DonsDeals Blog: Using Do

I tried out Gnome Do a year or more ago and didn't bother to read the How To's... So, I never got the hang of it and stopped using it. My biggest problem with the App. Was that after your initial search and action. It just closed and you would have to go find it in your Applications Menu or Add a Shortcut to your Panel or Desktop. My Top Panel is full, so couldn't put it there and I don't didn't like having Application Short Cuts on my Desktop. Made me feel like I was using Windows again:( I's been running Fedora Linux and Debian for over 6 years now and wont go back! Anyway... Today, I decided to try Gnome Do out again. I did a quick search on Google for gnome do shortcut and cam up with just what I needed to know. I had tried to read the instructions the first time I used Do. Last year or when ever it was... But it all seemed too hard to remember. But today I found this on their Wiki Page, Using Do - GNOME Do Wiki

"Once the application is running, you can summon it by pressing Super + Space. On most keyboards the super key is the same as the Windows key or the Command key. If you'd like to use a different keybinding for Do, see #Tips."

My Fedora 14 System already has a menu tied to the Super (Windows) Key. So, I changed mine to "ctrl + d". Don't hit the + key, just ctrl d. Same with the Super Key too. Now I can bring up The Do, in a Flash!:) I'm really beginning to like The "Do". You really can get around your Linux System fast with The Do App;)

Don

General Use Instructions

Start Do by selecting the GNOME Do item in the Applications > Accessories menu, or by executing the command:

$ gnome-do

Once the application is running, you can summon it by pressing Super + Space. On most keyboards the super key is the same as the Windows key or the Command key. If you'd like to use a different keybinding for Do, see #Tips.
You should see a dialog with a search icon and two panes in the center of your screen. The pane on the left is the item pane, which shows the item you have selected, and the pane on the right is the action pane, which shows the action you wish to perform on the item. Type in the left pane to search for an item, anything from programs, to contacts, to albums, to text can be used as an item. Pressing Tab will switch you from the Item pane to the Action pane, allowing you to select an action to perform on that item, by typing its name. All panes of Do have autocomplete (so you don't have to type the full name of an item or action), and active learning, so your most used items come up first when searched. Hitting Enter at any time will perform the action on the right to the item on the left, such as running a program, opening a bookmark, sending an e-mail, etc.
Certain actions, (such as copying files) require a third pane, which appears when necessary. To get to it, simply hit Tab again, and type to search as normal. The contents and purpose of the third pane depends very much on the item and action selected in the first and second pane. For example, when copying a file, it selects the destination, whereas when aliasing an item (in .5.0.1 or later), it allows you to name the alias.

Starting Applications

Launch Do and begin typing the application name - for example Rhythmbox.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2177/2115654241_56a7b7cf2c.jpg
Press enter and the selected application will launch. Be aware that Do will start matching as you type, so you shouldn't need to type the entire name.

Installing Plugins

Plugins are available through the Preferences Window. See #Changing Preferences/

Changing Preferences

You can activate the preferences window several ways.

Right click on the Notification Tray icon
Click on the triangle in the upper right corner of the Do window
There is a "Do Preferences" item in Do, running it will open the preferences window.

Tips

Do thrives on a composited desktop, so we highly recommend that you enable Desktop Effects.

To change the keybinding

Keybindings can be changed in the keyboard preferences tab.

Other shortcut keys

Pressing Tab moves to the next pane, there can be up to 3 panes.
- Shift + Tab moves you back a pane, and tabbing wraps in both directions.
Pressing esc while the window is open will close the window.
You can use the arrow keys to navigate the results list, press up and down to select different possible results, right to browse further into folders, item sources, Rhythmbox artists, etc., and left to go back a step in those same categories.
Pressing . (period) as the first key in a pane enters Text Mode, when applicable. Use it for typing larger amounts of text, or when you want to type without distractions. Do will automatically enter this mode when there are no other options than text for you to select.
Pressing Super + Space with the window already open (or whatever shortcut key you have assigned) will close the window, without executing the command.
Pressing , (comma) when selecting items will allow you to select multiple items for use with an action. The results window must be active for this to work. Use the up and down arrows to highlight an item, and press , to select it for using the action on. NOTE not all actions support working with multiple items, many times they will only work on the first or last item selected this way.
- This "comma trick" is enabled in the 3rd pane, although it is not completely functional there yet, so use at your own risk.

Make Do start without displaying its window

Check the "Hide window on first launch (quiet mode)" check box in the preferences window.

Intellihide vs Autohide

With intellihide enabled, any window in the active window group overlaps the docky interface and docky hides itself -- that is, docky is only hidden when it needs to be by the active window.
With autohide, docky is only shown when the mouse is in the area of docky and in all other cases is hidden.
Read More...
http://do.davebsd.com/wiki/Using_Do

More, To Do...