Request: activate search results after search

dlnicolai

Hi,

I am aware that this request might appear as nitpicking, but as I usually prefer to navigate with the keyboard (for example use ctrl-f to enter a search), I was wondering if it would be possible that after finishing a search with enter, the gui could jump to activate the box with search results (this is the behavior e.g. in calibre). To me this would seem natural behavior. Now I have to tab 5 times to activate the result box. I know it is nitpicky, but I guess it is a very small change in the code and probably most users would prefer and appreciate this behavior.

Naturally I find zotero an amazing gift to the community already. Thanks for zotero and for taking this suggestion/request into consideration.

dstillman

I am aware that this request might appear as nitpicking

Not at all — we're happy to discuss small details here. (And the small details that actually need to be worked out are almost always even smaller than they first appear, as you'll see below, so help at any level is welcome.)

I was wondering if it would be possible that after finishing a search with enter, the gui could jump to activate the box with search results

That seems reasonable to me, though there are a couple complications:

1) In normal search mode (without quotation marks), the search will run automatically when you stop typing, but you can press Enter to run it immediately and skip the fraction-of-a-second delay. If the search had already finished, Enter would jump to the items list. If the search hadn't yet finished or was jump-started by pressing Enter, the items list should be focused once the search has finished running, unless the user changes the search text before the search finishes, in which case the focus should remain in the search box unless Enter is pressed again.

2) When quotation marks are used, the search isn't run until Enter is pressed. In that case, focus should probably stay in the search box unless Enter is pressed a second time without the search text being changed.

Issue created.