Triggering method for associated search

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses an associated search triggering method. In the triggering method, the electronic equipment can start the associated search function by adopting a diversified method according to a specific scene where a user is located, so that a more intuitive prompt is provided for the user in the specific scene, and the use of the associated search function becomes more convenient and efficient. Wherein the scenes include but are not limited to the following scenes: a global search scene, a single-application search scene, a multi-application search scene, an association search scene and a multimode input scene.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of terminal technology, and in particular to a method for triggering associated searches. Background Technology

[0002] In multitasking scenarios, users need to frequently switch between different tasks to improve work efficiency and cope with diverse usage scenarios. For devices equipped with large screens, electronic devices can make full use of screen space for interconnected operations, meaning that multiple applications can be controlled in a single user action, thereby improving user efficiency and better meeting complex user needs. The search function, as a crucial link in user-device interaction, plays a vital role in the interconnected operation of multiple applications. The search function in the aforementioned interconnected operations is also known as the interconnected search function.

[0003] For example, users can select multiple applications to open simultaneously on the desktop interface, thereby activating the aforementioned related search function. However, even though the operating system has integrated the aforementioned related search function, in some scenarios, the convenience of triggering related searches still cannot meet users' needs, resulting in an unsatisfactory usage rate for this function. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a method for triggering related searches. In this method, the electronic device can employ diverse approaches to activate the related search function based on the user's specific scenario, thereby providing more intuitive prompts and making the use of the related search function more convenient and efficient. These scenarios include, but are not limited to, the following: global search scenario, single-application search scenario, multi-application search scenario, related search scenario, and multi-modal input scenario.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a method for triggering related searches, applied to an electronic device. The method includes: displaying a global search interface, the global search interface including a global search input box; detecting that a user enters a first search term in the global search input box; in response to detecting that a user enters the first search term in the global search input box, displaying a global search results interface, wherein the global search results interface includes search result indication information for m applications, where m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; in response to detecting a first operation, displaying a combined interface of n applications, the combined interface including application interfaces of at least two applications, the at least two application interfaces respectively including search results related to the first search term, where n is less than or equal to m.

[0006] Implementing the method provided in the first aspect, after detecting that a user enters a search term in the global search input box, the electronic device can display search result indication information of m applications to the user in the global search results interface, and then trigger related searches when the user's selection operation or other first operation is detected, displaying a combined interface of n applications, which includes search result interfaces of at least two applications.

[0007] Compared to long-pressing and selecting multiple applications to activate related searches, triggering related searches through the first action in the global search interface is more in line with users' daily usage habits, thus providing users with an intuitive and quick related search function in the scenario of using global search.

[0008] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the global search results interface includes search result indication information for m applications, which includes displaying icons for the m applications in the global search results interface.

[0009] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, after the first operation is detected and before the combined interface of the n applications is displayed, the method further includes: below the search result indication information of the m applications in the global search result interface, displaying thumbnails of the search results of the n applications, wherein the first search term is filled in the search box of each of the n applications in the n thumbnails, and each of the n thumbnails also displays the search results of the n applications respectively.

[0010] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, the electronic device can display thumbnails of the search results of n applications selected by the user based on the first search term in the global search results interface, thereby helping the user to quickly determine whether to open the application and thus improving the user experience of using the above-mentioned related search.

[0011] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the order in which the icons of the m applications or the n thumbnails are arranged in the global search results interface is determined according to one or more of the following: the frequency of user use of the applications, the search results of each application, and the relevance of the first search term.

[0012] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, electronic devices can sort application icons in thumbnails or global search results according to certain rules, thereby helping users quickly select which applications to use for related searches, and thus improving the user experience of using the above-mentioned related search function.

[0013] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the m applications are displayed in the global search results interface according to their application types.

[0014] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, electronic devices can obtain multiple applications based on the same search term in a global search. By classifying and displaying these multiple applications, users can quickly find the application they need and perform subsequent related search functions, thereby improving the user experience of using the above-mentioned related search functions.

[0015] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the n applications are defaulted to being the top n most frequently used applications among the m applications.

[0016] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, the electronic device can set default settings for n applications performing related searches. When the default settings match the user's selection, the user can quickly enable the related search function. Selecting the default related search application from the global search results based on the user's usage frequency fully considers the user's habits, thereby providing a better user experience.

[0017] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the n applications are defaulted to being the n applications among the m applications whose search results are most relevant to the first search term.

[0018] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, selecting the default related search application based on the relevance between search terms and search results can recommend the most relevant applications to the user for related searches, thereby helping the user obtain better and more relevant search results and providing a better user experience. Optionally, the relevance between the search terms and search results can be measured using metrics such as recall rate.

[0019] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first operation includes a user selecting the n applications from the m applications.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the combined interface of the n applications displays at least two complete application interfaces and at least one incomplete application interface.

[0021] Implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, limited by the screen size of the electronic device, when displaying a combined interface of multiple applications for related searches, the electronic device can not only display the interfaces of at least two complete applications in a tiled manner, but also display at least one incomplete application interface on the side of the screen. Thus, the electronic device can overcome the limitations of screen size, simultaneously displaying search results interfaces of multiple applications based on a first search term. The portion exceeding the screen's tiled display can be shown as an incomplete application interface on the side, allowing it to be quickly opened when needed, thus improving the user experience.

[0022] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, whether the application interfaces displayed by the n applications in the combined interface are complete is determined according to one or more of the following: the frequency of user use of the applications, the search results of each application, and the relevance of the first search term.

[0023] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, electronic devices can also determine which of the multiple applications in this combined interface need to be tiled and which can be displayed in an incomplete form on the side according to rules such as usage frequency and / or the relevance of search results and search terms, thereby fully taking into account the user's usage habits and search effect, and helping to improve the user experience of related searches.

[0024] Secondly, this application provides a method for triggering related searches, applied to an electronic device. The method includes: displaying a first search interface, the first search interface being a search interface of a first application, the first search interface including an input box; detecting user input of a first search term; displaying a floating icon of a second application; and, in response to a selection operation on the icon of the second application, displaying a combined interface of multiple applications, wherein the combined interface includes a first search result interface and a second search result interface, the first search result interface displaying search results provided by the first application based on the first search term, and the second search result interface displaying search results of the second application based on the first search term.

[0025] By implementing the method provided in the second aspect, the electronic device can trigger the aforementioned related search function upon detecting the user's identification of a second application floating in the interface of the first application. The identification of the second application only appears when the user enters a search term in the search interface of the first application. Therefore, in scenarios involving searches within a single application, the electronic device can proactively prompt the user to trigger related searches for the same search term across multiple applications. This allows the user to obtain more search results with fewer user actions, thereby improving the user's related search experience and addressing the user's real-world needs.

[0026] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, after detecting that the user has entered a first search term, the method further includes: displaying search results provided by the first application based on the first search term, and displaying a DOCK bar on the side of the screen; the floating display of the identifier of the second application specifically includes: adding an identifier of the second application to the DOCK bar based on the first search term.

[0027] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, the electronic device can display a floating DOCK bar on the search results interface of the first application, and add an identifier of the application (i.e., the second application) that can perform related searches in the DOCK bar based on the first search term, thereby effectively guiding the user to use the above-mentioned related search function.

