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List:       kfm-devel
Subject:    Re: IE smart tags vs. smart lookup
From:       Andreas Pour <pour () mieterra ! com>
Date:       2001-06-12 18:31:41
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Jeff Sacksteder wrote:
> 
> I would like to propose a feature for discussion relating to MS 'smart
> tags'. For anyone not familiar with this feature, IE will make certain
> keywords in rendered text look like links to the user, which when followed,
> point to whatever MS wants them to point to. For a good example of this
> check out this link-
> http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/columns/0,4164,2772297,00.html
> 
> I think the good part is the ability make links in addition to the ones the
> authors explicitly created in the document. The bad part, the reason
> everyone is irritated by this, is that the meta-links are indistinguishable
> from normal links. I think Konqueror should should have the following
> behaviour; Highlight a word as if you were going to copy it to the clipboard
> and right-click the word or phrase. A context menu appears populated with a
> list of entries from the 'enhanced browsing' feature. Select the type of
> lookup you want and open the results in a new window. Don't understand a
> word? Right-click and look it up in the Mirriam-Webster dictionary. Need an
> acronym defined? Right-click and get results from the Internet Acronym
> Database. Want to translate a word from another language? Right-click and
> feed it to babelfish.

Hi,

I like this idea (though I would scratch the need to highlight a word,
just right-clicking inside a word should bring up the context menu; if
you want to effect multiple words then highlighting would be useful). 
Actions can then be registered so you can do arbitrary things (like
lookup in address book; translate; etc.; and these actions should not be
limited to web actions).

> It would be obvious to the user that they were invoking a lookup process,
> not following a link. It would pop up a new window so as not to disrupt the
> existing web view. It would be extensible, since it would use the same
> predefined resources included with Konqueror already. The user would control
> how and where the search was done. This is not just matching IE
> feature-for-feature, this is beating them at their own game.

Yes, it's not only better but it avoids the copyright/trademark problems
MS is headed into (as noted today again on /.).

> The ultimate goal of these features, however unstated, is to make the web
> purely mousable. That is, to eliminate the need to type search terms into
> little boxes. It sounds trivial, but it is more convenient for users and MS
> will have it soon. This would also be nice for kiosks that don't have
> keyboards. I have not yet entered this as a wishlist item. Let's open this
> for discussion and evaluation.

With that said I'm sure everyone will find this idea compelling. 
Finding the time to hack it is another thing . . . .

Ciao,

Dre

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