help/tutorial.html

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  12 <head>
  13 <title>Conkeror Tutorial</title>
  14 <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="chrome://conkeror-help/content/manual.css" />
  15 </head>
  16 <body>
  17 <h1>Conkeror Tutorial</h1>
  18
  19 <h3>Reading Key Notation</h3>
  20
  21 <p>
  22   The first thing you need to know about Conkeror is how to read key
  23   notation.  Each key combination is written as a hyphenated list of
  24   modifiers and key.  The codes for the common modifiers are as
  25   follows: <code class="key">C</code> means Control; <code class="key">M</code> means Meta or
  26   Alt; and <code class="key">S</code> means Shift.  Therefore the key combination
  27   <code class="key">C-M-f</code> means to hold down Control and Meta and press
  28   <code class="key">f</code>.
  29 </p>
  30
  31 <p>
  32   The key to scroll down is <code class="key">C-n</code>.  The key to scroll up is
  33   <code class="key">C-p</code>
  34 </p>
  35
  36 <p>
  37   Many commands in Conkeror are run by typing a sequence of two or
  38   more key combinations.  The notation is simple.  Each combination in
  39   the sequence is written, in order, separated by spaces.  The
  40   sequence <code class="key">C-h t</code> means to press Control-h, release all
  41   keys, then press <code class="key">t</code>.  <code class="key">C-h t</code> is the key
  42   sequence to view this tutorial.
  43 </p>
  44
  45 <p>
  46   The key sequence to exit conkeror is <code class="key">C-x C-c</code>.
  47 </p>
  48
  49 <p>
  50   <code class="key">C-g</code> is the abort key.  It is used to cancel a command
  51   from the minibuffer, or stop a web page from loading.
  52 </p>
  53
  54 <p>
  55   <code class="key">Space</code> and <code class="key">Backspace</code> scroll a page down and
  56   a page up, respectfully.
  57 </p>
  58
  59
  60 <h3>Basic Navigation</h3>
  61
  62 <p>
  63   To browse to an URL in a new content buffer, type <code class="key">C-x
  64   C-f</code>.  This key sequence works from anywhere in Conkeror.
  65   Additionally, if you are already in a content buffer (as opposed to a
  66   buffer showing download progress or help), you can navigate the current
  67   buffer to a new url with the <code class="key">g</code> (find-url) key.
  68   The mnemonic is "go".  The key sequence <code class="key">C-x C-v</code>
  69   (find-alternate-url) is also available in content buffers.  It is
  70   identical to <code class="key">g</code> except that the prompt will be
  71   pre-filled with the current URL for you to edit.
  72 </p>
  73
  74 <p>
  75   The <code class="key">B</code> key (note uppercase) is bound to
  76   the <code>back</code> command.  Practice basic navigation by
  77   typing <code class="key">g</code> and entering the text "about:" in
  78   the url prompt.  To come back to this tutorial from the about: page,
  79   type <code class="key">B</code>.
  80 </p>
  81
  82
  83 <h3>Hinting</h3>
  84
  85 <p>
  86   The system for interacting with the elements of a document is called
  87   the hinting system.  With the hinting system, you can do things like
  88   follow hyperlinks, copy URLs, focus form fields, and more.  Let's
  89   use the hinting system to follow a hyperlink.  You will receive
  90   instructions about how to return here after you follow the
  91   hyperlink.  If the numbered list and hyperlink following this
  92   paragraph are not in view, scroll so that they are.
  93 </p>
  94
  95 <ol>
  96   <li>Press <code class="key">f</code>.  (mnemonic: follow)</li>
  97   <li>The hyperlink should be hilighted, with a number on the left
  98   side.  Type that number and hit enter.</li>
  99 </ol>
 100
 101
 102 <a href="chrome://conkeror-help/content/back-forward.html">This is a
 103 hyperlink.</a>
 104
 105 <p>
 106   As a matter of fact, in addition to following links by number, you can
 107   also follow them by a substring of the link text.  You could select the
 108   link above by typing <code class="key">f t h i s</code>.  When more than
 109   one link with similar text is in view, hinting will narrow down the
 110   choices as you type.  You can always specify the one you want by
 111   disambiguating the sequence with the hint number.
 112 </p>
 113
 114 <p>
 115   But hinting is for more than just hyperlinks.  Conkeror provides
 116   several <em>hint classes</em> for operating on different types of
 117   elements.  The hint class is specified by typing the corresponding
 118   key sequence of the class before the key sequence of the command.
 119   It was not necessary to specify a hint class for following the
 120   hyperlink above because links are the default hint class for the
 121   follow command.  The following table lists the most common hint
 122   classes.
