In computing, incremental search, also known as hot search, incremental find or real-time suggestions, is a user interface interaction method to progressively search for and filter through text. As the user types text, one or more possible matches for the text are found and immediately presented to the user. This immediate feedback often allows the user to stop short of typing the entire word or phrase they were looking for. The user may also choose a closely related option from the presented list.
The method of incremental search is sometimes distinguished from user interfaces that employ a modal window, such as a dialog box, to enter searches. For some applications, a separate user interface mode may be used instead of a dialog box.
History
The first documented use of incremental search was in
EMACS on ITS in the late 1970s.
This was one of the many essential Emacs features
Richard Stallman included in his reimplementation,
GNU Emacs. Other noteworthy programs containing this functionality in the 1980s include
GNU bash and
Canon Cat.
These early implementations offered single line feedback, not lists of suggestions.
The first mainstream appearance may have been in the Speller for WordPerfect 5.2 for Windows, released 30 November 1992.
Variants
This feature, or variations thereof, has also been referred to as
Autocomplete,
search as you type,
filter/find as you type (FAYT),
incremental search,
typeahead search,
inline search,
instant search,
word wheeling, and other names as well.
Some common keyboard shortcuts for incremental find are Ctrl/Cmd-F (like for traditional find), F3, the GNU-style / (also applicable to Vim[
]
), or Emacs-style C-s.
Searches for files and media
This user interface method is also employed in varying contexts. For example, a user may encounter this feature while searching for files whose names match a string in an operating system's file explorer shell. The feature may also be used during searches for songs whose name or artist match a string in a media player.
Searches for user interface elements
Another variation is to filter through long lists of options or menu items that may appear within the user interface itself. Examples of this variation can be found in the
about:config interface section of Mozilla Firefox version 2.0.0.14 and later versions; and in the bundle editor section of
TextMate 1.5.7. This feature is also employed in application launchers such as Quicksilver 1.0.
Typically a list of matches is generated as the search query is typed, and the list is progressively narrowed to match the filter text.
Web search
In September 2010, Google introduced
Instant Search, an incremental search feature for Google Search.
Resource consumption
Incremental search on a non-local server, as in Web search, uses more network bandwidth and server processing than non-incremental search, due to the handling of
(or similar) which are typically fired from each
DOM events.
Reception
Interface expert
Jef Raskin has been a strong advocate of incremental search. In his 2000 book
The Humane Interface, he wrote, "From the point of view of interface engineering, the advantages of incremental searching are so numerous and the advantages of
so few that I can see almost no occasions when a
delimited search would be preferred." This was followed by a footnote reading, "A search is either incremental or excremental."
Incremental search has been criticised for exhibiting low affordance,
Specific applications
Non-modal incremental find is found in:
Modern :
Instant messaging clients:
-
Adium
-
Windows Live Messenger
Modern :
- Spotlight (which searches the entire computer)
- Help menu (10.5 and newer)
- System Preferences
- Start menu
- Control Panel
-
Linux's KDE 4 desktop environment uses this systematically
- KWrite
- Rekonq
Editors and development environments:
Other applications:
-
Apple's iTunes
-
Google Toolbar
-
less
-
Windows Media Player
-
Quicksilver
-
Blender's search menu (version 2.5 and newer)
-
Clara.io's explorer search menu
See also
External links
