Jennifer Glick wrote:
> Matthew Thomas wrote:
>>| 5. Label text says "Search for:" or "Subject or Sender contains:"
>>| "Depends on #3 sort of)?
>>
>>It also depends on whether you see this as a search or a filter -- of
>>which more in a moment.
>>
>Will say "Subject or Sender contains:" by default. But allow users to change
>the search to just "Subject contains:" or "Sender contains:" (probably in
>prefs panel somewhere). Text in Search bar would reflect the user's pref.
>
Instead of a pref, better make it a dropdown right in the search bar. It
is not a user preference, and direct manipulation is better than making
the prefs UI larger anyways.
Alternatively, hardcode to Subject and Sender, I would say.
>>FWIW, in Outlook Express for Mac OS this bar isn't optional, for the
>>same reason that the category header in Mozilla's prefs dialog isn't
>>optional: it's entirely possible for the currently selected folder to be
>>scrolled or collapsed out of sight, so a title bar is needed for the
>>message list (aka thread pane) to reassure the user about which folder
>>they're in. The search widgets are just an accessory on this title bar,
>>so they don't need a special name.
>>
I hope, you don't intend to do the same with Mozilla. I hate these title
bars. I see the selected folder both in the folder pane (no, I don't
have the problem of the folder in the folder pane being invisible) and
in the window titlebar, so I don't need another, big label. It is a
waste of screen real estate. They are the first thing I disable in
Windows Explorer, OE and friends, and it even annoys me that I have to
do that. If you force such a titlebar on me in Mailnews, I will hack my
local version or kill you (Note: this is an "and/or". ;-P )
>>|...
>>| The user types the search criteria into the text field and clicks the
>>| "Go" button or presses Enter/Return on the keyboard to begin the
>>| search.
>>
>>There is no particular reason to make them click a `Go' button or press
>>Enter/Return. Unless there are many thousands of messages in the folder,
>>you should be able to search fast enough to filter as the user types.
>>(Even if you can't, leaving non-result messages displayed for a fraction
>>of a second after the user types a character doesn't matter too much.)
>>
>Agree. "Go" button removed. Search will filter as the user types.
>
I am not sure that this is a good idea. Foldelrs with thousands of
messgaes are quite common. Many users have folders with a few (e.g. 2)
thousand messages. I have folders with > 10.000 messages.
I did a quick test: My INBOX currently has 3300 messages. Searching the
subjects for "Netscape" needs 6 seconds. That's an action that should be
triggered explicitly, nothing that should happen automatically. Too costy.
Also, I assumed that we search locally. (How a user or his software
stresses his machine is his own thing.) But I hope that we will
eventually search in the server, because this might be much faster
(because the server has more optimized software or caches or is a bigger
machine). Now, if we stress the network and server with such unnecessary
searches*, admins won't be happy. *Unnecessary, because you don't know,
when the user is done with the search string, so you need to start the
search at least each time the user makes a short break in typing. If you
search a search for each charakter, you have about 10 unnecessary
searches per real search.
I don't see the problem with teh user having to hit ENTER. There's also
no problem, if the user wants to alter the search string afterwards,
because we won't unfocus the search field after ENTER.
BTW: You can still retain the notion of filtering. Having to press a
button or enter doesn't change that in a bit.
>>| Clicking on the "Advanced..." button opens the full "Search Messages"
>>| dialog.
>>
>>I don't think this is necessary. If a user is savvy enough to have
>>turned this bar on in the first place, they'll already know the quicker
>>ways of getting to the advanced search (via the menu bar, or
>>Shift+Control+F).
>>
No, the menu bar is not faster than a button on a toolbar. I am assuming
that some users keep the searchbar open all the time.
>>| Buttons:
>>|...
>>| * Clear - Only enabled once a search has completed. Used to clear the
>>| search field and the search results from the Thread Pane. The Thread
>>| Pane repopulates with the full contents of the folder or newsgroup
>>| selected in the left Folder Pane. Note: Clicking on any folder,
>>| newsgroup or account in the left Folder pane should also clear the
>>| search field and the Thread Pane.
>>
If you want to give it the notion of a filter, this does not make sense.
There are common use cases where I want to issue the same search on
several folders sequentially. E.g. I am looking for a mail by a certain
person for of a certain topic, but don't remember the folder exactly. I
try the first folder. No results. I know, it is somewhere. I try the
next folder. This scenario is actuallyl quite common, I think.
In some cases (when I search not all subfolders of a certain folder),
the search bar might have here even an edge over the full search dialog,
because I only need one click to search another folder.
>>If you do a character-by-character filter, instead of a momentous
>>search, you don't need this button either. The user can just delete the
>>text in the field in order to instantly restore the entire contents of
>>the folder.
>>
A delete cannot be performed with the mouse only. My hands are likely to
be away from the keyboard already, when I am done with the search and
want to restore to normal view.
