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Most Mac OS X apps (including the ones in your list) allow you to press Cmd-E - Cmd-F to search for the currently highlighted word. Even better: once you have p

Most Mac OS X apps (including the ones in your list) allow you to press Cmd-E - Cmd-F to search for the currently highlighted word. Even better: once you have pressed Cmd-E you can hit Cmd-G to cycle through the results. With all due respect, what is just dumb is not reading the manual of the powertools you use every day and blaming them for your lazyness.

gregschlom 15y ago
Thanks for the tip. >With all due respect, what is just dumb is not reading the manual of the powertools you use every day and blaming them for your lazyness. I thought the point of Mac was that you didn't have to read the manual ;) But yes, in this case, mea culpa.
- johncoltrane 15y ago
  You are welcome. You don't have to read the manual to perform the most common tasks. But if you want to perform more advanced/specific tasks, reading the manual is necessary.
jamesrcole 15y ago
But I think they had a valid point. Cmd-F searching for the highlighted text involves one key-press. What you describe requires two key-presses. The former is quicker and easier, and I think that makes it preferable. Pretty much everything to do with computers, from Operating System features, to program and UI features, are ultimately about making it quicker and easier to perform tasks. Wanting more convenience is not laziness. The goal of computer systems should be to provide more convenience.
- johncoltrane 15y ago
  I agree that one of the goals of software is to make performing common tasks quicker and easier. However, binding two different actions to one trigger is pushing the logic too far. It could happen that I have some text selected and I want to search for something within that text, or that I've selected something by mistake and I want to search something else… In that kind of situation having the search field populated by the content of the selection by default would obviously lead to a less than ideal experience. I believe the people behind these choices actually ran extensive usability tests and decided to compromise on what they found to be the most common use case: poping a search window and inputing the search term. I agree this system is maybe a little dumb but I think that is what makes it robust and dependable. Which is in my opinion the single more important attribute of any system. I don't think the parent wanting more convenience is lazy. But I think that not reading the manual and complaining about the absence of an obviously present feature is proof of lazyness. That's very different and so very common. And I wasn't mocking him, just improvising a pun based on his last line.
  - jamesrcole 15y ago
    The complaint was not about 'an obviously present feature'. They were talking about Cmd-F searching for highlighted text. That's not there. The feature you're talking about is not the same as that. - What benefits do you think are provided by software that don't ultimately come down to making things quicker and easier to do?
    - johncoltrane 15y ago
      Oh crap, HN just ate my 10 minutes of typing. My point was: the parent wants a different behaviour for Cmd-F but it turns out the different behaviour he asks for is already provided by another shortcut. Yours is: it sucks and these different behaviours should be triggered by the same shortcut for the sake of "quicker and easier". I think that such a move would actually go the opposite of "quicker and easier". The most basic case for which the "Find" feature provided by Mac OS X is this: you need to locate a word in some text. This can happen if you want to jump quickly to a specific paragraph or if you want to read the definition of a word or the address of a person or if you want to bypass the LOC… Cmd-F is the way to go: it pops up a window with a textfield and a "Find" button. Exactly what you need to achieve your goal. The case addressed by the Cmd-E Cmd-F combo has different predicate: you already have the word highlighted and you want to jump to another instance of the same word in the document. This may happen in fewer situations than the above case. In such a situation, comparatively rare, I believe, Mac OS X provides another shortcut. Different actions -> different triggers. - I expect of course any software to go as far as possible on the road to "quicker and easier" but such a goal shouldn't impede clarity, simplicity and robustness. Making all of these requirements work together is what makes good software.
      - jamesrcole 15y ago
        I never said it sucks. You (and others) prefer Cmd-E Cmd-F? Fine, I'm happy with that. For your needs, that is quicker and easier. But for other people's needs, Cmd-F using selected text may be quicker and easier. I hope we can all agree on that. My point was that: if someone wants to be able to achieve a goal G by some a particular means X (because the nature of X is helpful for them), it's not a valid point to say "but you can already achieve G by means Y" (where Y is not as helpful for them and their needs). Imagine if the Cmd-E Cmd-F feature didn't exist and you said it'd be good if it did, and I responded that the behavior you want is already provided by another shortcut: by typing Cmd-F and then typing in the highlighted term. EDIT: actually, I think a better analogy would be if you had said it'd be good if there was the Cmd-E Cmd-F feature and I responded that there's already shortcuts for the behavior you want: typing Cmd-C Cmd-F Cmd-V -- I think clarity, simplicity and robustness are means of making it quicker and easier to achieve tasks.
- TomAnthony 15y ago
  I can see your point but here two key presses makes more sense as it allows me the flexibility to decide whether I want that highlight to mean something. I am often blending cut'n'paste actions with search actions and it would be an extra key/mouse press for me to get the functionality I want. Different people have different work flows, and impossible to make everyone happy. However, in this case the extra-key press (which is easy as same modifier key and the E,F & G keys are all nearby) allows for greater flexibility and doesn't do unexpected stuff for newbie users. Horses for courses.
- lambda 15y ago
  Cmd-F (if it searched for the highlighted text) requires two: Cmd-F, return. Cmd-E requires two: Cmd-E, Cmd-G. You only need to press Cmd-F if you need to change search options, which the vast majority of the time, you do not.

