Thumbshot
Encyclopedia
Thumbshots are screenshots of online documents such as web page
in small thumbnail
sizes. Thumbshots help users to visualize web sites or preview links before clicking. The dimension of a thumbshot image
(usually under 120 pixels in width by 90 pixels in height) is generally much smaller than the actual online document allowing users to download and view a sample of the document quickly. Thumbshots can be automatically generated by custom software or manually screen captured using popular graphics programs.
Some thumbshot pictures are enhanced with informative icons or text highlights. Normally, thumbshots are found embedded inline beside hyperlinks in a web page to help improve web browser
navigation by helping users to locate information faster. Thumbshots are often used to provide visual hints in search engines and web directories where a large number of text links are displayed on a page.
One of the early applications of thumbshots was developed by Jakob Nielsen
while working for Sun Microsystems
. The application consisted of capturing and then displaying a small image of a webpage that a user had saved as a bookmark in their web browser
. At that time, they were referred to as visual bookmarks.
Since then, thumbshots have been used in numerous different applications, ranging from Windows Explorer
and a desktop search engine like Copernic to Internet search engine
s and web directories
which provide a thumbshot preview of a webpage alongside search results.
Web page
A web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext...
in small thumbnail
Thumbnail
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of pictures, used to help in recognizing and organizing them, serving the same role for images as a normal text index does for words...
sizes. Thumbshots help users to visualize web sites or preview links before clicking. The dimension of a thumbshot image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
(usually under 120 pixels in width by 90 pixels in height) is generally much smaller than the actual online document allowing users to download and view a sample of the document quickly. Thumbshots can be automatically generated by custom software or manually screen captured using popular graphics programs.
Some thumbshot pictures are enhanced with informative icons or text highlights. Normally, thumbshots are found embedded inline beside hyperlinks in a web page to help improve 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...
navigation by helping users to locate information faster. Thumbshots are often used to provide visual hints in search engines and web directories where a large number of text links are displayed on a page.
One of the early applications of thumbshots was developed by Jakob Nielsen
Jakob Nielsen (usability consultant)
Jakob Nielsen is a leading web usability consultant. He holds a Ph.D. in human–computer interaction from the Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen.-Early life and background:...
while working for Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
. The application consisted of capturing and then displaying a small image of a webpage that a user had saved as a bookmark in their 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...
. At that time, they were referred to as visual bookmarks.
Since then, thumbshots have been used in numerous different applications, ranging from Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer
This article is about the Windows file system browser. For the similarly named web browser, see Internet ExplorerWindows Explorer is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface...
and a desktop search engine like Copernic to Internet search engine
Search engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
s and web directories
Web directory
A web directory or link directory is a directory on the World Wide Web. It specializes in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links....
which provide a thumbshot preview of a webpage alongside search results.
See also
- ScreenshotScreenshotA screenshot , screen capture , screen dump, screengrab , or print screen is an image taken by a computer to record the visible items displayed on the monitor, television, or another visual output device...
- ThumbnailThumbnailThumbnails are reduced-size versions of pictures, used to help in recognizing and organizing them, serving the same role for images as a normal text index does for words...
- PowerMapperPowerMapperPowerMapper is a web crawler that automatically creates a site map of a website using thumbnails of each web page. A number of map styles are available, although the cheaper Standard edition has fewer styles than the Professional edition.- Map styles:...
, a tool that creates site maps using thumbshots of each page