.gif)
Smart tag (Microsoft)
Encyclopedia
Smart tags are an early selection-based search
feature found in later versions of Microsoft Word
, and beta versions of the Internet Explorer 6
web browser
by which the application recognizes certain words or types of data and converts it to a hyperlink
. Selection-based search allows a user to invoke an online service from any other page using only the mouse. Initially Microsoft
had intended the technology to be built into its Windows XP
operating system
but changed its plans due to public criticism.
With smart tags enabled, Word attempts to recognize certain types of data in a document (for example, dates or names) and automatically makes such text a smart tag, visually indicated as a purple dotted underline. Clicking on a smart tag is the selection-based search command to bring up a list of possible actions for that data type.
As an example, in Microsoft Word the words "John Smith" would be recognized as a personal name
and smart tagged. The list of actions available when clicked might be Open Contact, Schedule a Meeting, Add to Contacts, or Insert Address.
As of Word version 2010, the Smart tag auto-recognition and Person Name smart tag features are no longer available.
s. Selecting a smart tag, like many selection-based search commands, involved a hover followed by a mouse click. No keyboard commands are required to invoke the search. The click takes you to wherever the smart tag developer wants to take you, entirely without the knowledge or permission of the web site proprietor (in early tests almost all the links offered were to sites or products of Microsoft or its affiliates).
Smart tags can also be generated by third parties; for example, a company might contract a technology firm to develop a set of smart tags and actions for their specific products or services, so that product names are automatically recognized and linked to actions such as "check quantity in stock" or "check price."
purposes that might violate user's privacy
. Another concern was that they could be used in negative or harmful ways such as linking a political candidate's name on his own website to negative advertising on other sites.
In response to the criticism, Microsoft removed the technology from its Windows XP operating system and made it a feature that could be turned on or off in IE and in Office XP.
However, Microsoft has revisited the concept of smart tags in recent versions of Internet Explorer 8
web browser, which implements a selection-based search feature called Internet Explorer 8 Accelerators
. The Accelerators interface is open to developers, and the accelerators included by default, which use Microsoft's or its affiliates' products, can be replaced within each category with another provider if desired.
Selection-based search
A selection-based search system is a search engine system in which the user invokes a search query using only the mouse. A selection-based search system allows the user to search the internet for more information about any keyword or phrase contained within a document or webpage in any software...
feature found in later versions of Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
, and beta versions of the Internet Explorer 6
Internet Explorer 6
Internet Explorer 6 is the sixth major revision of Internet Explorer, a web browser developed by Microsoft for Windows operating systems...
web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
by which the application recognizes certain words or types of data and converts it to a hyperlink
Hyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink is a reference to data that the reader can directly follow, or that is followed automatically. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text with hyperlinks...
. Selection-based search allows a user to invoke an online service from any other page using only the mouse. Initially Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
had intended the technology to be built into its Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
but changed its plans due to public criticism.
Smart tags in Microsoft Word
As an example, in Microsoft Word the words "John Smith" would be recognized as a personal name
Personal name
A personal name is the proper name identifying an individual person, and today usually comprises a given name bestowed at birth or at a young age plus a surname. It is nearly universal for a human to have a name; except in rare cases, for example feral children growing up in isolation, or infants...
and smart tagged. The list of actions available when clicked might be Open Contact, Schedule a Meeting, Add to Contacts, or Insert Address.
As of Word version 2010, the Smart tag auto-recognition and Person Name smart tag features are no longer available.
Smart tags in Internet Explorer 6
Within a web browser, smart tag technology parses its way through a web page, underlines the words it has been pre-programmed to react to, and inserts its own hyperlinkHyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink is a reference to data that the reader can directly follow, or that is followed automatically. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text with hyperlinks...
s. Selecting a smart tag, like many selection-based search commands, involved a hover followed by a mouse click. No keyboard commands are required to invoke the search. The click takes you to wherever the smart tag developer wants to take you, entirely without the knowledge or permission of the web site proprietor (in early tests almost all the links offered were to sites or products of Microsoft or its affiliates).
Smart tags can also be generated by third parties; for example, a company might contract a technology firm to develop a set of smart tags and actions for their specific products or services, so that product names are automatically recognized and linked to actions such as "check quantity in stock" or "check price."
Criticism
Some security vendors feared that smart tags could be used for propagating viruses, user tracking, or other data collectionData collection
Data collection is a term used to describe a process of preparing and collecting data, for example, as part of a process improvement or similar project. The purpose of data collection is to obtain information to keep on record, to make decisions about important issues, to pass information on to...
purposes that might violate user's privacy
Privacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
. Another concern was that they could be used in negative or harmful ways such as linking a political candidate's name on his own website to negative advertising on other sites.
In response to the criticism, Microsoft removed the technology from its Windows XP operating system and made it a feature that could be turned on or off in IE and in Office XP.
However, Microsoft has revisited the concept of smart tags in recent versions of Internet Explorer 8
Internet Explorer 8
Windows Internet Explorer 8 is a web browser developed by Microsoft in the Internet Explorer browser series. The browser was released on March 19, 2009 for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7. Both 32-bit and 64-bit builds are available...
web browser, which implements a selection-based search feature called Internet Explorer 8 Accelerators
Accelerator (Internet Explorer)
Accelerators are a form of selection-based search which allow a user to invoke an online service from any other page using only the mouse introduced by Microsoft in Internet Explorer 8...
. The Accelerators interface is open to developers, and the accelerators included by default, which use Microsoft's or its affiliates' products, can be replaced within each category with another provider if desired.
See also
- Internet Explorer 8 AcceleratorsAccelerator (Internet Explorer)Accelerators are a form of selection-based search which allow a user to invoke an online service from any other page using only the mouse introduced by Microsoft in Internet Explorer 8...
- Named entity recognitionNamed entity recognitionNamed-entity recognition is a subtask of information extraction that seeks to locate and classify atomic elements in text into predefined categories such as the names of persons, organizations, locations, expressions of times, quantities, monetary values, percentages, etc.Most research on NER...