles match the Help sidebar.
| Surface | Opens article |
|---|---|
| Home | Dashboard |
| Chat | AI assistant |
| Spending | Spending |
| Budgets (track) | Budgets |
| Budgets (set up) | Set up a monthly budget |
| Goals | Goals |
| Reports hub | Reports |
| Individual report views | The matching Reports how-to (spending, income vs expense, balance over time, net worth) |
| Transactions | Transactions |
| Review queue | Work the review queue |
| Transfer review | Review transfer suggestions |
| Views | Views |
| Accounts | Accounts |
| Import | Import coverage |
| Categories & Rules | Categorization |
| Search results | Global search |
| Settings → General | Change appearance |
| Settings → License | Activate your license |
| Settings → AI assistant | Configure AI provider |
| Settings → Bank integration | Connect a financial institution |
| Settings → Export | Export and backup |
| Settings → Activity | View activity log |
| Welcome | First steps on Home |
| Unlock | Unlock the app |
| License gate | Licensing |
| Add transaction | Add a transaction |
| Edit transaction | Edit a transaction |
| Split transaction | Split a transaction |
| Choose columns | Choose register columns |
| About | View app information |
| Report an issue / Suggest a feature | Issue reporting |