farr v2 planning - use cases and action idea

[jukla]

we could also say that whenever an exact match to an action is typed, it is automatically recognized as an action; just keep in mind that searching for file result would get disrupted while you were typing.

-mouser

Maybe I misinterpret you here, but wouldn't that cause the problematic ambiguity for FARR that the modifier prefix is supposed to solve?

I might type "dylan play" in search of the file "dylan play.doc" (a script to a play about Bob Dylan, let us say) but can't find it since "play" is interpreted as action modifier and there are too many other files matching "dylan"...

Worst case scenario: a user wants to search for "kill'em all" by Metallica but FARR ends all running processes! ;-)

I think when you highlighted a file and start typing, FARR should put the filename into the list (just the filename, without path - this means FARR has to map the abbreviated form to the full file name, internally (maybe it should even just keep the part of the filename you entered)) and append a space sign, the command prefix character and the first character you typed, filling the result list with matching actions.

-Jan-S (building on QuickBrownFox)

Good solution!
How about going with your last option (= just keep the entered part of the filename in the search box) and in addition reserve the first line in the results box for the full title?

[gsull]

Besides searching for folders, which is the only functionality I'm really dying for, i think being able to play all of the mp3s in a folder, and maybe even choose some modifiers would be ideal.

something like "+play musicfoldername -shuffle" to play all of a folder, and subfolders under it, shuffled. 

I could see a problem existing based on how different players accept a shuffle command, but this could be tweakable for people not using well-known players.

All of the ideas so far look great, and I'm pretty excited about v2.

[nontroppo]

Wow! i think these thread get lost in detail and the way forward becomes unclear. sorry not to provide input sooner (bussssssy bee).

to go back to quicksilver - it has no clear edit box but visual indicators:

http://docs.blacktre...quicksilver/overview

it makes no clear distinction between actions and files IIRC (though it is now a long time ago that i last used it) - i think that is good. as it is visual, keyboard guides lists as FARR but with no clear edit box (a very simple UI).

so at first push - i'd want FARR to mix actions and files together. select [object] and you can launch it straight away (action would do nothing). press tab and the next selector comes up, again allowing files or actions. NOW if an action was specified first then to start with the next list can be just files (however think about nested actions described in the other thread).

by using a modifier, the list would be restricted as discussed here. so power users get the benefits of better focus and performance without forcing it on all users.

i likes jan-S's suggestions in the previous thread for a closer way to integrate into FARRs existing UI (the stack of files / actions). However quicksilver has this done visually which i think is more intuitive.

PLEA:
There are many other useful things FARR 2 can achieve. Performance is my #1 issue at the moment and there are many other things in the bugtracker. Please don't block all development of FARR waiting for the perfect solution to this as it won't happen. Incremental updates and some experimental builds will get us further than long theads (over 100posts spread over two threads) with endless possibilities 

[mouser]

i hear ya nontroppo - and agree.
as you can see i've been updating many of the other programs on the site while marinating in the farr stuff.
it's clear that farr v1 should get an intermediate release or two while farr v2 is being hashed out, i agree with that.

[s.newave]

Hi Mouser,

First off just want to thank you for creating such a kickass app. While i am really loving this app now what I've read about v2 is really exciting. Here are my thoughts on the subject:

1. -i think using modifiers is def the best/most logical way to go. I also think that when entering a modifier then the result window should switch to help complete that command.
-another feature which would be really amazing to have would be some sort of plugin interface a la TyepAndRun which could be used to add extra functionality to the app. some examples could be an active task list, system menu(reboot,shut down etc...), active windows list to name just a few. it would be even better if the plugin had the ability to specify the result windows columns, although this might be asking for a bit too much  . using the example above, one could type in +tasks and have the result window display all the current tasks with a column for name, cpu usage, and mem usage, then continue typing to filter the results which again could also be autocompleted and then hit the right arrow to bring up a context menu where an action could be performed.

2. once dir browsing is added i would be able to uninstall approcket for good. although i must say i think the way approcket handles dir browsing is prob the best way to handle it and it is very intuitive. using the arrow keys to go up/into a folder works very well IMHO as well as the feature where it displays the context menu if you hit the right arrow whilst highlighting a file. i also like the feature that once you've begun to browse dirs then filtering is automatically turned on so that any further typing filters within the current dir.

3.-other things i would love to see include the ability to select and execute multiple results. ie i have an alias similar to the default search alias where it would be great to type in alias query and then open the website/files for the first three results
-i also think autocomplete by using the TAB key (user definable) should be used to autocomplete the first/highlighted result.
-indexing and performace tweaks, especially in bringing up the window. i think most users of this app have systems that could handle it if this app had a bigger footprint and cache. it is made for power users after all

i really look forward to the next release and i must say that finding this app has changed the way i interface with my pc for good.

[Perry Mowbray]

Personally, I'd go for an intellisense type approach to completing keywords, keeping it all out from the result list... so an auto-complete keypress combo that either displays matching choices or selects the only result if it's one.

I think the idea of adding the highlighted file(s) to the edit box is a great idea too. 

[Amadawn]

One more thing that I hope does not get "forgotten" in the midst of all these cool functionnality suggestions is the look and style of FARR v2, as well as the "first impression" that it gives when you first use it.

I've recently given a try to Launchy, which by the way is and excellent launcher although it is way less powerful and even less configurable than FARR v1. However it has 2 things that make it give a much better _first_ impression than FARR v1:

1. Cool skins (specially the default one): FARR v1 has skins but these are nowhere as good looking as the ones that are available for Launchy. This is even truer for QuickSilver, whose interface is very stylish and makes you almost want to use it all the time :-)

2. Speed: As Launchy only indexes the startup menu (and only the shortcuts) by default (although you can also tell it to index other folders) it can use an indexin mechanism which yields instantaneous results. Although FARR's search is pretty fast, you can see the results being refined which gives an impression of it being slower.

The index vs search thing has been discussed here a lot so I will not say much about it other than perhaps a hybrid approach, where an index is used for the initial results and a search is performed after than to look for additional results.

But for the "look and style" part I hope that FARR v2 improves its skinning engine and in particular comes with a kick ass default skin! :-)

And please, please, make it so that the config menus are usable when using big fonts in windows instead of the default ones (and hopefully fix this for all your programs which suffer from this same problem, lake the fabulous ProcessTamer v2)! :-)

Cheers,

Angel

P.S..- I'm looking forward to an intermediate release of FARR!

[Jan-S]

3.-other things i would love to see include the ability to select and execute multiple results. ie i have an alias similar to the default search alias where it would be great to type in alias query and then open the website/files for the first three results

-s.newave (July 29, 2006, 12:58 AM)

I think this is solved very well in the current FARR release: in Options -> Interface you can define a modifier for "Launch and stay open". I'm using CTRL for that, so to open the first three results I would hit CTRL+1, CTRL+2, 3.

In FARR2 this could work the same way. If you already entered an action and are looking for files, Modifier+Number could execute this action on each file seperately. If you selected a file first and entered the action modifier to browse for actions, Modifier+Number could execute different actions on the selected file (can't think of a use case scenario, though).