Changes have been made in Git for this ticket:

Ticket #7196 - More search/TAB key improvements

http://git.horde.org/diff.php/imp/js/DimpBase.js?rt=horde-git&r1=ce24318bb4fd92e869ed302418cfcc698128b525&r2=fad2e5875d4752ca81645ff957cbe447a3d96cf5
http://git.horde.org/diff.php/imp/js/src/DimpBase.js?rt=horde-git&r1=5ff2521050f4a9f814d7f81f0de676c2984af61c&r2=fad2e5875d4752ca81645ff957cbe447a3d96cf5

Changes have been made in Git for this ticket:

Fix for Ticket #7196
ESC in DIMP search box now clears the search. Also, fix some wonkiness
with tabbing out of box due to conflicting Event handlers.

http://git.horde.org/diff.php/imp/docs/CHANGES?rt=horde-git&r1=f9699cb7f31e388e088464fbaf9465750610b48e&r2=e0782650ce91e46659fcb85fadbb41ab16a4986c
http://git.horde.org/diff.php/imp/js/DimpBase.js?rt=horde-git&r1=8e47a01a7a1c4b49bb381f722800a7480a3bb35c&r2=e0782650ce91e46659fcb85fadbb41ab16a4986c
http://git.horde.org/diff.php/imp/js/src/DimpBase.js?rt=horde-git&r1=8e47a01a7a1c4b49bb381f722800a7480a3bb35c&r2=e0782650ce91e46659fcb85fadbb41ab16a4986c

Looks good - thanks!

Slowly working our way there.  How's this?

http://git.horde.org/diff.php/imp/js/src/DimpBase.js?rt=horde-hatchery&r1=5ff2521050f4a9f814d7f81f0de676c2984af61c&r2=fad2e5875d4752ca81645ff957cbe447a3d96cf5

Esc now works great. Tabbing into and then out of the field without 
typing anything doesn't close it - I think that would be better, but 
if you have a reason against that that's alright. However, continuing 
to tab through the page, I eventually get a blank search run. My steps 
for this are (FF 3.0.5/Mac): click to the left of the search box; hit 
tab - search box focused; hit tab - search box blurred; continue 
hitting tab. Eventually a blank search is run.

OK - I think I replicated what you are describing.  The problem seems 
to be in some Event handling issues.  I think I figured it out so give 
a shot:



http://cvs.horde.org/diff.php/imp/js/src/DimpBase.js?r1=8e47a01a7a1c4b49bb381f722800a7480a3bb35c&r2=e0782650ce91e46659fcb85fadbb41ab16a4986c&rt=horde-hatchery

I'm 99% certain it's using the local Spotlight cache.
Agreed.
I've seen this in a lot of places more recently; ESC as a kind of 
cancel-out. I'd like to see this.

Right. The bug here is that if I tab into the search box and out, the 
mailbox listing *does* go blank. If I just click, it doesn't. I think 
that tabbing into the search box should behave the same as clicking it.

Considering I'm not a great fan of Apple Mail... take these comments 
with that grain of salt.
Is Apple Mail doing search as you type?  If so, and it is hitting the 
IMAP server for every search (as opposed to its local cache) that is 
totally inefficient.  The whole point of allowing a user to set search 
parameters before typing in DIMP is to eliminate this inefficiency.   
There is absolutely no reason to send an IMAP search request for 'c', 
'ch', 'chu', 'chuc', and/or 'chuck' in the From header if you are 
searching for that information in the Subject header.
That is non-intuitive for me.  I never use ESC in this manner.   
Although this is less intrusive than any of the other suggestions in 
this ticket, and wouldn't break anything that is already implemented 
so this is a reasonable request.

This is a feature: after all, why run an empty search?  When I click 
on the search box, I don't want the mailbox listing to go blank.  I 
haven't searched for anything yet.  An empty search string is NO 
search, not an empty search.

I'm not entirely convinced of that I guess In Apple Mail, for example:



- the search bar doesn't appear until you've typed something in as a 
search string, so you can tab in and out of the search box without 
mucking with your mailbox listing or doing an empty search.



- hitting escape while in the search field clears the search and hides 
the search bar



- since it's impossible to do an empty search, empty searches don't 
result in empty mailboxes. I think if we end up with nothing in the 
search filter box, we should either not run a search, or we should 
match everything - matching nothing, especially when what I've done is 
tab in and out of the search box, is really disruptive.



Clicking the search box and then outside of it does leave the search 
bar open, but it doesn't seem to run an empty search - not sure why 
the difference from tabbing in and out.

This would be incorrect behavior.  You need to be able to activate the 
search options *before* you do the search.

My point is, since both of them (at least tab; escape seems a bit 
dodgy) blur the field, _shouldn't_ they dismiss the search? Escape is 
pretty standard keyboard nav for "cancel", also, so even if it doesn't 
blur the field, I think ti should.

No, nothing happens if I tab out of the search field, or hit the escape key.

So when you tab out of it the search bar closes and you see the 
non-search mailbox list.

Still works fine.

Does it work correctly if you hit tab (which for me focuses the search 
field) and then tab again to blur the search field? That displays 
similar behavior for me - seems like tabbing out of the field with an 
empty search should be the same as closing/canceling the search.

I don't see this either with that combination.

Chuck reports he saw this when using FF3/Mac, but I can't reproduce 
using that browser/OS combination, or any other browser for that 
matter.  An escape in the filter field does nothing for me.

I took a quick look here but didn't see an obvious place. When you hit 
escape while the viewport filter is focused, the field isn't focused 
anymore, but it's not disabled either, and the value reverts to 
"Search". The viewport shows the results of searching for Search, 
instead of resetting.