Specify search scope in the UI (global, channel, etc.)

[PhilC813]

Use Cases

The search feature within Grayjay is able to adapt in scope according to the page open (at least in some cases). For example, if you're on the home tab, it'll search through every platforms. Meanwhile, if you're on a specific YouTube channel, it'll only search through that channel. However, since the search UI never specifies the scope, it isn't immediately obvious that it's a feature. Furthermore, the same search history is shown regardless of the scope, which adds to the confusion.

I was looking for how to search videos through a specific YouTube channel, and I found out that it was possible from another GitHub issue where a user had the same question:
#1210 (comment)

Proposal

To reduce confusion, the UI should adapt to the scope of the search. The simplest implementation would be to add a placeholder text to the search field, such as "Search channel" or "Search within [channel name].

It could also be considered to change the search UI to have a dedicated search button for different scopes. For example, the YouTube website has a dedicated search bar for searching within channels, which allows for the global search to stay accessible from any page. However, the preferred implementation is really a matter of personal taste.

References

• Search only within a channel #1210
• view releases on youtube, and channel-specific search #1272