[0028] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, before detecting user input of the first search term, the method further includes: displaying a soft keyboard, wherein the first search term is input via the soft keyboard; the floating display of the identifier of the second application specifically includes: based on the first search term, floating the identifier of the second application above the suggested words provided by the soft keyboard.

[0029] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, the electronic device can display the identifier of the application (i.e., the second application) that can perform related searches above the suggested words provided by the soft keyboard in the search interface of the first application, thereby effectively guiding the user to use the above-mentioned related search function.

[0030] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the combined interface includes at least two complete application interfaces and at least one incomplete application interface, which respectively display content and / or services related to the first search term.

[0031] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, electronic devices can overcome the limitations of screen size and simultaneously display search results interfaces of multiple applications based on a first search term. The portion that exceeds the screen's tiling display can be displayed on the side as an incomplete application interface, which can then be quickly opened when needed, thus improving the user experience.

[0032] Thirdly, this application provides a method for triggering related searches, the method comprising: displaying a first search interface and a second user interface, wherein the first search interface is a search interface of a first application, and the second user interface is a non-search interface of a second application; displaying a soft keyboard before detecting user input of a first search term in the first search interface, wherein the soft keyboard includes a search term synchronization control after detecting user input of the first search term in the first search interface; and triggering the second application to jump from the second user interface to a second search interface or a second search result interface in response to user operation on the search term synchronization control, wherein the second search interface is a search interface of the second application, the second search result interface is a search result interface of the second application, and the search results in the second search result interface are content and / or services provided by the second application related to the first search term.

[0033] By implementing the method provided in the third aspect, the electronic device can provide a search term synchronization control on the soft keyboard, so that when the control is triggered, the electronic device can synchronize the search term of one of the multiple open applications to the multiple open applications, thereby realizing the above-mentioned associated search function.

[0034] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: displaying the first search interface and a fourth user interface, the fourth user interface being a non-search interface of a third application, the third application not providing search content and / or services related to the first search term; displaying the soft keyboard before detecting user input of the first search term in the first search interface, and after detecting user input of the first search term in the first search interface, the soft keyboard not including the search term synchronization control.

[0035] If the opened application cannot provide services and / or content related to the search term when implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, the electronic device may not display the search term synchronization control on the soft keyboard, thereby providing clear guidance to the user. The presence of the search term synchronization control on the soft keyboard indicates that multiple currently opened applications support related searches.

[0036] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments, the first application and the second application are applications of the same type.

[0037] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, multiple applications that are opened are of the same type, which can maximize the guarantee that the second application can provide services and / or content related to the search terms. As a result, users can perform operations such as price comparison through the associated search function, thereby improving the user experience.

[0038] Fourthly, this application provides a method for triggering related searches, applied to an electronic device. The method includes: displaying a soft keyboard; detecting user input via the soft keyboard; displaying recommended related words and identifiers of multiple applications in a candidate word window of the soft keyboard, the multiple applications being determined based on the recommended related words; and, in response to a user operation applied to the identifiers of the multiple applications, displaying a combined interface of the multiple applications, the combined interface displaying content and / or services provided by each of the multiple applications related to the recommended related words.

[0039] Implementing the method provided in the fourth aspect, the electronic device can obtain recommended keywords through input via a soft keyboard and display icons for multiple applications on the soft keyboard based on these recommended keywords. Clicking on these application icons allows the electronic device to display a combined interface of the multiple applications and triggers a related search function within those applications. In essence, this solution provides a control (such as a capsule control) on the system's soft keyboard. This control can be understood as a shortcut key for the related search function of multiple applications. Operating this control can quickly trigger a related search between multiple applications that provide corresponding content and / or services, thereby greatly improving the efficiency and convenience of interaction.

[0040] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, before displaying the soft keyboard, the method further includes: displaying a chat interface; detecting a user's click on an input box in the chat interface.

[0041] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, an electronic device can enable a soft keyboard in the chat interface, and then quickly access the related search function of multiple applications during the chat.

[0042] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the combined interface includes at least two complete application interfaces and at least one incomplete application interface, which respectively display content and / or services related to the recommended associated words.

[0043] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, electronic devices can overcome the limitations of screen size and simultaneously display search results interfaces of multiple applications based on a first search term. The portion that exceeds the screen's tiling display can be displayed on the side as an incomplete application interface, which can then be quickly opened when needed, thus improving the user experience.

[0044] Fifthly, this application provides a method for triggering related searches, applied to an electronic device. The method includes: displaying a first search interface and a second user interface, wherein the first search interface is the search interface of a first application, and the second user interface is the user interface of a second application; after detecting that a user has entered a first search term in the first search interface, displaying a first search result interface and a third user interface, wherein the first search result interface displays search results provided by the first application based on the first search term, and the third user interface displays content and / or services provided by the second application related to the first search term.

[0045] By implementing the method provided in the fifth aspect, an electronic device can simultaneously open interfaces of multiple applications, such as displaying a first search interface and a second user interface. The electronic device can then automatically trigger a related search operation in another application (i.e., the second application) based on the search terms entered in the first application.

[0046] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, after detecting that a user has entered a first search term in the first search interface, the method further includes: determining that the second application can provide content and / or services related to the first search term.

[0047] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments and performing the above judgment steps, it can effectively ensure that the second application can perform the correct interface jump, thereby providing the related search results that meet the user's expectations.

[0048] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: displaying a first search interface and a fifth user interface on a screen, the fifth user interface being a user interface of a third application; detecting that a user has entered the first search term in the first search interface, displaying a first search result interface and the fifth user interface, wherein the first search result interface displays search results based on the first search term provided by the first application, and the third application cannot provide content and / or services related to the first search term.

[0049] If the opened application (such as a third application) cannot provide services and / or content related to the first search term when implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, the electronic device can keep the user interface of the third application unchanged after the search term is entered.

[0050] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes: displaying the first search interface and the fifth user interface, the fifth user interface being the user interface of a third application; detecting that a user has entered a first search term in the first search interface, displaying the first search result interface and the third user interface, the first search result interface displaying search results based on the first search term provided by the first application, the third user interface being the user interface of the second application, the third user interface displaying content and / or services related to the first search term provided by the second application, the third application being unable to provide content and / or services related to the first search term.

[0051] If the opened application (such as a third application) cannot provide services and / or content related to the first search term, the electronic device can replace the current user interface (i.e., the fifth user interface) of the third application with a user interface (such as a third user interface) in the second application that provides services and / or content related to the first search term after the search term is entered.

[0052] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the second application used to replace the third application is determined by the electronic device from applications capable of providing content and / or services related to the first search term according to one or more of the following: the frequency of user use of the application, and the relevance between the content and / or services related to the first search term in the application and the first search term.

[0053] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first application is a map application, the first search term is location A, the second user interface is the homepage of a travel application, the second application is a travel application, the first search results interface displays search results for location A in the map application, the third user interface is the ticket purchase interface in the travel application, the third user interface displays ticket purchase information for travel from location B to location A on the same day, location B is the user's location, and location B and the date are read by the electronic device through the operating system.

[0054] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first application is the same as the second application, and the first search results interface and the third user interface display different content and / or different services related to the first search term in the first application.

[0055] By implementing the method provided in the above embodiments, the electronic device can open not an application, but multiple interfaces of an application. These multiple interfaces can provide different services and / or content related to the first search term. Thus, when multiple windows of an application are opened, the user can also perform the above-mentioned related search operation on different content and / or services in the application based on the same search term, which helps to improve the user's search efficiency and enhance the user experience.

