[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: Search dialog vs. search bar
From:       Jason Keirstead <jason () keirstead ! org>
Date:       2005-02-15 18:51:20
Message-ID: 200502151451.21013.jason () keirstead ! org
[Download RAW message or body]

On Tuesday 15 February 2005 2:33 pm, Luciano Montanaro wrote:
> Now I have fould out that Firefox too has this functionality, and does
> indeed work this way. The toolbar also has some additional fields, just
> like a linearized search dialog.

The search bar in Firefox has a number of large, glaring problems.

- It is at the bottom of the screen rather than the top. This is not so bad, 
once you are usaed to it. but if this is the first time you have ever 
searched in this browser, and you are expecting CTRL+F or Edit->Find to bring 
up a search dialog, it is a *bad* place for it to be. The first time the 
introduced this new behaviour, it took me probably 2 minutes to figure out 
what was going on (I did not see the box at all ). 

This is mistake is compounded by the fact that the bottom portion of your 
browser window is quite often not even on the screen, so you hit CTRL+F, only 
to find you then need to grab the whole window with your mouse and move it to 
see the bar (assuming you even know the bar is there!)

- It does not automatically remve itself after you are done searching. Now, I 
realize that it is hard to know *when* you are done searching with this setup 
(with a dialog, you just tab to 'Close'), but IMO this is another serious 
flaw. Basically, you can't get rid of this dialog easily once you are done 
with the search, you need to *again* grab the mouse and click the X. Either 
that or hit TAB a million times to reach the close button (because you are 
searching, so the text focus is currently inside the browser window)

- Because the search is no longer a modal dialog, other modal dialogs coming 
from the browser will **actually inturrupt the search**

- No way to search backwards without, once *again*, moving your hand to the 
mouse.

Now, I am not toally against the idea of asearch bar - I really love the one 
in KMail. but I don't think that the one in Firefox should be used as an 
example. It is probably the worst search tool I have ever used in my whole 
life.

- 
_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@kde.org
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability
[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]