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Velnode How-To

Document type: Product Owner: Dignity New Zealand Limited Applies to: Velnode Browser v2.3.1 and later Last updated: 2026-07-02 Document version: 1.0 Status: Approved

Step-by-step instructions for every major Velnode feature, written so Vee can retrieve and relay the right answer when you ask "how do I do X?"

How to bookmark a page

Press Ctrl+D (Cmd+D on macOS), or click the ★ inside the address bar.
A small popover opens. Edit the name if you like and choose a folder.
Click Done to save.

How to view and organise your bookmarks

Favorites flyout — click the bookmark ribbon button in the toolbar, or press Ctrl+Shift+O. Search, create folders, drag items between folders. Click Open full manager to go to the full view.
Full manager — open the favorites flyout and click Open full manager. Two-pane view: folder tree on the left, bookmark cards on the right. Supports drag-and-drop, inline folder rename, and add/delete.
Favorites bar — open ☰ → Bookmarks → Show favorites bar (or press Ctrl+Shift+B) to toggle a strip below the toolbar. Folders appear as dropdowns; drag items to reorder.
☰ menu shortcut — open ☰ → ★ Favorites manager to jump straight to the flyout.

How to view and search your browsing history

Press Ctrl+H (Cmd+H on macOS), or open ☰ → History.
Velnode opens the History page — a reverse-chronological list of visited pages.
You can also ask Vee: type find: <topic> to search your history and timeline semantically.

How to find your downloads

Press Ctrl+J (Cmd+J on macOS), or open ☰ → Downloads.
Velnode opens the Downloads page showing all downloaded files.

How to use tabs

Action	How
New tab	Ctrl+T (Cmd+T)
Close tab	Ctrl+W (Cmd+W)
Reopen a closed tab	Ctrl+Shift+T (Cmd+Shift+T) — cycles through the last 25 closed tabs, survives a restart
Next / previous tab	Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab
Jump to tab 1–8	Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+8
Jump to the last tab	Ctrl+9
Pin / unpin a tab	Right-click the tab → Pin tab or Unpin tab
Mute / unmute a tab	Right-click the tab → Mute tab or Unmute tab
Duplicate, move, or close other tabs	Right-click the tab strip for the full context menu

How to use Workspaces (saved tab sessions)

Open ☰ → Workspaces, or click the Workspaces button in the dashboard navigation strip.
Workspaces are named groups of tabs you can save and re-open as a set.
To save a new workspace, open the Workspaces panel and choose Save current tabs as workspace.
To re-open a workspace, select it from the list.

How to take and annotate a screenshot

Open ☰ → Screenshot (under the Tools group).
Velnode captures the visible area of the current tab and opens it in the annotation canvas.
Draw, highlight, or add text, then save or copy the result. Screenshots stay on your device.

The Screenshot + Annotate plugin must be enabled in Settings → Plugins for this option to appear.

How to use Reader Mode

Open ☰ → Reader Mode (under the Tools group).
Velnode strips the page to text and images for distraction-free reading.

The Reader Mode plugin must be enabled in Settings → Plugins for this option to appear.

How to make and find sticky notes

Create a note:

Type note: <your text> in the Command + Context bar and press Enter. The note is attached to the current tab.
Or right-click selected text on a page, and use the Ask Vee option — then follow up with a note command.

View all your notes:

Click the Note Vault button in the dashboard navigation strip (honeycomb icon row).
The Note Vault shows every sticky note you have made, with backlinks to the original URL.

Notes are saved on your device in data/notes.json.

How to open the Timeline

Click the Smart Timeline button in the dashboard navigation strip, or open ☰ → History and look for the timeline view.
The Smart Timeline is a reverse-chronological log of tabs opened, pages visited, Vee exchanges, and notes created.
You can also ask Vee: find: <query> to search the timeline semantically.

(Note: Ctrl+Shift+T is the reopen last closed tab shortcut, not the Timeline — open the Timeline from the dashboard or ☰ → History.)

How to open an incognito window

Open ☰ → New incognito window, or press Ctrl+Shift+N (Cmd+Shift+N).
For traffic routed through the Tor network: open ☰ → New incognito window with Tor.
While a private window is active, an Incognito badge appears in the toolbar.
Incognito windows are not available in Kids Mode.

How to turn on Network Privacy

Click the padlock or shield icon in the address bar area to open the site-info popover.
Click Network privacy in that popover.
Toggle Network Privacy on. This also activates Fingerprint Protection for the current session.

How to open Settings

Press Ctrl+, (Cmd+, on macOS), or open ☰ → Settings.
The Settings page opens.

How to change the theme (light, dark, or system)

Open Settings (Ctrl+,).
Go to Settings → Theme.
Choose Light, Dark, or System (follows your OS appearance automatically). The change applies immediately.

