The user can then use the detailed help system to investigate how to perform certain tasks and use certain pieces of functionality provided through the AMC Research Mapping site's many interactive maps. It is not, however, designed to provide information regarding interpretation of the information presented. To learn more about how the Appalachian Mountain Club uses Geographic Information System (GIS) technology in researching landscape ecology, visit About This Site.
The Help system has an index, a Table of Contents, a search function, and an area devoted to the Help content itself. The index, Table of Contents, and the Getting Started page all provide means to locate specific help topics quickly.
The Getting Started page contains a "clickable" image map that will link the various Graphical User Interface (GUI) elements to specific topics in the Help system. Every topic page has a link in the footer that will return the user to the Getting Started page. Users are encouraged to click back and forth between the image map and the topics of interest to get familiar with the GUI.
The Table of Contents presents the Help system topics in a standardized
expandable chapter type interface. The
book images 
each represent a chapter of topics that can
be expanded 
to display the list of topics related to
the chapter. Simply
clicking on the topic title will open the topic for review.
The index contains key words that can help a user locate a topic related to the search string. For example a user can enter "visibility" in the index search box and get a listing of words like it. The words are, in turn, linked to the topics containing them.
The search function provides keyword search capabilities against all of the Help system topics. Results of the search operation are, in turn, linked to the topics containing them.
