Re: [PATCH] Conkeror like hints for incremental search

[Tassilo Horn <tassilo@member.fsf.org>]

Gideon Stupp <gideon.stupp@gmail.com> writes:

Hi Gideon,

> This patch adds Conkeror like hints to incremental-search's currently
> matched strings.
> This way it is possible to choose one of the highlighted possibilities
> without completing the search string (useful when using incremental
> search for navigation).

isearch is my main navigation feature, so I've just given your patch a
try.  Here's my feedback:

  - The characters inserted in front of matches are somewhat baffling
    (First I've thought: Why do I have all those typos?!).  At least in
    X11 frames, I'd make them smaller than the usual text, maybe even
    superscript.  And it would be nice if the hint chars where appended
    to matches in forward isearch but prepended in backward isearch.
    That way, the hint char would indicate the position of point when
    selecting that match.

  - Concerning navigation speed, I don't feel that those type hints help
    me.  It might do so if the visible buffer portion contains tons of
    matches, but in my regular use, there are only ~3 matches, so
    hitting C-s or C-r repeatedly is faster for me than switching my
    finger to some other key.

  - I think C-f (and all other keys normally used for navigation) is a
    bad choice, because that's what people usually use for leaving
    isearch.  Maybe M-h would be ok.  It has some mnemonics, and its
    usual binding of `mark-paragraph' isn't too useful in isearch.

Bye,
Tassilo