[0056] In a sixth aspect, this application provides an electronic device, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory; the processor executes the computer program to implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the third aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the fifth aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0057] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the third aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the fifth aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0058] Eighthly, this application provides a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the third aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof, or the fifth aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0059] Understandably, the electronic device provided in the sixth aspect, the computer storage medium provided in the seventh aspect, and the computer program product provided in the eighth aspect are all used to execute the method provided in this application. Therefore, the beneficial effects they can achieve can be referred to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0060] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the results of an existing global search provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0061] Figure 2This is a flowchart illustrating a method for triggering related searches in a global search scenario provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0062] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an interface for performing associated searches across multiple applications, provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0063] Figure 4 An exemplary diagram of the interface is shown in a specific implementation of a global search scenario;

[0064] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another interface for performing associated searches across multiple applications, provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0065] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for triggering related searches in a single-application search scenario provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0066] Figure 7 An exemplary diagram illustrates an interface that triggers a related search across multiple applications in a single-application search scenario.

[0067] Figure 8 This application provides a method based on... Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the interface for performing a related search on multiple applications obtained by the method shown.

[0068] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of an interface that triggers a related search of multiple applications in another single-application search scenario provided in this application embodiment;

[0069] Figure 10 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for triggering related searches in a multi-application search scenario provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0070] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of an interface for triggering related searches of multiple applications in a multi-application search scenario provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0071] Figure 12 This application provides a method based on... Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the interface for performing a related search on multiple applications obtained by the method shown.

[0072] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for triggering related searches in a related search scenario provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0073] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of an interface that triggers a related search across multiple applications in a related search scenario, as provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0074] Figure 15 This application provides a method based on... Figure 13 A schematic diagram of the interface for performing a related search on multiple applications obtained by the method shown.

[0075] Figure 16 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for triggering associated search in a multimodal input scenario provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 17 An exemplary diagram illustrates an interface that triggers related searches across multiple applications in a multimodal input scenario;

[0077] Figure 18 This application provides a method based on... Figure 16 A schematic diagram of the interface for performing a related search on multiple applications obtained by the method shown.

[0078] Figure 19 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0079] The terminology used in the embodiments of this application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be a limitation of this application.

[0080] As the functionality of terminal devices continues to expand, users are placing higher demands on their multitasking capabilities. In multitasking scenarios, users need to frequently switch between different tasks to improve work efficiency and cope with diverse usage scenarios. For devices equipped with large screens, an effective solution is to fully utilize screen space to run multiple applications simultaneously and achieve interconnectivity between these applications, that is, to enable linked operations across multiple applications. These linked operations refer to the ability to control multiple applications in a single user action. This not only significantly improves user work efficiency but also better meets complex user needs.

[0081] As a crucial element of user interaction with devices, the search function plays a vital role in the interconnected operation of multiple applications. This search function within the aforementioned interconnected operations is also known as the associated search function. When multiple applications are open simultaneously on a large screen, users can utilize the associated search function to perform cross-application information searches and data processing. For example, when a user searches for a keyword in a web browser, note-taking applications and email clients on the same screen can automatically display content related to that keyword. Such associated searches not only improve search efficiency but also allow users to seamlessly switch between different applications, thus greatly enhancing the user experience. Furthermore, the associated search function helps users maintain workflow continuity when processing large amounts of data, avoiding the tedious process of repeatedly entering the same search terms across multiple applications. The efficient collaboration mechanism within the associated search function allows users to focus more on the task itself rather than being distracted by trivial operations, significantly improving work efficiency and the user experience.

[0082] However, the effective use of the aforementioned related search function often relies on active user triggering. For example, a user might need to select multiple applications to open simultaneously on the desktop to activate the related search function. However, users unfamiliar with this feature might not realize that opening multiple applications simultaneously triggers the related search function. Furthermore, when a user needs to activate the related search function, they must first return to the desktop and then perform the aforementioned operation. From the user's perspective, the convenience of this operation is insufficient to meet their needs. This results in the fact that even though the related search function is integrated into the operating system, its usage rate is not ideal due to users' lack of understanding of the function and the inherent convenience issues of the triggering method. To improve user understanding and usage of the related search function, on the one hand, it is necessary to guide users to discover and utilize this function through more intuitive design prompts or user education; on the other hand, it is also necessary to propose a more convenient method for triggering related searches, thereby improving the user experience.

[0083] In view of this, embodiments of this application provide a method for triggering related searches. In this triggering method, the electronic device can employ diverse methods to activate the related search function based on the specific scenario in which the user is located, thereby providing the user with more intuitive prompts in specific scenarios and making the use of the related search function more convenient and efficient. These scenarios include, but are not limited to, the following: global search scenario, single-application search scenario, multi-application search scenario, related search scenario, and multi-modal input scenario. The triggering methods for related searches in these scenarios will be described one by one below.

[0084] Global search scenario

[0085] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the results of an existing global search provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0086] The global search interface is a user interface provided by the operating system that allows users to quickly search and access data stored in different applications on the device using a single search box, thus enabling cross-application search functionality. The search box in the global search interface is also called the global search input box. Data from different applications on the device, displayed based on the global search terms, is presented in the global search results interface.

[0087] like Figure 1 As shown, currently, after entering "sunglasses" in the aforementioned global search input box, the electronic device can display search results corresponding to the search term "sunglasses" on the global search results interface, such as web search results and documents on the device containing the word "sunglasses" (i.e.,... Figure 1 The travel guide A), and the search results in application A using "sunglasses" as a search term (i.e., note 1). For example, users can click... Figure 1 The "Note 1" entry directly leads to application A to view search results for the keyword "sunglasses," meaning it directly jumps to the interface containing Note 1 within application A. However, as... Figure 1 As shown, electronic devices can generate multiple search results based on the same search term in the global search results interface. These multiple search results can be provided by different applications, but users can only select one to view, which cannot achieve the effect of multi-tasking related search mentioned above.

[0088] However, the primary purpose of a user's global search is to understand which content on the electronic device is relevant to the entered search terms and to quickly access this related information. However, after a global search, only the search results from a single application can be viewed, failing to meet the user's need for comprehensiveness and convenience. Therefore, the ability to trigger related searches across multiple applications simultaneously—that is, the ability to open multiple applications during a global search, with each application providing its own search results based on the same search term—greatly facilitates quick access to and viewing of information. Such related search functionality allows users to seamlessly switch between different applications and data sources, thereby more effectively acquiring and comparing information, and improving the breadth and depth of the search. Therefore, adding a related search trigger method to the global search interface is essential; it not only enhances the user experience but also makes information retrieval more efficient and comprehensive.

[0089] Figure 2This is a flowchart illustrating a method for triggering related searches in a global search scenario provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0090] like Figure 2 As shown, the electronic device can display a global search interface on the screen, which includes the aforementioned global search input box. Subsequently, the electronic device can detect when a user enters a search term in the global search input box, also referred to as the first search term. In response to detecting the user's entry of a search term in the global search input box, the electronic device can display a global search results interface, which contains search result indication information for m applications, where m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. Subsequently, in response to detecting user interaction, the electronic device can display... Figure 3 The diagram shows a combined interface of n applications, containing at least two application interfaces, each containing search results related to the aforementioned search term, where n is less than or equal to m. The user action described above in the global search results interface is also referred to as the first action.

