Re: [Usability] Gnome HIG suggestion: search box clear buttons

[Matthew Paul Thomas <mpt myrealbox com>]

On Jun 16, 2007, at 3:23 AM, Liam R E Quin wrote:
> ...
> In some cases the search can take several minutes, so "instant apply"
> incremental search here would not be possible, e.g. searching for
> message content on an IMAP folder.
> ...

Apple Mail has incremental search for exactly that situation. It works 
well in Mail v1, where the status bar is immediately underneath, 
providing animated feedback on whether the results are complete. It 
works poorly in Mail v2, where there's no status bar.

"Instant-apply" is a misnomer. What's important is whether you have to 
do anything to say "yes, I really mean it". If not, then it's even more 
important to give good feedback on whether an action has finished.

Cheers
--
Matthew Paul Thomas
http://mpt.net.nz/