In library, the two search boxes are confusing the user

[Popolechien]

While looking at All Files I am dealing with hundreds of files if I am set to English. Typing a search for a given term should allow to filter results for that particular string.

[kelson42]

@Popolechien I guess you got confused beetween the content search and the library search box

[Popolechien]

Correct. I guess the Enhancement should be "Search for a zim title while View is on the library, search in zim files when view is in a zim." This also could be a sort of drop-down menu to toggle search range, but that sounds more clunky

[kelson42]

@Popolechien What you propose is too complex IMO. Here is how the mockup looks like:

[Popolechien]

And here is what we have:

[stale]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be now be reviewed manually. Thank you for your contributions.

[suterma]

@Popolechien I guess you got confused beetween the content search and the library search box

I can only second this. Any new user will be completely confused, what to search with each box, the placeholder text is not conculsive. Also, the very existence of two search bars on a screen should be avoided in the first place.

[kelson42]

@Popolechien @suterma So, the current implementation respects the UI design mockup! We need to agree if there is an implementation problem or a design problem... or both.

[suterma]

This comment proposes a concrete solution to the issue at hand. The aim is to somewhat mimick the behavior of the Firefox browser with regards to content and settings.

• The tabs bar is ALWAYS the topmost UI element.
• Below is some "menu bar" that displays the appropriate navigation within the visible tab's content.
• Below is the content, respective to the tab type.

Imho, these are the advantages:

• This design avoids the "double search bar"
• Since it is similar to an existing application, it does not reinvent the wheel much (Least Surprise)
• The displayed search bar is always where the searched items are (IN the tab, not above the tab bar)

Screen mockups:

A proposal of a freshly started application, with just the initial library tab. Note that the forward/backward buttons plus the goggles are removed in this tab. Here, the search bar (with exemplary search term "geog") obviously searches within the files.

When a "content" tab is opened, the search bar searches it's content. Note that here, the forward/backward buttons are displayed, and the goggles. However, the file open icon is not available.

Clearly, this proposal is only a first draft, out of my own experience as a new kiwix user, and should be refined. Especially the UI element backgrounds should get improved to indicate the grouping of tab/tab-content better.

Note:

• This proposal might also solve Search is broken on empty tab page #499, in case this user was trying to search for a file in the upper search bar, when they should have been using the lower one in the current implementation.

[kelson42]

@suterma Thank you for your proposal. This is an interesting one. But, honestly I don't fell comfortable to make such a massive change just right like this. This is too much, too quick, and from someone with too few experience with the project.

I propose an alternative which is easier and less risky:

• Move the library search bar to the left sidebar, below other filters
• Keep it like it is, but replace "Search files" with "Search catalog"
• Disable the top search bar, if in library. Activate otherwise

[kelson42]

For the documentation, here is how the Kiwix Desktop 1.0 library looked like:

[stale]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be now be reviewed manually. Thank you for your contributions.

[kelson42]

@juuz0 @Popolechien Should we try to handle this now?

[Popolechien]

@kelson42 Sure thing.

[kelson42]

To summarize, we have two proposals to solve the problem:

• Merge two free text search boxes in one and switch tabbar and searchbar to make the search bar near the library
• Move the library search bar beside the other filters in the left sidebar

@rgaudin @mgautierfr @veloman-yunkan @Benoit75 @Popolechien @juuz0 @suterma If you have an opinion about which one you think is better and can explain why. Please express yourself here.

[rgaudin]

@suterma 's version feels more natural to me; like Firefox.
Is there a search in page feature? So a potential for an additional search field? Firefox places this last one on the bottom.

[kelson42]

Is there a search in page feature?

Yes, but the search bar appears at the bottom. No confusion possible.

[juuz0]

Proposal 1 (#554 (comment)) sounds good in combining the search bars, but the changing the placement of top search bar looks weird to me. The fullscreen and menu buttons also move with it. They are top-right in apps usually (atleast the fullscreen/maximize button).

Proposal 2 (#554 (comment)) is more natural in the sense all filters are at the same area. Though, rather than disabling the top search bar, I think completely hiding it will be better? Same with hiding anything not useful (back button/forward button/ reading list button). I prefer this proposal.

[kelson42]

Though, rather than disabling the top search bar, I think completely hiding it will be better? Same with hiding anything not useful (back button/forward button/ reading list button). I prefer this proposal.

Hidding will proably not happen as we can not hide everything. But greying yes. But for the searchbar, it will be soon a multizim searchbar and as such there won't be reason to grey it once this is implemented.

[juuz0]

But for the searchbar, it will be soon a multizim searchbar

This will outdate proposal 1 I think? How will multizim search and books filtering work with the same searchbar, if not.

[kelson42]

But for the searchbar, it will be soon a multizim searchbar

This will outdate proposal 1 I think? How will multizim search and books filtering work with the same searchbar, if not.

I don't think this make the request deprecated. Actually I'm almost convinced that having only one bar would be better. But what is sure, is that this has a lot of implication to have this kind of "Awesome bar" and we are definitly not mature for that.

I will open a dedicated ticket to that, but in the meantime please implement this ticket by moving the library search bar at the top of the side bar.