[0091] Figure 4 An exemplary diagram of the interface is shown in a specific implementation of a global search scenario, compared to... Figure 1 The global search interface shown is as follows. Figure 4 The global search interface shown has been adjusted to introduce related search functionality.

[0092] like Figure 4 As shown, after displaying the global search interface on the screen, the electronic device can, upon detecting that the user has entered a search term (such as "sunglasses") in the global search input box, display a global search results interface based on the user's input. This global search results interface can contain search result indication information for m applications. Optionally, the search result indication information for the aforementioned applications can be the application's icon. For example, [the following is an example of an application icon]. Figure 4 As can be seen, electronic devices can display icons for multiple (i.e., m) applications under the "Search [Sunglasses] in Apps" module. Understandably, all of these applications can provide search results related to "sunglasses." Optionally, these applications can be categorized and displayed in the global search results interface according to their application type, for example... Figure 4 The electronic device can then accept user selections of some or all of these applications (e.g., ...). Figure 4 (As shown in the checkbox), and open as follows Figure 3The related search interface is shown. The user's selection operation is also the first operation mentioned above. It is understood that the electronic device can pre-set the applications for related searches before the user makes a selection. Optionally, before detecting the user's selection operation, the above n applications can be pre-set as the top n applications in terms of user frequency among these m applications. Optionally, before detecting the user's selection operation, the above n applications can be pre-set as the n applications among these m applications whose search results have the highest relevance to the search term. Not limited to the above methods, this application embodiment does not specifically limit the method by which the electronic device determines the default n applications for related searches before detecting the user's first operation.

[0093] After identifying the relevant search application, the electronic device can perform operations from... Figure 4 The interface shown will redirect to Figure 3 The operation of the interface shown. Optionally, the electronic device may jump from the aforementioned global search results interface to [the selected application] after detecting that the user has not made a new selection operation on the multiple displayed applications within the first time. Figure 3 The interface shown is a combination of applications. Optionally, along with the aforementioned applications, the electronic device may also display confirmation controls. Figure 4 (Not shown in the image), when the electronic device detects a user action on the aforementioned confirmation control, it triggers the electronic device to jump from the aforementioned global search results interface to... Figure 3 The interface shown is a combination of applications. Beyond the methods described above, after selecting an application for related searches, electronic devices can also access information from other sources. Figure 4 The interface shown will redirect to Figure 3 The interface shown is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the application. In this document, user operations applied to various controls refer to user operations that can trigger the function of the control, including but not limited to click operations, etc., and are not specifically limited in this embodiment of the application.

[0094] In some implementations, after detecting a selection operation applied to an application (i.e., after detecting the first operation), before displaying the combined interface of n applications, below the search result indication information of the aforementioned m applications in the global search results interface, the electronic device can also display thumbnails of the search results for the n applications. In these n thumbnails, the search boxes of these n applications are all filled with the same search term (i.e., the aforementioned first search term), and each of these n thumbnails also displays the search results for each of the n applications individually. It can be understood that these n applications are determined from the aforementioned m applications based on the aforementioned selection operation. That is, the electronic device can display thumbnails of the search results obtained by the user-selected application based on the search term in the global search results interface, thereby helping the user quickly determine whether to select and open the application. Optionally, the electronic device can determine the order of the thumbnails according to the order of the application selection operations. Optionally, the order of the thumbnails in the global search results interface can also be determined according to one or more of the following: the frequency of user use of the application, the relevance between the search results of each application and the search term. The relevance between the search results and the search term can be measured by metrics such as recall rate. Not limited to the sorting method described above, this application embodiment does not impose any special limitation on the sorting method of the thumbnails of the search results obtained by each application based on the search terms of global search.

[0095] Not limited to, for example Figure 3 The tiled display shown allows the electronic device to display incomplete search interfaces for the remaining applications on the side of the screen when the number of applications the device screen can display is less than the number of applications the user selected for related searches. Specifically, for example... Figure 5 As shown, at this point, the combined interface of n applications displays at least two complete application interfaces and at least one incomplete application interface. Understandably, the number of applications an electronic device can fully display actually depends on the size of the device screen. For example, for... Figure 5 The screen size shown is 3 when the user selects three applications for related searches. However, due to the screen size limitation, electronic devices can display two complete application interfaces on the screen and one incomplete application interface on the side of the screen.

[0096] Whether the application interfaces of these n applications are complete in the combined interface can be determined according to one or more of the following: the frequency of user use of the application, the search results of each application, and the relevance of the search terms. Not limited to the above methods, this application embodiment does not specifically limit how the electronic device determines which application interfaces of these n applications are displayed completely and which are displayed incompletely.

[0097] In some embodiments, after detecting that a user has entered a search term in the global search input box, the electronic device can also directly execute the operation of displaying the combined interface of n applications. In other words, during the global search process, the electronic device can directly jump from the global search interface to display applications such as... Figure 3 The application's composite interface is shown. Among them, such as... Figure 3 The combined interface shown is also known as the search interface for multiple applications.

[0098] Understandably, in the above scheme of directly executing the operation of displaying a combined interface of n applications, the electronic device can select n applications from the above m applications and display a combined interface of these n applications.

[0099] Optionally, the electronic device can determine the n applications based on the user's usage frequency; that is, the electronic device can select the top n most frequently used applications from the m applications that can provide search results for the search term. Optionally, the electronic device can also determine which of the m applications are among the n applications based on the relevance between the search results and the search term. Optionally, the electronic device can also randomly select n applications from the m applications that can provide search results for the search term and display a combined interface of these n applications.

[0100] Not limited to the above solutions, the embodiments of this application do not impose special restrictions on how the electronic device directly determines which of the n applications are displayed without user operation.

[0101] Single application search scenario

[0102] Understandably, when users search within one application, they may need to access content and / or services related to the same search term in other applications. For example, when a user is using shopping application A to purchase product A, they might need to open shopping application B to search for product A and compare prices. Therefore, in scenarios involving searches within a single application, if electronic devices can proactively prompt users to trigger related searches for the same search term across multiple applications, users can obtain more search results with fewer user actions, thereby improving the user's related search experience and addressing their real-world needs.

[0103] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for triggering related searches in a single-application search scenario provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0104] Specifically, such as Figure 6As shown, the electronic device can display a first search interface, which is the search interface of the application currently being used by the user. This first search interface includes an input box. The application currently being used by the user is also referred to as the first application. Subsequently, the electronic device can detect the user's input search term, which is also referred to as the first search term. After detecting the first search term, the electronic device can display a floating icon of a second application. In response to the selection operation of the icon of the second application, the electronic device can display a combined interface of multiple applications, wherein the combined interface may include a first search result interface and a second search result interface. The first search result interface displays search results provided by the first application based on the first search term, and the second search result interface displays search results of the second application based on the first search term.

[0105] Figure 7 An exemplary diagram illustrates an interface that triggers a related search across multiple applications in a single-application search scenario.

