Typing at GDM greeter should invoke username field

[Dylan McCall]

Binary package hint: gdm

When I begin typing at the GDM greeter, GTK does its usual thing for searching within lists: it highlights the item starting with the letters the user has typed. (For example, a user named John will be highlighted if the user types j).

However, a user who immediately begins typing at the greeter probably intends to type a username directly (perhaps even for accessibility reasons). It would be more useful for this case if the username field (same as when the user clicks “Other…” from the list) appears, filled with the characters that have been entered so far. (Probably using the start-interactive-search signal). In this way, we stay consistent with other login screens that have username fields by default, where the user may be used to immediately typing.

[Chris Wilson (notgary-deactivatedaccount)]

Invalidating as a paper cut since focusing with the keyboard is not something the average user is likely to do. When choosing which account they wish to log in with, they are most likely to select it with their mouse.