Overload Cell Search Query Construction Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for composing search queries, such as the simple typing approach and graphical-scroll method, are inefficient and user-frustrating due to the need for manual syntax knowledge, high error rates, and excessive navigation demands, limiting user flexibility and power.
Innovation Solution
The technique involves overloading cell functionality in a user interface to enable users to create and edit search queries by clicking on cells to change operations between adding clauses and Boolean functions, minimizing typing and navigation while providing a compact and flexible format for constructing complex queries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the simple typing approach is used to compose search queries, then the user has direct control over query construction, but the user must know correct searching syntax and manually type the entire query which is difficult, time consuming, and prone to error
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses template clauses that can be copied and reused. Instead of typing queries from scratch, users select from pre-defined clause templates that are copied into the query builder, significantly reducing typing time and errors while maintaining query construction control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides auto-completion and suggestion features that serve the user automatically. As users type or select parameters, the system self-generates appropriate syntax and suggests relevant clauses, reducing the manual effort and time required for query construction.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the graphical-scroll approach is used to compose search queries, then the user can select from comprehensive search criteria, but the interface takes up too much screen space and forces the user to scroll up and down an excessively long criteria list
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the comprehensive search criteria into organized categories and groups. Instead of presenting all criteria in a single long list, the interface divides them into logical segments (e.g., by data type, by search function), allowing users to navigate smaller, more manageable sections while maintaining access to the full range of search options.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces hierarchical navigation and collapsible/expandable clause structures. Users can navigate through search criteria in multiple dimensions - by category, by relevance, or by expanding/collapsing groups - rather than scrolling through a single linear list, effectively reducing the perceived screen space requirement while maintaining comprehensive access to all search options.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the graphical-scroll approach is used to compose search queries, then the user can access comprehensive search criteria, but the user is burdened with meticulously navigating a control pointer up and down until the user reaches and selects the appropriate criteria
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements real-time feedback mechanisms including auto-completion, suggestion lists, and dynamic filtering. As users interact with the query builder, the system provides immediate feedback by suggesting relevant criteria, filtering options based on previous selections, and highlighting appropriate parameters, eliminating the need for meticulous manual navigation through the entire criteria list.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-filtering and pre-organizing search criteria based on the context of the current query construction. Before the user even begins selecting criteria, the system has already prepared and presented only the most relevant options, based on the current query state and user preferences, significantly reducing navigation effort.
4Device complexity
If conventional search query interfaces are used, then the interface structure is simple, but the interface does not provide much power or flexibility to the user and requires substantial typing and navigation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a multi-functional clause template system where each template can serve multiple purposes. The same basic clause structure can be adapted for different search operations, data types, and query complexities by modifying parameters rather than creating entirely new interface elements. This provides substantial user flexibility and power while maintaining a relatively simple underlying interface structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic clause construction where the interface adapts and transforms based on user interactions. Clauses can be dynamically added, removed, modified, and nested; the interface structure itself is flexible and reconfigurable, allowing users to build complex queries through simple sequential operations rather than navigating a rigid, pre-defined interface structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique utilizes a search query having a set of clauses. The technique involves displaying, by a processor, the set of clauses of the search query onto an electronic display. Each clause includes a selection cell describing a selectable operation. The technique further involves receiving, by the processor, a mouse click input from a mouse apparatus. The mouse click input includes coordinates identifying a location that resides within the selection cell of a particular clause. The technique further involves change, by the processor, the selectable operation described by the selection cell of the particular clause between an editing operation and a Boolean operation in response to the mouse click input. Such a technique minimizes user typing and navigation demands, and offers a compact format and considerable power and flexibility when constructing and/or editing a search query.