[0106] For example, such as Figure 7 The search interface shown is the first search interface of the first application. When the electronic device detects user input of search terms on this first search interface, the electronic device can open the on-screen keyboard, allowing the user to input search terms. Figure 7 For example, if the user enters the search term "sunglasses," after the user enters the search term but before performing a search operation—that is, before the electronic device detects any operation on the search control—the electronic device can display some suggested search terms based on the search for "sunglasses" in the first search interface, such as... Figure 7 The search terms included "sunglasses woman" and similar related terms. At this point, options such as... Figure 7 As shown, based on the user's search terms, the on-screen keyboard in the electronic device can also provide some suggested terms. Subsequently, based on the user's search terms, the electronic device can display the identifier of a second application floating above the suggested terms provided by the on-screen keyboard. Optionally, such as... Figure 7In this embodiment, the electronic device can display the identifier of the second application in the capsule control. Besides the identifier, the electronic device also displays the text prompt "More Results" in the capsule control, thereby guiding the user to interact with the capsule control to trigger a multi-application related search. Not limited to the above-described capsule control format, the electronic device can also use other styles of controls to prompt the user to trigger a multi-application related search; this embodiment does not impose any special limitations on this. Optionally, the identifier of the second application can be the icon of the second application. In response to the selection operation of the identifier of the second application, the electronic device can display a combined interface of multiple applications, including a first search result interface and a second search result interface, i.e., jumping to such an interface... Figure 8 The interface shown. Understandably, in Figure 8 In the interface shown, the search results interface on the left is the first search results interface, which includes search results for "sunglasses" provided by the first application; the search results interface on the right is the second search results interface, which includes search results for "sunglasses" provided by the second application.

[0107] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of an interface that triggers a related search of multiple applications in another single-application search scenario provided in this application embodiment.

[0108] like Figure 9 As shown, the electronic device can display search results based on the first search term provided by the first application and display a DOCK bar on the side of the screen. The DOCK bar refers to a functional interface in a graphical user interface used to launch applications and switch between running applications. It is understood that... Figure 9 The interface shown can be considered as Figure 7 The first search interface shown displays the redirection results after clicking the search control. For example... Figure 9 In the interface shown, the electronic device displays a floating icon for a second application, specifically referring to an application displayed in the dock bar based on search terms found in the first search interface (such as "sunglasses"). Figure 9 The area indicated by the diagonal line fills in the text, where the identifier for the second application is added. Similarly, this identifier could also be the application's icon. Understandably, the second application's identifier is added to the DOCK bar because a corresponding search term exists within the search box of the first search interface. If this search term is deleted, the second application's icon will not appear in the DOCK bar. Likewise, if a selection operation on the second application's identifier in the DOCK bar is detected, the electronic device can... Figure 9 The interface shown will redirect to Figure 8 The interface shown.

[0109] Understandably, in the above Figure 7 or Figure 9 In the illustrated scheme, the aforementioned second applications are all applications that can provide content and / or services related to the search terms in the first search interface. If there are no other applications in the electronic device that can obtain search results (i.e., content and / or services related to the search terms) based on the search terms in the first search interface, then optionally, after the first search interface detects that the user has entered a search term, the electronic device may not display the aforementioned capsule control and DOCK bar on the search interface accordingly.

[0110] As stated above, the aforementioned second applications can all be used in, for example... Figure 8 The example shown is a combined interface of multiple applications, where the search interface is displayed in its entirety. However, the number of application interfaces that can be fully displayed simultaneously on a screen is limited; for example, for applications like... Figure 8 The interface shown only displays the search results interfaces of two applications. One of the search results interfaces is provided by the first application, which is already displayed in the interface. Therefore, there is only one second application. The example above illustrates the display effect using the example of only one second application in the capsule control and DOCK bar. However, it is not limited to a single application; the identifiers of multiple applications can be displayed floating within the first search interface. This means that in some embodiments, the combined interface includes at least two complete application interfaces and at least one incomplete application interface, each displaying its own content and / or services related to the first search term.

[0111] For specific display methods, please refer to Figure 5 This will not be elaborated upon here.

[0112] Multi-application search scenarios

[0113] Understandably, when users have already opened multiple applications using methods such as split-screen, electronic devices can use related search functions to help users quickly switch between different applications and compare information, thereby improving work efficiency.

[0114] Figure 10 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for triggering related searches in a multi-application search scenario provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0115] Specifically, such as Figure 10As shown, the electronic device can display a first search interface and a second user interface on the screen. The first search interface is the search interface of a first application, and the second user interface is the non-search interface of a second application. Before detecting user input of a first search term in the first search interface, the electronic device can display a soft keyboard for user input. After detecting user input of the first search term in the first search interface, the soft keyboard may include a search term synchronization control. In response to user operation on the search term synchronization control, the electronic device can trigger the second application to jump from the second user interface to a second search results interface. This second search results interface is the search results interface of the second application, and the search results on the second search interface are content and / or services provided by the second application related to the first search term.

[0116] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of an interface for triggering associated searches of multiple applications in a multi-application search scenario provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0117] like Figure 11 As shown, the electronic device displays two application interfaces. The left interface is the first search interface mentioned above, and the right interface is the second user interface mentioned above. Before the electronic device detects a user input search term (such as "sunglasses") in the first search interface, the electronic device can open and display a soft keyboard, through which the search term can be entered. After detecting the user input search term in the first search interface, the soft keyboard may include a search term synchronization control. When a user action is detected on the search term synchronization control (e.g., a click on the control), as... Figure 12 As shown, the electronic device can bold the search term synchronization control. In addition, the electronic device can also trigger the interface displayed by the second application to jump from the non-search interface (i.e., the aforementioned second user interface) to the search interface (i.e., the second search interface) or the search results interface (i.e., the second search results interface). The search box in the second search results interface is also filled with the user-inputted search term. It can be understood that, in response to a user operation on the search term synchronization control, the electronic device triggers the second application to jump from the second user interface to the second search interface, i.e., as shown... Figure 12 As shown, this is equivalent to the electronic device directly copying the search terms entered by the user in the first search interface to the second search interface; and if the electronic device triggers the second application to jump from the second user interface to the second search results interface in response to the user operation on the search term synchronization control, it is equivalent to the electronic device automatically performing the search operation in the aforementioned scheme, without the user having to click to search again.

[0118] by Figure 11In the example shown, the applications on the left and right are of the same type, meaning the second application provides content and / or services related to "sunglasses." In this case, if the user clicks the search term synchronization control, it's equivalent to copying the search term "sunglasses" from the first application to the second application for searching. This is not limited to... Figure 11 As shown, for applications of the same type, in a multi-application search scenario, multiple applications that have been opened can belong to different application types, as long as the second application can provide content and / or services related to the above search terms.

[0119] Optionally, if the second application cannot provide content and / or services related to the aforementioned search terms, the electronic device may also not display the search term synchronization control; that is, only if... Figure 11 The electronic device will only display the search term synchronization control on the soft keyboard when the application on the right (such as the second application mentioned above) can provide content and / or services related to the search term. This means that in this embodiment, the electronic device can display the first search interface and the fourth user interface on the screen. The fourth user interface is the non-search interface of the third application, which does not provide search content and / or services related to the first search term. Therefore, before the user inputs a search term in the first search interface, the electronic device can still display the soft keyboard on the screen, and the user can still input the search term (i.e., the first search term) through the soft keyboard. However, after the user inputs the first search term in the first search interface, the soft keyboard displayed by the electronic device may not include the search term synchronization control. The availability of the search term synchronization control is not limited to whether it is displayed or not; the electronic device can also use different patterns, different controls, or different display colors to indicate whether the search term synchronization control is currently available. This application embodiment does not impose any special limitations on this.

