137574 - Want shell-style (only on TAB) URL completion

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 109758

(SeaMonkey :: Location Bar, enhancement)

Description

[Zack Weinberg (:zwol)]

I would like a mode in which URL completion works the same way as filename
completion in Unix shells.  This would mean:

1. No completion occurs until the user pushes TAB.

2. When the user pushes TAB, completion executes this algorithm:
   A. Truncate each entry in the list of possible choices at the
   first slash after the current insertion point.  Remove duplicates.
   B. If there is now only one choice, insert all its text and
   place the cursor at the new end of the URL.  (If a trailing slash
   is appropriate, insert it.)  Do not display the dropdown.
   C. If there is more than one choice, insert the common prefix of
   all the choices and place the cursor at the new end of the URL.
   Then display the options in the dropdown list.
   D. If the user selects an entry from the dropdown list at this point,
   insert the remaining text of that entry and place the cursor at the
   new end of the URL.

3. A consequence of the above algorithm is: at the very beginning of
a URL the list of completion candidates is simply the list of protocols
(http:, ftp:, etc.)  As a special case, completion should fill in the two
slashes as well as the protocol name and colon.  Also, if what the user has
typed does not match any protocol, completion should insert 'http://' at the
beginning of the line and try again.


Here is an example.

I type 'h' in the URL bar.  An 'h' appears.  NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS.
I push TAB.  Mozilla fills in 'ttp://' and leaves the cursor after the
second slash.
Now I type 'gc'.  Again, those two letters are entered into the URL and
NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS.
I push TAB again.  Mozilla sees a whole bunch of URLs in the history,
all of which begin with 'http://gcc.gnu.org/'  Therefore, there is only
one choice after truncation.  Mozilla fills in 'c.gnu.org/' and leaves the
cursor after the slash.  The dropdown does not appear.
I type 'ml/g' and push TAB.  Mozilla fills in 'cc'.  The URL now reads
http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc
The dropdown bar appears, offering these choices:
http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc/
http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc-bugs/
http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc-patches/
At this point I can use the arrow keys to select one, and either push
RETURN to load that page, or keep typing, just the way it works now.

Comment 1

[Jo Hermans]

dupe of bug 109758 (despite the title, it wants to have tab-completion too)

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 109758 ***