>SNIP
>>
>>I also don't like waiting for the Help to come up. I suppose this allows us to always have the latest Help. I haven't ever tried Help when not connected to the Internet so I don't even know what happens in that circumstance.
>
>Cindy,
>
>I finally got around to checking this out and there is Help locally when the Internet connection is down.
>
>They probably even have a way to reverse the sequence, or to make Internet optional altogether. But, like anything else MS, finding such stuff is a matter of luck for most of us.
>

To look for help locally:
  Open Help (in any Office product.)
  Click on "Online Content Settings."
  Uncheck the option to "Show Content and Links from Microsoft Office Online".

I agree that the default should have been NOT to go online.