Description: The current search box takes up quite a bit of screen space and has limited functionalliry I will attempt to make the search box more prominent, whilst taking up less space and having usefull functionality. (see screenshot 1)
Solution:
Remove the text input and reuse the url input. Achieves, reduction in screen space and clutter, usability improvement: the user is only given the choice of one input box, the box is large enough for a big query, the box is central to the window.
Increase the width of the button, and improve the icon. Achieves: increased visibility of the search button, usability improvement: people will be able to locate and click the search button, it's currently a pain, tiny and stuck in the farish right hand side.
Provide a drop down menu with avalable search options. example: This page The Web(google) The Web (Yahoo) Dictionary Local files named.. Local files containing Emails containing
Achieves, vastly improved functionality, the button is now useful for a number of tasks without descracting from it's function. Also imrpoves io-slave accessability, e.g. kio_locate could be intergrated.
Optionally selection a search option could give a list of more options (by date?), open a search dialogue, or replace the current view with a search view with pre-populated fields.
Optionally, the resouls could be opened in a new tab.
If I get enough positive feedback I will start work on implementing this idea in the next few days or so.
it's already implemented ? u can choose default search engine in konqueror options so whatever that doesnt' look like an url - introduced to the url box- will be treated as a search query for that default sarch engine
I like your idea of transferring additional information to the kio-slaves.
This would allow me, to realize searches under the current tree using locate (and I would like to see this feature myself).
(And just for the notes: I have never used the extra search bar, too -- it is just too small)
Hardly.
It is not more usable because it is now unlikely people will ever find the search feature at all!
There is no usability improvement here! Usability is not a blanket-term you can apply to anything that makes it easier for you personally to use an application.
As is I can
1:
use gg:my search
I've been using kde since 2.0 or maybe earlier and only discovered gg by accident and only use gg: to try it out.
2: The existing search bar is there and visible, but no-one seems to use it, so it's useless.
3: If you turn on icon text the button with have search(or the i8n1 equivilent) written next to it, now I wonder what happes if I click the button with search wrtten underneath?
Basicly, I can't see how it could be worse than the current situation.
You can't see how it would be worse?
Look, the search bar is gone! Now people won't find it!
Usability is not "hiding away pieces of interface to make it look simpler". A usable interface is an interface that is simple, easy to use and still useful!
You see where your interface is worse yet? You see it is simpler, for sure, but it is less useful because people will never find the search bar.
Finally, I'm a certain a lot of people use the current search bar, or at least Firefox, Safari and Opera agree with me. And gg: is great but it is no substitute for interface that people can see!
Anyway, don't get me wrong, Konqi is a usability nightmare, but this isn't a usability improvement. The location bar is pretty much overly wide for most uses anyway, so I don't see why you thought this was necessary in the first place.
Anyway I don't want to offend you, but I spose I must have, so I apologise.
You don't need to find the search bar, evey request that I ever type into the location bar is a request to locate(search/find) something.
A miss-typed omain name should try to locate that domain name in google, a miss-typed file name should attempt to find the file, and a non-descript location would be a request to search for whatever you've typed in context.
Anyhow, some people seem to like the idea, and others don't so I'll look at doing an implementation where you can optionally hide the search bar.
I've also got 15-20 people of various computer skill (from none to product testes) who I can buy a pint and get them to do some usability testing, and about 4-5 people who would do long term usability testing. e.g. force them selfs to use a feature for a couple of weeks and see if it is easier touse once your used to it.
..what about the search bar called "Location". I think this is an overload that we do not need, cause
1) it's not intuitive
2) it adds complexity. For example, if I want to search google for a complete path + file name (for example looking for a problem involving this file), if I put it in the location bar it will hopefully do the right mime-type associated action. With your patch/idea?
1: it's more intuetive than the existing searchs. (either gg: or the extra text input)
Lets say the button says search, and you click on it.
The first time it offers you help to
tell you how to use it.
2: I don't have a clue what your going on about, mime-type association for a google search?
If a user have to be trained, it's not for definition "intuitive". The current location bar is "intuitive" cause is the defacto standard for every platform and browser, so changing it will be a difference.
Secondary, what I meant before was: if I write in the location (search) bar, for example "/usr/includ/myfile.h" because I want to search Google for this particular file cause I'm having trouble with it, putting it into the location bar will pop-up it into my preferred editor. What about this case?
Yes, for sure, I can open www.google.com or click a button to switch to a forced search mode, but this would be a longer operation.
I don't see why you hate so the google bar. It ws a great feature added in KDE 3.3, why remove it?
1:/ a defacto standard doesn't an intuitive interface make.
e.g.
The Querty isn't exactly the easiest keyboard to use, but it's the 'defacto standard' so that's what you get.
Windows is the 'defacto standard' OS and IE is the 'defacto standard' browser, it doesn't make them good, or even standards complient.
