Nexus Pen
Get more out of your Nexus Pen.
Top is the button you hold to talk. Select is the button under Top (the pen's own screens call it Side). Up and Down are the rocker on the edge of the pen: Up is the one nearer the screen and Down is the one nearer the tip. In left hand mode or Vertical they turn with the screen.
Press and hold Top, ask your question, then let go. Donna answers on the screen and out loud. Keep your phone with the Nexus Pen app close by, or use the pen with your computer.
A quick tap on Top goes back. On an answer it takes you Home. Hold Top on an answer to ask Donna something new.
On Home, tap Select. Press Up or Down to move through Answer Now, School, Research, Creative and Language, then tap Select to choose. Or just say the mode.
Try saying
On Home, tap Up and the last answer comes back on the screen.
While an answer is up, Up goes back a page and Down goes forward. Tap Select when you are done and the pen goes Home.
On Home, hold Down for 2 seconds. The button beeps stop and Donna still talks. Hold Down for 2 seconds again to bring them back. You can also say it.
Try saying
On Home, tap Down. Up and Down move, Select chooses and Top goes back.
Tap Down on Home to open Settings, then tap Select on Volume. Up is louder, Down is quieter, Select mutes and Top saves.
Try saying
In Settings, choose Up and Down, then tap Select to switch between Normal and Swapped. Use it if the buttons feel backwards in your hand.
Hold Select and Top together for 3 seconds. Tap Top or Select to wake it up again.
Hold Top and say it. You do not need to say Donna first. These work with your pen connected to the Nexus Pen app, and most also work on the Chat with Donna page on a computer.
Try saying
Volume
Screen
Modes
Left or right hand
Find my pen
Timer
Focus timer
End a focus timer
Beeps
Battery
On Home, hold Select for 2 seconds. The pen asks Focus timer, 25 minutes. Tap Select to start. Press Top, or wait 6 seconds, to cancel. You can also ask for one out loud.
Try saying
While the timer runs, tap Select and the pen asks Stop the timer. Tap Select again to stop, or Top to keep going. Holding Select for 2 seconds stops it right away.
Try saying
Leave the pen alone for 20 seconds and the timer changes to a dim, calm Ember look to save battery. Press any button to wake the full timer.
In Settings, choose Screen, then Timer seconds, and tap Select to turn it On. It is Off by default, which saves a little battery.
Ask for a timer out loud. It counts down on your pen and rings when time is up. On the Chat with Donna page it counts down there too. Say Cancel the timer to stop it.
Try saying
In Settings, choose Screen, then Horizontal right hand, Horizontal left hand or Vertical. The picture turns as soon as you choose and Up and Down turn with it. Or say it.
Try saying
Ask Donna to make the screen brighter or dimmer, or to set a level from 10 to 100 percent. It never goes fully dark.
Try saying
When you stop using the pen, the screen can turn into Ember: a dim clock or another calm face. Pick yours in the app under Account, Settings, Ember display.
Say Find my pen, or tap Find my pen in the app. The pen rings for about 3 seconds and flashes its screen. Press any button to stop it.
Try saying
When the battery drops under 15 percent, the pen dims the screen and slows its animations. Saver shows on the screen. It turns off again at 20 percent.
In Settings, choose Power. Pick when the screen goes dark, when the pen turns itself off, and how long an answer stays on the screen.
Ask Donna how charged your pen is. She tells you out loud.
Try saying
On the pen, open Settings and choose Use with computer. You have 2 minutes. On your computer, open nexuspen.org/donna in Chrome or Edge, click Connect Pen and pick your pen. Press Top on the pen to cancel.
Open Chat with DonnaThe pen plays a short Connected to your computer animation for about 3 seconds, then goes Home with a small laptop in its status bar. When the link ends the pen shows Computer disconnected.
Turn your computer's wireless off and on, then press Connect Pen and try again. If the pen says No computer found, the 2 minutes ran out: choose Use with computer on the pen again.
Disconnect the pen on the Chat with Donna page, then open the Nexus Pen app. Where Home says Your pen is on your computer, tap Use here.
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