zabkat support forum

can this option be added
Feature = ESCAPE button or any other button option to clear filter box

try
click into filter box
press F2


I have seen this recommended in the forum.

good luck

thx, i know about the F2.
Am suggesting to use a keyboard button to clear filter box; same as the ESC button option in xyplorer

if F2 clears the filter box why do you need another key for the job?
ESC jumps back to the folder pane

Hi Nikos

I think
Esc to clear filter box
and
TAB to switch to next pane

seems more 'intuitive'

but

mjbrookes wrote: ↑2022 Nov 27, 11:43 Hi Nikos

I think
Esc to clear filter box
and
TAB to switch to next pane

seems more 'intuitive'

but

i agree. reconsider this as an option Nikos.
Esc to clear filter box, and remain in pane to continue or do another search.

I have to agree, ESC to clear search contents is more intuitive.

feedback of this sort is best during beta testing or early after a release. This feature and keyboard associations are well, what 10 years old?
Well-established to risk annoying existing users

fair point.

But if you ignore more 'recent' feedback you may miss the opportunity to make genuine iprovements.

Idea: could you make it so that
1. if people press F2 in the filter box
2. then up pops a message ... "Shortcut key change.... From version 5.2.x.xx, F2 no longer clears the filter box, instead press ESC....( also you can use TAB to exit the filter box and return to main pane)" and add "to stop this message in future tick this checkbox".
3. after a couple of versions you could retire the F2-message appearing at all





Example: Filter box improvement Idea:
I would still like to be able to click into the filter box and then a dropdown of the last 10 searches appears, it would significantly ease my work if I did not have to release the mouse and type repeated search terms.

nikos wrote: ↑2022 Nov 28, 18:10 feedback of this sort is best during beta testing or early after a release. This feature and keyboard associations are well, what 10 years old?
Well-established to risk annoying existing users

So make it an option - allow the user to pick whether they want to keep F2 or use ESC to clear the search box, which can be changed using the advanced options method only, so it is not accidentally done.

I mean, it's not like we're asking you to recode the entire codebase in a new programming language. And if these fine folks had not mentioned the issue in the first place, I would not have thought to support the idea because I am used to doing it counter-intuitively for so long. But If you don't want to change it, I'm already used to doing it counter-intuitively, so not a big deal. I think ESC is a better, more accepted method for clearing the contents of a text field. If you don't, fair enough.

@nikos
any updates regarding this feature?

why is ESC so much better than F2 key? They do the same job clearing the box

directory opus / xyplorer they have this option, and it is very useful

maybe we all are used to the esc key for this cause

add it as an option
the user will set his/her preferences "F2 or Esc", to clear filter search

there is no harm in adding an option / feature.

let the user customize

nikos wrote: ↑2023 Jun 28, 10:36 why is ESC so much better than F2 key? They do the same job clearing the box

Because it is a de facto standard in the world of Windows.

Try opening a command prompt (CMD) window and start typing any rubbish at the command line.

Now, without doing anything else, hit the [ESC] on your keyboard.

You get the picture. The same holds true for PowerShell, BaSH, and many other shells used in the world of Windows and Linux and *nix derivatives like ChromeOS. This is not something that happened last year, or even over the last 5 years - it's been this way for longer than I've used X², and that is pushing 2 decades now. In fact, I'd venture that just about every single programming IDE you can find supports this exact function. I mean, it's over 60 years old.

Heck, let's go one step further. Open a browser, and start typing some rubbish into the address bar. Then hit the [ESC] key.

One of two things happens:

1) If you don't have automatic history / bookmark suggestions, the rubbish gets erased, as above.

2) If you do have suggestions enabled for your browsers, the first time you press [ESC] it cancels the suggestions. Press it again, and the rubbish disappears.

Just as [F1] has ubiquitously become the de facto key for help, ESC is the same to erase typed text in a lot of scenarios, or to put it more succinctly, it cancels what you're doing now (escapes from the current process).

Some history on the Escape key:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esc_key

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/t ... escape-key

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/maga ... e-key.html

So, we're not just making this up. It really is ubiquitous in both its intended function as well as its continued use as such today.