Implement search bar for PopupMenu

[warriormaster12]

This adds an ability to search items inside PopupMenu. Currently the search bar is only visible if there are 10 or more items.

Implements proposal: godotengine/godot-proposals#13681

There are a couple of questions that I want feedback on:

• Should the class provide methods for enabling/disabling search bar? Should there be an ability to configure how many items are required to have for visibility to change?
• Do we still want to keep activated_by_keyboard option? Feels at least redundant in my eyes.
• Should there be an option to edit search bar's placeholder text

Screencast_20251220_140018.webm

[Flynsarmy]

This would fix godotengine/godot-proposals#7278

[YeldhamDev]

This feature should be optional, and disabled by default. Currently it always enables when there are at least 10 items.

[Flynsarmy]

This feature should be optional, and disabled by default. Currently it always enables when there are at least 10 items.

I agree however the option should be toggled on in all areas of the editor.

[warriormaster12]

Managed to figure out how to add support for searching inside submenus. Probably not the most optimal implementation but it works (at least as much as I tested).

[warriormaster12]

Screencast_20251222_213848.webm

Example

[YeldhamDev]

I can see a regression in your video: the submenu doesn't align with the item in the parent popup anymore.

Also, you need to fill in the documentation for the new functions (run the binary with --doctool, then fill the descriptions), and probably make them accessible via properties as well.

[warriormaster12]

@YeldhamDev regression solved and docs added.

[warriormaster12]

Noticed that caret jumps to the front when using up key which in this case is only desired if non of the items in scroll container are hovered over.

[warriormaster12]

@YeldhamDev Changed

[MarianoGnu]

Everything seems to be working fine! But I personally think that the search bar should be cleared when the popup hides. Once that is done, it should be ready for an approval.

a public method for "clear_search_filter" should be enough, that way the user can connect on about to popup to this method

[YeldhamDev]

I think it would be better for this to be the default behavior. Having the bar start with the old search will be more of a nuisance than useful.

[warriormaster12]

a public method for "clear_search_filter" should be enough, that way the user can connect on about to popup to this method

Probably can be done in a follow up PR.

[Repiteo]

Thanks!

[JekSun97]

Also closes - Add search to the bone selection dropdown menu

[jinyangcruise]

Excuse me, I’m wondering why the search bar not be displayed when the PopupMenu has a parent popup.

godot/scene/gui/popup_menu.cpp

Lines 3635 to 3643 in 6d6e822

	if (p_visible) {
	PopupMenu *parent_popup = Object::cast_to<PopupMenu>(get_parent());
	if (!parent_popup) {
	search_bar->set_visible(is_search_bar_enabled());
	if (search_bar->is_visible()) {
	search_bar->edit(true);
	}
	}
	}

[warriormaster12]

@jinyangcruise My reasoning was recursive search. Since you can search items inside submenus, there's no need to provide search bars for submenus.

[jinyangcruise]

Got it. That sounds like a good idea. However, this behavior is governed by the search_bar_enabled_on_item_count setting of the parent popup. If the parent popup does not contain enough items to trigger the search bar, the search bar will not appear—even when the sub-popup menu has a large number of entries.

Additionally, your recursive search method checks the state of hidden sub-popups. However, the content within these sub-popups can be post-modified through the about_to_popup signal. This leaves developers using some workarounds, for instance, refresh submenu items via the parent menu’s about_to_popup callback, instead of using its own about_to_popup logic to handle item updates.

What if we let users decide? A new property such as search_behavior will be added. They can opt for :

1. Recursive search when their popup menu items are static (It remains necessary to fix the issue where submenu search is governed by the search_bar_enabled_on_item_count setting of its parent menu).
2. Enable the search bar for each individual popup menu based on its own item count.

There might be some better options out there.

[warriormaster12]

Got it. That sounds like a good idea. However, this behavior is governed by the search_bar_enabled_on_item_count setting of the parent popup. If the parent popup does not contain enough items to trigger the search bar, the search bar will not appear—even when the sub-popup menu has a large number of entries.

Sounds like a bug to me. Probably submenu item count should be taken into consideration.

What if we let users decide? A new property such as search_behavior will be added. They can opt for...
Probably a good idea.

In any case. I'd suggest making a bug report about search_bar_enabled_on_item_count not taking into consideration submenu item count. As for search_behavior property, not sure what is the correct course of action. Proposal, PR or an issue?