Dash needs keyboard navigation

The whole process of running an application should be done smoothly by either with only the keyboard and only the mouse.

Eg. for keyboard > Open up the Dash with one key, type in the name of an application, press enter to launch the only result instead of reaching the mouse and moving to the only result! or press the tab key and then arrow keys to choose the correct app and enter.

Eg. for mouse > Open up Dash, choose a category (with large icons, instead of choosing from a small jump list!), showing all the options instead of hiding some if there is enough screen space! (now you need to press the show all results!), and then clicking the desired app.

The number of mouse clicks to find an app in Dash is really unsatisfying. It also requires you to move your hands between keyboard and mouse too much. Just streamline the processes for keyboard alone and mouse alone. So that all people who prefer keyboard only, mouse only and mixed usage can benefit.

I'm using Unity in Natty alpha 3.

As this bug says, I can search for an item in the dash, but currently I then have to switch to the mouse / pointer to select the item I want to launch. I can't seem to use the cursor keys to select (let along let Enter launch the first option, which may or may not be what I wanted).

Bit frustrating from a usability perspective.

Just a question, what is the difference between this bug and bug 608132?

This bug was fixed in the package unity - 3.6.4-0ubuntu1

---------------
unity (3.6.4-0ubuntu1) natty; urgency=low

  * New upstream release.
    - Unity: Alt-F2 not working (LP: #580295)
    - When running with dual monitors, Unity will use the height of the larger
      one for calculating when to fold (LP: #696388)
    - Unity app launcher is filled up with doublettes (LP: #690537)
    - Unity interface not resized properly when external monitor is used
      (LP: #691772)
    - Dash needs keyboard navigation (LP: #727714)
    - It is possible to focus Unity itself and Close it from the global menu
      (LP: #728790)
    - Systray icons showing on top of everything (LP: #728719)
    - Pressing ENTER in the dash during a search should open the first
      displayed item (LP: #729699)
    - compiz crashed with SIGSEGV in LauncherIcon::OpenQuicklist()
      (LP: #731096)
    - inactive menus are not shown (LP: #732162)
    - Icon-only menu titles don't have accessible names (LP: #691677)
    - unity not working on rotated displays (LP: #694596)
    - unity_support_test crashed with SIGSEGV in
      nux::IOpenGLAsmVertexShader::IOpenGLAsmVertexShader() (LP: #709649)
    - Dragging .desktop file to launcher's trash creates space for new
      launcher icon (LP: #717250)
    - Unable to scroll in Applications/Files and Folders Place using mouse
      wheel (LP: #721447)
    - The applications place is empty (LP: #724259)
    - compiz crashed with SIGSEGV in
      nux::GpuRenderStates::SubmitChangeStates() (LP: #719156)
    - Quicklists are difficult to dismiss (LP: #726890)
    - Apps in Available group not rendered in Dash (LP: #729710)
    - Clicking on Shortcuts header doesn't do anything. (LP: #730774)
    - Zeitgeist FTS Extension doesn't filter on subject URIs (LP: #731208)
    - dual monitor,,,upper panel turns white / nvidia (LP: #685179)
    - Dash file Lens – Rename “Favourite Folders” category header to “Folders”
      (LP: #723866)
    - looking for 'places' icons in the wrong location (LP: #727672)
    - Empty trash quicklist item is missing an ellipsis (LP: #731472)
    - Wastebasket quicklist is missing “Empty Wastebasket” option when the
      wastebasket is empty (LP: #723880)
    - Emptying the trash from the unity sidebar should respect nautilus' "Ask
      before emptying" setting (LP: #730003)
    - start-here icon updated at wrong time (LP: #726267)
    - Unity overlay unhide issue (LP: #726926)
    - Orca doesn't report that the Launcher receives the focus (LP: #727133)
    - Accessibility object parent-child hierarchy on unity is broken
      (LP: #727908)
    - Regression: Orca doesn't speech out the selection changes on the
      Launcher (LP: #729165)
    - quicklist must respect enabled state (LP: #731533)
    - unity-panel-service crashed with SIGSEGV in
      dbusmenu_menuitem_send_about_to_show() (LP: #725631)
  * debian/control:
    - build-dep on latest nux
 -- Didier Roche <email address hidden> Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:52:53 +0100

We still can't browser through item in the dash but only start the first result by pressing ENTER

Matteo: Does <tab> not work? Granted that there do appear to be some issues with it, see bug #735347 "Dash: keyboard arrow navigation disappears off bottom". If you've spotted something new, please could you file a new bug so that we can keep the issues separate and not get confused!

<tab> does not work to navigate through multiple applications in the search result... arrow keys do not work either.

I can confirm that hitting <enter> does open the first (or only) application in the result pane