For many, among the frustrating interface changes Apple elected to make in Leopard, one stands out as the work of the devil incarnate: the new floaty Help window. The problem is that, since it’s no longer a standalone application, the window often obscures the very program that you, say, need help with. Plus it occasionally behaves in other unwindowlike fashions (try hitting Exposé, for example—where’d it go?).
Should you want to return to the glory days of pre-10.5 madness, you should know that it’s possible, if not for the faint of heart. If you don’t mind diving in with both feet into Apple’s Developer Tools, check out this tip over at Mac OS X Hints on how to bring the Help Viewer back down to earth. Although, as proprietor Rob “Macho Man” Griffiths suggests, it’s probably wise to backup the Help Viewer application before engaging in surgery of this kind.
This procedure will also change Help Viewer’s digital signature, as Rob points out, but as to whether or not that will cause serious side effects (such as nausea, dizziness, and death), the verdict’s not in yet. Proceed at your own risk.
