Bug? REALLY don't like the way the search works

I think the way search works has changed somewhere along the line? F3 no longer takes me from one item to the next. Instead F3 pops up a dialog and forces me to use the mouse to move from one item to the next. In addition it no longer has the option of searching all modules! For that I am forced to use the 'Quick Search'?!!? I HATE this!. I constantly have to move back and forth with the mouse, The highlighting in both the quick search list and the line selected make it VERY difficult to see where you are, having to move back and forth makes it easy to lose your place.

PLEASE, PLEASE! Bring back some function key that will simply move to the next item in the search. And ALT or CTL + function key will search backward through the list.

It would even help some if you would make the up/down arrow keys work with the quick search list instead of only the mouse. Having to use the mouse forces the eyes to move off the code and over to the list. Very inefficient.

MrKim said:

In addition it no longer has the option of searching all modules!

Click to expand...

This is the worst thing, especially for replacing (moreover, it would be useful the refactoring).

These are things highlighted several times, so I think there are technical difficulties, other priorities and, basically, they are not essential.
Despite this, I would like Refactoring, entire project search / replace, breakpoints and so on.

Who knows how the next version will be (well, someone knows it )

You should use Ctrl + F for searching. It does search in all modules. When you press on Ctrl + F the focus moves to the list of results and you can use the arrow keys to go up or down.

That is the problem, I DON'T WANT the focus to move! I want the focus to remain on the code I just searched for so I can view it/edit it/etc. Then I want to press whatever and go to the next one. Just like every other program in the Windows world. As I said, having the focus change is VERY distracting, and it is too easy to lose your place in the list. The way the search used to work was the best I have seen. I especially liked the ability to search only selected text. That was an incredibly useful feature for me. The new search is NOT good.

The only thing I would have added to the old search was have it let you know when you had completed the circuit and searched everything.

MrKim said:

I DON'T WANT the focus to move!

Click to expand...

Please do not shout. I will just ignore your requests.

You do know that you can see all the relevant results in the scroll bar (in the current module):


These indicators make it simple to navigate between the results.

I guess most people are used to the standard CTRL-F > search > F3 jump to next occurence method
which is still faster than looking at blue highlights or clicking in another window on a search result reference.

Erel, I apologize, did not mean that as a shout, just emphasis.

Yes, I love the blue indicators. I have found them very useful, but again, that requires taking your eyes off the code, and remembering which one you are on. There is nothing as efficient and more importantly as accurate as the good ol' F3 key. With the F3 key when I get back around to to the first one I know I have been through every single item in my search string. When I have to move the mouse and click on a list or a blue line I am always left wondering if I missed one, and it really is less efficient.

Maybe make the search behavior an option?
[*] Standard search behavior (F3)
[ ] New search behavior (CTRL F)

MrKim said:

Yes, I love the blue indicators. I have found them very useful, but again, that requires taking your eyes off the code, and remembering which one you are on.

Click to expand...

I agree, using F3 to move to the next search is standard in most programs and Shift-F3 to search backwards. My fingers know where the F3 button is without me having to look.

Since B4A doesn't support bookmarks anymore , I simply enter +++ in my code (usually on a new line) before I start searching or jumping around in the code. When I want to return to the "+++" I go to the Logs tab and click on the error message "Illegal First Word In Line" and it presto I'm back to where I was (works from any module).

After reading a post from Erel, I realize bookmarks can easily be replicated using comments.
I switched to using comments like '##0 and '##1 for temporary bookmarks, or I will use more descriptive comments like

'##FIX - Sort Order
'##TODO - Implement Styles

for more permanent bookmarks.

Now I can do a find on "'##" to see all of my bookmarks. Or find ##TODO to get all of the todo's. (I use "##" because that won't be used elsewhere in my code)
I find this works far better than conventional bookmarks.

Widget said:

After reading a post from Erel, I realize bookmarks can easily be replicated using comments.
I switched to using comments like '##0 and '##1 for temporary bookmarks, or I will use more descriptive comments like

'##FIX - Sort Order
'##TODO - Implement Styles

for more permanent bookmarks.

Now I can do a find on "'##" to see all of my bookmarks. Or find ##TODO to get all of the todo's. (I use "##" because that won't be used elsewhere in my code)
I find this works far better than conventional bookmarks.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry, it's (almost) too late, because:
B4J v4.50 BETA is available for download

Erel said:

Support for bookmarks:

Click to expand...

(it is for B4J but I think soon... )

Arrghhhhhh!
(joking)