Google Chrome Uses the Scrollbar to Display Search Results

http://www.usabilitypost.com/2008/09/19/using-the-scrollbar-to-display-information/

by babyshake • 18 years ago

40 13 18 years ago

PieSquared• 18 years ago

Wait... If a user doesn't notice a feature (when it's clearly supposed to be noticed), doesn't that mean it's placement is slightly sub-optimal?

(Although I personally do like the placement, and the author clearly does too; just from Google's perspective, isn't it bad that the user doesn't immediately notice it?)

there• 18 years ago

if it's a critical feature i would say it'd be a problem, but this is something new. if you notice it, use it, if not, you're no worse off than you were before.

woodsier• 18 years ago

I agree to an extent but I don't think there is a better place to put it. I've noticed it, but I doubt too many people are actively using Chrome yet.

ComputerGuru• 18 years ago

Why are you all assuming no one notices this feature? The improved and very productive in-line search is one of the first things I noticed about Chrome, it's just plain awesome.

Anyway, the earmark of good UI is that nifty features are there when you need them, and when they manifest themselves they're helpful. Features that get in your way when they serve no purpose only serve to clutter and bloat; so props to the Chrome team on this one.

iigs• 18 years ago

I didn't notice it until this article pointed it out. I think its usefulness is diminished by these things:

1) The color is too faint.

2) The scrollbar widget is standard. I think this is a good thing in general but as a user you expect it to behave a certain way and don't stand around looking auditing individual pixels, especially since they didn't keep the standard title bar design and size.

3) I spend most of my time using find thinking "I hate that slash doesn't start the search here. Grr." I know that ^F has been the standard on PCs for a long time, but / is definitely my preferred way.

gojomo• 18 years ago

Eclipse IDE does the same thing, putting little colored ticks in scrollbars to indicate things like:

* locations of last term searched

* other references to same variable currently highlighted

* TODO comments

goodness2• 18 years ago

Not quite in the scrollbar. But beside it.

litewulf• 18 years ago

I think chrome is marginally better (har har) because it saves like 10 horizontal pixels.

One of my computers is a tiny netbook, and let me tell you, saving 10 pixels is what I worry about all day long.

michaelneale• 18 years ago

I think they call it "the gutter".

royalpineapple• 18 years ago

colloquy does this as well

MikeCapone• 18 years ago

I like it.

seiji• 18 years ago

What I've wanted is a big red line in the scrollbar where an article stops and comments begin.

I judge the length of an article by the scrollbar size, but when an article is four paragraphs followed by 800 comments on the same page my "should I take the time to read this" measurement gets thrown off.

goodness2• 18 years ago

The first I saw this feature was in a 1992 paper:

http://smg.media.mit.edu/classes/SocialVis03/editWear.pdf

Google Chrome Uses the Scrollbar to Display Search Results

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