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Redesigning The "Back" Button

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the going-back-through-the-past dept.

TheMatt writes "Nature Science Update is reporting today about research by New Zealand scientists on redesigning how the "Back" button works in your browser. They point to the fact that the current "Back" is more of an "Up" in a stack of pages. They propose a system that records all pages visited. A good summary page of their efforts in web navigation (including a interesting thumbnail-style "Back" menu) can be found on their page."

3 of 356 comments (clear)

  1. Re:already have it by Aglassis · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I think perhaps the button with the problem isn't the back button, but the forward button. Consider:

    1) Go to the Slashdot main page at http://slashdot.org

    2) Go to the discussion about the back button.

    3) Click your back button and go back to the main page
     Note: the forward button is active

    4) Click on the link to the discussion about Microsoft being its own worst enemy.

    5) Now try to use your back button...
    The forward button is active again.

    The problem isn't with the back button. Its that the forward button doesn't give you options. This can be implemented by considering each website a node in a tree structure. As you visit a hyperlink you go up the tree. When you click back, you go down the tree one step. Forward will bring you up the tree again, but will pick a default unless you specify which branch to follow (to be implemented).

    The only problem is that the forward button is typically implemented so that it gives you a list of items to pick so that if you hit back 3 times, you would see the 3 web pages you just visited in reverse order in the list. I think it could be adequately implemented with expanding menus (but this is a UI pain-in-the-ass!).

    --
    Suddenly, the hairy finger of a familiar monkey tapped me on the shoulder. It was time.--G. T.
  2. Re:already have it by Asprin · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I don't think it has anything to do with going "up in the heirarchy" to the slashdot main page on any web site.

    1. type in www.slashdot.com
    2. type in www.yahoo.com
    3. hit back
    4. type in www.msn.com

    Now, try to get to www.yahoo.com using the back button. See? Same thing, no site organization or heirarchies involved anywhere.

    Rather, the problem is that the back and forward buttons move you within a linear chain of pages independent of the sites they are on. If you go back in that chain and then type in a new URL, you've truncated off the tail end of that chain and replaced it with the new page.

    I've been aware of this effect or years, but I never considered it a problem that required a solution.

    Methinks the researchers doth smokest too mucheth. That or they're desperate for more researchbucks(TM).

    --
    "Lawyers are for sucks."
    - Doug McKenzie
  3. Re:Didn't OS/2 Warp have this? by RetroGeek · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Does anybody remember the OS/2 Warp (3.0) system web browser?

    I do.

    It had a complete Web page showing all the links and hyper links that you visited.

    The first page was at the root level, then each link from that page was nested, with each subsequent link nested in turn. Each link was shown with the page title and was a link so you could re-visit that page.

    After a few hours it was interesting to see your browsing process. First you were here, then you went there, and there, and ...

    I miss that feature. It showed Web browsing in a non-linear fashion.

    --

    - - - - - - - - - - -
    I am a programmer. I am paid to produce syntax not grammar. Deal with it.