gregschlom 15y ago

Thanks for the tip. >With all due respect, what is just dumb is not reading the manual of the powertools you use every day and blaming them for your lazyness. I thought the point of Mac was that you didn't have to read the manual ;) But yes, in this case, mea culpa.

johncoltrane 15y ago
You are welcome. You don't have to read the manual to perform the most common tasks. But if you want to perform more advanced/specific tasks, reading the manual is necessary.

jamesrcole 15y ago

But I think they had a valid point. Cmd-F searching for the highlighted text involves one key-press. What you describe requires two key-presses. The former is quicker and easier, and I think that makes it preferable. Pretty much everything to do with computers, from Operating System features, to program and UI features, are ultimately about making it quicker and easier to perform tasks. Wanting more convenience is not laziness. The goal of computer systems should be to provide more convenience.

johncoltrane 15y ago
I agree that one of the goals of software is to make performing common tasks quicker and easier. However, binding two different actions to one trigger is pushing the logic too far. It could happen that I have some text selected and I want to search for something within that text, or that I've selected something by mistake and I want to search something else… In that kind of situation having the search field populated by the content of the selection by default would obviously lead to a less than ideal experience. I believe the people behind these choices actually ran extensive usability tests and decided to compromise on what they found to be the most common use case: poping a search window and inputing the search term. I agree this system is maybe a little dumb but I think that is what makes it robust and dependable. Which is in my opinion the single more important attribute of any system. I don't think the parent wanting more convenience is lazy. But I think that not reading the manual and complaining about the absence of an obviously present feature is proof of lazyness. That's very different and so very common. And I wasn't mocking him, just improvising a pun based on his last line.
- jamesrcole 15y ago
  The complaint was not about 'an obviously present feature'. They were talking about Cmd-F searching for highlighted text. That's not there. The feature you're talking about is not the same as that. - What benefits do you think are provided by software that don't ultimately come down to making things quicker and easier to do?
  - johncoltrane 15y ago
    Oh crap, HN just ate my 10 minutes of typing. My point was: the parent wants a different behaviour for Cmd-F but it turns out the different behaviour he asks for is already provided by another shortcut. Yours is: it sucks and these different behaviours should be triggered by the same shortcut for the sake of "quicker and easier". I think that such a move would actually go the opposite of "quicker and easier". The most basic case for which the "Find" feature provided by Mac OS X is this: you need to locate a word in some text. This can happen if you want to jump quickly to a specific paragraph or if you want to read the definition of a word or the address of a person or if you want to bypass the LOC… Cmd-F is the way to go: it pops up a window with a textfield and a "Find" button. Exactly what you need to achieve your goal. The case addressed by the Cmd-E Cmd-F combo has different predicate: you already have the word highlighted and you want to jump to another instance of the same word in the document. This may happen in fewer situations than the above case. In such a situation, comparatively rare, I believe, Mac OS X provides another shortcut. Different actions -> different triggers. - I expect of course any software to go as far as possible on the road to "quicker and easier" but such a goal shouldn't impede clarity, simplicity and robustness. Making all of these requirements work together is what makes good software.
    - jamesrcole 15y ago
      I never said it sucks. You (and others) prefer Cmd-E Cmd-F? Fine, I'm happy with that. For your needs, that is quicker and easier. But for other people's needs, Cmd-F using selected text may be quicker and easier. I hope we can all agree on that. My point was that: if someone wants to be able to achieve a goal G by some a particular means X (because the nature of X is helpful for them), it's not a valid point to say "but you can already achieve G by means Y" (where Y is not as helpful for them and their needs). Imagine if the Cmd-E Cmd-F feature didn't exist and you said it'd be good if it did, and I responded that the behavior you want is already provided by another shortcut: by typing Cmd-F and then typing in the highlighted term. EDIT: actually, I think a better analogy would be if you had said it'd be good if there was the Cmd-E Cmd-F feature and I responded that there's already shortcuts for the behavior you want: typing Cmd-C Cmd-F Cmd-V -- I think clarity, simplicity and robustness are means of making it quicker and easier to achieve tasks.
TomAnthony 15y ago
I can see your point but here two key presses makes more sense as it allows me the flexibility to decide whether I want that highlight to mean something. I am often blending cut'n'paste actions with search actions and it would be an extra key/mouse press for me to get the functionality I want. Different people have different work flows, and impossible to make everyone happy. However, in this case the extra-key press (which is easy as same modifier key and the E,F & G keys are all nearby) allows for greater flexibility and doesn't do unexpected stuff for newbie users. Horses for courses.
lambda 15y ago
Cmd-F (if it searched for the highlighted text) requires two: Cmd-F, return. Cmd-E requires two: Cmd-E, Cmd-G. You only need to press Cmd-F if you need to change search options, which the vast majority of the time, you do not.