Browser Search Slider and Lightbox Controls
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current web browser plugins for search functionality, such as ScrollNav and OrangeBox, lack user-friendly interface features like automatic visibility within the browser content area, focus on search input without selection, and fail to suggest search terms based on previous queries or page content, limiting user convenience and search efficiency.
Innovation Solution
Implementing slider and lightbox search controls that automatically slide into the browser's content area in response to user inactivity or scrolling, providing focus on the search input field without user selection, and suggesting search terms using autocomplete, with the ability to prepopulate search queries from previous searches or page content, while tracking search queries for loyalty rewards and revenue tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If search add-ons require user selection of input field before accepting search input, then the search add-on can accurately identify user intent, but the user convenience and search efficiency are reduced due to additional manual interaction steps
Solution Approach 1:
The search add-on automatically places the cursor in the search input field and prepopulates it with suggested search terms based on previous queries or page content, eliminating the need for users to manually click or select the input field before searching
2Ease of operation
If search controls are automatically visible in browser content area, then user accessibility is improved, but the browser interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The search control is merged with the browser's existing address bar or omnibox, allowing the search functionality to be accessible within the existing interface structure rather than adding separate visible controls to the browser content area
3Productivity
If search add-ons provide autocomplete suggestions based on previous queries, then search efficiency is improved, but the data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The search add-on extracts only the essential search terms and queries needed for autocomplete functionality, storing them in a compact format in the browser's local storage or memory, rather than retaining complete search history data
Data Source
AI summary
Code is injected into a web page loaded by an Internet browsing application. A search control to accept Internet search input is presented within an Internet browsing application. The search control visually covers at least a portion of a content display area of the Internet browsing application. A slider search control may be presented by automatically sliding the slider search control into the content display area. The presentation of a lightbox search control may include shading, darkening, dimming, blurring, or opaquing the content display area outside of the lightbox search control. The presentation of the search control may occur in response to a period of user inactivity, an amount of page scrolling, or a percentage of page scrolling. The search control receives input corresponding to a search query, a tracking code is combined with the received input, and the combination is communicated to a search engine.