[0120] Optionally, if the second application cannot provide content and / or services related to the search terms, the electronic device may also display the search term synchronization control; however, when the user clicks the search term synchronization control, the interface of the second application will not undergo the aforementioned jump from the non-search interface to the search interface.

[0121] Understandably, in some embodiments, the second application among the multiple applications opened by the user may include multiple applications. That is, before triggering the aforementioned related search function, the electronic device already displays at least two complete application interfaces and at least one incomplete application interface on the screen. Among these multiple applications, some can provide content and / or services related to the aforementioned search term, while others cannot. In this case, the soft keyboard of the electronic device can still display the search term synchronization control. However, after detecting user operation on the search term synchronization control, the electronic device will only trigger the interface of the application that can provide content and / or services related to the aforementioned search term to jump.

[0122] Related search scenarios

[0123] Understandably, this related search scenario shares some similarities with the multi-application search scenario described above. For example, in both scenarios, the electronic device can display multiple application interfaces on the screen. However, the multi-application search scenario emphasizes that users can share search terms across multiple applications using the search term synchronization control in the software disk, while the related search scenario emphasizes that the electronic device can automatically trigger related search operations in another application based on a search term entered in one application. Understandably, compared to the multi-application search scenario, the correlation between applications displayed on the screen can be weaker in the related search scenario. This is because, in the related search scenario, the content and / or services provided by different applications only need to be related through search terms. In the multi-application search scenario, however, the content and / or services provided by different applications must be based on the same search term. In other words, in the related search scenario, for the same search term, the electronic device can provide more content and / or services in another application than in the multi-application search scenario.

[0124] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for triggering related searches in a related search scenario provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0125] Specifically, such as Figure 13As shown, the electronic device can display a first search interface and a second user interface on the screen. The first search interface is the search interface of the first application, and the second user interface is the user interface of the second application. After detecting a user's input search term (i.e., the first search term) in the first search interface, the electronic device can display the first search interface and a third user interface. The first search interface displays search results provided by the first application based on the first search term, and the third user interface is another user interface of the second application, displaying content and / or services provided by the second application related to the search term (i.e., the first search term).

[0126] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of an interface that triggers a related search across multiple applications in a related search scenario, as provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0127] Electronic devices can display multiple applications on the screen, such as Figure 14 As shown, the electronic device displays a map application on the left as the first application mentioned above, and a travel application on the right as the second application mentioned above. At this time, if the user enters the search term "Beijing" (also referred to as location A) in the first search interface to conduct a search, then... Figure 15 As shown in the first search results interface on the left, the electronic device can display search results for Beijing (i.e., location A above) from a map application, including information such as the name of Beijing, the temperature of the day, and the weather. On the other hand, the electronic device can search for related services and / or content in a second application based on the search term "Beijing," for example... Figure 15 As shown in the application interface on the right (i.e., the third user interface mentioned above), the electronic device can display an interface for purchasing high-speed train tickets from the local area (such as Shenzhen, also known as location B) to Beijing on the same day. The second application provides, for example... Figure 11 The location of the device required for the content and / or service shown (i.e., location B above), the date, and other data can be obtained by the electronic device from the operating system.

[0128] It is understood that the scope of services and / or content related to the search term provided by the electronic device in the aforementioned third user interface is not limited to the search results obtained in the second application using the aforementioned first search term. That is, in the context of related search scenarios, the services and / or content that the second application can provide in the aforementioned third user interface only need to be related to the first search term. For example, continuing the above example, for the same search term "Beijing," the electronic device can provide information related to "Forbidden City" in the aforementioned third user interface. Optionally, the electronic device can determine whether the services and / or content provided in the third user interface belong to the same search intent as the aforementioned first search term, thereby determining whether the two are related. This application embodiment does not impose special limitations on how the electronic device specifically determines whether the services and / or content provided in the third user interface are related to the first search term in a related search scenario.

[0129] It is understandable that in the above-mentioned related search scenario, the first application and the second application can be the same application, that is, for... Figure 14 The interfaces shown above, the first search result interface and the third user interface are actually different content and / or different services related to the first search term in the first application.

[0130] In other words, the aforementioned associated search method can only be triggered if the application can provide content or services related to the first search term. Therefore, in practice, after the first search interface detects the user's input search term, the electronic device can also determine that the second application can provide content and / or services related to the first search term.

[0131] This also means that before the user enters a search term on the first search interface, the left side is the first search interface of the first application, and the right side is the user interface of the third application, which is an application that cannot provide content or services related to the first search term. After the user enters a search term on the first search interface, optionally, the electronic device can maintain the original application interface (also known as the fifth user interface) in the third application. For example, if there are two application interfaces on the screen, one is the map application mentioned above, and the other is a document editor, and the user is still searching for Beijing in the map application, then since the document editor cannot provide content and / or services related to the first search term "Beijing", the document editor can remain unresponsive and maintain the currently displayed application interface.

[0132] After detecting a user's input search term on the first search interface, the electronic device may optionally display the first search result interface and the third user interface. The first search result interface displays search results based on the search term provided by the first application, while the third user interface is the user interface of the second application, displaying content and / or services related to the first search term provided by the second application. It can be understood that this solution essentially replaces the fourth user interface of the third application with the third user interface provided by the second application, which can trigger related searches, when the third application cannot meet the conditions for triggering related searches, thereby achieving the effect of related searches. Furthermore, the user does not need to manually close the third application, then open the second application, and then trigger the related search, thus greatly reducing the complexity of user operations and improving the user experience of using the related search function. Continuing the above example, when the electronic device finds that the document editor cannot provide content and / or services related to the first search term "Beijing," the electronic device can ultimately display the train ticket purchase interface of a travel application next to the first search interface.

[0133] It is understood that the second application used to replace the aforementioned third application can be determined by the electronic device from applications capable of providing content and / or services related to the first search term, based on one or more of the following: the frequency of user use of the application, and the relevance between the content and / or services related to the first search term in the application and the first search term. This application embodiment does not impose any special limitations on how the electronic device specifically selects the aforementioned second application for replacement.

[0134] Multi-modal input scenarios

[0135] The aforementioned multimodal input refers to the system's ability to respond to input events from different input devices, including user key presses, clicks, touchscreen operations, voice commands, etc.

[0136] Figure 16 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for triggering association search in a multimodal input scenario provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0137] Specifically, such as Figure 16As shown, in a multimodal input scenario, the electronic device can display a soft keyboard and detect user input via the soft keyboard. Subsequently, the electronic device can display recommended suggested words and identifiers of multiple applications in the candidate word window of the soft keyboard. These multiple applications are determined based on the recommended suggested words. In response to user actions applied to the identifiers of these multiple applications, the electronic device can display a combined interface of these applications, which respectively displays content and / or services provided by each of the multiple applications related to the recommended suggested words. Since this is a multimodal input scenario, this embodiment does not impose special restrictions on the method and means by which the electronic device opens the soft keyboard.

