Pressing ENTER in the dash during a search should open the first displayed item

[Matteo Pagliazzi]

Binary package hint: unity

For example if i'm searching for "Banshee" in the unity dash and i press Enter banshee should be open.

Like in Synapse

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: unity 3.6.0-0ubuntu2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.38-5.32-generic 2.6.38-rc6
Uname: Linux 2.6.38-5-generic i686
Architecture: i386
CompizPlugins: [core,bailer,detection,composite,opengl,decor,mousepoll,vpswitch,regex,animation,snap,expo,move,compiztoolbox,place,gnomecompat,wall,ezoom,workarounds,staticswitcher,resize,fade,scale,session,unityshell]
Date: Sat Mar 5 17:13:24 2011
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Alpha i386 (20110107)
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=it_IT:it:en_GB:en
 LANG=it_IT.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: unity
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to natty on 2011-02-26 (6 days ago)

[Matteo Pagliazzi (paglia)]

I was browsing through unity bugs when i found this bug https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/unity/+bug/727714

I think one of these is a duplicate, this one probably.

[jhfhlkjlj (fdsuufijjejejejej-deactivatedaccount)]

That bug seems to be very broad and does not specifically address the call for a default entry to trigger.

I would like to add that visual feedback is an absolute necessity if this were to be implemented. The user must know what item is 'selected' to be triggered on keyboard enter.

[Paul Sladen (sladen)]

I think an /exact/ match needs to take precedence over a first match. If I type 'gimp' or even '/usr/bin/gimp' (latter doesn't work!) then there are various documents ranked higher than the exact match.

[Matteo Pagliazzi (paglia)]

@paul yes the app with the searched name should be ranked higher than documents with this name

[andypiper (andypiperuk)]

I'm using Unity in Natty alpha 3.

As this bug says, I can search for an item in the dash, but currently I then have to switch to the mouse / pointer to select the item I want to launch. I can't seem to use the cursor keys to select (let along let Enter launch the first option, which may or may not be what I wanted).

Bit frustrating from a usability perspective.

[Bernhard (b.a.koenig)]

Btw, Cardapio is an excellent example of how dash should work. ENTER must work but TAB also, i.e. TAB should cycle through the possibilities.

[Alessandro Ranaldi (ciaolo)]

The "ENTER" feature cannot be separated by a feature that highlights the first choice.

[Neil J. Patel (njpatel)]

Just to update everyone, Unity's Dash _will_ have keynav, gord is working on that right now, hopefully with this week's release you'll see a good amount of improvements there, but it's obviously going to take some time to perfect it :)

Until then, I'm handling this bug and making pressing Enter inside the text entry at least activate the first result.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package unity - 3.6.4-0ubuntu1

---------------
unity (3.6.4-0ubuntu1) natty; urgency=low

  * New upstream release.
    - Unity: Alt-F2 not working (LP: #580295)
    - When running with dual monitors, Unity will use the height of the larger
      one for calculating when to fold (LP: #696388)
    - Unity app launcher is filled up with doublettes (LP: #690537)
    - Unity interface not resized properly when external monitor is used
      (LP: #691772)
    - Dash needs keyboard navigation (LP: #727714)
    - It is possible to focus Unity itself and Close it from the global menu
      (LP: #728790)
    - Systray icons showing on top of everything (LP: #728719)
    - Pressing ENTER in the dash during a search should open the first
      displayed item (LP: #729699)
    - compiz crashed with SIGSEGV in LauncherIcon::OpenQuicklist()
      (LP: #731096)
    - inactive menus are not shown (LP: #732162)
    - Icon-only menu titles don't have accessible names (LP: #691677)
    - unity not working on rotated displays (LP: #694596)
    - unity_support_test crashed with SIGSEGV in
      nux::IOpenGLAsmVertexShader::IOpenGLAsmVertexShader() (LP: #709649)
    - Dragging .desktop file to launcher's trash creates space for new
      launcher icon (LP: #717250)
    - Unable to scroll in Applications/Files and Folders Place using mouse
      wheel (LP: #721447)
    - The applications place is empty (LP: #724259)
    - compiz crashed with SIGSEGV in
      nux::GpuRenderStates::SubmitChangeStates() (LP: #719156)
    - Quicklists are difficult to dismiss (LP: #726890)
    - Apps in Available group not rendered in Dash (LP: #729710)
    - Clicking on Shortcuts header doesn't do anything. (LP: #730774)
    - Zeitgeist FTS Extension doesn't filter on subject URIs (LP: #731208)
    - dual monitor,,,upper panel turns white / nvidia (LP: #685179)
    - Dash file Lens – Rename “Favourite Folders” category header to “Folders”
      (LP: #723866)
    - looking for 'places' icons in the wrong location (LP: #727672)
    - Empty trash quicklist item is missing an ellipsis (LP: #731472)
    - Wastebasket quicklist is missing “Empty Wastebasket” option when the
      wastebasket is empty (LP: #723880)
    - Emptying the trash from the unity sidebar should respect nautilus' "Ask
      before emptying" setting (LP: #730003)
    - start-here icon updated at wrong time (LP: #726267)
    - Unity overlay unhide issue (LP: #726926)
    - Orca doesn't report that the Launcher receives the focus (LP: #727133)
    - Accessibility object parent-child hierarchy on unity is broken
      (LP: #727908)
    - Regression: Orca doesn't speech out the selection changes on the
      Launcher (LP: #729165)
    - quicklist must respect enabled state (LP: #731533)
    - unity-panel-service crashed with SIGSEGV in
      dbusmenu_menuitem_send_about_to_show() (LP: #725631)
  * debian/control:
    - build-dep on latest nux
 -- Didier Roche <email address hidden> Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:52:53 +0100

[gluxon (gluxon)]

This bug seems to have reappeared in Unity 3D 4.8.2