Firefox OS usage tips and tricks

In the previous post ( Overview of Firefox OS ) we mentioned about a brief overview on firefox os. Now we are going to have some tips and tricks which are very useful for using a smartphone with firefox os more handy than others.

Unlocking the phone

If your build of Firefox OS starts up asking for a pass code to unlock the device, the default code is 0000. Some builds will do this while we develop and test the lock screen.

Capturing a screenshot

Capturing a screenshot is as simple as pressing the power and home buttons at the same time. The screenshot image will be in /sdcard/screenshots on your device; you can access it using the Gallery app on your phone, as well.

If for some reason that doesn't work, you can also do it from the terminal on the Linux or Mac OS X computer that has a Firefox OS build system installed.

1. Make sure you have ffmpeg installed.
   1. On Mac, if you use MacPorts, you can do this with sudo port install ffmpeg. For homebrew, do brew install ffmpeg.
   2. On Linux (Ubuntu/Debian), use sudo apt-get install ffmpeg.
2. Connect your phone to the computer using a USB cable.
3. Navigate your phone into whatever situation you want to screenshot.
4. cd into the B2G/gaia directory
5. make screenshot
6. You now have a screenshot called screenshot.png.

Remote debugging with ADB

To enable USB Debugging via adb, open up the Settings App and navigate to Device Information > More Information > Developer. From the list, put a check mark on Remote Debugging. Finally, connect the device via USB with your computer.

Buttons and controls

A typical Firefox OS device has a small number of physical hardware buttons:

Home button

This button is generally centered below the screen. Pressing it will return you to the app launcher. Holding it down opens the card switching view; swiping up on an app in that view will terminate it.

Volume control rocker

Along the left side is the volume rocker; pressing the top half of the rocker increases the audio volume and pressing the bottom half decreases the volume.

Power button

The power button is at the top right corner of the device.

Multitasking

Firefox os gives a nice multitasking capability and a nice way to switch between running apps and closing them. It's very simple just tap and hold the home button you will get a nice UI.

Source : Mozilla