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Why does alternate search engine select ("This time, search with...") require extra action?

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 11 views
  • Last reply by wheelofiron

wheelofiron
wheelofiron
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I constantly use the "This time, search with..." option in the search bar to switch between my default search engine and others on the fly. Since version 84.0, this now needlessly prepends the query with a search engine label and requires an additional action to complete (either a return or click of search arrow).

I feel as though the clicking of any of those alternate search engine options is enough to establish intent by the user and should act as a submit button for the request. The only "advantage" this new functionality allows for is a select-first, query-after approach, which I find uncommon.

My request:

1) Return previous behavior. 2) Implement hybrid -- Search-first, query-after produces label; query first, search after submits. 3) Provide an option in the settings to toggle behavior.

Hope someone can help/shed some light on the change,

Thanks

I constantly use the "This time, search with..." option in the search bar to switch between my default search engine and others on the fly. Since version 84.0, this now needlessly prepends the query with a search engine label and requires an additional action to complete (either a return or click of search arrow). I feel as though the clicking of any of those alternate search engine options is enough to establish intent by the user and should act as a submit button for the request. The only "advantage" this new functionality allows for is a select-first, query-after approach, which I find uncommon. My request: 1) Return previous behavior. 2) Implement hybrid -- Search-first, query-after produces label; query first, search after submits. 3) Provide an option in the settings to toggle behavior. Hope someone can help/shed some light on the change, Thanks

All Replies (2)

cor-el
cor-el
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  • Top 10 Contributor
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You should be able to do this in one action if you hold the Shift key and left-click or press the Enter key.

You can hold Shift when you click/press Enter on a one-off button to execute a search immediately.

wheelofiron
wheelofiron Question owner
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@cor-el

This does work, but it still does not explain the reason for the change or the purpose of the feature. I don't think there's any circumstance that I'd expect a user to perform a shift + click to produce the behavior whether this be a new feature or an existing one. I'd give the team a pass if the current default behavior was their first attempt at this, but it existed and worked as you'd expect prior to 84.0. This feels like a regression in terms of UX.

Edit: Found this in "What's New" for 84.0 https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/change-your-default-search-settings-firefox#w_one-click-search-engines This description sounds very much like previous behavior.

Modified by wheelofiron