fix(sidebar): keep filter text when opening a table from the filtered list

Author: mvanhorn

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- The sidebar filter no longer clears when you open a table from the filtered list. It only clears when you empty the field. (#1690)
 - DuckDB VARIANT columns now show their value as text instead of an empty cell.
 
 ## [0.51.1] - 2026-06-16

TablePro/Core/Services/Infrastructure/SidebarContainerViewController.swift

@@ -131,9 +131,14 @@ extension SidebarContainerViewController: NSSearchFieldDelegate {
     }
 
     func searchFieldDidEndSearching(_ sender: NSSearchField) {
+        guard Self.shouldClearOnEndSearching(fieldValue: sender.stringValue) else { return }
         writeSearchText("")
     }
 
+    nonisolated static func shouldClearOnEndSearching(fieldValue: String) -> Bool {
+        fieldValue.isEmpty
+    }
+
     func control(_ control: NSControl, textView: NSTextView, doCommandBy commandSelector: Selector) -> Bool {
         guard commandSelector == #selector(NSResponder.moveDown(_:)) else { return false }
         view.window?.makeFirstResponder(hostingController.view)

TableProTests/Views/SidebarSearchPersistenceTests.swift

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+//
+//  SidebarSearchPersistenceTests.swift
+//  TableProTests
+//
+//  Regression guard for #1690 where opening a table from a filtered sidebar
+//  cleared the active filter. searchFieldDidEndSearching fired on focus loss
+//  and wrote "" back over the persisted filter text. The filter must only be
+//  cleared when the field is actually empty (cancel button / explicit clear).
+//
+
+import Foundation
+import Testing
+
+@testable import TablePro
+
+@Suite("Sidebar search persistence on end editing")
+struct SidebarSearchPersistenceTests {
+    @Test("keeps the filter when the field still has text and focus is lost")
+    func keepsFilterWhenFieldHasText() {
+        #expect(!SidebarContainerViewController.shouldClearOnEndSearching(fieldValue: "dp_"))
+    }
+
+    @Test("clears the filter when the field is empty")
+    func clearsFilterWhenFieldEmpty() {
+        #expect(SidebarContainerViewController.shouldClearOnEndSearching(fieldValue: ""))
+    }
+}