Zeitgeist Extensions

Bug #771513
Comment #8

Comment 8 for bug 771513

Revision history for this message

Seif Lotfy (seif) wrote on 2012-01-08: Re: [Bug 771513] Re: File search should use Tracker when available

Yeah we ported Zeitgeist to Vala so I think I might port the Zeitgeist
Tracker extensions that does searching via Tracker and sorting via
Zeitgeist...
However be aware that even Tracker doesn't find everything. If for example
you have a folder in your home directory that isnt XDG standard Tracker
will not index it even after interaction with the files inside it. Indexing
and monitoring are very very expensive.

On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 5:48 PM, Gabriel.G.Gordillo <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> I just repeat what it's written in the bug description:
> Zeitgeist is not even supposed to be a search tool, so why are we
> pretending it is?
>
> second I refer to the following
>
> Mikkel Kamstrup Erlandsen (kamstrup) wrote:
> "The user experience should be the top priority - not which libraries or
> tools we use under the hood."
>
> And thrid I will make some examples why Tracker or any other indexing
> engine should be used with the Files lens:
> I'm an Architect, something pretty rare in the Open source world. As I'm
> workig, I need to archive many files to be able to protect myself against
> what any contractor can say. This means that I have to write hundreds of
> emails and save them for a posible future need. when necessay, which is
> quite often, I need the search engine to find specific words within those
> emails or PDF's. And this might happen with some quite old projects wich I
> have never access since months or years (normally in between I would have
> done a new installation of the system to keep up to date). This case, it's
> something that happens to almost any professional in the world, and it
> needs to have the contents indexed. Those contents that have never been
> accessed ... you know they are there, but you can't start opening and
> reading 400 emails until you discover which one is the right one.
>
> Having to install a completely separate system to perform the search
> it's an absolutely shame as the Files Lens have an amazing power to sort
> results out (Size, date modified, ...). Loosing that power it's
> completely nonsense.
>
> Another situation would be:
> I have many books, catalogs and technical sheets. As I have to look for
> construction materials, I need to just write as an example "concrete" and
> get all documents related or containing "concrete".
>
> Another situation would be a user that has tones of music, videos,
> pictures, and files in the computer.
> Normally what you expect of a search engine is to find things. SO you know
> what you have in your computer but you can't remember where you saved it
> ... and you use the files lens to find ... NOTHING ... as it's just looking
> for those things that you already know where they are.
>
> With the above I just mean that it's absolutly nonsense to think that:
>
> "Zeitgeist, by nature, only logs stuff you interact with. And for
> desktop file searching I think this is the right space to be searching.
> How often are you looking for something on your file system you don't
> know you have?"
>
> I'm sorry but everybody knows more or less what he has in the computer.
> The problem is to know where it's whe you need it once every some years
> and you are in the hurry. The proble is ... when are you going to watch
> that movie again that you already have seen! ... in 2 years?
>
> I understand ZG to be very powerfull, but it's far away of doing the
> required job at the moment. I also understand the problems with using
> both, but at the moment, and until further development of ZG I find
> Tracker much more usefull for the user experience as ZG.
>
> In my opinion the real solution is to get ZG to became a Indexer as
> well.
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to unity-
> lens-files.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/771513
>
> Title:
> File search should use Tracker when available
>
> Status in Unity Files Lens:
> Opinion
>
> Bug description:
> This is a feature request, I guess.
> I think it's awkward that search inside Nautilus (that uses Tracker, if
> installed) finds 8 results for a certain query and the File Lense does not
> find anything (even when the string is in the filename!). Zeitgeist is not
> even supposed to be a search tool, so why are we pretending it is?
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/unity-lens-files/+bug/771513/+subscriptions
>

On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 5:48 PM, Gabriel.G.Gordillo <
771513@bugs.launchpad.net> wrote:

> I just repeat what it's written in the bug description:
> Zeitgeist is not even supposed to be a search tool, so why are we
> pretending it is?
>
> second I refer to the following
>
> Mikkel Kamstrup Erlandsen (kamstrup) wrote:
> "The user experience should be the top priority - not which libraries or
> tools we use under the hood."
>
> And thrid I will make some examples why Tracker or any other indexing
> engine should be used with the Files lens:
>  I'm an Architect, something pretty rare in the Open source world. As I'm
> workig, I need to archive many files to be able to protect myself against
> what any contractor can say. This means that I have to write hundreds of
> emails and save them for a posible future need. when necessay, which is
> quite often, I need the search engine to find specific words within those
> emails or PDF's. And this might happen with some quite old projects wich I
> have never access since months or years (normally in between I would have
> done a new installation of the system to keep up to date). This case, it's
> something that happens to almost any professional in the world, and it
> needs to have the contents indexed. Those contents that have never been
> accessed ... you know they are there, but you can't start opening and
> reading 400 emails until you discover which one is the right one.
>
> Having to install a completely separate system to perform the search
> it's an absolutely shame as the Files Lens have an amazing power to sort
> results out (Size, date modified, ...). Loosing that power it's
> completely nonsense.
>
> Another situation would be:
> I have many books, catalogs and technical sheets. As I have to look for
> construction materials, I need to just write as an example "concrete" and
> get all documents related or containing "concrete".
>
> Another situation would be a user that has tones of music, videos,
> pictures, and files in the computer.
> Normally what you expect of a search engine is to find things. SO you know
> what you have in your computer but you can't remember where you saved it
> ... and you use the files lens to find ... NOTHING ... as it's just looking
> for those things that you already know where they are.
>
> With the above I just mean that it's absolutly nonsense to think that:
>
> "Zeitgeist, by nature, only logs stuff you interact with. And for
> desktop file searching I think this is the right space to be searching.
> How often are you looking for something on your file system you don't
> know you have?"
>
> I'm sorry but everybody knows more or less what he has in the computer.
> The problem is to know where it's whe you need it once every some years
> and you are in the hurry. The proble is ... when are you going to watch
> that movie again that you already have seen! ... in 2 years?
>
> I understand ZG to be very powerfull, but it's far away of doing the
> required job at the moment. I also understand the problems with using
> both, but at the moment, and until further development of ZG I find
> Tracker much more usefull for the user experience as ZG.
>
> In my opinion the real solution is to get ZG to became a Indexer as
> well.
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to unity-
> lens-files.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/771513
>
> Title:
>  File search should use Tracker when available
>
> Status in Unity Files Lens:
>  Opinion
>
> Bug description:
>  This is a feature request, I guess.
>  I think it's awkward that search inside Nautilus (that uses Tracker, if
> installed) finds 8 results for a certain query and the File Lense does not
> find anything (even when the string is in the filename!). Zeitgeist is not
> even supposed to be a search tool, so why are we pretending it is?
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/unity-lens-files/+bug/771513/+subscriptions
>