How to enable or disable a plugin

Open Settings → Plugins.
Find the plugin you want and toggle it on or off.
A disabled plugin uses zero RAM. An enabled plugin runs against a per-plugin memory budget.

Built-in plugins (Ad Blocker, Reader Mode, Screenshot + Annotate, Password Vault, Enhanced Incognito, Citation Collector, Counter-Research, Multi-Tab Synthesis, Personal Wikipedia, Vee for Code) are all off by default.

How to install a plugin from the Veehive store

Open ☰ → Veehive — Get plugins, or go to Settings → Plugins → Open Veehive store.
Browse the catalogue. Each card shows what the plugin does and the permissions it needs.
Click Install, review the permissions, and confirm.
Toggle the new plugin on in Settings → Plugins to activate it.

Only plugins carrying Velnode's own digital signature can be installed.

Velnode captures credentials automatically when you submit a login form. A prompt asks if you want to save the login — click Save.

To view saved logins manually:

Open ☰ → Password Vault, or click the vault icon in the toolbar.
Your saved logins and payment cards are listed here.
You need your vault master passphrase to unlock and view the entries.

How to view saved logins and payment cards

Open ☰ → Password Vault or ☰ → Payment methods.
Enter your vault master passphrase when prompted.
Browse, search, edit, or delete individual entries.

How to import bookmarks or history from another browser

Automatic import (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi):

Open Settings → Import from another browser, or click the From browser button in the Bookmarks manager.
Velnode detects the browsers installed on your device and shows each profile.
Click Import for bookmarks, or Import history for browsing history, next to the profile you want. Velnode merges them, skipping duplicates. Nothing leaves your device.

From an HTML file:

In your previous browser, export bookmarks as an HTML file.
In Velnode, open ☰ → Bookmarks → Import bookmarks… and select the file.

How to import passwords from another browser

Open ☰ → Password Vault → Import passwords, or go to Settings → Import from another browser.
Velnode detects your installed browsers and shows tailored export steps for each one.
In the source browser, go to its Settings → Passwords → Export passwords. The browser will ask for your OS password or biometric.
Save the CSV file, then select it in Velnode. Velnode shows a preview (login count and sites) without displaying passwords.
Click Confirm. Velnode seals each new credential into the encrypted vault. Existing entries with the same site and username are skipped.
Velnode offers to remove the CSV file from disk. You can accept or decline.

Supported source browsers: Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, and Firefox.

Open ☰ → Sign in / Account, or go to Settings → Account.
Choose Sign in and enter your email address and password.
Velnode re-derives your data key from the password — no extra codes are needed.

To create a new account, choose Create account at the same screen. A 24-word Recovery Kit is generated at sign-up — save it. It is shown once and is the only way to recover encrypted data after a password reset.

How to turn on sync

Sync turns on automatically when you sign in to your Velnode Account. No extra step is needed.

To control which categories sync:

Open Settings → Sync.
Toggle individual categories (bookmarks, history, notes, workspaces, vault, and others) on or off.

How to turn on Kids Mode

Open Settings → Privacy → Kids Mode.
Enable Kids Mode and set a parental code.
Kids Mode forces Local-Only AI, restricts navigation to an allow-list, hides developer tools, and locks the toggle behind the parental code. It cannot be turned off from the renderer without the code.

How to ask Vee a question or summarise a page

Ask a question:

Type your question directly in the Command + Context bar and press Enter.
Or click the Vee button in the toolbar (the button labelled "Vee" with the avatar icon) to open the Vee side panel, then type there.
Or press Ctrl+Alt+V (Cmd+Alt+V) to toggle the Vee panel.
Or right-click selected text on any page and choose Ask Vee.

Summarise the current page:

Type summarize in the Command + Context bar and press Enter.
Or press Ctrl+Alt+S (Cmd+Alt+S) to summarise directly.
Or open the Vee panel and ask "summarise this page."

Voice:

Press and hold Ctrl+Alt+/ (Cmd+Alt+/) to speak to Vee (Voice Mode must be enabled in Settings → Voice).

How to use the Command Hub

Press Ctrl+Alt+K (Cmd+Alt+K), or right-click any page and choose Command Hub.
Type a natural-language command or use a structured prefix:

Prefix	What it does
`note: <text>`	Adds a sticky note to the current tab
`summarize`	Summarises the current tab
`find: <query>`	Searches your timeline semantically
`pin <name>`	Pins the current Vee command for one-click reuse
`focus mode`	Toggles focus-mode tab muting
`open <topic>`	Opens the related mindmap node

How to open the Dashboard and Unified Vault search

Click the home icon (the house/V icon) in the toolbar, or press Alt+Home.
The Dashboard shows your bookmarks, recent timeline, pinned Vee commands, and quick-action tiles.
The Unified Vault search bar on the Dashboard searches across your bookmarks, history, notes, downloads, and workspaces in one place.

Document maintained by Dignity New Zealand Limited. Questions: [email protected].