This is the first entry in what I hope will be a regular series: highlighting a useful Linux application that I use and that I think would benefit a significant number of people, as well as providing (Ubuntu-centered) installation and configuration instructions. I intend to keep a Monday/Thursday schedule, although certain events (more on those in a later post) might disrupt my schedule, as well as my general posting for the next couple of weeks.

GNOME-Do is probably one of the most useful programs for any operating system I have ever used, aside from basics such as word processing, music playing, and web browsing. It lets you search for applications and launch them, post to Twitter, control your music, open Firefox bookmarks, and even open ssh and VNC sessions, all without having to drop down into a command line.

Installation

Although the default Ubuntu repositories do carry it, their versions are relatively out of date; I recommend you use the official Do repositories. To do this, open up /etc/apt/sources.list as root (such as by typing

in a terminal) and add these two lines, replacing jaunty with hardy or intrepid as appropriate:

Then save and run

from a terminal to update your package database, and then

to install it. Users of other operating systems, or users who want to build from source, can visit the official Do wiki’s installation instructions.

Use

GNOME-Do should automatically start up whenever you log in; if it doesn’t, you might need to tell it to do so. On Ubuntu, you can do this by opening Startup Applications under System->Preferences (Sessions on older versions) and adding a new entry, putting gnome-do as the command. Once you have Do running, try pressing Super-Space (Super is usually the windows key if you have it). If this doesn’t work or you want a different keybinding, change the keybinding by right-clicking on the tray icon, selecting Preferences, and editing the ‘Summon’ shortcut. In any case, you should see a window with two search panes, the item pane on the left and the action pane on the right, appear in the center of your screen. This is Do. To launch a program, start typing its name, and eventually Do should recognize which program you want. If it doesn’t, try pressing up and down to scroll through the list. If you still don’t find it, you might need to try using a different name for it; Do pulls its names from the Ubuntu menu. For example, to launch gedit, type ‘Text Editor’. Note that you don’t need to type the entire name; all that’s necessary is that it show the proper program in the left pane. If you need to cancel, press the Escape key or press the Summon key combination again.

Plugins

Of course, Do is really useful only when combined with plugins, which can be enabled by launching ‘Preferences’ from Do (or right-clicking on the tray icon and selecting Preferences). Here are some of my personal favorites:

ssh

If you have various hosts that you ssh to often, Do can simplify the process. If you haven’t already, open up ~/.ssh/config and add the hosts in the format:

If you need more customization, read the ssh_config manpage.
Then enable the ssh plugin, and try typing the name of one of your hosts. The words ‘Connect with SSH’ should appear in the action pane; if they don’t, press tab and select them by pressing up and down. Hit enter to connect; Do will launch a terminal When you log out or the connection is lost, the terminal will auto-close. You can also type ‘Connect with SSH” or some substring in the Item pane and select the host from the action pane; you can even type in an arbitrary host and Do will try to connect to it, using any options you may have added