Re: [PATCH] filechooser: restore pre-3.16 type-ahead-find with setting (off by default)



Am 29.08.2015 um 22:22 schrieb Thomas Martitz:
I know, I've tried 3.17.7.

True, it's an improvement over 3.16, for what it's supposed to be: a tool to search for files/dirs within the current directory. It's still not a viable replacement for what type-ahead-find is supposed to be: a tool to quickly navigate through a well-known directory tree.

I use type-ahead to swiftly go to directories and files that I perfectly know where they are. I just want to open those quickly using only the keyboard (I'm a programmer). I loved this method even when I used windows many years ago and I am totally accustomed to this. Any thing else simply doesn't work for me or would require relearning the way I use my computer after many years.

To summarize why the new search isn't a viable replacement:
1) Search results appear with delay compared to type-ahead find (though not large) 2) I can't just open/select the first match with enter because it's not highlighted 3) the search results mix files and directories even if the original directory view has directories sorted before files and regardless of the context-menu->show dirs before files checkbox (is this a bug?) 4) It does substring search so files/dirs that end with my search pattern are listed as well (sometimes even before those that I want to select in the first place) 6) The file view radically changes upon search even if my intend is to simply select an item from the unchanged view 6) It feels alien compared to previous and Windows experience (I still use Windows from time to time).

3 and 4 are most annoying, I could perhaps live with it if those where fixed. However, since type-ahead-find is still built into the GtkTreeView widget enabling it for the file chooser requires essentially no additional code so IMO the setting to re-enable it for those who favor it makes sense and comes at no cost.

BTW: Some archlinux users even created an AUR to restore the old behavior: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/gtk3-typeahead

I don't think the above solution is the way to go forward. I'd like to have a solution in GTK+ itself that works for everyone.


I would like to emphasize my interest in this topic and patch and ask for someone to review the patch and consider it for merging, please.

See https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=754302

Best regards


[Date Prev][Date Next]   [Thread Prev][Thread Next]   [Thread Index] [Date Index] [Author Index]