2:/
It's clutter, basicly why have to input boxes when you only need one?
I don't like thinks in the top right hand side of my view, I find them distracting, since I'm usually looking to the left of the page and there just out of my field of view. It's a bit like a TV in a pub, flickering away.
Being in the top right, draws my attention away from the work I am doing, and I also have to 'think' about it. e.g. I ocassionally type a search into the location bar, only to have to copy it into the google bar.
I do like it's functionality, well I would if is supported locate:// etc...,
I woudln't get ridd so much as make it redundant, I suppose you can keep it their if you want to, or have the option of removing it but still having intergraed search in kde.
3:/
It would be impossible to the computer to guess exactly what you are thinking ,but it could have a good go.
But without requireing much intelegence from the computer you could bind a seperate shortcut for search as apposed to open, you could get a prompt if there's uncertainty, or you could rediret you focus to the top right of the window and pick a search method.
this is quite like my idea of the ideal solution to searching in Konqi ;-)
the button you can use to choose should indeed be bigger. and the 'default' search behaviour in the locationbar should be clever: search locally when in filebrowser mode, search google when in webbrowsing mode. mabe a 'more' button with a search wizard icon on it, so you can enter more info about the search (and choose search engine etc) like meta-data. when a nice animation whould make it appear from the searchbar, or maybe (like the current search-local-files function) embed it in the toolbar.
I would like to make the search 'learn' what method you use most based on you current protocol and profile.
So Web yahoo could make it to the top of one persons list, where as search email may make it to the top of anothers.
This requires a few more radical changes to KDE though (like machine learning) and I'm not keen to implement it for a single feature.
ideally If i search the web/run an application/make text bold enough it should appear on the start menu and the desktop context menu for a day or so to see if I use it, likewise unused function like right click/forward should get pushed into a sub menu and hidden.
Opps, got a little of topic, that's my next project.
improvement.
Personally i never used the extra searchbar because i use gg: and so on, since it is there.
But what happens quite often to me is, that:
I type (or paste) something in, and if i forgot to type gg: or anything else in front of the term, i get an error message.
Much better would be your idea.It would "centralize" the work with search terms and web locations.
I could paste something in and only hit enter.That could use one default search engine like google or any else.Your
arrow gives all choices for other than the default.
Good idea!
There are a number of possiblities along those lines.
firstly there's the IE approach (and the one your suggesting) where if a url failes the default search for the current view type is performed. Personally I find this anoying,but others probably like it so it's definatly an option. Other aproaches could use keyboard shortcuts, say enter = default, ctrl+enter = search alt+enter/alt+ctrl+enter = give me some search options.
I know the crtl+enter modifier is already taken for open in a new tab.
Not exactly the IE approach.
In IE you can't choose your search enging (am i right?).
If you accidently hit the enter button without a protocol in front (ftp://,http://) it gives you an error message which is more annoying than a search with your favorite search engine.
Only my opinion.
But in general an improvement would be to loose that extra (space robbing) search bar.
Ratings & Comments
16 Comments
it's already implemented ? u can choose default search engine in konqueror options so whatever that doesnt' look like an url - introduced to the url box- will be treated as a search query for that default sarch engine
I like your idea of transferring additional information to the kio-slaves. This would allow me, to realize searches under the current tree using locate (and I would like to see this feature myself). (And just for the notes: I have never used the extra search bar, too -- it is just too small)
Hardly. It is not more usable because it is now unlikely people will ever find the search feature at all! There is no usability improvement here! Usability is not a blanket-term you can apply to anything that makes it easier for you personally to use an application.
Still, the other ideas are nice :)
As is I can 1: use gg:my search I've been using kde since 2.0 or maybe earlier and only discovered gg by accident and only use gg: to try it out. 2: The existing search bar is there and visible, but no-one seems to use it, so it's useless. 3: If you turn on icon text the button with have search(or the i8n1 equivilent) written next to it, now I wonder what happes if I click the button with search wrtten underneath? Basicly, I can't see how it could be worse than the current situation.
You can't see how it would be worse? Look, the search bar is gone! Now people won't find it! Usability is not "hiding away pieces of interface to make it look simpler". A usable interface is an interface that is simple, easy to use and still useful! You see where your interface is worse yet? You see it is simpler, for sure, but it is less useful because people will never find the search bar. Finally, I'm a certain a lot of people use the current search bar, or at least Firefox, Safari and Opera agree with me. And gg: is great but it is no substitute for interface that people can see! Anyway, don't get me wrong, Konqi is a usability nightmare, but this isn't a usability improvement. The location bar is pretty much overly wide for most uses anyway, so I don't see why you thought this was necessary in the first place. Anyway I don't want to offend you, but I spose I must have, so I apologise.
