Calculator scope not enabled by default

[Sb]

Hello, when I type "1+1" in the dash, the calculator scope should automatically show a result. However, it does not. I have to manually enable the calculator in Sources every time.

[David Callé (davidc3)]

Hello and thanks for the report.

For some background, here is how your "1+1" search is normally handled by the dash.

If you have online search enabled (System Settings -> Privacy -> Search), it just works, but your query is sent to a server hosted by Canonical, which purpose is to correlate queries with scopes to make the Dash smarter:
- the dash sends "1+1" to dash.ubuntu.com
- the server notices the query is a calculation (or a band name, or a github project, etc)
- it sends back to the dash a list of scopes it should activate for this query
- the dash activates the calculator scope and gives you an answer

If you don't:
- The dash tries the 1+1 query on "always search" scopes (files, music, applications).
- and waits for sources to be manually enabled

That doesn't help you, but I think it's useful to have an overview of how the Dash works when interacting with it. Now, you have two ways to directly invoke the calculator scope:

1) Using a keyword: eg. "calc:1+1" or "result:1+1"

2) or adding the calculator scope to the list of "always search" scopes (using dconf-editor, you can find it in "com.canonical.Unity.Lenses").

[Sb (sb56637)]

Thanks for the very helpful reply!

> 2) or adding the calculator scope to the list of "always search" scopes
> (using dconf-editor, you can find it in "com.canonical.Unity.Lenses").

This is an acceptable solution, although I still feel it should be a default option, or at least a Unity Tweak Tool option.

Cheers!

[Sb (sb56637)]

Hmm, a few niggles:

First, for those who don't know, the calculator scope appears to be called 'info-calculator.scope', not 'calculator.scope'.

I seem to have to also add it to "locked-scopes" to make it usually appear.

Even so, certain random calculations return no result. As you can see in the attached screenshots, despite having added 'info-calculator.scope' to the "always-search" and "locked-scopes" it is still not shown as an activated source. Later, other calculations work fine, and then later another random calculation will fail to be detected.

[Sb (sb56637)]

Anybody else here able to confirm this bug? It's a very small but irritating papercut that needs to be fixed.

[LeVieuxSage (rub-duarte)]

Hello,
I activate 'info-calculator.scope' to the "always-search" and "locked-scopes", after if I type for the second time, the dash works with the calculator.
I hope this can be usefull.
LeSage