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Why is the search box (and button) in the top bar on Stack Exchange not visible at all times? I have been using Stack Exchange for months and only just found it by clicking randomly around the top of the screen.

An undesirable side-effect is users asking questions instead of finding previous answers via a search.

At least on grounds of inclusiveness (particularly for those of us with mediocre eyesight) this would be worth implementing.

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  • If you use the site search for some time and compare the results to those from DuckDuckGo/Google (using site:askubuntu.com) you will likely find a reason why they are "hiding" the search bar ;-)
    – guntbert
    Commented Feb 26, 2019 at 21:30
  • guntbert - I'm not sure what you mean - surely SE uses DDG or Google behind the scenes? It would be interesting to know whether searches on SE are tracked (Google) or untracked (DDG).
    – user517777
    Commented Feb 28, 2019 at 10:09
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    I do know what he means. Searching on google is -FAR- superior. Use site: www.askubuntu.com {what you want to search} and it will show anything from www.askubuntu.com. Works very well in finding duplicates ;) Example with the word "theme" google.com/…
    – Rinzwind
    Commented Feb 28, 2019 at 10:46

1 Answer 1

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The design of the site is a global concept across all stackexchange sites.

See Ask Ubuntu new site theme is live (and the closed Ask Ubuntu new site theme coming soon )

Important link from that points to the introduction of the changes: Ch-ch-ch-changes: Left nav, responsive design, & themes

There are no settings to change the color of the top bar though Oli made a comment in the 1st link where he used some client side alterations to get the orange back for the top bar.

Weird thing: gmail does the same. My search bar at the top is as dark as the rest when using a dark theme.

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  • That discussion is interesting. Do you know if any issues have been addressed? For example I am now scrolled down to your reply and the Ask Ubuntu logo has scrolled off screen - it is no longer clear where we are. I have looked for (but not found) a Stack Exchange preferences where I can alter the look of SE - does this exist? Also what about an advanced search? We need to both find previous answers and avoid duplicating answered questions.
    – user517777
    Commented Feb 28, 2019 at 10:02
  • Oli made the same comment in one of the threads. And no I have not seen any updates on the theme after it got introduced (but that's not saying it did not happen ;)).
    – Rinzwind
    Commented Feb 28, 2019 at 10:45

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