Ask One from anywhere
Open the Ask One box from any app with a keyboard shortcut, attach a screenshot, window or file, or dictate, and get the answer in a small window.
Press ⌥Space (Option+Space) on a Mac, or Alt+Shift+Space on Windows and Linux, in any app. A small Ask One box appears in the middle of the screen you're using, on top of your other windows.
- Type your question. Press Shift+Enter to start a new line.
- Press Enter. One starts a new chat with your question, and the answer appears in a small window.
To close the box without asking, press Esc, press the shortcut again, or click anywhere else. On a Mac, you go straight back to the app you were in.
You can also open the box from File > Ask One… or from the tray icon's menu.
Attach a screenshot, window or file
The buttons under the box add something to your question. Each attachment shows under the box with its name; click × to remove it.
- Screenshot: the screen dims. Drag out the area you want, and Ask One comes back with a picture of it attached and your text still there. Press Esc to cancel.
- Window: pick one of your other windows from the pictures shown, and a picture of it is attached. One's own windows aren't offered.
- File: choose files to attach, up to 10 at a time, each up to 100 MB.
On a Mac, Screenshot and Window need permission to see other windows. The first time, One says so and opens System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording; turn on One, then try again. On Linux desktops that use Wayland, such as Ubuntu's, your desktop's own share your screen picker appears instead; choose the screen or window there.
Attachments are uploaded to One with your question, as when you attach a file on the web. The next time you open Ask One, it starts with none.
Dictate
Click Dictate, or press ⌘D (Mac) or Ctrl+D (Windows and Linux) in the box, to speak instead of typing. The answer window opens with anything you've typed in its message box and the microphone on. Speak, then stop: what you said is sent, with any attachments. Dictation works as on the web; see Voice and Dictation.
The answer window
The answer appears in a small window at the top right of your screen, over the app you're in, so you can carry on where you were. It's One itself, laid out to fit, so you can reply, attach files or dictate there too.
To carry on in the main One window, click Open in One, or choose File > Open in Main Window. The conversation moves there and the small window closes. The small window remembers its size and place.
On Linux desktops that use Wayland, such as Ubuntu's and Fedora's, answers open in the main One window at first, because Wayland doesn't let apps keep a window on top. See The answer window opens in the main window on Linux.
To have answers go straight to the main window instead, untick Show answers in a small window, over the app you're in in Desktop Settings.
Turn the shortcut off or change it
The shortcut is on at first. To turn it off, untick Ask One Shortcut in the tray icon's menu or in Desktop Settings, where you can also choose a different shortcut. On a Mac, while ⌥Space is the shortcut, it opens Ask One instead of typing a space in other apps. If another app already uses the same shortcut, the tray menu shows Ask One Shortcut (in use by another app) and the shortcut opens that app's feature instead; choose a different one, or use Ask One… from the menu.
On some Linux desktops that use Wayland, apps can't have shortcuts that work in other apps; then use Ask One… from the menu. See The Ask One shortcut doesn't work.