Improve app selection via the keyboard arrows

When I open appfinder and search for something, I see a couple of options most of the time. Like you see bellow:

Now I want to quickly select the OnlyOffice app, and the first app is already selected, so my brain tells me to use the right arrow on my keyboard in order to select it (to move the selector). But I can't. I have to press the down arrow once, and then the right one to move the selector. Is it possible to fix this somehow?

This is something I fixed long ago for List View, IIRC it was more complicated with Icon View.

Ah I see, so it is an issue with the Icon View. Then maybe we should leave this issue open for now.

Thinking about this again, it doesn't seem "fixable", the focus is on the search entry, which means that the expected thing to do when pressing left or right is to move the cursor, not change the selected entry.

What I fixed in list view but didn't fix in icon view is that it is necessary to press down twice to go to the icon below the selection, in your screenshot that is "Figma Linux".

Ah...ok I see. Interesting. I used Gnome for many years and I think their Dash worked like this. You searched and if you pressed the right arrow will jump to the right icon. Yet the search will still be in focus.... What if when any arrow keys are pressed, the search loses focus, then it regains after the press is finished?

This is going to be a very confusing text entry:

• type "Xdce"
• oops, I meant "Xfce"
• let me go back twice to replace that "f"
• no, I don't want to change the selected item (actually if the first one is selected no change will be seem)
• meh, I have to press backspace three times and type "fce"

hmmm....then I wonder how is gnome doing it? Or Whisker menu for that matter? I just realized Whisker works well, even when you use the icon view....

Are you sure? I'm using whiskermenu 2.7.0 and I need to press down and right to select the second item.

ahhh you are right! But if you want to select the item bellow/above you only have to press once in Whisker. In appfinder you still have to press twice. And then, how is Gnome doing it I wonder :D

if you want to select the item bellow/above you only have to press once in Whisker. In appfinder you still have to press twice

That's so far the only thing I see that can be improved and why I left this issue open

Ok. So selecting an item to the right is more difficult since that arrow plus the left one also act as a cursor on the search form correct? A way to move the cursor while typing and maybe correct the work and so forth. Is that why it is not really feasible?

added 2. Enhancement label