1715043 - Ctrl+K from address book tab should invoke global search

Status: NEW

(Thunderbird :: Address Book, enhancement)

Description

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

ctrl+k not working for address book in tab. ctrl+k focus to global search

Comment 1

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

Lacking this, the user must first change to a "mail" tab or space, before attempting global search

Comment 2

[u695164]

Should a ctrl+k in the address book tab open the inbox tab and focus the global search?

Address book contacts are not findable through the global search.
Having a global search in the address book tab toolbar like inbox or chat would imply for me that contacts are searchable through it.
But we do have the search function for lists and books in the address book.

Comment 3

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

(In reply to Nicolai Kasper from comment #2)

Should a ctrl+k in the address book tab open the inbox tab and focus the global search?

In the address book tab, the menu currently allows it via Edit > Find > Global Search - so it seems logical that the shortcut should also be made available if possible.

Address book contacts are not findable through the global search.
Having a global search in the address book tab toolbar like inbox or chat would imply for me that contacts are searchable through it.
But we do have the search function for lists and books in the address book.

Right. shift+ctrl+K would be suitable to invoke the contact filter. That behavior would mirror message list filter.

Comment 4

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

Alex, if you can spare the time (or else we can meet and discuss if you prefer :-)):

• I'd agree with Wayne that as the AB now lives in a tab (as a sibling of 3-pane), this is a good time to make Ctrl+K more universally available as a shortcut for Global Search (ux-consistency).

  Lacking this, the user must first change to a "mail" tab or space, before attempting global search

• In TB 91, Ctrl+K from AB used to focus AB quick search box, so we're actually breaking muscle memory here, but for the greater good.
• It would be great if we could also do Bug 1751304 (Re-implement a dedicated shortcut for AB quick search) to mitigate the UX fallout that we're hijacking the existing AB quick search shortcut Ctrl+K to invoke global search, without offering an alternative shortcut for the quick search. Wayne and I recommend Shift+Ctrl+K.

Comment 8 (and Bug 1751304 Comment 0) has a short summary of the overall search shortcuts landscape. What do you think?

(In reply to Nicolai Kasper from comment #2)

Should a ctrl+k in the address book tab open the inbox tab and focus the global search?

I was about to say yes, but Edit > Find > Global Search has an even better workflow:

• Open a new blank global search tab and focus its global search box (there's an undefined glitch atm, also lacks some UI polish, will file that). Thus we avoid going through the 3-pane tab which doesn't add anything useful.

I'd rather not add a global search box to the AB toolbar atm, for the ux-natural-mapping reason you provided in comment 2. Furthermore, address book quick search of 91 was located in the AB toolbar, so if we replace that with a global search input at the exact same position in this release, that's definitely going to confuse users who will think they can find contacts.

Address book contacts are not findable through the global search.
Having a global search in the address book tab toolbar like inbox or chat would imply for me that contacts are searchable through it.
But we do have the search function for lists and books in the address book.

Comment 5

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

Not a regression. We're proposing to make Ctrl+K more universally available for Global Search.
The regression is Bug 1751304, lost shortcut for AB quick search.

Comment 6

[u695164]

(In reply to Thomas D. (:thomas8) from comment #4)

Hey Thomas, maybe let me add further information.

I was about to say yes, but Edit > Find > Global Search has an even better workflow:

• Open a new blank global search tab and focus its global search box (there's an undefined glitch atm, also lacks some UI polish, will file that). Thus we avoid going through the 3-pane tab which doesn't add anything useful.

Yep this is definitely a better way.
It seems like this is the way to go from the current implementation.
I'll leave a WIP patch so that the Ctrl+k shortcut would work in Calendar and Address Book to open the search in a new tab.

To the Global Search (ux-consistency) shortcut.
Where should it stop?
Should Ctrl+k work in "Tasks", "Calendar", "Add-ons Manager", "Chat" (has a global search box on the toolbar as in the mail tab), "Settings", "Account Settings", ...?

Comment 7

[u695164]

Attachment: WIP: Bug 1715043 - Ctrl+k shortcut opens a new search tab for calendar and address book.

Comment 8

[Thomas D. (:thomas8)]

The current search concept of TB 91 isn't 100% consistent, but seems to follow the following keyboard UX design (with exception of Ctrl+K for AB quick filter, changed by this bug):

global search: Ctrl+K
inline quick search/filter: Shift+Ctrl+K
advanced search: Shift+Ctrl+F
on-screen text search (browser): Ctrl+F

Comment 9

[Alessandro Castellani [:aleca]]

I think this needs a bit more discussion, especially in preparation for future changes of 114, the location of the "Global Search" will change, with the objective to make it accessible on any tab without needing to physically add it to the toolbar itself.

I'd say, for the upcoming 102 point release, to restore the Ctrl+K to focus on the contacts list search.
In terms of UX, if the user is inside the address book, the primary and most important "search action" should be the search of contacts, rather than a global search for emails or events.