Explanation

This page is where everyone can edit the content of Ubiquity's built-in interactive tutorial.

(You can try out this tutorial in action if you install Ubiquity from the latest source-code checkout, by using the 'help command or going to the about:ubiquity page.)

The tutorial is divided into short segments of text, each one containing instructions. (I've numbered the text segments on this page -- those numbers don't appear when the tutorial is running.) When the tutorial is running, it pauses after showing each segment of text and waits until the user has completed the instructions before proceeding.

On this page, I've put everything that is actually part of the tutorial contents text in

boxes like this one

so that it will not get mixed up with the commentary text, which is outside of the boxes.

Once everybody has hacked on the contents here to their satisfaction, I will put them back into the source code.

Tutorial Contents

Part 1 of 6: How to Start Ubiquity

1

Ubiquity Tutorial, part 1 of 6: How to start Ubiquity

Welcome to the Ubiquity tutorial.

Let's get started.  To summon Ubiquity, do this now:

Hold down the keyCombo[0] key and tap the keyCombo[1]  key.

(Note: keyCombo[0] and keyCombo[1] are replaced automatically with the current keystroke settings.)

2

(At this point, the tutorial adds a visual indication to the input box part of the ubiquity panel.)

This is the Ubiquity input box.  You can type commands here.

If you want to get out of Ubiquity without
giving a command, tap the Escape key.  Try that now.

Part 2 of 6: Weather command and Previews

3

Ubiquity Tutorial, part 2 of 6: Weather command and Previews

OK, so now let's learn a command. Summon Ubiquity again...

(Remember, hold down the keyCombo[0]  key and tap the keyCombo[1]  key.)

(Note: keyCombo[0] and keyCombo[1] are replaced automatically with the current keystroke settings.)

4

(Visual indication on the input box again.)

Now type the word weather...

5

(Visual indication on the preview area this time.)

Even before you're done typing, the preview area
shows a preview of the results of your command — in this case, a 
weather report.

If you don't enter a location, the weather command takes a
guess where you are.

Now let's give it a location: type a space, and then the word
Chicago.

6

See how that works?  Feel free to delete
"chicago" and try some other locations.

When you're done checking the weather, hit the escape key.

Part 3 of 6: Calculate command and Abbreviations

7

Ubiquity Tutorial, part 3 of 6: Calculate command and Abbreviations

Summon Ubiquity again, and we'll learn some more commands.

8

(Visual indication on the input box.)

This time, type just the letter 'c'
(lower-case) and see what happens.

9

(Visual indication on the suggestion list.)

The Ubiquity suggestion list displays all of
the commands that start with the letter 'C'.

Let's say you want the calculate command.  You don't have
to type the whole command name.  Just type the letter 'A'
(so that your input says 'ca').

10

(Indication on the input box.)

Now type a space, and then type 22/7
(so that your input says 'ca 22/7'.)

11

(Visual indication on the preview area.)

The calculate command will show you the
result of any arithmetic expression you type in.

When you're done experimenting with calculate, hit the 
escape key.

Part 4 of 6: Wikipedia command and the suggestion list

12

Ubiquity Tutorial, part 4 of 6: Wikipedia command and the suggestion list

Summon Ubiquity again...

13

(Visual indication on the input box.)

Type the letter 'W', a space, and the word 'cheese'.

(Like, 'w cheese').

14

(Visual indication on the suggestion list.)

Now tap the down-arrow key until the wikipedia command is
hilighted.

15

(Visual indication on the preview area.)

The Wikipedia command preview shows a snippet
from each article on Wikipedia matching your search term.

Those article titles are links — you can click on one of them to 
open the article in a new page.

When you're done, close that page and come back here, or just tap
escape to move on with the tutorial.

Part 5 of 6: Selecting and Executing

16

Part 5 of 6: Selecting and Executing

If you select text on a web page before summoning Ubiquity, then 
you can have your commands do things to the selected text.

Let's see an example. Use the mouse to select the Japanese text
below. Then summon Ubiquity.

The box below shows:

アドオンを選んで、自分だけのブラウザをつくろう。

17

Now issue the translate command.

(type 'translate', or just 'tr').

18

At this point, you could type in some words that you want to have
Ubiquity translate.  But as you can see in the preview
area, Ubiquity is already translating the words that you have
selected.

Next, tap the enter key to execute the command.

19

Notice how the Japanese text that you selected was
replaced with the translation.  That's because you executed
the command by pressing 'enter'.

Each command does something different when you execute it.  Most
often, it will open a new page, or change something on the current
page.
   
Click here to continue.

20

Let's do one more example.  Say you're browsing the
web and you come across an unfamiliar word... like the one in the box
below.

Select the word in the box below and then summon Ubiquity.

The box below shows:

aglet

21

You don't want to translate this word, you want to
look it up.  So issue the google command (type 'google'
or just 'goo').

22

Now, if the preview of the google command
tells you what you want to know, then you're done — you can dismiss
Ubiquity and go on your way.

But if you want more information, you can tap the enter key to 
execute the google command, which will open the search results
in a new page.

It's up to you.

Part 6 of 6: Getting Help and Learning More Commands

23

 Part 6 of 6: Getting Help and Learning More Commands

So far you've learned the weather, calculate, 
wikipedia, translate, and google commands.
That's a good start, but there are dozens more commands
included with Ubiquity — plus you can find more on the Web.

How will you find out what commands are available?

One way is by using the help command.

Summon Ubiquity...

24

Suppose you want to know if there are any commands
that deal with tabs.  You can use the help command like this:

type 'help tab'.

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In the suggestion list, you can see all of the commands
that have 'tab' in their names.

Use the arrow keys to move through the suggestion list.  The preview
area shows help information about each command that you highlight.

When you're done, tap escape.

26

Finally, there's the command-list command.  This command will take
you to a page that shows every command Ubiquity has installed.  You can
learn all sorts of useful things by browsing the command-list page!

This is the end of the tutorial. Once you go to the command-list
page, you are on your own to experiment and learn new commands at your
own pace.

Summon Ubiquity, issue 'command-list', and tap the enter key to execute.

Good-bye!

Labs/Ubiquity/Interactive Tutorial Workspace

Contents