Shell Windows Search

Contents

  1. Shell Windows Search
    1. Possible Goals
    2. Relevant Art
      1. Ubuntu Unity
      2. Windows Search Extension
    3. Discussion
    4. Tentative Design
    5. Comments
    6. See Also

Make it possible to allow searching for open windows from the Activities Overview.

Possible Goals

  • Allow searching for open windows
  • Allow searching for other types of app content? eg. Tabs.
  • Don't interfere with or divert from app search

Relevant Art

Ubuntu Unity

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Screen-Shot-2014-02-18-at-22.33.22.png

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuqn19Fq5i0

Windows Search Extension

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1001/window-search-provider/

Discussion

Possible approaches:

  • Add different UI view to be triggered by keybindings that just shows windows and searching between only filters them (so per workspace, by default, while showing all the windows when an additional modifier is used to trigger it) (MarcoTrevisan)

  • Present window results as we do right now for a search provider (integrating in case): so parent app icon on the left, matching windows list on the right (MarcoTrevisan)

  • Show window thumbnails in an horizontal list below to the window apps (MarcoTrevisan)

  • Merge app list with windows: search will keep the running apps with matching windows on the top list, then using arrows we can expand the windows thumbnails as right now you can achieve with Alt+Tab → arrow-down (SebastianKeller)

IRC discussion

Tentative Design

Comments

See Also

Design/Whiteboards/ShellWindowsSearch (last edited 2019-03-13 10:21:43 by MarcoTrevisan)