[wingide-users] search/replace revisited...again

[Danny Bloemendaal]

Hi folks,

I keep complaining about the search/replace implementation. Today again, 
I had trouble to do the most simple replacements. Why can't we get this 
right!? It's so freaking important that this works right and right now 
it's so far off of being useful at all.

This is what I try to do (yep... it can't be any simpler):

I am in a jscript function and there is a variable j I want to replace 
with something else. My cursor is just above the line containing the 
first 'j' I'm looking for. So, I click on the search/replace tab, select 
Interactive Replace. Then I type in the search: field 'j'. And there it 
happens... I jump to a totally different place in the code immediately!! 
What the h...! Where am I? I just want to start from where I was.

It is totally wrong to jump around while I type my search string. DON'T 
DO THAT!!!! One of the most important things is to NEVER jump to another 
place in the code unless the user specifically wants that and can 
predict what will happen. Now I'm lost. In fact, in my situation here, I 
only want to replace the 'j's in one function so what on earth makes you 
think I want to jump to a completely other function/location??? Now I 
have to search the code first to see my starting point again. So I click 
the down arrows a few times until my first 'j' is highlighted.. but 
oops.. I clicked one time too many. So, the second 'j' is selected.  And 
then what? I jump over my first search target so...click up again? Ok I 
click up and it selects the first 'j' I want to replace. I click Replace 
and ...ouch... there it jumps somewhere upwards...to...yes... somewhere 
I don't want to be again...mmm... search downwards again to ....etc..

It's so wrong!!

This jumping around makes me really reluctant to use search/replace at 
all. I'm actually afraid of it. No control to do the simplest thing. I'm 
scared I might even lose things.

Why does it have to be this way? To begin with, TURN OF THE AUTO 
START!!! I will tell WinG when to start searching. I will let it now 
when I have phrased my search string. Don't touch my cursor while I am 
thinking/typing!!!

Then, make a visible switch/checkbox that indicates the search direction 
(not in the options dropdown!!). When I check it, don't do anything. 
Again: DON'T TOUCH MY LOCATION until _I_ say you can!! With this switch 
I can alway see and predict what will happen when I click Replace.

Sorry about my rant but I'm really frustrated. For ages, searching and 
replacing in Wing is a big mess, a usability nightmare. And this issue 
above is only a small part of what is wrong with this. I'd love to dive 
more into this if you like but please please please fix this.

Danny.