Context and orientation in hypermedia networks

  • Authors:
  • Kenneth Utting;Nicole Yankelovich

  • Affiliations:
  • Brown Univ., Providence, RI;Brown Univ., Providence, RI

  • Venue:
  • ACM Transactions on Information Systems (TOIS)
  • Year:
  • 1989

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Abstract

The core of hypermedia's power lies in the complex networks of links that can be created within and between documents. However, these networks frequently overwhelm the user and become a source of confusion. Within Intermedia, we have developed the Web View-a tool for viewing and navigating such networks with a minimum of user confusion and disorientation. The key factors in the Web View's success are a display that combines a record of the user's path through the network with a map of the currently available links; a scope line that summarizes the number of documents and links in the network; and a set of commands that permit the user to open documents directly from the Web View.