CmdPal: Going back (via KB/button) to the home page clears the top-level search

[zadjii-msft]

We probably shouldn't clear the top level search when a user-initiated go-back takes us back to the top level.

We should persist the user's search string.

So e.g.

• type apps
• enter -> to apps page
• esc
  • expected: this should leave the top-level search string unchanged (apps)
  • actual: we clear the top-level search

I'm guessing this is in ShellPage.xaml.cs somewhere. Or ShellViewModel.

[jiripolasek]

@zadjii-msft This might not be entirely straightforward—it really depends on the user’s intent. Are they navigating back because:

1. they want to undo their last action, or

2. they want to start a completely new action?

Personally, I often run into case 2. I use Command Palette with the “Go home when activated” setting disabled, so starting fresh is a common scenario for me. As a (maybe poor) analogy: in a browser, when you want to start a new search, you don’t go back to the previous page—you open a new tab or go to the home page for a clean slate.

And, by pure coincidence, I had already added this feature request before reading #41747.