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Author Topic: Wide Search Bar  (Read 3370 times)

6233638

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Wide Search Bar
« on: November 05, 2014, 02:34:31 pm »

I can't say that I'm a fan of the search bar change, it seems very oversized now.
When compared to the old size though, I do agree that it was too small before.
 
20.0.30:

 
20.0.33:

 

I have two proposals, based on the same principle: keeping equal margins for the Player Bar Display.
 
 
1. Equal margins, with the same amount of padding on either side:

 
2. Equal margins, with reduced padding around the search box (equal to the right edge) to allow for more text:

 
For #1 you could also center the elements so that all margins are an equal size, but I'm not sure how I feel about moving the playback controls further from the edge.
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~OHM~

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Re: Wide Search Bar
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2014, 03:06:42 pm »

must be your skin as i see no difference with black on black
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flac.rules

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Re: Wide Search Bar
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2014, 03:18:27 pm »

My default skinned version looks like screenshot 1 and 2, so I don't think it is some skin oddity. The search-bar resizing is also mentioned in the changelog.

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~OHM~

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Re: Wide Search Bar
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2014, 03:42:08 pm »

My default skinned version looks like screenshot 1 and 2, so I don't think it is some skin oddity. The search-bar resizing is also mentioned in the changelog.



Yup i got that!
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RoderickGI

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Re: Wide Search Bar
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2014, 05:32:13 pm »

I prefer the search bar to be discrete when not in use, but it was too narrow previously for easy use.

The ideal solution for me would be that the search bar is like Option 1 or the original 20.0.30 in your images when it is not in use, leaving the maximum width for information in the centre box. The 20.0.30 version is good in that it is only wide enough to display the word "Search", so a user can see what the field is for. Then when in use the search bar should expand left, either to about a third of the width of MC, or to fit the text typed into the box.

Expanding it to a third the width would be easier programmatically, but probably less attractive.

Expanding to the width of text entered would take a bit more programming, would mean the text moves left as you type, and could result in redraw issues, but would be the best solution from a functionality and visibility point of view. Perhaps expanding the bar by ten characters at a time as required would work better than doing it as each character is typed.

I have used a program, many years ago, that had an expanding search box, but it was left aligned and there was space to the right to expand into without adjusting other elements on the screen. Still, it was a nice feature that resulted in less clutter on the screen when the search function wasn't being used.
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What specific version of MC you are running:MC27.0.27 @ Oct 27, 2020 and updating regularly Jim!                        MC Release Notes: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes
What OS(s) and Version you are running:     Windows 10 Pro 64bit Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.572).
The JRMark score of the PC with an issue:    JRMark (version 26.0.52 64 bit): 3419
Important relevant info about your environment:     
  Using the HTPC as a MC Server & a Workstation as a MC Client plus some DLNA clients.
  Running JRiver for Android, JRemote2, Gizmo, & MO 4Media on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium Android 9.
  Playing video out to a Sony 65" TV connected via HDMI, playing digital audio out via motherboard sound card, PCIe TV tuner

~OHM~

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Re: Wide Search Bar
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2014, 07:02:26 pm »

error
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6233638

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Re: Wide Search Bar
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2014, 05:13:22 am »

The ideal solution for me would be that the search bar is like Option 1 or the original 20.0.30 in your images when it is not in use, leaving the maximum width for information in the centre box. The 20.0.30 version is good in that it is only wide enough to display the word "Search", so a user can see what the field is for. Then when in use the search bar should expand left, either to about a third of the width of MC, or to fit the text typed into the box.
I'm sure it would not be too complicated to have the search bar adjust its width when it has focus, but what are people searching for that needs 30+ characters to find?
 
With regard to only displaying "search", when you are using a Split View it is actually very easy to end up searching in the wrong pane.
What was suggested to solve that would be to use "Search <view>" so it would display "Search Artists…" or "Search Movies…" etc.
 
And visually, I think keeping the PlayerBar Display symmetrical is a nice improvement.
You could still expand the width of the search box beyond that if it has focus and additional width is required, but by default I think symmetry works best.
 
 
P.S. It seems that there is no max size for the search box width now - at 4K it becomes comical, being wide enough for 107 characters.
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StFeder

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Re: Wide Search Bar
« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2014, 06:28:10 am »

I can't say that I'm a fan of the search bar change, it seems very oversized now.
Same for me.

