A hand-held image capture and communication appliance and method of using same are provided wherein images may be scanned and saved in an internal memory. The appliance includes a processor for manipulating and exhibiting the images on a built-in display screen. Program code stored in the internal memory includes a help utility module that allows the user to obtain information on operating the various features of the appliance. The help utility module includes code segments for displaying a textual dialog and/or an animation that convey information correlated with the help topics. Advantageously, animation can be used to demonstrate features that would be difficult to explain in words or would require a lengthy dialog. For those topics requiring a more extensive textual explanation or if it is desired to combine a textual discussion with an animation, the help utility module includes a code segment for scrolling the display to communicate multiple screens or pages of information to the user.