How do I use the "Recent Documents" plugin?

NOTE: THIS PLUGIN IS NO LONGER SUPPORTED!!

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So now there's a Zeitgeist "Recent Documents" plugin in the bzr trunk, and soon in the PPA too.

Although this plugin is stable right now, it is considered BETA QUALITY for reasons explained below.

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What does it do?
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Let's say you type "ink" on the search entry. Then the plugin will search for:

1) [Full-text search] Recent documents containing the text "ink"

2) [Search by app] Recent documents used by apps that match "ink" (i.e. inkscape)

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But there are caveats
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1) Searching is actually only "search by prefix". That is, if you search for "ink" it will correctly match documents used in "inkscape" because it *starts* with "ink". But if you search for "scape" you will only match documents used in apps whose name start with "scape" (i.e. not inkscape, of course)

2) Installation is a bit of a pain, since the FTS extension is not currently in the Zeitgeist PPA, and since you have to change an environment variable to make FTS load.

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Installation
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This is where things get messy (for now)...

1) Install Zeitgeist

  $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:zeitgeist/ppa
  $ sudo apt-get update
  $ sudo apt-get install zeitgeist

        -

2) Zeitgeist FTS extension (http://live.gnome.org/Zeitgeist/FTS)

  a) Choose some folder where you would like the FTS extension directory to live in.
    - In my case I just leave it at ~/Downloads , to remind myself of the temporary nature of this install method.
    - But if you like, make this something more official-sounding like /usr/local/lib (in which case you'll need to use sudo for the steps below)

        -

  b) Open a terminal and type:
    $ cd your_folder_from_step_a
    $ bzr branch lp:zeitgeist-extensions
    $ cd zeitgeist-extensions
    $ gedit setup_zeitgeist_daemon.sh

        -

  c) A GEdit window will apear. Type:

    #!/bin/bash
    PYTHONPATH=your_folder_from_step_a/zeitgeist-extensions/fts ZEITGEIST_EXTRA_EXTENSIONS=fts.SearchEngineExtension zeitgeist-daemon --replace

   (replace your_folder_from_step_a with your folder from step (a), of course)

        -

  d) Save and close GEdit. Back in the terminal:
    $ chmod +x setup_zeitgeist_daemon.sh
    $ ./setup_zeitgeist_daemon.sh

  Now you can use the plugin!

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  But let's make this work even if you reboot:

  e) Open the "Startup Applications" window. You can just search for it with Cardapio :)

  d) Press "Add", then fill in the blanks as below:
    - Name: Temporary hack to activate Zeitgeist full-text-search
    - Command: your_folder_from_step_a/zeitgeist-extensions/setup_zeitgeist_daemon.sh

  f) Press "Save"

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  So from now on setup_zeitgeist_daemon.sh gets executed automatically every time you log in. Note, though, that this is a very temporary solution. Whenever the Zeitgeist guys come out with an easier and more permanent way to install the FTS extension, you'll need to undo the steps above. That is, you'll need to delete the zeitgeist-extensions folder from your_folder_from_step_a, and then remove the startup application from step (d).

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Conclusion
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Until installation becomes easier, this plugin will remain in beta and *off* by default.

In the meantime, talk to Mr. Meatwad ~(.. ,)~