DashSearch: Desktop Widget based Desktop Searchfor Metadata Exploitation
Takayuki Goto
The Graduate University
for Advanced Studies
2-1-2, Hitotsubashi,
Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo 101-8430, JAPANtygoto@nii.ac.jp

Hideaki Takeda
National Institute ofInformatics
2-1-2, Hitotsubashi,
Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo 101-8430, JAPAN
takeda@nii.ac.jp

Michiaki Yasumura
Faculty of EnvironmentalInformation,
Keio University
5322 Endo Fujisawa
Kanagawa 252-8520, JAPANyasumura@sfc.keio.ac.jp

ABSTRACTDASHSEARCH FUNCTION

We developed a desktop search interface called “DashSearch”
that enables users to retrieve stored data by efﬁciently using
various metadata (e.g. date and author). DashSearch consistsof several desktop widgets, i.e., simple applications related
to metadata (e.g. calendar and address book). Each widget
works as an input and output interface. Users can intuitively
set search conditions by combining widgets and use widget
to browse search results from various viewpoints.

The retrieval procedure in DashSearch is as follows.
1: Set search conditions in widgets.
2: Compose the retrieval query by combining widgets whose
search conditions have been set in step 1.
3: Display the retrieval result of the widgets.

ACM Classiﬁcation: H5.2 [Information interfaces and presentation]: User Interfaces. - Graphical user interfaces.

A desktop widget is a simple application to execute a speciﬁc function on the desktop, and there are various kinds,e.g., clock, calculator, and calendar. Some widgets show information such as the date, launchable applications, and persons. Such information can be used as metadata about ﬁlesin a desktop search. In other words, these widgets can showmetadata.

General terms:

Design, Human Factorsdesktop search, user interfaces, interactive information retrieval, metadata.
Keywords:INTRODUCTIONManaging ﬁles using only a hierarchical structure, such asfolders, has recently become difﬁcult because computers can
now store many ﬁles. Therefore, a desktop search using asearch technique developed for the web has attracted attention and is now an important basic OS function [1].
One of the important features of desktop searches is the useof various metadata, e.g. author, ﬁle type, and time of creation. However, the current desktop search interfaces do notallow users to use such metadata easily. As a result, users
still ﬁnd it difﬁcult to retrieve ﬁles from various viewpoints.

The details of each retrieval step are described below.
Setting search conditions using widgets

We decided to extend widgets that show and operate on metadata for search conditions. For example, with the calendar
widget, the range of selection can be displayed and the selection operation on the calendar can be done with the mouse(see Figure 1). Thus DashSearch’s widgets can express andoperate appropriate metadata to character of it.

UsualLauncher widget
Running application

We created a new desktop search interface called DashSearch(Dashboard + Search) that enables users to use various metadata intuitively.
DashSearch expresses metadata by extending simple applications called desktop widgets (widgets for short) [2]. Combining widgets enables retrievals from various viewpoints.

Calendar widget

Search condition
Selected application
Selected dates

Copyright is held by the author/owner(s).
UIST’08, October 19–22, 2008, Monterey, CA, USA
ACM 978-1-59593-975-3/08/10.

Figure 1: Metadata expressed by Widget

Selected application

test

test

Date using application.

(1) Narrow a search by author.

(2) Narrow a search by date.

Figure 2: Search formula created by widgets

In addition, they are also available as a simple applicationthat is original usage not just retrieval. For example, DashSearch’s application widget can work retrieval query as well
as application launcher (see Figure 1). The familiar widgets
make metadata retrieval immensely user-friendly.
Rearrangement of search conditions by direct manipulation

DashSearch uses direct manipulation[3] as its method of interaction. Users can retrieve ﬁles by overlapping a widgetthat displays search conditions, as shown in Figure 2. Users
can specify the AND operation of the search condition by
combining touched widgets to compose a query. The search
condition can be removed from the query when separating
widgets. Thus, addition, deletion, and repetition of search
conditions can be facilitated by rearranging widgets by direct manipulation, and complex search formulae can be madequickly.
Displaying search results using widgets

Created files
by selected application

Figure 3: Displaying search results

document collections as visual objects. The DLITE system
retrieves information by attaching the object that shows thequery to the object that shows the document set. Cutrell et al.
describe the design and deployment of a system called Phlat[5]. The Phlat displays the metadata included in the retrieval
result and can add it to the search condition. DashSearch
has functions almost equivalent to those of the above studies
but with the added convenience of them being in the formof everyday desktop widgets. We think that users can moreeasily operate on metadata with tools they are accustomedwith, rather than with new specialized tools for metadata.
CONCLUSION

We described a retrieval interface called DashSearch thatuses widgets to facilitate the use of various metadata. Our
main contribution is a novel metadata retrieval environmentthat enables a user to use metadata through an intuitive interface. We hope ordinary users take advantage of various
metadata that can make it easier to search for information.

DashSearch’s widgets not only set the search conditions;they also display the retrieval result. This allows users to see
the retrieval result from various viewpoints. For example,
when a user overlaps the launcher widget with the calendar
widget, the calendar widget displays the usage history of theselected application. Overlapping a launcher widget and ﬁledisplay widget results in the display of a ﬁle that relates tothe selected application (Figure 3).

At present, there are still a limited number of widgets that canbe used with DashSearch. We plan to increase the number ofwidgets in order to make a lot of metadata available to users.

In addition, users can create a new search condition by (1)clicking a part of the search results(e.g. date) and (2)draging
it to an other widgets.

3. Schneiderman, B. Direct Manipulation: A step beyond
programming languages. IEEE Transactions on Computers, Vol.16, 8(1983), 57–69.

Thus user can intuitively do a complex retrieval task by displaying the retrieval result not just retrieval condition on widget.

4. Cousins, S., Paepcke, A., Winograd, T. and Pier, K. The
Digital Library Integrated Task Environment (DLITE).
In Proceedings of the second ACM international conference on Digital libraries, 1997, 142–151.

RELATED WORK

Several interesting approaches to information search interfaces have been reported to facilitate the use of various retrieval conditions.
For example, Cousins et al. developed the DLITE system[4], which expresses a set of queries, retrieval results, andREFERENCES

1. Spotlight, http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnu
m=304778
2. Dashboard, http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard

5. Cutrell, E., Robbins, D.C., Dumais, S.T. and Sarin, R.
Fast, ﬂexible ﬁltering with Phlat - Personal search andorganization made easy. In Proceedings of CHI’06, Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2006, 261–270.