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 have Conkeror prompt you for an URL and navigate there, type
  64   <code class="key">g</code>.  The mnemonic is "go".  A similar command,
  65   <code class="key">find-alternate-url</code>, is called with the sequence
  66   <code class="key">C-x C-v</code>.  When find-alternate-url prompts you for an
  67   url, the prompt will be pre-filled with the url of the current
  68   buffer, so you can edit it.
  69 </p>
  70
  71 <p>
  72   The <code class="key">B</code> key (note uppercase) is bound to
  73   the <code>back</code> command.  Practice basic navigation by
  74   typing <code class="key">g</code> and entering the text "about:" in
  75   the url prompt.  To come back to this tutorial from the about: page,
  76   type <code class="key">B</code>.
  77 </p>
  78
  79
  80 <h3>Hinting</h3>
  81
  82 <p>
  83   The system for interacting with the elements of a document is called
  84   the hinting system.  With the hinting system, you can do things like
  85   follow hyperlinks, copy URLs, focus form fields, and more.  Let's
  86   use the hinting system to follow a hyperlink.  You will receive
  87   instructions about how to return here after you follow the
  88   hyperlink.  If the numbered list and hyperlink following this
  89   paragraph are not in view, scroll so that they are.
  90 </p>
  91
  92 <ol>
  93   <li>Press <code class="key">f</code>.  (mnemonic: follow)</li>
  94   <li>The hyperlink should be hilighted, with a number on the left
  95   side.  Type that number and hit enter.</li>
  96 </ol>
  97
  98
  99 <a href="chrome://conkeror-help/content/back-forward.html">This is a
 100 hyperlink.</a>
 101
 102 <p>
 103   As a matter of fact, in addition to following links by number, you can
 104   also follow them by a substring of the link text.  You could select the
 105   link above by typing <code class="key">f t h i s</code>.  When more than
 106   one link with similar text is in view, hinting will narrow down the
 107   choices as you type.  You can always specify the one you want by
 108   disambiguating the sequence with the hint number.
 109 </p>
 110
 111 <p>
 112   But hinting is for more than just hyperlinks.  Conkeror provides
 113   several <em>hint classes</em> for operating on different types of
 114   elements.  The hint class is specified by typing the corresponding
 115   key sequence of the class before the key sequence of the command.
 116   It was not necessary to specify a hint class for following the
 117   hyperlink above because links are the default hint class for the
 118   follow command.  The following table lists the most common hint
 119   classes.
 120 </p>
 121
 122 <table>
 123   <tr><td><em>key</em></td><td><em>hint class</em></td><td><em>mnemonic</em></td></tr>
 124   <tr><td><code class="key">n</code></td><td>links and form elements</td><td>li<b>n</b>k</td></tr>
 125   <tr><td><code class="key">i</code></td><td>images</td><td><b>i</b>mage</td></tr>
 126   <tr><td><code class="key">m</code></td><td>frameset frames and top window</td><td>fra<b>m</b>e</td></tr>
 127   <tr><td><code class="key">* *</code></td><td>dom nodes</td><td>wildcard</td></tr>
 128 </table>
 129
 130 <p>
 131   In the hinting system, hint number zero (0) is special.  It refers to the
 132   current URL in the buffer.
 133 </p>
 134
 135 <p>
 136   The <code class="key">c</code> key is bound to the copy command.  Its
 137   default hint class is links.  To copy the URL of the page you are
 138   currently browsing, type <code class="key">c 0</code>.  To copy the url of
 139   a frame or iframe, type <code class="key">m c</code>.  If there is more
 140   than one frame visible, you will be prompted for a number, just as with
 141   hyperlinks.
 142 </p>
 143
 144 <p>
 145   When none of the conventional hint classes cover the element that
 146   you want to operate on, you can use the dom-nodes hint class, to
 147   choose from among all visible dom nodes.  This hint class is bound
 148   to <code class="key">* *</code>.  Try copying the text of this
 149   paragraph now by typing <code class="key">* * c</code> followed by
 150   the hint number for this paragraph.
 151 </p>
 152
 153
 154 <h3>Finding Text (Isearch)</h3>
 155 <p>
 156   <code class="key">C-s</code> invokes interactive text search mode, isearch
 157   for short.  <code class="key">C-r</code> invokes reverse isearch.  In this
 158   mode, just type the text you want to find into the minibuffer and Conkeror
 159   will search the document as you type.  To jump to the next match,
 160   hit <code class="key">C-s</code> again.  To jump to the previous match,
 161   hit <code class="key">C-r</code>.  To conclude your search,
 162   hit <code class="key">return</code>, or to abort it,
 163   press <code class="key">escape</code> or <code class="key">C-g</code>.  If
 164   you have previously concluded an isearch, you can use the
 165   keys <code class="key">S</code> and <code class="key">R</code> to jump to
 166   next and previous matches without going back into isearch mode.  This is
 167   called non-interactive resume.  To resume your last successful isearch in
 168   interactive mode, hit <code class="key">C-s</code>
 169   or <code class="key">C-r</code> twice.
 170 </p>
 171
 172 <h3>Copying Text</h3>
 173 <p>
 174   Apart from <code class="key">* * c</code> described above, there are other
 175   ways to copy text for times when what you want to copy does not neatly
 176   fill one dom node.  The process is straight-forward.  First, use isearch
 177   (<code class="key">C-s</code>) and search for the start of the text you
 178   want to copy.  When you have brought the search to the start of the text
 179   you want to copy, hit <code class="key">return</code> to conclude the
 180   search.  Although no cursor is visible, there is an invisible cursor where
 181   the search concluded.  Hold the <code class="key">shift</code> key and use
 182   the arrow keys to make a selection.  When you have selected the text you
 183   want to copy, release all keys and hit <code class="key">M-w</code> to
 184   copy the text to the clipboard.
 185 </p>
 186
 187 <p>
 188   <b>Tip:</b> Although isearch is usually the quickest way to position the
 189   cursor, there are other ways.  One of them is to use the <em>focus
 190   link</em> browser-object command (<code class="key">n ;</code>).  When you
 191   focus a link, the invisible cursor will be left at the first character of
 192   the link text, and you can use shifted arrow keys to make a selection from
 193   that point.  If the methods outlined so far are unsuitable for a situation
 194   you encounter, then you can use <code>M-x caret-mode</code> to get a small
 195   but visible blinking cursor that you can move to where you need it.
 196   Call <code>M-x caret-mode</code> again to toggle it off.
 197 </p>
 198
 199 </body>
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