Show search results as a pseudo document (in a window)

agrogers commented 4 years ago

I love And Bible but the search is my least favorite part. The main problem is that I have to jump back and forth a lot. If my search returns a lot of hits and I click one low down, returning to the search list takes me back to the top of the list. I then scroll down to where I was to look at the next result. And repeat, repeat, repeat. If I have serious searching to do I go use esword on my pc. I have never had a really good idea as an alternative till just now:

I've always thought all that was needed was to return to the search window at the scroll point I left it. That is probably the easiest. But still the search remains, um, primitive
Much better would be to put the search results in their own normal document window. So basically the search creates a temporary 'bible' with just the verses satisfying the search
This has some cool benefits then.
There is no more back and forth to see the context
I never lose my place in the list
It syncs with other open windows so I can easily see other translations
Maybe it would be possible to change the translation of the search so the returned list of verses stays the same but the translation is different
And something that I have wanted for a while - the ability for the 'Speak' functionality to speak to me while I exercise every verse from my search result.

That would be a complete redesign of the search window. But it would be awesome ☺️

tuomas2 commented 4 years ago

I like this idea. Need to think about it further though because new document should be stored somehow (so that it does not disappear when quiting/ switching apps).

agrogers commented 4 years ago

Re killing the app, the existing search window dies with the app if it is left open so the new approach would be no worse.

I feel like an approach might be to always have a search 'bible' in the Bible drop down selector. The results from the last search get loaded into here. So you could always go back to the results of the last search if that list is stored somehow.

If the search 'bible' is open then the user sees the search results loaded after he closes the standard search window. If not then everything just works exactly as it does. That's good for existing users since nothing changes and you won't get complaints.

Assuming the Search bible is open, we now have a bible with a subset of verses which functions like any other Bible. Not sure about syncing though. It is easy enough if other stuff is synching to it. But what about it syncing to other things. I originally imagined it like the commentaries which often don't have anything to show for a particular verse. But they just show one verse at a time. The Bible search window is showing all search result verses. Maybe it can just work the same way that the New Testament only works when showing the Old Testament verse - 'Not found in document'.

But if it did how would you get your search results to show again? Perhaps all verses get redisplayed in the search window when it receives focus.

Another question is what happens when the user clicks the verse selector button while the search window is active. Initially I liked the idea of jumping direct to the new search dialog to modify or do a new search.

But you already have the neat feature that only shows the books of the Bible available for that bible. That would be perfect for large searches. I don't have to scroll through 100 verses to get to Malachi. Does the functionality also extend to chapters or is it assumed that if the book is there then all chapters and all verses will also be there? If it did then it would be super easy to jump directly to the exact verse in your list without scrolling at all.

Hmm, the buttons get very big when there are not many books or chapters to show. That means there is plenty of space in the button to show the number of search hits in each book and maybe even each chapter. I like it.

Anyhow, I'm sure there are a pile of other restrictions and issues that need to be thought about here. But it does seem like And Bible already has almost the perfect structure to take the search from rudimentary to awesome in one biggish step 🙂

timbze commented 3 years ago

Additional idea from #899 - add feature to copy verse from search results list

tuomas2 commented 3 years ago

Now would be easy to implement this, showing as MultiDocument.

agrogers commented 3 years ago

Cool. Looking forward to trialing some of the new features you have been working on. Thanks

agrogers commented 3 years ago

I suggest we delay this one to after v3.4 release

agrogers commented 3 years ago

I just noticed that the 'Show all references' link actually tries to show the reference names in the document button at the top.

Could we just add a button to the search form that does exactly what the 'Show all references' link does only it shows the search results?

