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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: Easier Searching in KDE
From:       "Jamethiel Knorth" <jamethknorth () hotmail ! com>
Date:       2004-05-24 20:33:31
Message-ID: BAY7-F65uZ0fI4j1Aob000386b9 () hotmail ! com
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>From: Dik Takken <D.H.J.Takken@phys.uu.nl>
>Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 12:50:47 +0200 (CEST)
>
>On Sun, 23 May 2004, Jamethiel Knorth wrote:
>
>>I was brainstorming about how to better work searching into the 
>>environment, and I had a few ideas. As is my way while brainstorming, my 
>>thoughts coalesced into a large variety of mock-ups and a webpage. I'm 
>>particularly hoping for people to give any comments about the file 
>>selection dialog before I ask about this on a development list.
>
>About the file dialog: I was wondering where the search results would 
>appear. Will the file listing be replaced with search results? I would 
>favour this behavior, as it is consistent with how the other quick access 
>icons work: Each quick access icon simply enters a new KIO URL into the 
>location bar and the file listing area is replaced by the output of the KIO 
>that the URL is referring to:
>
>* The 'Home' icon points to 'file://home/$USER' and shows a file listing at 
>that location.
>* The devices icon points to 'devices://' and shows a device listing.
>* The search icon points to 'search://$ARGS' and shows a search result 
>listing.
>
>(I guess there is a search KIO and if not, we should create one for this 
>purpose)
>
>The only special thing about the search quick access icon is the fact that 
>the 'URL' contains the search query, and this search query needs to be 
>entered by the user. That's why, unlike the other icons, it needs an input 
>widget.
>
>If you want to implement searching in a way that is 100% consistent with 
>the other access icons, you should have it get it's arguments (the URL) 
>from the 'location' input widget, just like the other icons do. But I guess 
>this is a *very* bad idea because we cannot expect users to understand that 
>searching and browsing are technically the same thing.
>
>About your efforts to make searching usable and accessible all over KDE: 
>Great! It's a shame that KDE lacks properly integrated search 
>functionality, because searching is a powerful tool, and KDE is all about 
>power for the user. Searching should be quickly accessible in every place 
>where it is useful.

I was thinking the results would appear in the same file area as any other 
kioslave's results would.

However, I was hoping it could be a little different, by actually taking 
info from the location bar. The location bar would be the 'where' for the 
search query and the search bar would be the 'what' as a search command 
actually usually needs two inputs.

Just thinking suddenly about how it would work to do the search and hit the 
most common user request:

Step 1) check file index in the current directory and below
Step 2) check file index up to home directory
Step 3) search without the index in the current directory and below

That would hit most of the areas the user is checking for, yet not take as 
hideously long as just starting in the home directory or doing a full search 
from the home directory.

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