[Due for payment 2025-04-25] [$250] Web- Search - Top-most result in Recent chats is not highlighted

[vincdargento]

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Version Number: V9.1.22-5
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught on HybridApp, is this reproducible on New Expensify Standalone?: N/A
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from TestRail: https://github.com/Expensify/Expensify/issues/452028
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): N/A
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Device used: Windows 10 chrome
App Component: Search

Action Performed:

1. Go to https://staging.new.expensify.com/home
2. Log in to a account
3. Tap search icon

Note: The first recent chat is not highlighted only on the first try after signing in, it is highlighted on the second try

Expected Result:

Top-most result in Recent chats is highlighted

Actual Result:

Top-most result in Recent chats is not highlighted

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: Standalone
• Android: HybridApp
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: Standalone
• iOS: HybridApp
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari
• MacOS: Desktop

Screenshots/Videos

bug.mp4

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Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @NicMendonca

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @NicMendonca (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details. Please add this bug to a GH project, as outlined in the SO.

[ChavdaSachin]

Unable to repro.

[thelullabyy]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Top-most result in Recent chats is not highlighted

What is the root cause of that problem?

The first time the search bar is turned on, data from recentReportsOptions that has not been loaded will return empty. So styledRecentReports is empty, styledRecentReports.at(0)?.keyForList return undefined, thus the first recent chat is not highlighted.

App/src/components/Search/SearchAutocompleteList.tsx

Line 542 in 1fb2118

initiallyFocusedOptionKey={!shouldUseNarrowLayout ? styledRecentReports.at(0)?.keyForList : undefined}

Inside useArrowKeyFocusManager, initialFocusedIndex is only used in the initial state setup with useState, and subsequent changes to initiallyFocusedOptionKey don't trigger a state update.

App/src/components/SelectionList/BaseSelectionList.tsx

Lines 340 to 341 in 1fb2118

	const [focusedIndex, setFocusedIndex] = useArrowKeyFocusManager({
	initialFocusedIndex: flattenedSections.allOptions.findIndex((option) => option.keyForList === initiallyFocusedOptionKey),

App/src/hooks/useArrowKeyFocusManager.ts

Line 56 in 1fb2118

const [focusedIndex, setFocusedIndex] = useState(initialFocusedIndex);

When recentReportsOptions is loaded, SelectionList still retains the state of the original initiallyFocusedOptionKey

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

Add a useEffect to watch for changes in initiallyFocusedOptionKey inside BaseSelectionList

App/src/components/SelectionList/BaseSelectionList.tsx

Line 40 in 1fb2118

function BaseSelectionList<TItem extends ListItem>(

useEffect(() => {
        const newIndex = flattenedSections.allOptions.findIndex(
            (option) => option.keyForList === initiallyFocusedOptionKey
        );
        setFocusedIndex(newIndex);
    }, [initiallyFocusedOptionKey, flattenedSections.allOptions]);

What specific scenarios should we cover in automated tests to prevent reintroducing this issue in the future?

NA

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

Use a key prop to force a complete re-render of the component when initiallyFocusedOptionKey changes

App/src/components/Search/SearchAutocompleteList.tsx

Lines 525 to 526 in 1fb2118

	<SelectionList<OptionData | SearchQueryItem>
	sections={sections}

key={styledRecentReports.at(0)?.keyForList}

Reminder: Please use plain English, be brief and avoid jargon. Feel free to use images, charts or pseudo-code if necessary. Do not post large multi-line diffs or write walls of text. Do not create PRs unless you have been hired for this job.

[samranahm]

Unable to repro.

@ChavdaSachin can you share a quick video so that we get to know this is regression from PR

[samranahm]

🚨 Edited by proposal-police: This proposal was edited at 2025-04-03 15:36:34 UTC.

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

What is the root cause of that problem?

Here

App/src/components/SelectionList/BaseSelectionList.tsx

Lines 339 to 341 in 9a58e7d

	// If `initiallyFocusedOptionKey` is not passed, we fall back to `-1`, to avoid showing the highlight on the first member
	const [focusedIndex, setFocusedIndex] = useArrowKeyFocusManager({
	initialFocusedIndex: flattenedSections.allOptions.findIndex((option) => option.keyForList === initiallyFocusedOptionKey),

useArrowKeyFocusManager initializes immediately with:

initialFocusedIndex: flattenedSections.allOptions.findIndex(...)

But flattenedSections.allOptions empty during first render (when we first open the search router)

• It returns -1 even when initiallyFocusedOptionKey exists
• Once it set to -1, there is currently no logic to "retry" focusing when options loaded

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

We should add useEffect bellow this useEffect

App/src/components/SelectionList/BaseSelectionList.tsx

Lines 369 to 375 in 9a58e7d

	useEffect(() => {
	if (selectedItemIndex === -1 || selectedItemIndex === focusedIndex || textInputValue) {
	return;
	}
	setFocusedIndex(selectedItemIndex);
	// eslint-disable-next-line react-compiler/react-compiler, react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
	}, [selectedItemIndex]);

that runs after options are loaded

useEffect(() => {
    if (flattenedSections.allOptions.length > 0 && initiallyFocusedOptionKey && focusedIndex === -1) {
        const index = flattenedSections.allOptions.findIndex((option) => option.keyForList === initiallyFocusedOptionKey);
        if (index !== -1) {
            setFocusedIndex(index);
        }
    }
}, [flattenedSections.allOptions, initiallyFocusedOptionKey, focusedIndex]);

What specific scenarios should we cover in automated tests to prevent reintroducing this issue in the future?

N/A

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

Reminder: Please use plain English, be brief and avoid jargon. Feel free to use images, charts or pseudo-code if necessary. Do not post large multi-line diffs or write walls of text. Do not create PRs unless you have been hired for this job.

[NicMendonca]

Then after a refresh:

[melvin-bot]

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