Search box - Wikipedia Search box For help in using Wikipedia 's search box, see Help : Searching. This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( February 2011 ) A search box, search field or search bar is a graphical control element used in computer programs, such as file managers or web browsers, and on web sites. A search box is usually a single - line text box or search icon ( which will transform into a search box on click activity ) with the dedicated function of accepting user input to be searched for in a database. Search boxes on web pages are usually used to allow users to enter a query to be submitted to a Web search engine server - side script, where an index database is queried for entries that contain one or more of the user 's keyword research. Search boxes are commonly accompanied by a search button ( sometime indicated only by a magnifying glass symbol ) to submit the search. However, the search button may be omitted as the user may press the enter key to submit the search, or the search may be sent automatically to present the user with real - time results. Common features Depending on the particular implementation, a search box may be accompanied by a drop - down list to present the users with past searches or search suggestions. Search boxes may have other features to help the user, such as autocomplete, search suggestions, a spelling checker, etc. Search boxes are often also accompanied by drop - down menus or other input controls to allow the user to restrict the search or choose what type of content to search for. In some cases, while users input search strings, the results of that string would also present on the content area too. However, if the page choose this way to show results to users, the loading time is pretty slow and sometimes it may cause freezing state or browser crash. Hence, it is not recommend for small and medium size webpage. See also Search suggest drop - down list Web navigation Widgets ( List of... ) Command input Adjustment handle Button Context menu Drop - down list Hamburger button Menu Pie menu Data input - output Checkbox Color picker Combo box Cycle button Date Picker Grid view List box List builder Radio button Scrollbar Search box Slider Spinner Text box Informational Balloon help Head - up display in computing Head - up display in video games Icon Infobar Label Loading screen Progress indicator Progress bar Splash screen Throbber Sidebar Status bar Toast Tooltip Containers Accordion Disclosure widget Frame / Fieldset Menu bar Panel Popover Ribbon Tab Toolbar Window Workspace Navigational Address bar Breadcrumb Hyperlink Navigation bar Pager Tree view Special windows Alert dialog box Dialog box File dialog Inspector window Modal window Palette window Related concepts File viewer List of graphical user interface elements Layout manager Look and feel Mouseover Widget toolkit WIMP This graphical user interface article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Search_box&oldid=809360324 '' Categories : Graphical control elements Desktop environment stubs Hidden categories : Articles lacking sources from February 2011 All articles lacking sources All stub articles Talk Search About Wikipedia Français اردو Edit links This page was last edited on 8 November 2017, at 16 : 49. About Wikipedia

Question: what do we type into a search bar
Answer: query