[elric]

I don't get this feature. And I really hate that it's present in pretty much every browser these days. If I want to type an URL, I'll use the address bar. If I want to search, I'll use the search bar. Different bars with different keyboard shortcuts and different purposes. Why do so many browsers merge these two? Screens are insanely wide these days, so screen real estate can't be the reason. Are we trying to trick users into thinking that URLs aren't a thing anymore?

Maybe this "omnibox" doesn't know whether I want to enter a hostname or a search term, but I do.

[ubercow13]

Firefox's omnibox is probably my favourite feature, it's so much better than separate bars. The reason is that it also searches within your bookmarks and history for items matching the terms you enter. At least half the time when I use the location bar, I am looking for a site I have been to before or bookmarked, and it will pop up as the first result in the suggestions. If nothing is found, it makes sense to fall back to a web search a lot of the time. How would this work with separate bars? Surely the history should be searched when typing in the location bar, but then you couldn't fall back to searching the web. Also, when looking for that site in my history, I might be typing part of the URL or part of the page title, so it is ambiguous whether it's a URL or search. Even if I am typing part of the URL, if it turns out nothing is found in my history, it might make sense to continue with the same terms as a web search instead of me trying to remember or form a whole URL from memory.

Chrome's implementation is terrible as it's designed to just funnel you into Google search, and doesn't give you a good idea of how useful it can be.

[elric]

I agree that that's the least painful implementation. But last time I tried FF mobile, the behaviour had changed and it was giving me search suggestions (as in actively contacting a search engine as I was typing), with no way to turn it off. That's a deal breaker for me.

If I want to search in just my history, I can simply press CTRL-H and type to search in history.

[g2347890]

all technically deprived people I have seen, use none of the above, the first thing they do is open google (most have it nowadays in defult tab page) and they type the URLs given to them there, no one knows about address/search bar, and if some know, they expect it to work like the google search box

Update: I hide some site of mine from google, I do not care about SE traffic and block any crawler, and I have noticed when I give some people I know a URL from that site, they often tell me that it cannot be found, given google search they use all the time does not list it

[ClikeX]

So many people do this. They'll open the browser and start typing google.com in the omnibar. Even though it says "Search or enter address" right there.

If the less tech savvy can't figure out that it does both, then maybe it isn't as intuitive as the browser builders think.

[tgv]

I've seen other weird behavior, even from people with a fair bit of computer experience. Techie instinct is not the right basis for making UI decisions.

[elric]

Isn't that just a matter of educating users? Users, contrary to popular belief, are not stupid. Everyone starts off knowing nothing at all, but we can teach them what an address is and we can teach them how to search for things.

[Shared404]

> Users, contrary to popular belief, are not stupid.

"I don't care about learning, I just want it to work."

"Why do I care again?"

"Just make it do it right."

"Can you come fix the CPU again?" (Speaking about PC, with the difference explained multiple times previously.)

"Can you come fix the computer again?" (Same person speaking about monitor. Difference also explained previously.)

These are all actual quotes from Friends/Family/Co-workers

[0xdeadb00f]

Ignorance isn't stupidity. But it may be classified as stupid to purposefully remain ignorant so idk.

But I do see your point.

[Shared404]

> Ignorance isn't stupidity. But it may be classified as stupid to purposefully remain ignorant

Exactly what I was trying to say. I have no issues if someone is ignorant about something, and is actually trying to learn, even unsuccessfully.

But if someone won't even try, they get no pity from me.

[ogurechny]

It most certainly is. Current “startup culture” (or should we say “swindle culture”?) values illiteracy of the masses because everyone's dream is, in simple terms, to screw millions (or billions) of fools over and make a lot of money from it. No wonder the path of adopting to ignorance, downgrading to lower level is chosen instead of the path of education and lifting people higher.

A user who doesn't know what address bar is and types all the things into search engine benefits Google. Therefore, you won't see any changes in Chrome.

Obviously, it's more general topic than bashing the usual IT evils. People take reading and writing for granted, just like they take having electricity and water supply for granted, but it doesn't just magically happen. There is an enormous continuing work. Remember the '80s talks about teaching kids using and programming computers because it was ESSENTIAL FOR THE FUTURE? What has happened? Computers haven't got simpler at all. You still need to teach how to use them, but today it's not a fashionable topic, and everyone pretends it's not their problem. The result of a disparate, self-maintained education is — who would've thought — uneducated people. In addition, the “educated” “specialists” treat users as if they are on a tropical plantation in a cork hat: “Those damn brutes can't learn to do anything properly! Can't argue with nature, stick to whips and simple tasks.”

It is important to remember that the radiance of modern IT sphere has little to do with Jobs' iphone presentation and whatnot. Without old simple-hearted initiatives, long forgotten BASIC listings in hobbyist journals, government programs on educational computers, and local electronics clubs a lot of people would not work there. Everyone was stupid once, there is no exception to that. The focus should be on the process of learning, not the state of being stupid.

[gsich]

I think the ratio of people who know stuff stays roughly the same.

[Semaphor]

On FF it’s Ctrl+k for searching (by prepending `? `) and Ctrl+l for addresses (if it can be parsed as an address). I almost never just click into the bar, so that works fine for me.

[HALtheWise]

This works in Chrome too

[MaxBarraclough]

I just tried this, and it doesn't do as I'd hoped.

ctrl l does not force Chrome to resolve the term through DNS, it may still run a Google search. If you want http://mylocalserver you have to include the http:// or Chrome will Google for mylocalserver.

[tasogare]

> Screens are insanely wide these days

This is not relevant for URL or search bars since they need to be displayed horizontally. Separate bars means less vertical screen space, which is still scarce.

[elric]

My search bar is next to my URL bar, both are big enough and it has no impact on vertical space. I don't think I've seen any browsers where the two bars are stacked vertically.

[dfox]

See this: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Firefox_1.0.png

In firefox preferences there still is an option to switch to old layout with two bars. Sadly it does exactly the same thing as adding search bar manually, that is gives you second redundant search bar and does not turn off search support in the original url bar.

[tasogare]

Oh yes, I remember that. I don’t miss it at all, save for the annoying behavior of single bar when a search contains dot (e.g. searching for a dotnet namespace).

While the single bar is my preference I agree that more choice should be given to the end user. Google is trying to hard to shovel the changes that benefit them than addressing user’s needs (obvious example being AMP).

[jaxn]

Insanely wide means that you can have two inputs on the same row without vertical impact. That's how it used to be.

(I think the omnibox is the right UI though)

[ebg13]

> This is not relevant for URL or search bars since they need to be displayed horizontally

Need? Has anyone tried?

[Arnt]

I've seen it, back around 1999, possibly konqueror? Something that let you drag around toolbars and if you moved the address bar to the left/right side it would change the direction of writing.

Let's say that testing it briefly was enough. Editing tilted text works up to around 45 degrees, steeper than that is a strain.

[tasogare]

Good luck reading anything in latin script with a one-character wide vertical search bar. This would works for Chinese (that’s the traditional writing orientation) but definitely not for most other languages.