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Asked: 2019-12-21 11:59:40 +0800 CST

Search tool used by Kubuntu 19.10 "application dashboard" widget, how can I alter search?

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The search results seem a bit strange. There aren't many options when you right click on the widget icon. What search program is this using and how can I alter it to get better search results?

examples of strange behaviour I'd like to correct/alter:

  1. When I type "s" the search comes up with applications with names starting with "s" but also some that don't. It also comes up with a number files many or which have names that don't even start with "s". Why? How can I change that?

  2. If I type "se" no applications show up but files do (some not starting with "se".)

  3. If I type "set" application starting with "set" show up. Why didn't they show up when typing just "se"?

kubuntu search widgets plasma

1 Answers

  1. Caution: this is going to be a somewhat speculative and far from complete answer!

    Posted from a VM running Kubuntu 19.10 (minimal install option) with the kubuntu-backports ppa enabled.

    Operating System: Kubuntu 19.10
KDE Plasma Version: 5.17.4
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.65.0
Qt Version: 5.12.4
Kernel Version: 5.3.0-24-generic
OS Type: 64-bit

    The title of the question refers to the application dashboard. According to kde.org's announcement page,

    Plasma 5.4 brings an entirely new fullscreen launcher Application Dashboard in kdeplasma-addons: Featuring all features of Application Menu it includes sophisticated scaling to screen size and full spatial keyboard navigation. The new launcher allows you to easily and quickly find applications, as well as recently used or favorited documents and contacts based on your previous activity.

    A small video from 2015 illustrating the application dashboard is here.

    (There are other launchers available as part of the default installation.)

    Re.

    The search results seem a bit strange. There aren't many options when you right click on the widget icon. What search program is this using and how can I alter it to get better search results?

    Right-clicking on the launcher icon:

    Right-clicking on the dashboard icon

    This context menu doesn't provide any option for altering how the search box functions.

    However, some information can be gleaned from the kickoff page

    you can simply enter a search term. The search field has focus when opening the menu, so you can simply start typing. The search will not only match against applications names, but also against their description. So if you need a browser, but don't know the name of the installed browsers, simply type "browser" in the search field. This should result in a list of all available browsers.

    Re.

    When I type "s" the search comes up with applications with names starting with "s" but also some that don't. It also comes up with a number files many or which have names that don't even start with "s". Why? How can I change that?

    • based on the bit I quoted from the kickoff page, both the application's name and its description are taken into account. Plus, it appears that a result is shown if what is typed matches anywhere, not just the first letter, in the name or the description.

    Even internal strings are matched

    even internal strings are matched

    A couple of points about descriptions:

    • Applications with .desktop files have their Comments searched. For example, I installed meld and it has "Compare and merge your files", so typing merg picks up meld on my system.

    • Then there are also items specific to KDE Plasma such as those components, aka modules, found in System Settings. You can get an idea of (many of) those and their descriptions by running kcmshell5 --list in your terminal.

    1. If I type "se" no applications show up but files do (some not starting with "se".)

    No applications showing up when "se" is typed even though just "s" itself returns results is probably a bug and could be reported at KDE Bugtracking System.

    Files showing up even though their names don't start with "se" has been dealt with above. An additional wrinkle is baloo. If a user chooses to index the contents of files (System Settings > Search), files containing "se" as part of their content will be picked up.

    1. If I type "set" application starting with "set" show up. Why didn't they show up when typing just "se"?

    It's already mentioned that no results are returned for applications when searching just for "se".

    As for

    how can I alter it to get better search results?

    Other than typing longer strings, I can't think of ways a user can get better search results. (It's possible that the system trains itself to recognize a user's intentions depending on how often a particular file or application is launched. I use krunner rather than the dashboard, and when I type just "a", the first item listed is abanks.odt, a file I open several times a day.)

    The other option is to get involved:

    More generally, have a look at https://community.kde.org/Get_Involved and find out more ways to help be part of a project that really matters. Each contributor makes a huge difference in KDE; you are not a number or a cog in a machine! You don’t have to already be a programmer, either. I wasn’t when I got started. Try it, you’ll like it! We don’t bite!

    Source

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