Global search GUI for antiX

[Member PPC]

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I do love this little script, specially the fast file find the web search (for some reason, even on my work desktop, that’s has plenty of RAM and always has a browser open, I like the simplicity of a dedicated web search window, nothing inside a browser, that can be tracked).
My only fear is that proposing this as part of the yad-goodies package, if it comes with a dedicated toolbar entry for it, under antiX Full, some folks may comment that antiX looks like a cheap rip-off of Windows – since it offers basically the same functionality (live previews of the windows, global search semi-built into the toolbar, etc). My idea is not trying to clone any other system, just provide antiX with functionalities most users expect a modern OS to have…
antiX may look a bit different from most modern OS, but I think it currently is just that- different, not uglier, or with much less funcionality… Folks with more system resources can enable the Compositor (for basic visual effects), install Dunst (for system notifications), even the automatic updater thingie (if you really miss automatic updates- I don’t)- ending up with a still very light system (that can run laps around any modern OS) and still has about every single important feature people expect or like to see in an OS… love this modularity. This “Global/Universal search GUI”, in my opinion was the single feature that antiX’s UI lacked (but as I said, my idea was integrating this into ft10, so if anticapitalista does not like the idea, it will be added to a future version of that package, when I get to build it)

Probably in the coming holiday, I’ll try to improve the app-search, polish off the script and propose it to anticapitalista’s git… I can already see some users complaining “Oh, no! More menu entries!” (just when I recently said I had nothing major to add to antiX).

P.

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by PPC.

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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You’re off to a very good start with this script.

Believe me, while I enjoy the light, configurable Base and Core editions,the work that Xecure and you have contributed to antiX over the past couple of years have made a lot of improvements to the usability of the Full implementation at very little increases to the overall size, making it a great choice for most people.

Great choices!

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Brian Masinick

[Member Karo]

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PPC wrote:

My only fear is that proposing this as part of the yad-goodies package, if it comes with a dedicated toolbar entry for it, under antiX Full, some folks may comment that antiX looks like a cheap rip-off of Windows – since it offers basically the same functionality (live previews of the windows, global search semi-built into the toolbar, etc).

Honestly, I have to admit that was my first thought. But that is too superficial a thought.
Just because something is similar to other things from other worlds doesn’t make it bad. On the contrary, it may well be better than other implementations.

Everyone has their own ways of finding things. Be it on the computer or on the net. Sometimes you are also very stuck in your own methods and find it difficult to allow new things. In the end, it’s just a question of efficiency and getting used to it.

I like the Finder.
A great work, many thanks for it @PPC

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Original german text:
Ehrlicherweise muss ich gestehen, dass das mein erster Gedanke war. Aber das ist zu oberflächlich gedacht.
Nur weil etwas ähnlich anderer Dinge aus anderen Welten ist, ist es noch lange nicht schlecht. Ganz im Gegenteil kann es durchaus besser als andere Umsetzungen sein.

Jeder hat seine eigenen Vorgehensweisen Dinge zu finden. Sei es auf dem Rechner oder im Netz. Manchmal ist man aber auch sehr festgefahren was eigene Methoden betrifft und tut sich schwer Neues zuzulassen. Am Ende ist es nur eine Frage der Effizienz und Gewöhnung.

Ich mag den Finder.
Eine tolle Arbeit, vielen Dank dafür @PPC

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by Karo.

Since english is not my native language and my knowledge is too poor to represent complex things I use a translator.
These are known not to be perfect. If you translate one of my posts from german to english into other languages, the result will be worse and worse. Therefore, I post in both english and german, so that non english speaking users can have the german text translated directly into their language.

[Member PPC]

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Thanks for the positive input.
Last night I did a bit more work on the script:
-Improved, a lot, the app search function. Its should no longer provide false positives due to text in another languages, in the .desktop files.
-Improved error messages, displayed when nothing is found (so users can check if they did a typo)
-In the web search configurations, moved the “no region” option to the first place, so user that click “ok” by mistake don’t start getting results in arabic.
-Changed icons, added image to the main window (the search icon is not perfect, but at least it does not hurt my eyes now)
-Also clarified that the App search button can also be used to search for settings (since most settings related stuff do have their own .desktop file- users can search for audio, volume, mixer, screen, wallpaper, printer, keyboard, etc – and they will probably find what they are looking for)

If the app search works in all locales, and no other bug is found, I guess this is really, really almost out of beta…

P.

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by PPC.

Attachments:

1. finder16b.tar

[Member PPC]

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I polished the script a bit more and tested it in pt and pt_br. It should work in every language, but if possible, please test it in fr and fr_be too

I just changed the way the app search is performed and did some tiny adjustments- I found no bug or any kind of problem, so this should be the final version. I’ll wait a couple of days for users to test it out and then I’ll try sending it to anticapitalista…

PS: I think tiny GUI looks polished, and at the same time, efficient in allowing almost any kind of search users may want to make. The single major improvement that I can envision is adding, in the app search, the possibility to search the repository too, and to list apps that meet the query, so user can install them with one click – but I can see the potential to generate chaos this kind of feature may cause, with users installing stuff left and right…

EDIT: The message that the empty file search returns makes it clear, to the user, that only the home folder is scanned.
I changed also the sleep commands, so file search and app search should feel a lot speedier…

All productive input is welcomed, as always

P.