The ideal solution for me would be that the search bar is like Option 1 or the original 20.0.30 in your images when it is not in use, leaving the maximum width for information in the centre box. The 20.0.30 version is good in that it is only wide enough to display the word "Search", so a user can see what the field is for. Then when in use the search bar should expand left, either to about a third of the width of MC, or to fit the text typed into the box.
I'd also prefer this kind of sizing. But for me the old size was big enough for most use cases. I only had very rare situations where the box really was to small for me.
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RoderickGI

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Re: Wide Search Bar
« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2014, 04:52:42 pm »

While I rarely need more than about ten characters for a search, sometimes I do need a lot more, up to about 20 when searching for TV shows. ("DreamWorks Dragons: Riders of Berk" vs "DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk" requires 21 characters to differentiate them.) I like to be able to see my search term, since if nothing meets the criteria I want to be able to quickly check my spelling! I prefer not to have to hover the mouse over the field to see the full search term.

What I do like with the new wider field is that the popup Search Suggestions window also seems to be wider now, so I can actually see most of the suggestions. Previously I used to get multiple suggestions that all started with the same text, but I couldn't see the end of the text so I couldn't differentiate them, again, without hovering the mouse over each of them. The wider Search Suggestions window is a bigger advantage to me than the wider search field.

Out of curiosity I just checked the field width on my TV and PC. 22 characters on the 1920x1080 TV. 33 characters on my 2560x1600 PC display. Neat.
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What specific version of MC you are running:MC27.0.27 @ Oct 27, 2020 and updating regularly Jim!                        MC Release Notes: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes
What OS(s) and Version you are running:     Windows 10 Pro 64bit Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.572).
The JRMark score of the PC with an issue:    JRMark (version 26.0.52 64 bit): 3419
Important relevant info about your environment:     
  Using the HTPC as a MC Server & a Workstation as a MC Client plus some DLNA clients.
  Running JRiver for Android, JRemote2, Gizmo, & MO 4Media on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium Android 9.
  Playing video out to a Sony 65" TV connected via HDMI, playing digital audio out via motherboard sound card, PCIe TV tuner

6233638

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Re: Wide Search Bar
« Reply #9 on: November 06, 2014, 05:13:41 pm »

While I rarely need more than about ten characters for a search, sometimes I do need a lot more, up to about 20 when searching for TV shows. ("DreamWorks Dragons: Riders of Berk" vs "DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk" requires 21 characters to differentiate them.) I like to be able to see my search term, since if nothing meets the criteria I want to be able to quickly check my spelling! I prefer not to have to hover the mouse over the field to see the full search term.
I suppose it depends how you use search. I'd just search for "Berk" and click play on whichever of the two I wanted to watch.

What I do like with the new wider field is that the popup Search Suggestions window also seems to be wider now, so I can actually see most of the suggestions. Previously I used to get multiple suggestions that all started with the same text, but I couldn't see the end of the text so I couldn't differentiate them, again, without hovering the mouse over each of them. The wider Search Suggestions window is a bigger advantage to me than the wider search field.
I agree, the wide results are nice.

Out of curiosity I just checked the field width on my TV and PC. 22 characters on the 1920x1080 TV. 33 characters on my 2560x1600 PC display. Neat.
Weird, at 1080p it's 35 characters wide here. (as pictured)
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Daydream

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Re: Wide Search Bar
« Reply #10 on: November 06, 2014, 07:50:12 pm »

Users should be able to drag it to whatever width they feel comfortable with. Like in Firefox. Problem solved.

Any set size or behavior will not cover everybody.
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RoderickGI

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Re: Wide Search Bar
« Reply #11 on: November 06, 2014, 11:30:54 pm »

I suppose it depends how you use search. I'd just search for "Berk" and click play on whichever of the two I wanted to watch.

It is usually most useful when fixing program naming errors caused by poor quality EPG data. (The bane of my TV experience.) In that situation, often just using a part of the name, such as Berk, gives me too many results. I am looking for a narrower set of results that I can then rename.

But the requirement does vary a lot. So Daydream's suggestion is probably a good one.
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What specific version of MC you are running:MC27.0.27 @ Oct 27, 2020 and updating regularly Jim!                        MC Release Notes: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes
What OS(s) and Version you are running:     Windows 10 Pro 64bit Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.572).
The JRMark score of the PC with an issue:    JRMark (version 26.0.52 64 bit): 3419
Important relevant info about your environment:     
  Using the HTPC as a MC Server & a Workstation as a MC Client plus some DLNA clients.
  Running JRiver for Android, JRemote2, Gizmo, & MO 4Media on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium Android 9.
  Playing video out to a Sony 65" TV connected via HDMI, playing digital audio out via motherboard sound card, PCIe TV tuner
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