How a tutorial runs
"How do I make a pivot table from this sheet?"
- Ducky looks at your spreadsheet and plans the steps (2 to 8 of them).
- Step 1: the pointer flies to your data, draws a box around it and says "select these columns first". You drag to select.
- Ducky sees you did it and moves on. Step 2: it points at the menu and labels the item to click. You click.
- A dialog opens that looks different from what Ducky expected. It looks again and changes the remaining steps to match your screen.
- Last step: it spotlights the field list, dims everything else, and tells you which field goes where. Done, and you did every click yourself.
Other ways Ducky teaches an app
- Watch me, then you. The pointer shows the whole task once while Ducky narrates (it only moves and draws, nothing is clicked), then says "your turn" and checks you doing it.
- Spotlight. On a busy screen, Ducky dims everything except the one place to look, with a short note beside it.
- Typing coach. For a formula, a command in Terminal or a form field, grey ghost letters appear at your caret. Type over them; a wrong letter turns red with a hint to delete it.
- Point and ask. Hold fn + cmd and trace over a button or icon you don't recognize, then ask "what is this?"
Good first things to learn
- Setting up a new app for a class.
- Finding your way around a school website or portal.
- A spreadsheet skill: a formula, a chart, a pivot table.
- A setting on your Mac you can never find in System Settings.
- A design tool's first project, one panel at a time.
What it won't do
- When Ducky clicks or types to show you, it says so first. It never acts in a password field and never submits, pays, sends or deletes anything for you.
- It won't do tasks behind a website's security or where an app's rules don't allow it.
- It can point at the wrong spot or misread a screen. If it does, tell it and it looks again. Press fn to stop at any time.
- Tutorials that watch your clicks need the Mac app and its Accessibility permission. In the browser at app.duckyhelper.com, Ducky can see a tab you share and mark up its preview, but it can't follow your clicks in other apps.
Frequently asked questions
Can DuckyHelper teach me how to use any app?
It works on top of any Mac app or website you have open. Ducky reads your screen, makes a step-by-step tutorial, points where to click, and moves on only when you did each step. How well it knows a very new or niche app can vary.
Does Ducky click things for me?
In a tutorial, you do the clicking and Ducky checks it. With the Accessibility permission, Ducky can also click or type to show you, but it says so first, never in a password field, and never to submit, pay, send or delete.
What if my screen looks different from what Ducky expects?
Ducky looks at the screen again after each step. If you went a different way or the app looks different, it changes the remaining steps to match what is actually on your screen.
Do tutorials work on a Chromebook?
Not in the same way. Tutorials that point on your real screen and follow your clicks need the Mac app. On a Chromebook, use the web app at app.duckyhelper.com: share the tab you're learning, and Ducky explains and marks up its preview while you do the clicking.
