VSCode style unified palettes

[lougreenwood]

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• [X] Completed

Describe the feature

VS code allows users to easily change between the "file finder" palette & the "command palette" be pre-pending a > character in the file finder (or removing it in the command palette).

The implementation suggests that they have a single "palette" component which can switch between showing the "file finder" and the "command palette" (and I guess other palettes, outline etc...)

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Looks like vscode has a unified palette when spawned with cmd-p, which supports the following prefixes. There are direct shortcuts for each too.

• (no prefix) Filename (cmd-p)
• > Actions (cmd-shift-p)
• # Symbols in Workspace (default if spawned with cmd-t)
• @ Symbols in File (cmd-shift-o)
• % Quick Search (see #16994)
• : GoTo Line (ctrl-g)

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Zed seems to implement these as discrete components. For me the impact is added friction. I need to be more accurate in deciding which picker to select (when I'm in the zone, I often open the wrong palette), since if I get it wrong I need to escape out to close the wrong palette and then open the correct one.

Sometimes, if I need to execute a command, but I make a mistake and open the project search palette by accident and then go ahead and write the command before I realise I often find myself pressing cmd-shift-p to switch to the command palette (VS Code style) then this will actually open the top project file search result!

To address this, I'd suggest the following:

• Allow switching between the "palettes" using their key mappings without triggering a selection of the current result
  • addresses the problem of quickly toggling between palettes using muscle memory without breaking workflow
• Allow prepending the palette input with a special char which allows setting which mode the palette is in
  • VS Code prepends all commands with >... given the vim support, maybe we could use :?
  • typing : rename when the file finder is open would show the command palette filtered results for rename

If applicable, add mockups / screenshots to help present your vision of the feature

No response

[notpeter]

@lougreenwood I've edited your description above to include the various prefixes.