Feature requests
From Searchbastard
If you have a request, go to the Searchbastard forum on getsatisfaction.com - or drop me an email 
It's ok to ask for a new feature in the forum, even though its already on the list below. The list is just my way of keeping track of my own ideas. Submitting it to the forum, will be an opportunity for me to rethink the idea, formulate it more clearly, and for others think along. - Don't be shy!
Contents |
Feature suggestions
- If user has removed build in searchbox, take value from location bar instead
- A switch button that lets you switch between multisearch-tabs/multisearch-frames in search result. Perhaps as a new multisearch called "multisearch-switcher," which would be a header and a content-area (The switch would show up in the header, which also could show a searchfield and a group/engine chooser)
- A break-out button for searchbastard engines
- Add a new "2 frames, the rest in tabs" multisearch, and make it default primary multisearch
- Multisearch-frames: Load only one frame at a time, like on multisearch-tabs - and dont subtabs before the tab is selected
- Search page that is useful to set as homepage (thats also an idea for a new simple add-on, which simply shows a nice search page as a home page, in which you can choose between the search engines that is installed - and perhaps translation too. btw: It might be a good idea to create other new add-ons that only implements single features of searchbastard. Ie "Selection search" ("Sidebar wordbook" or "LookItUp") (but are Selection Search any use without Searchbastard engines? - FF engines needs more space than a sidebar). The Macro Machine might also be useful. For example, the machinery of Searchbastard engines could be used for a powerful ad-blocker.
- "Translate to languages I know" feature: framed search of translation searches. Lets say source is German and "Languages I know" is set up to English and Danish. It will then result in two frames. One with a "de-en" search and one with a "de-da" search. - and maybe also a "de-de" search?
- Remove automatically alias suggestion
- Set alias on unassigned engines
- More help texts
- Add a toolbar item that can be used to hide/show the searchbars
- When closing the searchbar (ie by pressing Esc) the document should be scrolled, so the text that was visible before closing the bar, still is visible.
- preference: "selectionsearch.max_words_for_change" - not editable
- preference: "show_icon_in_statusbar" - not editable
- When using context menu of an engine, keep blue selection in dropdown
- Clicking on a word while holding ie Alt, Ctrl or Shift down, could result in a standard search. This is more simple (more user friendly) than selection search. True: it often involves more steps for the user, because the standard search may not be what he wanted, and then he will have to change the search engine in the dropdown - but its easier, because it doesn't involve setting up alias, remembering alias, and remembering the more complex selection search procedure
- Show search options in the context menu when a word is selected
- how about an optional "all engines" dropdown?
- Drag/drop tabs in a multisearch-tabs to reorder group (hm... this feature clashes with the feature that automatically closes tabs that have search results, but it could be set up so the user chooses which of the two features he wants, I suppose)
Rejected (don't know how to do it)
- Allow css rules in Searchbastard engines that are applied before document is loaded (ie using the stylesheet service, like Stylish does (components/StylishStartup.js line 49)). Stylesheet service is however not ideal, because its global, and thus affects other documents. Help for attaching styles to a certain document (before the document is loaded) would be appreciated.
Rejected (feature not wanted)
- Autocreate group alias when a group is created
- Search field indicates witch engine/group that will be searched (like the firefox search field does)
- A engineNameTyped property in engine properties that overrides the default action (which is set in "Events")
- When an engine is installed, show a "Want to add it to a group?" dialog, that allows the user to select a group
- Allow to change position of searchbastard toolbar (above current bookmark folder for example..) and maybe even share a toolbar with the main one or bookmark toolbar. - Rejected because this is already possible. The toolbar called "toolbox" can be positioned above the bookmark folder, and it can be in the same toolbar as the bookmark toolbar. Right-click on the "Stop" button and select "configure". You can now drag the "Searchbastard" icon to where you please (for example next to the bookmarks), and you can add a new toolbar if you want (for example above the bookmarks), and drag the searchbastard icon to it.
- Add a clear search box button or clear the searchbar after X seconds
- Be able to drag selected text to the searchbar and auto launch search (last or default)
- On Primary multisearch add Option for open the search in tabs in new window. [A multisearch is a page with multiple searchresults grouped in frames or tabs, but WITHIN the page. Opening in real tabs or new window is something else. To configure Searchbastard to open in new tabs in new window, when a group is clicked, go to Advanced / Events, and set multisearch, click, none to "Search
Rejected (feature already implemented)
- add an option to open searches in new tab from searchbastard box (Go to Settings | Advanced | Searchbox defaults)
Rejected for now (cost/benefit)
Rejected because the work required is too great compared with actual number of current users. These features may come true one day...
- Download and upload groups
- Internationalization (right now all text is in english)
- Drag&Drop in Settings
- A new search target: "Popup", which is an in-page popup like the one on Answers.com
- Searchbastard engines: Is it possible not to frame them?
- A method available for SearchBastard engines to make xml requests
- Dropdown menus should open when dragging stuff above them
- An easy way to change engine icons
- A way to set the hidden options in searchbastard engine header
- Optionally add header to firefox engines too.
- Handling of external renaming of a firefox engine
- Create searchbastard engine from a firefox engine
- Share a group/toolbar or entire setup with others, with option to keep in sync
- Add/remove searchbars
- Firefox 2 support
- New "multiselect" type on Searchbastard engines
