Re: [Usability]Test or analysis needed: Automatic completion

[Maciej Stachowiak <mjs noisehavoc org>]

On 22Apr2003 01:20PM (+1000), Jeff Waugh wrote:
> <quote who="Gregory Merchan">
> 
> >  Epiphany-style:
> >    A list drops down from the entry which shows completions.
> >    Down-arrow navigates into the list.
> >  Nautilus-style:
> >    A possible completion is appended and selected after the caret.
> >    Right-arrow or Tab moves the caret to the end of the selection and
> >    the selection disappears.
> >  Bash-style:
> >    No completion without pressing Tab. I haven't seen this one in a while
> >    (except in bash, of course) so I'm not sure how it's being done in GUI.
> > 
> > I prefer Epiphany-style, hate Nautilus-style, and am ambivalent about
> > Bash-style for GUI. But my preferences be damned.
> 
> I agree. Anna, is there room in your usability testing slots at GUADEC to
> look at this?
> 

Most browsers (at least on the Mac) do a combination of what Epiphany
and Nautilus do. They drop down a list of possible completions but
also fill in the default one automatically as the selection. I think
it works well because usually you can type the first 2-4 characters of
a site name and press enter to go there.

If you want a different site that's on the list, you can still choose
it using down arrow. And if you want a site that's not on the list at
all, you can keep typing and press delete to remove any remaining
completion.

Do you have any specific problems with the Nautilus style?

Regards,

Maciej