[kde-guidelines] HIG for search needed (?)

[Philipp Stefan]

Hello everyone,

my name is Philipp Stefan, I'm the guy from the VDG Forum who made the 
lengthy post about the search functionality.

Am 17.03.2014 23:45, schrieb Thomas Pfeiffer:
> On Monday 17 March 2014 23:30:56 Heiko Tietze wrote:
>> On Monday 17 March 2014, 23:05:24 Thomas Pfeiffer wrote:
>>> I see filter vs. search and instant vs. on enter/button as orthogonal.
>>> Okay, filtering should usually be fast enough to work as you type, but
>>> search as you type with an actual search is well possible, too. See
>>> Dolphin's search feature or KRunner, for example. They both perform
>>> actual searches, but still works instantly. And from all I've heard, it
>>> will work even better with baloo. Why would we have users click a button
>>> first if we can effortlessly search as they type as well?
>> Is it really consistent if you have an instant search at on time and a
>> 'classic' later? Even if we apply philiphorger's nice idea with different
>> icons [1] it would be something new. But I'm open for all approaches.
> No, they would always be instant (maybe with a slight delay if the query is
> too complex). Just like they are now. Everything that is Semantic Search (aka
> Nepomuk/baloo)-powered has always been instant. What would be inconsistent?
>
> I like the idea in the forum, too, but I don't think the different icons
> should indicate different "states" of the same search function. Either a
> search function is based on very fast and resource-efficient search engine so
> that it can be always instant, or it isn't and thus has to be always "search
> on click/enter".
I agree. I think that the search functionality has been proven to be 
fast enough to be "instant". On the other hand, does every application 
use Nepomuk/baloo for its search functionality? I know that Dolphin 
doesn't use it always e.g. when searching the root directory.
>>> Hm, it seems like we're talking about different thins. I thought the icon
>>> in "Search input consists of an icon, a line input to enter the search
>>> pattern, and a button to start the search." was referring to the
>>> binoculars next to the inout in Kickoff, for example. And I've not seen
>>> that
>>> combination anywhere else. Neither in Dolphin nor in KMail nor anywhere
>>> else I looked. If you did mean that icon: Where else did you see it? If
>>> not: Which one did you mean?
>> You are right, there is no icon. And I don't remember where I spotted them.
>> Anyway, I believe it is a good idea to identify 'search bars'. And the best
>> way to do so is IMHO an icon.
> An icon certainly makes it most obvious, yes, but I think putting "Search"
> into the empty search field works well enough (it seems to be the de facto
> standard, at least) and looks more lightweight.
I'd agree that an icon is the best way to make the search functionality 
easily identifiable. Like I have stated in my forum post before: I 
really like the elementary HIG [1] in this regard. In the case of 
Kickoff it would also help to state that the search will also work for 
finding files. I find the label "Search Applications and Files" way more 
telling than "Search..." On the other hand we'll have to consider that 
such a phrase can balloon up easily when translated.
If we follow the elementary OS/GNOME 3 style, then it would also be 
feasible  to change the magnifying glass to a spinning circle if the 
search operation takes a bit longer, to indicate that the program is 
still doing something.

Have you already discussed the placement of the "search bar"? I'd prefer 
a placement above the content (view), mostly because the "Search/Filter" 
button currently resides on top of the application(s). I was also about 
to make some new mock-ups, when I saw Andrew's post in the forum [2] 
that the mockup toolkit is now available.  The example mockups shown in 
the toolkit place the "search" button on the left side of the 
application. I don't know weather that'll be the direction the VDG wants 
to go or not, I'll ask them shortly.
I guess any placement will be Ok, as long as it's consistent. The 
"filter" and "search" functionality should appear at the same place though.

Something more mailing list related:
How is a conclusion reached? Is there normally some kind of vote, or 
will the one who edits the wikipage first the one who decides what's 
being used? Also, is there some kind of place where the current "draft" 
is saved, or does the current HIG wikipage function like that? I ask, 
because I have a horrible memory and forget easily. Something along the 
lines of "Issue | Decision" would be wonderful. I can, of course, also 
make such a list only for myself :)

Cheers

Phil


[1] http://elementaryos.org/docs/human-interface-guidelines/search-fields
[2] http://forum.kde.org/viewtopic.php?f=285&t=120225