Mouse cursor position can prevent typing spaces in app menu search bar

[ranchester2]

Qubes OS release

4.2

Brief summary

If one hits space while the new app menu is open while the mouse cursor is over an app, the app is launched, preventing one from searching with multiple words without moving the mouse cursor.

This is relevant as when the app menu is opened with a keyboard shortcut it spawns centered on the mouse cursor.
If there are about 6 search results, one cannot add an extra keyword to narrow it down without accidentally launching the app the mouse cursor is hovering.

Steps to reproduce

1. Open app menu.
2. Put mouse cursor somewhere near its center (or just launch it from the command line with the mouse cursor near the center of the screen)
3. Type one word that gives at least 6 search results (with the default font size)
4. Try to type a second word to narrow down the results.
5. Observe how some unwanted app is being launched.

Expected behavior

One can search with multiple words (say, part of the name of the VM and then the app) without moving the mouse cursor away.

Actual behavior

One accidentally launch the app the mouse cursor was under

[UndeadDevel]

Personally I'm using a keyboard shortcut to open the app menu; the shortcut calls this script in dom0, which moves the mouse out of the way automatically (you may have to adjust the numerical values in this script if your screen resolution is not 1080p).

[UndeadDevel]

This issue has transformed somewhat with the new app menu version now (qubes-desktop-linux-menu-1.2.0-1.fc37.noarch):

it no longer launches apps under the mouse cursor when Space is pressed (good!), but Space is still "consumed", i.e. if the mouse cursor is under a selectable item in an app menu list while typing into the app menu search bar, Space will not be possible to type, which means a very common search use case (e.g. pers ter for opening the Terminal in the personal qube) is made impossible.