Searchable Config and Customize Dialogs

[Jeff Bellune]

As XY gets more feature-rich, I think it would be a good idea to make the Configuration dialog and the Customize dialogs searchable by keyword.

("Now where was that option to always sort the folders before the files? I sure wish I could search this config dialog by keyword...")

This is available in DOpus, and during my trial of that software, it was *incredibly* useful.

"Category" in CKS is a good start, but mostly I don't always know what category the command is in. Which makes Category mostly not very useful because it requires multiple recursive searches - one for the right Category and then one for the right shortcut. I'm sure this will get easier for me as I use XY more and more, but for now, it's unproductive.

-Jeff

[j_c_hallgren]

When I'm having those "where oh where did I see that option?" moments, I tend to resort to the wiki which I can search on...ok, so it's not local to my drive or perfect, but it generally helps me out!

[Jeff Bellune]

When I'm having those "where oh where did I see that option?" moments, I tend to resort to the wiki which I can search on...ok, so it's not local to my drive or perfect, but it generally helps me out!

I find the wiki's search engine to be somewhat less than desirable. It works, but barely.

[admin]

As XY gets more feature-rich, I think it would be a good idea to make the Configuration dialog and the Customize dialogs searchable by keyword.

Actually I had planned this when I redesigned the config dialog some weeks ago, but then other more important things came in the way. So, it's on my list.

[Jeff Bellune]

Thanks for the info, Don.

Although I think it's a key feature, I'd be interested in other opinions (j.c. has already checked in with his).

I think it would be good for noobs and experienced users alike. I say that because XY will get new features, and because after having a comfortable setup for a while, it might be tough to get back in to those dialogs and make modifications should workflow ideas change.

-Jeff

[serendipity]

+1 for search on config. I already asked sometime back for a search feature in CKS because of the sheer number of commands which are available. As Jeff pointed out same holds true for config. Actually the .ini itself is searchable but it would be good to have an interface to do this. And by all means i prefer "find as you type" kind of search box.
And yes, I too have a tough time using wiki's search.

[serendipity]

BTW, since we spoke of XYWiki, i recently came across this:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfile ... _id=104495
I am sure there are more tools these days to help convert from wiki to whatever. i think the possibility of having the wiki offline is good.

[admin]

+1 for search on config. I already asked sometime back for a search feature in CKS because of the sheer number of commands which are available. As Jeff pointed out same holds true for config. Actually the .ini itself is searchable but it would be good to have an interface to do this. And by all means i prefer "find as you type" kind of search box.

Ok, but how to present the results? As a list, and then jump-on-click? Jump to a checkbox? Never seen this before...

[serendipity]

+1 for search on config. I already asked sometime back for a search feature in CKS because of the sheer number of commands which are available. As Jeff pointed out same holds true for config. Actually the .ini itself is searchable but it would be good to have an interface to do this. And by all means i prefer "find as you type" kind of search box.

Ok, but how to present the results? As a list, and then jump-on-click? Jump to a checkbox? Never seen this before...

Actually, you can have an alternate GUI for config which simply shows the .ini file with short explanation before the values. Explaining will take a long time, so I will suggest this. I dont know if you like it but i like it the Opera way. Download and install the portable version of Opera (http://opera-usb.com/) and type "opera:config" in the addressbar. Here you see all the config values which you can filter through by typing and change on the go. Just a suggestion.

[Jeff Bellune]

How about as a mini-tree and a list, sort of like it is now?

The "search" would be more like a filter. Each category (General, Advanced, etc.) would be clickable (like it is now), but only the Categories in the list that matched the filter would be shown.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Let's assume you filtered on the keyword "size". Here are the results:






The filter field/combo box could be near the bottom of the dialog, and the highlights could be stroked, but you get the idea.

-Jeff

[serendipity]

Jeff's idea sounds reasonable to me. Simple and effective.

[admin]

How about as a mini-tree and a list, sort of like it is now?

The "search" would be more like a filter. Each category (General, Advanced, etc.) would be clickable (like it is now), but only the Categories in the list that matched the filter would be shown.

Yes, the mini-tree is a good idea!

The high-lighting idea was already in my head, too, but for technical reasons it cannot look as nice as in your screenshots. All I could do is change the text color of the whole caption.

Also I should mention that this feature takes quite some work to implement.

[j_c_hallgren]

The high-lighting idea was already in my head, too, but for technical reasons it cannot look as nice as in your screenshots. All I could do is change the text color of the whole caption.

As an alternative to text color, I'm just wondering if making the matching text in italics could be a possible solution? Even if it was the whole caption, that would make the need for a new color setting a non-issue and should still make the match unique enough to easily spot....just an idea...

[admin]

The high-lighting idea was already in my head, too, but for technical reasons it cannot look as nice as in your screenshots. All I could do is change the text color of the whole caption.

As an alternative to text color, I'm just wondering if making the matching text in italics could be a possible solution? Even if it was the whole caption, that would make the need for a new color setting a non-issue and should still make the match unique enough to easily spot....just an idea...

I find italics hard to read, but underline would work, too, right?

[j_c_hallgren]

I find italics hard to read, but underline would work, too, right?

I would suspect that it should!
Because either of these would stay away from any more color incompatibility issues...an INI setting that would allow user to choose italics or underline could be a way to handle it also, as I find italics easier to see in many cases...but since we're trying to make it easy to find, maybe just the underline would be best as first choice anyway.