D16988: [Kickoff] Make the visible search field unfocused by default

[Filip Fila]

filipf added a comment.


  In D16988#361980 <https://phabricator.kde.org/D16988#361980>, @ngraham wrote:
  
  > And I'm afraid I don't think we can do #1. @chempfling and @gladhorn have been working hard to push on accessibility, and one thing I've learned in the past week weeks is how important focus is. Making sure that the active element both has and looks like it has focus is critical to making sure  the UI is accessible for screen readers. As such, we need to keep it visually focused by default when it opens.
  >
  > I would be open to making the search field behave like it does in Kicker: visually focused by default, but then focus shifts to list items when they're active (but you can still type-to-search anywhere).
  >
  > One more note: while compatibility with 3rd-party themes is a laudable goal, it can never be a primary one, and it can't dictate design considerations. 3rd-party themes are a moving target and chasing them is futile, so  "this change makes it look better with 3rd-party themes" can never be a selling point. It has to be better for Breeze first and foremost. If the change also improves the look for 3rd-party themes, all the better, but that can't be the primary consideration.
  
  
  Hmm but it doesn't even need to be primarily argumented as a visual improvement. Can't we approach the focused/unfocused matters contextually? If I'm using Kickoff mostly to click on my favorites and use the leave actions, why should the search field be glowing and be at 100% opacity all the time?
  
  For comparison's sake and looking at our major competitors, there is no such thing in Windows - there's even no search field in the menu and the Cortana tab on the panel which can act as a replacement isn't focused until you interact with it. In GNOME, which is even more incentivized to keep the search field focused, that doesn't happen either and the field looks subtle. From what I'm seeing, in macOS the Launchpad's search bar is even subtler than in GNOME and sans a blinking cursor that can be activated, there isn't even such a thing as a focused state. I also see that Spotlight search, which is actually something like KRunner (so something made solely for searching) is pretty subtle looking and also doesn't have a focus state. And I notice they've got search fields everywhere and none of them are focused unless interacted with. The Deepin search bar likewise blends in seamlessly into the menu and doesn't seem to have a focused state either. Budgie only has an underline of sorts as its one and only state. The Cinnamon menu has only one state and it's subtle looking. In short, seems like a lot of desktop environments make do just fine without making the search bar stick out.
  
  Taking that into account, plus the fact that we didn't even have a search field for 4 years — and that this hasn't been complained about //that //unanimously and vocally — is it really that imperative to keep it focused?

REPOSITORY
  R119 Plasma Desktop

REVISION DETAIL
  https://phabricator.kde.org/D16988

To: rooty, #plasma, #vdg, romangg, ngraham, davidedmundson
Cc: gladhorn, chempfling, filipf, plasma-devel, ragreen, Pitel, ZrenBot, lesliezhai, ali-mohamed, jensreuterberg, abetts, sebas, apol, mart
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.kde.org/pipermail/plasma-devel/attachments/20181119/2b3b76bf/attachment-0001.html>