If #1194 is implemented, my desire for speaking all search results would be satisfied :) Seems like all the functionality is already there.

agrogers commented 2 years ago

I think the way we should implement this is (@tuomas2):

Keep our existing search results window (or an improved version of it)
Add a button that allows those results to be dumped into a pseudo document
Add an Settings option so that the user can bypass the existing search window and go straight to the new pseudo document results window

My rationale for this:

The current search results window is simple and easy to use
It is adequate for many users
I imagine showing results in a pseudo window will be awesome but also more complicated to use
- The size of the window will vary - perhaps often small
- It will mess with the existing windows setup (a new search will have to force itself into the window layout somehow)
- Syncing might create further issues
All the 'problems' described above are all features that I think would be great to have. But I feel the average user will not appreciate them but will complain about the added complexity.
And there is no reason we have to choose between either - both can work nicely together.

tuomas2 commented 2 years ago

What about implementing whole search functionality (not just results) in js side (in a window)? I.e. search functionality would just open a new window and you would input everything there and click back and forth inside window. Like a web app would do. It would be handled like special document. I would not imagine any problems you are mentioning. Simple and clean. But disclaimer: I haven't been thinking this too deeply yet.

agrogers commented 2 years ago

Would the search window take up the whole screen? Or would it function like any existing window?

On Tue, 11 Jan 2022, 9:37 pm Tuomas Airaksinen, @.***> wrote:

What about implementing whole search functionality in js side (in a window)? I.e. search functionality would just open a new window and you would input everything there and click back and forth inside window. Like a web app would do. It would be handled like special document. I would not imagine any problems you are mentioning. Simple and clean. But disclaimer: I haven't been thinking this too deeply yet.

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/AndBible/and-bible/issues/611#issuecomment-1009877808, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ADKGTJU2CO2J2EGT566TSKTUVQI6ZANCNFSM4MGTF2DQ . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: @.***>

tuomas2 commented 2 years ago

Would the search window take up the whole screen? Or would it function like any existing window?

Like any existing window. Instead of opening in a new window, it probably should actually show search view in currently active window by default. And back button would work natively because it would be just another "pseudo document".

agrogers commented 2 years ago

OK. That's what I thought. And I think that will be a step backward for many if that is the only option. If all they want to do is find a verse, they won't want their windows messed with.

However, as an additional study tool it is awesome. To be able sync commentaries and other translations, to be able to speak all the results etc will be a very nice feature.

On Wed, 12 Jan 2022, 5:53 pm Tuomas Airaksinen, @.***> wrote:

Would the search window take up the whole screen? Or would it function like any existing window?

Like any existing window. Instead of opening in a new window, it probably should actually show search view in currently active window by default. And back button would work natively because it would be just another "pseudo document".

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/AndBible/and-bible/issues/611#issuecomment-1010741355, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ADKGTJRCSOF4AHTGOBVIAKTUVUXOFANCNFSM4MGTF2DQ . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: @.***>

tuomas2 commented 2 years ago

OK. That's what I thought. And I think that will be a step backward for many if that is the only option. If all they want to do is find a verse, they won't want their windows messed with. However, as an additional study tool it is awesome. To be able sync commentaries and other translations, to be able to speak all the results etc will be a very nice feature.

If I would be implemnting this, this would be a good starting point, I think. Trying if it works well. If it does not, create options that make it work better (like opening automatically a new window for searching). But let's see more when I or someone else gets into this.

tuomas2 commented 1 year ago

Made simple first step implementation by adding function to 3dot menu to open results in a window. Need to improve still, perhaps

[ ] make optional to open by default in a document.
[ ] Also highlighting should be implemented...

agrogers commented 1 year ago

Is this in develop?

tuomas2 commented 1 year ago

Is this in develop?

Yes

agrogers commented 1 year ago

Sweet. I will try it out today.

On Fri, 27 Jan 2023, 10:57 pm Tuomas Airaksinen, @.***> wrote:

Is this in develop?

Yes

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/AndBible/and-bible/issues/611#issuecomment-1406736073, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ADKGTJX6U2EKOHUKKRB5YRTWUPZPHANCNFSM4MGTF2DQ . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: @.***>

agrogers commented 1 year ago

OK, I like the feature. It seems like a great way to be able to export search results. Also allows viewing verse context without having to jump back and forth between version. So definitely a keeper. But it is not what I had in mind...

I was hoping for the results to be presented as a pseudo Bible document. I could then scroll through those results with the window synced to another translation(s) or commentary or whatever and have those windows follow my results. I realise i mentioned using this approach above as well. Displaying as a document is level 1 and as a Bible, level 5 :)

Good job on this. And great to see you adding features... and so quickly!

AndBible / and-bible

Show search results as a pseudo document (in a window) #611