[0138] The following is based on Figure 17 Please provide an explanation. For example... Figure 17 As shown, the electronic device can display a chat interface and detect when the user clicks on an input box within that interface, thus opening the on-screen keyboard. Understandably, through... Figure 17 In the chat log shown, a user (e.g., Xiao A) requests help for Lily to book a high-speed train ticket to Shanghai for tomorrow. The user can input the following text via the soft keyboard: "High-speed train ticket from Shenzhen to Beijing on January 1st." This text is also called a suggested keyword. The suggested keyword can be obtained based on the input method's suggested keywords or based on the user's input candidate words. Candidate words refer to characters entered by the user that completely correspond to the text; suggested keywords refer to characters entered by the user that do not completely correspond to the text, with some content supplemented by the input method. When the electronic device detects that the suggested keyword is included in the candidate word window of the soft keyboard, it can display the identifiers of multiple applications in the input method's candidate word window based on this suggested keyword. These applications can provide content and / or services related to the suggested keyword "High-speed train ticket from Shenzhen to Beijing on January 1st." Similarly, the application identifier can be the application's icon. In response to the selection operation of these application identifiers, the electronic device can display, as shown below... Figure 18 The interface shown is a combined interface of multiple applications, which displays content and / or services related to recommended keywords provided by each application.

[0139] It's understandable; if it's not adopted... Figure 16 The method for triggering related searches in the multimodal input scenario shown requires the user to exit the chat interface, open multiple applications for purchasing train tickets, and perform multiple searches to achieve the desired effect. This demonstrates the highly cumbersome interaction between the user and the device. Therefore, Figure 16The method for triggering associated searches in multimodal input scenarios involves providing a control (such as a capsule control) on the system's soft keyboard (i.e., input method). This control can be understood as a shortcut key for the associated search function of multiple applications. Operating this control can quickly trigger associated searches between multiple applications that can provide corresponding content and / or services, thereby greatly improving the efficiency and convenience of interaction.

[0140] Similar to the global search scenario, electronic devices can also display incomplete user interfaces of other applications alongside the fully displayed multiple user interfaces. That is, in some embodiments, the combined interface described above includes at least two complete application interfaces and at least one incomplete application interface, each displaying its own content and / or services related to the aforementioned recommended search terms.

[0141] In the aforementioned scenarios such as related search and multimodal input, electronic devices can analyze the text content entered by the user to determine the recommended application or the services and / or content to be provided in the related search. In some embodiments, the analysis of the user's input text content can be considered as analyzing the user's search intent. Optionally, the electronic device can perform the aforementioned search intent recognition through an intent recognition interface. Optionally, the electronic device can perform analysis through a large-scale natural language processing (NLP) model. Not limited to the above methods, this application embodiment does not specifically limit how the electronic device determines the recommended application or the services and / or content to be provided in the related search by analyzing the input text content. It is understood that in the above scenarios, when the electronic device needs to perform a search in a second application, the search term may be different from the first search term entered by the user in the first application. Optionally, the search term in the second application may also be generated by a large-scale NLP model.

[0142] In the aforementioned scenarios, electronic devices need to acquire the search terms entered by the user in the search interface. Optionally, the electronic device can implement this function based on the clipboard mechanism of the operating system. Specifically, when a user inputs data in an application, the input method (also known as the soft keyboard) can temporarily store the input data in a special area in memory, also known as the clipboard. The operating system of the electronic device provides the aforementioned clipboard mechanism, allowing applications to share and transmit input data. In this embodiment, the shared and transmitted data includes the search terms entered by the user (i.e., the first search term). When the user triggers an associated search operation across multiple applications, the electronic device can store the entered search terms in the clipboard, and before displaying another application (i.e., the second application), the operating system will search for data in the clipboard and insert it into the search interface of these applications.

[0143] Figure 19 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0144] like Figure 19 As shown, the electronic device may include components such as a processor 211, a memory 212, a wireless communication processing module 213, a power switch 214, a display screen 215, an audio module 216, and a speaker 217. The components in the electronic device are connected to each other via a bus and communicate based on the bus.

[0145] Processor 211 may include one or more processing units, such as application processors (APs), modem processors, graphics processing units (GPUs), image signal processors (ISPs), controllers, video codecs, digital signal processors (DSPs), baseband processors, and / or neural network processing units (NPUs). These different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors. The controller can generate operation control signals based on instruction opcodes and timing signals to control instruction fetching and execution.

[0146] Memory 212 is coupled to processor 211 and is used to store various software programs and / or multiple sets of instructions. Memory 212 can be used to store computer executable program code, which includes instructions. Processor 211 executes various functional applications and data processing of the electronic device by running the instructions stored in memory 212. Memory may also be provided in processor 211 for storing instructions and data.

[0147] The memory 212 may include one or more random access memory (RAM) and one or more non-volatile memory (NVM). The RAM can be directly read and written by the processor 211. The RAM can be used to store executable programs (e.g., machine instructions) of the operating system or other running programs, as well as user and application data. The NVM can also store executable programs and user and application data. Executable programs, i.e., user data, stored in the NVM can be pre-loaded into the RAM for direct reading and writing by the processor 211.

[0148] The executable program code and data (including but not limited to various voice data) used to implement the association search triggering method provided in the embodiments of this application can be stored in non-volatile memory. During the implementation of the above-described association search triggering method, the electronic device can load the non-volatile memory executable program code and user data into random access memory to provide users with a convenient method for triggering association searches, thereby improving human-computer interaction efficiency.

[0149] The wireless communication processing module 213 can provide wireless communication solutions including WLAN, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth communication, ZigBee communication, NFC communication, infrared communication, and UWB communication.

[0150] The power switch 214 can be used to control the power supply to electronic devices, thereby supplying power to the processor 211, memory 212, wireless communication processing module 213, display screen 215, audio module 216, speaker 217, etc.

[0151] A display screen 215 is used for display. The display screen 215 includes a display panel. A touch sensor can be installed in the display screen 215. The touch sensor is used to detect touch operations applied to or near it. The touch sensor can transmit the detected touch operation to an application processor to determine the type of touch event. Furthermore, the electronic device can provide visual output related to the touch operation through the display screen 215. The electronic device can implement display functions through a GPU, display screen 215, touch sensor, and application processor. In this embodiment, the electronic device can display the user interface of one or more applications to a user through the display functions provided by the GPU, display screen 215, touch sensor, and application processor. The user interface of the applications includes a search interface and a non-search interface, and the user can switch between these multiple interfaces based on click operations on various controls. In addition, the electronic device can also receive user input based on the above display functions, such as receiving search terms entered by the user from a soft keyboard, and then determine the applications to be searched and the content and / or services requested by those applications based on the search terms.

[0152] Audio module 216 can be used to convert digital audio signals into analog audio signals for output, and can also be used to convert analog audio input into digital audio signals. Speaker 217 can be used to convert the audio signals transmitted by audio module 216 into sound signals. Electronic devices can implement audio playback functions through audio module 216, speaker 217, etc. In some embodiments, audio module 216 may also include a microphone for converting sound signals into electrical signals. In the embodiments of this application, especially in multi-mode input scenarios, electronic devices can use the microphone to pick up the user's voice, generate voice packets, and then use the voice packets for voice input.

[0153] It is understood that the structures illustrated in the embodiments of this application do not constitute a specific limitation on the electronic device. In other embodiments of this application, the electronic device may include more or fewer components than illustrated, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. Components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0154] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the functions described in the embodiments of this application in one or more of the above examples can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any medium that facilitates the transmission of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium accessible to a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. Embodiments of this application also provide a computer program product, including a computer program that, when run on a processor, implements the steps in the various method embodiments described above.

