Tutorials/Introduction to the Sugar Interface

• You can run Sugar in several ways:

  See Ways to run Sugar.

• Read the FAQ's on Sugar (Listed on the sidebar of all wiki pages.)

Note for all screenshots below:
Click on the screenshot to to see an enlarged version, then use your browser's back arrow to return here.

First Start screens

When Sugar is started for the first time it boots to a screen that shows:

First screen, where you enter a name

• NAME:(_____________)

_________________________(=>Next)

• Click on (=>Next) and Sugar goes to the

Second screen where you choose your XO "avatar" colors

• _______Click to change color:

• ______________XO

• (<= Back)____________(=>Done)

(The color of the central XO avatar changes each time it is clicked.)

These screens set the name and color of your XO "avatar" and generate a unique ssh user key for this Sugar instance.

• These screens run only one time and do not repeat on next boot if there is data persistence (changes can be saved).
• Click on (=>Done) and Sugar goes to the Home view.

Home (F3) view screen

Sugar boots to this screen

It contains a ring of Activities icons.

It becomes a spiral if a large number of Activities are designated as "Favorites".

It is reached by pressing the Home key (F3) or clicking its icon in the Frame.

Click on any of the Activities in the circle and the Activity will start.

This links to the Sugar Labs wiki page listing information and descriptions on most Sugar Activities and how to download them.

Also look at the OLPC Activities List (outdated, for reference only).

You will leave this Introduction if you click these links above ^.

To return to the tutorial, click the <== back arrow on your browser.

If you hover over the round icon, in the top Frame bar, it will show a drop-down menu palette (Not shown)

With 2 icons:

1. Stack of 3 boxes in a triangle - (changes the Home view display to a random one. You can drag the Activity icons into an arrangement you prefer.)
2. Circle with dot in center - (Ring/Spiral view)

• Hover over the center XO avatar and a pop-up menu palette appears (shown above).

On the top right of the upper Frame bar there are 2 icons.

Click on the one with horizontal lines (the Home list view).

Click on any of the Activities in the list and the Activity will start.

Click on the "star" to the left of the Activity on the list view;

It will alternate as a colored or outlined star.

If the star is colored, it becomes a "Favorite" Activity and will be listed in the Activity ring/spiral on the regular Home view.

Click on the circular icon on the top bar

You switch back to the regular Home view.

In the center of the screen is the Learners XO figure.

Hover over the XO figure and a pop-up menu palette appears.

My Settings

(This is a "Control Panel" page where you set the configuration of Sugar.)

• Select the "My Settings" menu option.

You switch to the "Control Panel"

Here you can click on each of the items to make changes to how Sugar works.

Like Language or Keyboard setting

Also look at OLPC Sugar Control Panel.

You will leave this Introduction if you click this link above ^.

To return to this tutorial, click the <== back arrow on your browser.

This is a very complete description - (Important Information)

Slightly out of date as it covers an older version of Sugar for the OLPC XO-1.

About Me

(From Fedora 16 Sugar on a Stick Pineapple)

Change the color of your XO identity figure.

This will vary with the version of Sugar you are using.

Row of 5 avatars: Click on any version of the XO except the center one, which shows your current colors.

1 avatar: Click on the XO "avatar", if there is only one shown.

Colors change with each click.

Change your name (edit it)

Click (check mark), to save, Click (X), to escape with no changes.

• You will have to restart Sugar after these changes.

About My Computer

Shows Sugar Version and operating system information.

Accessibility

Not present in most Sugar versions

(This is Trisquel 5.0, which has some Dextrose 3 features.)

Date & Time

Set your Timezone.

Frame

Sets the corner and edge sensitivity of the Frame to the cursor.

• Move the bottom slider fully left to have instantaneous Frame activation, or
• Select an intermediate delay setting, or
• Fully right to never activate the Frame when touching the screen edge with the pointer.

Keyboard and Language

Language and Keyboard Settings

Requires a reboot after changes are made.

Modem Configuration

Set up mobile broadband connection to a cellular (3G) network.

Network

Shows the Jabber Connection Information

Fill in the field of the jabber server:

jabber.sugarlabs.org (default on SoaS)

This field is blank on an OLPC XO laptop.

Community Jabber Servers Listing of other jabber servers. (They may not always be working.)

Software Update

Updates the applications installed in your instance of Sugar.

Check the Activities you want to upgrade.

This will only upgrade Activities that you have installed.

(Some versions of Sugar may allow you to install new ones.)

This may be customized in deployments with a School server.

To exit the "Control Panel" hit the (X) or (check mark if it appears; it saves changes) in the header bar's right corner.

Network Neighborhood

Click in the Frame or hit F1 key and you switch to the Neighborhood view.

Move the mouse pointer to any corner of the screen to expose the Frame.

(Wait a couple of seconds for it to appear as there is a time delay.)

The delay and sensitivity of this is set in the "Control Panel".

See the section on the Frame discussed above.

• This is a description of what is showing in this Frame:

Starting in the top right corner and moving clockwise ===>

Right side

1. The Learner's XO avatar - (The same pop-up palette menu will be shown here as in the Home view. Any other Learners you are Collaborating with will be shown below the Learner's avatar.)

Bottom

1. Battery indicator (% Charge Level)
2. Speaker - (Set Volume and Mute)
3. Wired Network - (Connection and Speed and IP Address.)
4. Wireless or Ad hoc Network Connection - (Connected-disconnect Channel IP Address)
5. System Resources - (CPU and Memory Usage in % ) - on Trisquel and Dextrose3 only
6. Feedback - (Submit comments) - on Trisquel and Dextrose3 only

Left Side

1. Will contain icons of clippings.

Top

1. F1 Neighborhood view
2. F2 Group view - (See the avatars of your friends. This view has not yet been exploited very much in Sugar.)
3. F3 Home view - (Ring/Spiral and List views)
4. F4 Activity view
5. F5 Journal view - (Display the Journal) - Hover drop down: Show contents and xxx MB Free storage space

• Move the mouse pointer away from the screen or window edge to retract the Frame.

You are represented by the XO figure in the center.

Hover on it and the same pop-up menu palette will appear as its version in the Home view.

All the other XO figures are other Learners on the network.

Hover the pointer over any other XO figure and a pop-up palette will give their name.

NOTE: icons of shared Activities may appear here.

Hover over the Activity icon and click "Join" on the pop-up palette menu to begin Collaboration (working with the other Learner) in the Activity.

(There are no shared Activities shown in the screenshot.)

Hit Home view and return to the Home view screen.

Shutdown Sugar

Choose Shutdown on the pop-up palette menu.

Important
With Sugar on a Stick, wait until Sugar shuts down completely before removing the USB stick. If you just pull it out without waiting after shutdown, you will corrupt the USB stick filesystem and it will never start again. It needs to write information about your Journal before it shuts down. (Notice, if there is an LED on the USB stick, it flashes for a while after shutdown.)

Re-login to Trisquel after restart

If you encounter a re-start of the Trisquel 5.0 Sugar live CD

caused by a color/name change or other change in My Settings that requires a restart,

(NOT the same as the central figure's drop-down menu selection Restart on the Home view, which shuts down the CD and ejects it.)

It will come up on a login screen:

• (other) <===Click on it
• [_______]<==Enter trisquel here
• Password: (leave it blank)
• hit (Login)
• Sugar will restart with the changes.