Search box closes if three bars are clicked with no textext

AI-generated summary

The discussion centers around a UX issue where clicking the three-bar icon (intended for advanced search) unexpectedly closes the search box if no text is entered. jidanni reports the problem, noting the icon lacks a mouseover tooltip and questions why the search box closes without feedback — suggesting a helpful message should appear. Firepup650 clarifies the icon opens the advanced search page, while awesomerobot points out a title attribute does appear on hover, though the advanced options are hidden behind an extra click — proposing they should be visible by default when the icon is clicked. jidanni later confirms the issue is no longer occurring, admitting they may not have tested thoroughly enough. The thread highlights usability concerns around discoverability, feedback, and consistency with expected search behaviors (e.g., Wikipedia).

See those three bars?

Problem 1: they have no mouseover saying what they are for. Thus we will just call them the three bars, in this bug report.

Problem 2: Click them. The search box slams shut.

Yes, you might say,

You are supposed to know you always need to put some text in the search box before hitting those three bars.

Why? Is that how Wikipedia’s search dialog works?

And OK, if it is all my fault, why not print a message saying so upon closing the search box?

Not sure about you, but hitting the 3 bars (look like settings to me), opens the advanced search page.

3 Likes

there is a title attribute that shows on hover

one thing that might be a little odd, is that we direct to the full search page for advanced search… but we don’t show the advanced options by default, they’re hidden behind an additional click:

might be safe to assume that if someone wants advanced search by clicking that icon… the options should be visible

3 Likes

OK, today it is working properly. I didn’t test enough.