[0155] The above detailed embodiments further illustrate the purpose, technical solution, and beneficial effects of the embodiments of this application. It should be understood that the above are merely specific embodiments of the embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the embodiments of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made on the basis of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application should be included within the protection scope of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A method for triggering related searches, characterized in that, Applied to electronic devices, the method includes: Display a global search interface, which includes a global search input box; The system detected that the user entered a first search term in the global search input box. In response to detecting that a user has entered the first search term in the global search input box, a global search results interface is displayed, wherein the global search results interface contains search results indication information for m applications, where m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; In response to the detection of the first operation, a combined interface of n applications is displayed, the combined interface containing the application interfaces of at least two applications, the at least two application interfaces each containing search results related to the first search term, and n being less than or equal to m.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The global search results interface contains search result indication information for m applications, including: displaying icons for the m applications in the global search results interface.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, After the first operation is detected and before the combined interface of n applications is displayed, the method further includes: Below the search result indication information of the m applications in the global search results interface, thumbnails of the search results of the n applications are also displayed. In the n thumbnails, the first search term is filled in the search box of each of the n applications, and the search results of each of the n applications are also displayed in the n thumbnails.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The order in which the icons of the m applications or the thumbnails of the n applications are arranged in the global search results interface is determined by one or more of the following: the frequency of user use of the applications, the search results of each application, and the relevance of the first search term.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The m applications are displayed in the global search results interface according to their application types.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The n applications are defaulted to being the top n most frequently used applications among the m applications.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The n applications are defaulted to being the nth applications whose search results among the m applications have the highest relevance to the first search term.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The first operation includes the user selecting the n applications from the m applications.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The combined interface of the n applications displays at least two complete application interfaces and at least one incomplete application interface.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, Whether the application interfaces displayed by the n applications in the combined interface are complete is determined according to one or more of the following: the frequency of user use of the application, the search results of each application, and the relevance of the first search term.

11. A method for triggering an association search, characterized in that, Applied to electronic devices, the method includes: Display a first search interface, which is the search interface of the first application, and the first search interface includes an input box; The user entered the first search term; The icon of the second application is displayed in a floating position; In response to a selection operation on the identifier of the second application, a combined interface of multiple applications is displayed, wherein the combined interface includes a first search results interface and a second search results interface, the first search results interface displaying search results provided by the first application based on the first search term, and the second search results interface displaying search results of the second application based on the first search term.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, After detecting that the user has entered the first search term, the method further includes: The search results provided by the first application based on the first search term are displayed, and a DOCK bar is displayed on the side of the screen; The floating display of the identifier of the second application specifically includes: Based on the first search term, an identifier for the second application is added to the DOCK bar.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, Before detecting user input of the first search term, the method further includes: The soft keyboard is displayed, and the first search term is entered via the soft keyboard; The floating display of the identifier of the second application specifically includes: Based on the first search term, the identifier of the second application is displayed above the suggested terms provided by the soft keyboard.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11-13, characterized in that, The combined interface includes at least two complete application interfaces and at least one incomplete application interface, each of which displays content and / or services related to the first search term.

15. A method for triggering an association search, characterized in that, Applied to electronic devices, the method includes: Display a first search interface and a second user interface, wherein the first search interface is the search interface of the first application, and the second user interface is the non-search interface of the second application; Before the user enters the first search term in the first search interface, a soft keyboard is displayed; after the user enters the first search term in the first search interface, the soft keyboard includes a search term synchronization control. In response to a user operation on the search term synchronization control, the second application is triggered to jump from the second user interface to the second search interface or the second search result interface. The second search interface is the search interface of the second application, and the second search result interface is the search result interface of the second application. The search results in the second search result interface are content and / or services provided by the second application related to the first search term.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Displaying the first search interface and the fourth user interface, wherein the fourth user interface is the non-search interface of the third application, and the third application does not provide search content and / or services related to the first search term; The soft keyboard is displayed before the user enters the first search term in the first search interface. After the user enters the first search term in the first search interface, the soft keyboard does not include the search term synchronization control.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that, The first application and the second application are of the same type.

18. A method for triggering an association search, characterized in that, Applied to electronic devices, the method includes: Display the soft keyboard; The user input was detected via the soft keyboard; The candidate word window of the soft keyboard displays recommended related words and identifiers of multiple applications, which are determined based on the recommended related words; In response to a user action applied to the identifiers of the plurality of applications, a combined interface of the plurality of applications is displayed, wherein the combined interface displays content and / or services provided by each of the plurality of applications related to the recommended association words.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, Before displaying the soft keyboard, the method further includes: Display the chat interface; The user's action of clicking on the input box in the chat interface was detected.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, The combined interface includes at least two complete application interfaces and at least one incomplete application interface, each of which displays content and / or services related to the recommended keywords.

21. A method for triggering an association search, characterized in that, Applied to electronic devices, the method includes: Display a first search interface and a second user interface, wherein the first search interface is the search interface of the first application and the second user interface is the user interface of the second application; After detecting that a user has entered a first search term in the first search interface, a first search result interface and a third user interface are displayed. The first search result interface displays search results based on the first search term provided by the first application, and the third user interface displays content and / or services related to the first search term provided by the second application.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, After detecting that the user has entered a first search term in the first search interface, the method further includes: It is determined that the second application is capable of providing content and / or services related to the first search term.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first search interface and the fifth user interface are displayed on the screen, wherein the fifth user interface is the user interface of the third application; Upon detecting that a user has entered the first search term in the first search interface, the first search results interface and the fifth user interface are displayed. The first search results interface displays search results based on the first search term provided by the first application, while the third application cannot provide content and / or services related to the first search term.

24. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first search interface and the fifth user interface are displayed, wherein the fifth user interface is the user interface of the third application; Upon detecting that a user has entered a first search term in the first search interface, the first search results interface and the third user interface are displayed. The first search results interface displays search results provided by the first application based on the first search term. The third user interface is the user interface of the second application, which displays content and / or services related to the first search term provided by the second application. The third application cannot provide content and / or services related to the first search term.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The second application used to replace the third application is determined by the electronic device from applications capable of providing content and / or services related to the first search term according to one or more of the following: the frequency of user use of the application, and the relevance between the content and / or services related to the first search term in the application and the first search term.

26. The method according to any one of claims 21-25, characterized in that, The first application is a map application, the first search term is location A, the second user interface is the homepage of a travel application, the second application is a travel application, the first search results interface displays search results for location A in the map application, the third user interface is the ticket purchase interface in the travel application, the third user interface displays ticket purchase information for travel from location B to location A on the same day, location B is the user's location, and location B and the date are read by the electronic device through the operating system.

27. The method according to any one of claims 21-25, characterized in that, The first application is the same as the second application, and the first search results interface and the third user interface display different content and / or different services related to the first search term in the first application.

28. An electronic device, characterized in that, The method includes one or more processors and one or more memories; wherein the one or more memories are coupled to the one or more processors, and the one or more memories are used to store computer program code, the computer program code including computer instructions that, when the one or more processors execute the computer instructions, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1-10, 11-14, 15-17, 18-20, or 21-27 to be performed.

29. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is run on an electronic device, it causes the method to be performed as claimed in any one of claims 1-10, 11-14, 15-17, 18-20, or 21-27.

30. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the method as described in any one of claims 1-10, 11-14, 15-17, 18-20, or 21-27.

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