You don't need to find the search bar, evey request that I ever type into the location bar is a request to locate(search/find) something. A miss-typed omain name should try to locate that domain name in google, a miss-typed file name should attempt to find the file, and a non-descript location would be a request to search for whatever you've typed in context. Anyhow, some people seem to like the idea, and others don't so I'll look at doing an implementation where you can optionally hide the search bar. I've also got 15-20 people of various computer skill (from none to product testes) who I can buy a pint and get them to do some usability testing, and about 4-5 people who would do long term usability testing. e.g. force them selfs to use a feature for a couple of weeks and see if it is easier touse once your used to it.
..what about the search bar called "Location". I think this is an overload that we do not need, cause 1) it's not intuitive 2) it adds complexity. For example, if I want to search google for a complete path + file name (for example looking for a problem involving this file), if I put it in the location bar it will hopefully do the right mime-type associated action. With your patch/idea?
1: it's more intuetive than the existing searchs. (either gg: or the extra text input) Lets say the button says search, and you click on it. The first time it offers you help to tell you how to use it. 2: I don't have a clue what your going on about, mime-type association for a google search?
If a user have to be trained, it's not for definition "intuitive". The current location bar is "intuitive" cause is the defacto standard for every platform and browser, so changing it will be a difference. Secondary, what I meant before was: if I write in the location (search) bar, for example "/usr/includ/myfile.h" because I want to search Google for this particular file cause I'm having trouble with it, putting it into the location bar will pop-up it into my preferred editor. What about this case? Yes, for sure, I can open www.google.com or click a button to switch to a forced search mode, but this would be a longer operation. I don't see why you hate so the google bar. It ws a great feature added in KDE 3.3, why remove it?
1:/ a defacto standard doesn't an intuitive interface make. e.g. The Querty isn't exactly the easiest keyboard to use, but it's the 'defacto standard' so that's what you get. Windows is the 'defacto standard' OS and IE is the 'defacto standard' browser, it doesn't make them good, or even standards complient. 2:/ It's clutter, basicly why have to input boxes when you only need one? I don't like thinks in the top right hand side of my view, I find them distracting, since I'm usually looking to the left of the page and there just out of my field of view. It's a bit like a TV in a pub, flickering away. Being in the top right, draws my attention away from the work I am doing, and I also have to 'think' about it. e.g. I ocassionally type a search into the location bar, only to have to copy it into the google bar. I do like it's functionality, well I would if is supported locate:// etc..., I woudln't get ridd so much as make it redundant, I suppose you can keep it their if you want to, or have the option of removing it but still having intergraed search in kde. 3:/ It would be impossible to the computer to guess exactly what you are thinking ,but it could have a good go. But without requireing much intelegence from the computer you could bind a seperate shortcut for search as apposed to open, you could get a prompt if there's uncertainty, or you could rediret you focus to the top right of the window and pick a search method.
this is quite like my idea of the ideal solution to searching in Konqi ;-) the button you can use to choose should indeed be bigger. and the 'default' search behaviour in the locationbar should be clever: search locally when in filebrowser mode, search google when in webbrowsing mode. mabe a 'more' button with a search wizard icon on it, so you can enter more info about the search (and choose search engine etc) like meta-data. when a nice animation whould make it appear from the searchbar, or maybe (like the current search-local-files function) embed it in the toolbar.
I would like to make the search 'learn' what method you use most based on you current protocol and profile. So Web yahoo could make it to the top of one persons list, where as search email may make it to the top of anothers. This requires a few more radical changes to KDE though (like machine learning) and I'm not keen to implement it for a single feature. ideally If i search the web/run an application/make text bold enough it should appear on the start menu and the desktop context menu for a day or so to see if I use it, likewise unused function like right click/forward should get pushed into a sub menu and hidden. Opps, got a little of topic, that's my next project.
improvement. Personally i never used the extra searchbar because i use gg: and so on, since it is there. But what happens quite often to me is, that: I type (or paste) something in, and if i forgot to type gg: or anything else in front of the term, i get an error message. Much better would be your idea.It would "centralize" the work with search terms and web locations. I could paste something in and only hit enter.That could use one default search engine like google or any else.Your arrow gives all choices for other than the default. Good idea!
There are a number of possiblities along those lines. firstly there's the IE approach (and the one your suggesting) where if a url failes the default search for the current view type is performed. Personally I find this anoying,but others probably like it so it's definatly an option. Other aproaches could use keyboard shortcuts, say enter = default, ctrl+enter = search alt+enter/alt+ctrl+enter = give me some search options. I know the crtl+enter modifier is already taken for open in a new tab.
Not exactly the IE approach. In IE you can't choose your search enging (am i right?). If you accidently hit the enter button without a protocol in front (ftp://,http://) it gives you an error message which is more annoying than a search with your favorite search engine. Only my opinion. But in general an improvement would be to loose that extra (space robbing) search bar.