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Former Member's avatar
Former Member
3 years ago

sorting search results in 1Password 8

I just started using 1Password 8 on both macOS and iOS.

I'm finding the search feature harder to use than before. In 1Password 7, I could type a string and realtime autocomplete filtering would narrow the list of items shown to the matching subset; I found that behavior absolutely perfect.

In 1Password 8, the same "type in realtime and watch it narrow the list", instead of filtering in the main window, operates in a dropdown control that shows a few results (in my example, a maximum of 8) in a sort order that feels unpredictable/arbitrary, and I have a choice between (1) pressing Enter to select the first choice, (2) using the arrow keys to step through those 8 arbitrary results and then select one, or (3) press Command-Enter to narrow the list to the entire subset (14 matches in the example I'm using).

Of these, the "press Command-Enter" variant is the only one useful to me, and it's already a regression from 1PW7 because: it's harder to find, it's an extra keystroke, and it doesn't operate in realtime. But it does show me the results I want, and from there I can find the right one. But I can't find any control over the sort order from here (either in the main window or in the View menu is where I'd expect to find such control, looked for it and didn't find it).

Here in the forums I find a bunch of related questions and the hint in https://1password.community/discussion/134047/why-has-the-sort-function-been-removed-for-search-results that if I set the sort order outside search results, it will also be used in side search results, was helpful.... that seems to work. But I didn't succeed in realizing that or discovering it on my own.

In short
1. I preferred the find-as-I-type behavior in 1PW7 over what 1PW8 does in the Find bar
2. 1PW8's additional-keystroke options (either Search as "Command-F, , Command-Enter" or Find as "Command-Option-F, ") do give me approximately the behavior I want but are less convenient than 1PW7's implementation (extra keystrokes to invoke, and no obvious way to control sort order of the results)
3. The difference between Search and Find is really not self-evident to me
4. Please add a way to change the sort order in Search/Find results. The fact that Find results honor the sort order set before invoking the command is somewhat useful but not discoverable when staring at a long list of results and wondering why it's in that order or how to change it. The fact that Search results neither honors the previously set sort order nor gives me the ability to change it is further confusing.
5. The default sort order (date created - newest first) is really useful in some contexts but confusing in others (I personally find it confusing to have the sort key be something that's not shown in the view, so if you don't already know what it's sorting on, it's again not very discoverable or intuitive)

In general I find 1PW8 to have a fresh new look and I'm trying to like it, but the search-from-keyboard behavior is very core to my workflow and so far seems like it's regressed in usability for me, so I'm hoping that you will keep improving it.

1Password Version: Not Provided
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Referrer: forum-search:https://1password.community/search?Search=sorting%20search%20results

macos

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  • viswiz's avatar
    viswiz
    Super Contributor
    3 years ago

    The far superior and easier to use 1PW7 search/find is the main reason I still use this version. With each update of 1PW8 I test it, only to find that the new search is unusable for me. I could more or less live with all other regressions and usability problems of 1PW8 but the redesigned search is a showstopper for me.

  • Former Member's avatar
    Former Member
    3 years ago

    Upon further playing around with the behavior and reflection, I find the differences between the Search and Find features baffling.

    1PW8 Search
    * is Command-F so easy to type
    * displays results in one place (little dropdown below the search box) while typing, and a different place (filters the main view to matching items) after I press Command-Enter
    * displays only some (apparently a maximum of 8) results in the while-typing view
    * offers no apparent control over the sort order used in the while-typing view
    * offers no apparent control over the sort order used in the all-results view (after pressing Command-Enter)
    * seems to apply the search string to all fields, not just the titles

    1PW8 Find
    * is Command-Option-F which is harder to type
    * displays results in a 3rd way (as I type, but in the main view, distinct from the way the Search command does it)
    * does allow me to set the sort order used for results, but only if I set that sort order before invoking the Find command; there's apparently no way to do it while looking at the results
    * seems to apply the search string to only titles, not other fields

    By comparison 1PW7's Find
    * is Command-F which is easy to type
    * displays a complete set of results, while typing, all in a single place (the main view)
    * both shows the sort order used for results in a very obvious way, and has a very obvious affordance to let me change the order of the search results during/after the search
    * searches titles only initially, but has an obvious affordance to "expand search to all fields"

    So overall, the 1PW7 implementation works better "out of the box" (no customizations/special options set before using it, no need to distinguish different names for very similar features) and is also more powerful/customizable while using it, compared to the 2 ostensible replacement features in 1PW8.

    BTW I really don't see any obvious distinction between the new names (Search and Find) and the resulting behaviors. I had to look back to the app 3 times while writing this to make sure I called them by the right names.

    My overall point here is that 1PW7's Find behaved ideally in all these regards, and neither Find nor Search in 1PW8 is a full replacement for it, and the fact they're different in subtle ways which aren't obvious at all from the names (when do you/the product want me to use which of those?) further complicates the situation.