GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 686902
Inconsistency when using Nautilus search bar and Sushi is installed (Space key)
Last modified: 2021-06-18 15:54:37 UTC
Since Nautilus 3.6, there is a just-type search feature, which lets you type any part of a file name and then searches immediately. After typing the first character, a search bar appears and gains the keyboard focus. It is, however, very easy to put focus back on the file list, e.g. by pressing the [↓] button. Now, when typing more characters, those will be added to the search term, but the input *won't* gain focus again. In that particular mode (search bar open, but not focused), the only (normal) character that can't be entered is " " (space), as that activates Sushi. This makes the just-type feature inconsistent, as when the search input *is* focused, it also registers the " " character. Of course, the decision here isn't very easy since sushi is rather useful and previewing search results is a valid use case... My bad ideas: * Try a different shortcut for sushi – Ctrl-Space maybe * Decide that users can't search for strings containing " " (well, that's a dumb idea) * Keep current behaviour
I think using Ctrl+Space is not a bad idea here. Unfortunately it's a bit too late to do this in 3.7 now I believe though.
I just happened to spot this in the sushi bug list, and after testing I believe the report is outdated — when I attempt to reproduce in nautilus-3.26.2, I no longer see the behavior described. What I experienced is: 1. Start typing in a Nautilus window, which brings up Search bar and enters search string 2. Press [↓] to move focus to main files (results, currently) pane 3. Use arrow keys to navigate among results 4. Type additional characters At step #4, typing with the Search bar already open and the focus in the main window area does nothing. The additional characters are not added to the Search field. (Hitting Space on a file still brings up a Sushi preview, which is convenient.) The search string can be extended only by returning input focus to the Search bar, which I think makes sense. (Though it would be handy if there was a keyboard shortcut to warp focus there. Ctrl-F dismisses the Search bar entirely, even when it's not focused.)
GNOME is going to shut down bugzilla.gnome.org in favor of gitlab.gnome.org. As part of that, we are mass-closing older open tickets in bugzilla.gnome.org which have not seen updates for a longer time (resources are unfortunately quite limited so not every ticket can get handled). If you can still reproduce the situation described in this ticket in a recent and supported software version of Files (nautilus), then please follow https://wiki.gnome.org/GettingInTouch/BugReportingGuidelines and create a new ticket at https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/nautilus/-/issues/ Thank you for your understanding and your help.