Live Filter for List & Quick Search Bar

[highend]

Easy enough for me:

Right lower side of the current active pane. And I'd appreciate an option to use either "Type Ahead Find" or the "Live Filter Box" because actually I don't want to have the LFB visible all the time but only when I begin to type. Combine it with a keyboard shortcut to show it on demand.

{ESC} clears the content of the LFB when at least one character is inside it's input field (you typed something before)
{ESC} on empty input field -> Close LFB

If you really want to make the feature stand out, allow a bit of navigating as well.

E.g.: ".." -> One folder up

This is how Listary looks like and while it's really a powerful tool the old releases were a lot less buggy and therefore I'm not using it any more. But it allows a lot more than you probably have in mind (it's filter doesn't modify the real XY list but it shows the content of the list and expands / shrinks it depending on what is typed):

LFB.png (31.61 KiB) Viewed 2875 times

[Marco]

I'm with highend in that the right side of the SB feels more natural as a position for the LFB.
My first idea was the AB tho, much like in WE and web browsers - it's logical, the AB tells you what the List is showing (be it a real location, a search, or whatever), and the LFB refines it (by visual filtering).
One thing is sure: should you position it together/within another UI element (status bar, address bar, catalog,...), there will be a chance it won't be visible because the parent element is hidden. And I don't think, personally, that making it a floating element would be consistent with the rest of the interface. Compromise is the way.

[klownboy]

When it comes right down to it, as long as the hotkey brings up the LFB and/or makes it active so when you start typing it filters then it probably makes no difference what side of the Status Bar it on especially if it's integral with the SB.

[admin]

Thanks for the replies so far!

Not decided yet, but it will certainly not be a floating element.

BTW, I plan to make it (maybe optionally) permanent for a tab, so it stays filtered when you come back to a tab. IMO that's natural. However, when you change location within a tab, the filter is auto-removed.

[binocular222]

IMO, Live Filter Bar should be as close to Top of the List as possible because when typing in Live Filter, you should constantly look at the first few items of List to decide when to stop typing.
Right of Breadcrum Bar is fine for me.

[eil]

IMO, Live Filter Bar should be as close to Top of the List as possible because when typing in Live Filter, you should constantly look at the first few items of List to decide when to stop typing.
Right of Breadcrum Bar is fine for me.

agree with closer to top items point. yet i was thinking about Breadcrumb bar too, but that's again an element that can be hidden.
anyways the point of "till it has show/hide logic, any place is fine" is suitable.

[Enternal]

Yeah I also agree the top of the list is the best area. Although, the right side of the address bar is not too bad of a space either. At least, it makes use of the mostly empty space (depends how far in a path you are).

[Filehero]

I have the catalog shown permanently, which also leaves another XY area permanently empty. Making the LF - depending on the concrete layout, of course, - also a catalog item would be welcome here.

FH

PS: I'm still struggling a bit getting the "magic" of the/a live filter. Basically, it is "nothing else" but a search displayed in the current tab and which gets auto-updated after each char change of the search string, right?

[highend]

it is "nothing else" but a search displayed in the current tab and which gets auto-updated after each char change of the search string, right?

Filter

It seems are a lot of people have different opinions about where to place the LFB. So: Allow the user to make his own choice by giving a few defaults...

[admin]

PS: I'm still struggling a bit getting the "magic" of the/a live filter. Basically, it is "nothing else" but a search displayed in the current tab and which gets auto-updated after each char change of the search string, right?

Not a search, but a Visual Filter.

Yes, looks like the position will be customizable. I think I will start with my own preference , i.e. SB left end. Later there will be choices.

[admin]

Done!

[highend]

[TheQwerty]

Works as I had anticipated and will surely be appreciated by those that were not fans of the AB method.
So that's all good!

Take a break have a (and another ) then continue reading.
First impressions...

1) Not a fan of the status bar location.

With wide info panel and a [tree | list | catalog] layout this puts the LVB under the tree causing a dissonance with what it does. Given that its use activates the VF bar, I think my preference would be for it to be in the VF bar itself.

2) I'd prefer it persist across tab changes. Feels odd that it sticks across pane changes and changing tabs in that pane but not switching tabs in the LVed pane.

3) "Pressing ESC in an empty box hides the box" not sure I like this, but think it can be learned. (If not its a good candidate for tweak level.)

4) "Dbl-click the filter information bar in the list to remove the live filter quickly" might be nice if this were an option for regular VFs as well - I'd find it more useful than the Set VF dialog.

5) You added the ability to add/remove a LVF via script, but we (will) need a way to detect and retrieve the LVF as well - especially since it is not included in tab('get', 'filter');.

[highend]

6.) An option that typing while a list has focus activates the LFB automatically. Imho this can be a total replacement to the type ahead feature...

[highend]

7.) Can you add a tweak:

LiveFilterBox_ShowResultsTime=0 <any value larger than 0>

0 = Only apply the filter when you hit return
>0 = Time in ms until the filter is automatically applied

Reason:
Type > to begin a regex filter and 500ms later: The list is empty
If you tried to apply a pattern for multiple files there is nothing to work with (in this case I'd set it to 0)...