Bug 389384 - Pop-up Search Option
Summary: Pop-up Search Option
Status: RESOLVED INTENTIONAL
Alias: None
Product: kate
Classification: Applications
Component: search (show other bugs)
Version: unspecified
Platform: Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows
: NOR wishlist
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: KWrite Developers
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2018-01-24 23:10 UTC by yereverluvinunclebert
Modified: 2022-01-09 19:47 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Latest Commit:
Version Fixed In:


Attachments
mock up screenshot showing Kate search in a typical pop up box (128.63 KB, image/jpeg)
2018-01-24 23:10 UTC, yereverluvinunclebert
Details

Note You need to log in before you can comment on or make changes to this bug.
Description yereverluvinunclebert 2018-01-24 23:10:28 UTC
Created attachment 110099 [details]
mock up screenshot showing Kate search in a typical pop up box

Kate has an inconsistent search function that is inferior to other advanced editors. This area is the only part of Kate that is generally sub-standard in my opinion. I'd go so far as to say that the inferior search capabilities make Kate rather unusable in the long run. Other advanced editors achieve decent search facilities in an improved fashion.

I'll explain:

Using Windows - searching for a term using ctrl+f reveals a search bar at the bottom of the page.

Problems:

1. The search bar is at the bottom of the editor window and often completely off screen when Kate is run in a window. The bottom is not a good place for a search bar. As the search is placed here by default you cannot use Kate with the bottom portion of the window off the screen.

2. When Kate is in full screen mode the search bar is right at the bottom of the text, almost as far away from the location where the code is being edited as it could be. Always having to move to the bottom of the screen for a search is both awkward and frustrating.

Solution for 1 & 2: A much more natural approach is to have the option of a search box that by default, pops-up in the centre of the window (the old bottom bar functionality could be retained for legacy usage as an option within settings). The new pop up search box would easily be positioned by the user by dragging it anywhere on screen. Each time a search is requested the dialog box pops up in the user's last defined position or it could intelligently place itself in a useful position.

This is convenient for the user and much more efficient than the current method as it means the search function is always in the most convenient location.
Comment 1 yereverluvinunclebert 2018-01-24 23:11:21 UTC
3. The search bar covers the whole of the bottom of the editor window, therefore if Kate's window is wide, the amount of movement that is required to select the different search options is significantly increased. Searching in Kate becomes a pain with lots of unnecessary mouse movement from left to right within Kate's window.
Comment 2 yereverluvinunclebert 2018-01-24 23:21:18 UTC
Move the search bar and its options to a simple pop up dialog box. All controls will be situated close together and the result will be much more usable.
Comment 3 Kåre Särs 2018-01-25 06:52:47 UTC
There is already the search plugin that does advanced search in files. That one is also not a popup by design. Please try reassigning ctrl-f to "Search in Files" and F3 to "Go to Next Match" and try again.

We moved away from popup dialogs because no mater where you place them they will always be on top of some text and you have to move them around.... I will not close this bug yet, but I think chances are very slim that there will be any change.
Comment 4 yereverluvinunclebert 2018-01-25 11:05:15 UTC
Thankyou for answering so promptly.

The pop-up is convenience thing. The editors I use simply pop up  search in the middle of the screen and they have never been a pain or awkward to use. The pop-up is not awkward as it is entirely in context. I am doing a search and the pop up is the search I am trying to do. The bottom position for the search may be fine but when I develop code I have multiple windows open and none are full screen. My Kate editor is invariably positioned so that part of the window is off screen. I don't want to do away with the bottom search I just want to be able to configure the editor to allow a pop-up if that is my own personal desire. 

I do not feel this request is unreasonable nor unique to me as many thousands of Windows users will expect a search to appear in a pop-up. I am trying to make Kate agreeable to Windows users as Kate is such a fine editor in most other respects. 

Search is just clunky at the moment.
Comment 5 Dominik Haumann 2018-09-06 06:48:03 UTC
This request is certainly not unreasonable. Then again Kåre already mentioned that the search is a bar and not a dialog by design: we have had many (!) bug reports over the years claiming that the search dialog hides text that is found, and therefore is rather user unfriendly.

Over the years, a search bar became a defacto standard also under Windows: no browser has a search dialog anymore.

I can see that the dialog may be more what you want, but we would reintroduce many regressions with this again. It's unfortunately not as easy as you might think. We once had a dialog:
- users complained that it hides text
- we made the dialog smart such that it moves in case it hides text: we got complaints that the dialog jumps unexpectedly
- we never made the dialog transparent like in Notepad++: since then you have two texts at the same location shining through. A usability issue for sure.

I think this bug report is maybe the first one in 10 years that wants the old behavior back. That said, we need by far more evidence than writing "Windows users expect this" - it's not as easy as this, sorry.

Mockups about possible improvements are welcome here.
Comment 6 Waqar Ahmed 2022-01-09 19:47:48 UTC
Since this is unlikely to ever change and the plugin maintainer is also rather against this and since we already overhauled the search plugin and no one asked for it to be a dialog, I think it's best to say that the current design is working as intended.