Search/filtering modes need to be visually distinct

[Lex Hider <alexeijh westnet com au>]

I will illustrate my point with evolution and rhythmbox as examples, but
I see this as general issue that needs a consistent gnome wide approach.

I will give two examples of problems I have experienced and leave it to
better heads for solutions because I'm not particularly familiar with
the HIG.

Basically, the problem is that when you have a search active or some
sort of filtering, it isn't immediately obvious that this is the case
and this can confuse the user.

Examples:

1) Evolution.
I have a folder where I file all emails relevant to ebay/paypal. I don't
use ebay much and so I access this folder infrequently. When I accessed
it the other day, I was really confused as to why there appeared to be
only two emails in the folder. Eventually I realised that I had a search
on a previous seller's name active. Everything was fine once I realized
this and hit "clear".

2) Rhythmbox.
Just so I make my point clear, and to show this isn't an evolution
specific issue, here's another example.

I had a search for "computer" active and had been listening to
Radiohead's OK Computer album. Later when I clicked on "Stevie Wonder"
in the Artist list in the browser, I was surprised that I wasn't shown
any songs. Eventually I realised that I had to clear the search field.


So I think that it has to be obvious and clearly visible when the user
is in a searching/filtering mode.

Lex