Desirable search functions and searchable elements are outlined in the tables below. Displaying Results Letting the user construct as precise a search as possible is no less valuable than giving them control over how the search results are displayed. Nothing is more frustrating than retrieving 50 or 100 hits but not being able to display them in a manner conducive to quick scanning. Users most often want to see the results displayed alphabetically by title or in reverse chronological order. At this time, most search engines do not offer this capability.
Some search engines allow the user to specify a concise vs. detailed result list.
The concise display typically shows the HTML title and URL while the detailed display includes several words from the beginning of the document. Another good feature is to let the user select how many results to display at one time. Most search engines set a default at 10-20 hits. If a large search set result is achieved, the user spends a considerable amount of time paging through the results. At times like this, the ability to specify 50 or 100 hits is desirable.