 123 </p>
 124
 125 <table>
 126   <tr><td><em>key</em></td><td><em>hint class</em></td><td><em>mnemonic</em></td></tr>
 127   <tr><td><code class="key">n</code></td><td>links and form elements</td><td>li<b>n</b>k</td></tr>
 128   <tr><td><code class="key">i</code></td><td>images</td><td><b>i</b>mage</td></tr>
 129   <tr><td><code class="key">m</code></td><td>frameset frames and top window</td><td>fra<b>m</b>e</td></tr>
 130   <tr><td><code class="key">* *</code></td><td>dom nodes</td><td>wildcard</td></tr>
 131 </table>
 132
 133 <p>
 134   In the hinting system, hint number zero (0) is special.  It refers to the
 135   current URL in the buffer.
 136 </p>
 137
 138 <p>
 139   The <code class="key">c</code> key is bound to the copy command.  Its
 140   default hint class is links.  To copy the URL of the page you are
 141   currently browsing, type <code class="key">c 0</code>.  To copy the url of
 142   a frame or iframe, type <code class="key">m c</code>.  If there is more
 143   than one frame visible, you will be prompted for a number, just as with
 144   hyperlinks.
 145 </p>
 146
 147 <p>
 148   When none of the conventional hint classes cover the element that
 149   you want to operate on, you can use the dom-nodes hint class, to
 150   choose from among all visible dom nodes.  This hint class is bound
 151   to <code class="key">* *</code>.  Try copying the text of this
 152   paragraph now by typing <code class="key">* * c</code> followed by
 153   the hint number for this paragraph.
 154 </p>
 155
 156
 157 <h3>Finding Text (Isearch)</h3>
 158 <p>
 159   <code class="key">C-s</code> invokes interactive text search mode, isearch
 160   for short.  <code class="key">C-r</code> invokes reverse isearch.  In this
 161   mode, just type the text you want to find into the minibuffer and Conkeror
 162   will search the document as you type.  To jump to the next match,
 163   hit <code class="key">C-s</code> again.  To jump to the previous match,
 164   hit <code class="key">C-r</code>.  To conclude your search,
 165   hit <code class="key">return</code>, or to abort it,
 166   press <code class="key">escape</code> or <code class="key">C-g</code>.  If
 167   you have previously concluded an isearch, you can use the
 168   keys <code class="key">S</code> and <code class="key">R</code> to jump to
 169   next and previous matches without going back into isearch mode.  This is
 170   called non-interactive resume.  To resume your last successful isearch in
 171   interactive mode, hit <code class="key">C-s</code>
 172   or <code class="key">C-r</code> twice.
 173 </p>
 174
 175 <h3>Copying Text</h3>
 176 <p>
 177   Apart from <code class="key">* * c</code> described above, there are other
 178   ways to copy text for times when what you want to copy does not neatly
 179   fill one dom node.  The process is straight-forward.  First, use isearch
 180   (<code class="key">C-s</code>) and search for the start of the text you
 181   want to copy.  When you have brought the search to the start of the text
 182   you want to copy, hit <code class="key">return</code> to conclude the
 183   search.  Although no cursor is visible, there is an invisible cursor where
 184   the search concluded.  Hold the <code class="key">shift</code> key and use
 185   the arrow keys to make a selection.  When you have selected the text you
 186   want to copy, release all keys and hit <code class="key">M-w</code> to
 187   copy the text to the clipboard.
 188 </p>
 189
 190 <p>
 191   <b>Tip:</b> Although isearch is usually the quickest way to position the
 192   cursor, there are other ways.  One of them is to use the <em>focus
 193   link</em> browser-object command (<code class="key">n ;</code>).  When you
 194   focus a link, the invisible cursor will be left at the first character of
 195   the link text, and you can use shifted arrow keys to make a selection from
 196   that point.  If the methods outlined so far are unsuitable for a situation
 197   you encounter, then you can use <code>M-x caret-mode</code> to get a small
 198   but visible blinking cursor that you can move to where you need it.
 199   Call <code>M-x caret-mode</code> again to toggle it off.
 200 </p>
 201
 202 <h3>What Next</h3>
 203 <p>
 204   Now that you've completed the tutorial, you should have the basic skills
 205   to get around on the web.  But there is so much more to learn, and
 206   always the possibility of improving your efficiency through
 207   configuration.  Start by reading
 208   the <a href="http://conkeror.org/QuickStart">QuickStart</a>, and then
 209   explore the <a href="http://conkeror.org/">Conkeror Wiki</a> on your
 210   own.  Enjoy!
 211 </p>
 212
 213 </body>
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