The layout and the control panel share the same space on the left side of the IDE. Having both open isn't usable, as both require too much space to be useful. So I hide the control panel until I need it. For me the keyboard shortcut Cmd-6 works best for that.

If I (re)open the control panel it would be useful if the search entry would have focus, so that I can immediately enter a search term. Now I have to first use the mouse/trackpad to click on it to give it focus.