Search Animation Feature

Overview

XeFM shows animated progress indicators during long-running operations like searching files. These animations let you know that XeFM is working and provide visual feedback during operations.

Animation Styles

You can choose from several animation styles:

1. Spinner - Classic spinning indicator (default)
   • Shows: ⠋ ⠙ ⠹ ⠸ ⠼ ⠴ ⠦ ⠧ ⠇ ⠏
   • Best for general use
2. Dots - Minimalist dot animation
   • Shows: ⠁ ⠂ ⠄ ⡀ ⢀ ⠠ ⠐ ⠈
   • Good for low-distraction environments
3. Progress - Progress bar style
   • Shows: ▏ ▎ ▍ ▌ ▋ ▊ ▉ █
   • Visual representation of activity
4. Bounce - Simple bouncing dot
   • Shows: ⠁ ⠂ ⠄ ⠂
   • Minimal and rhythmic
5. Pulse - Pulsing circle
   • Shows: ● ◐ ◑ ◒ ◓ ◔ ◕ ○
   • Calming and smooth
6. Wave - Wave-like bars
   • Shows: ▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂
   • Dynamic and engaging
7. Clock - Clock face animation
   • Shows: 🕐 🕑 🕒 🕓 🕔 🕕 🕖 🕗 🕘 🕙 🕚 🕛
   • Clear progression indication
8. Arrow - Rotating arrow
   • Shows: ← ↖ ↑ ↗ → ↘ ↓ ↙
   • Clear motion indication

Configuration

Add these settings to your XeFM configuration file (~/.xefm/config.py):

class Config(DefaultConfig):
    # Choose your animation style
    PROGRESS_ANIMATION_PATTERN = 'spinner'  # Default: 'spinner'
    PROGRESS_ANIMATION_SPEED = 0.2          # Default: 0.2 seconds

Settings

• PROGRESS_ANIMATION_PATTERN: Choose your animation style
  • Options: 'spinner', 'dots', 'progress', 'bounce', 'pulse', 'wave', 'clock', 'arrow'
  • Default: 'spinner'
• PROGRESS_ANIMATION_SPEED: How fast the animation moves
  • Default: 0.2 seconds between frames
  • Smaller numbers = faster animation
  • Larger numbers = slower animation
  • Recommended: 0.1 to 0.5

How It Works

Animations run automatically during operations like searching. You don’t need to do anything - just start a search and you’ll see the animation.

What You’ll See

Spinner Animation:

Searching ⠋ (15 found)
Searching ⠙ (28 found)
Searching ⠹ (42 found)

Dots Animation:

Searching ⠁ (15 found)
Searching ⠂ (28 found)
Searching ⠄ (42 found)

Progress Animation:

Searching [█░░░░░░░] (15 found)
Searching [██░░░░░░] (28 found)
Searching [███░░░░░] (42 found)

When You’ll See Animations

• File Search: When searching for files by name
• Content Search: When searching inside files
• Long Operations: During any operation that takes time

Search Result Limit

Search results are bounded internally (the scan stops after a large cap) to keep performance predictable on big directory trees. When the cap is reached, the search stops and shows “limit reached” in the status. Use more specific search patterns if you hit this frequently.

Troubleshooting

Animation Not Showing

• Check that your terminal supports Unicode characters
• Try a different animation pattern (spinner works best)
• Make sure the animation speed isn’t too slow

Animation Too Fast or Slow

• Adjust the PROGRESS_ANIMATION_SPEED setting
• Try values between 0.1 (fast) and 0.5 (slow)

Characters Look Wrong

• Some terminals don’t support all Unicode characters
• Try the ‘spinner’ pattern - it has the best compatibility
• Consider upgrading to a modern terminal

Tips

• The ‘spinner’ pattern works in most terminals
• Slower speeds (0.3-0.5) are easier on the eyes
• Faster speeds (0.1-0.2) feel more responsive
• The animation doesn’t affect search speed or performance