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by PPC.

Attachments:

1. finder-1final.tar

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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Checks out great in English; I hope you get some good testing for the additional languages
and other eyes to find additional use cases.

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Brian Masinick

[Member PPC]

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And of course I had another idea, ofter I uploaded the file… It’s a simple basic one, that can be helpful – since antiX does not have an “All apps” menu (if you don’t consider app-select a “menu”), I tweaked my version of the script to, if the user clicks the button to search for “apps/settings”, assumes that the search term is “*”, and displays an alphabetical list of all apps that have a .desktop file entry (in fact, it acts like a an “All apps” menu).

If anyone wants to test out this idea: open the latest version of the script and make sure that line 64 (the -z “$query” line) reads like this:

[[ -z "$query" ]] && { query="*"; }

Now, if you just click “Apps/Settings” without writing anything in the search box, a list of all apps will be displayed. It takes less than 3 seconds to appear, when I click the button on this dual core desktop PC… (about the double of the time app-select takes to come up – app select, is far superior, it adapts the list of displayed apps on the fly, to match the search query, etc.- sigh- this GUI is a “Jack of all trades, master of none”)

P.

[Member Wallon]

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You no longer need to test in [fr] and [fr_BE] because French speakers install antiX in English. What a pity!

[Moderator Brian Masinick]

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Yup; I edited line 64 and it works exactly as you stated.

Does this make you HAPPY? 🙂

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Brian Masinick

[Member Wallon]

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Dear PPC,

I did my tests with antiX 21.

1) Searching for a file.
It finds the files in my “home” directory but it doesn’t find the “fstab” file, for example.
I was looking for a file with a bad apostrophe and with letters with accents in the file name. This works.

2) Searching for an application.
It works fine.

3) Internet search.
If I select the icon with a pencil, I get a “no-region” window. I select fr or fr_BE and validate. The window closes and then I have nothing. The programme has closed completely. I don’t quite understand how this “pencil” icon with “no-region” works.
I did some research with the wrong apostrophe and it works. Firefox ESR opens directly on the right link.

Congratulations on this great programme.

[Member Wallon]

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It would also be nice to add an icon to the JWM toolbar (tray).

Here is the line added to my “tray” file. Note that my directories are in French!

<TrayButton label="" icon="/usr/share/icons/numix-square-antix/48x48/apps/search.png" popup="finder">exec:/home/wallon/Téléchargements/finder-1final/finder</TrayButton>

It works very well for me with antiX 21 [fr_FR].

[Member PPC]

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Thanks for testing, Wallon! Thanks for the kind review of the script.

I did not think this kind of simple app would require an help file…

* How to select the region for the web searches, in Finder:
Launch Finder > enter any search term on the search box > Press the ” Web” button > By default, search results come up in “No region”, using what is the “Lingua Franca” in most of the World: English > Click the “Pencil” button (to “re-write” the settings) > On Finder’s “Settings” window, select your region, using the drop down box > Click the “Ok” button after you selected the correct region.> The expected behaviour is that Finder performs the change and exits.
When you perform a new web search in Finder, it will be performed in the Region you selected.
NOTE: the drop down box on the Settings window simply lists all options, from first to last, always starting with “No region”- the default content of that search box is ALWAYS “No region”, not the currently selected region!!!

Note: Not even Searchmonkey or Zzzfm Search can find the “fstab” file in my home…

I’ll try uploading the current version to anticapitalista’s git, now that I know the script was tested in various languages and works fine…

Edit:
@anticapitalista – I just commited the file here: https://gitlab.com/antiX-Linux/yad-goodies/-/merge_requests/20

Edit2:
@Wallon, thanks to your feedback, I performed a couple of changes to the web search Configuration window: it warns what the current Region is (if any) and, when you select your Region and click ok, it relaunches Finder, so you can perform a new search – I do listen to users of my scripts!

P.

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by PPC.
• This reply was modified 1 month ago by PPC.
• This reply was modified 1 month ago by PPC.

[Member Wallon]

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Dear PPC,

Can we have the latest version of your programme?
Will the programme be localised?
Have you prepared a *.desktop file?

Kind regards,
Wallon

[Member PPC]

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1- I attached the newest version below, I hope you find the configuration window less confusing…
2- The script is completely prepared do be localized (all strings that require translation are properly marked), but I’m not in charge of localizing antiX apps.
3- There is currently no .desktop file. If you want to, please provide the Name, GenericName and Description that you think should be added to the French entries of the .desktop file.

P.

Attachments:

1. finder-final3.tar

[Member Wallon]

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Thank you PPC.

1) I’m going to test the new programme.
2) I noticed that there were not all the gettext scripts in the bash file to create a translation file.
3) OK for the desktop file.

Kind regards,
Wallon

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