Accelerators are a form of
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 contai ...
that allows a user to invoke an online service from any other page using only the mouse introduced by
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
in
Internet Explorer 8
Windows Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is a web browser for Windows. It was released by Microsoft on March 19, 2009, as the eighth version of Internet Explorer and the successor to Internet Explorer 7. It was the default browser in Windows 7 (later def ...
. Actions such as selecting the text or other objects will give users access to the usable Accelerator services (such as blogging with the selected text, or viewing a map of a selected geographical location), which can then be invoked with the selected object. According to
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
, Accelerators eliminate the need to copy and paste content between web pages. IE8 specifies an
XML
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. T ...
-based encoding which allows a
web application
A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection.
History
In earlier computing models like client-serve ...
or
web service to be invoked as an Accelerator service. How the service will be invoked and for what categories of content it will show up are specified in the XML file. Similarities have been drawn between Accelerators and the controversial
smart tags feature experimented with in the
IE 6 Beta but withdrawn after criticism (though later included in MS Office).
Support for Accelerators was removed in
Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge is a proprietary, cross-platform web browser created by Microsoft. It was first released in 2015 as part of Windows 10 and Xbox One and later ported to other platforms as a fork of Google's Chromium open-source project: Android ...
, the successor browser to Internet Explorer.
History
![Activities icon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Activities_icon.gif)
Microsoft introduced accelerators in Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 as "activities". It later renamed this to "accelerators".
IE8
Accelerators are included in IE8 by default as a type of add-on.
Sample Accelerator
This is an example of how to describe a map Accelerator using the OpenService Format:
http://www.example.com
Map with Example.com
http://www.example.com/favicon.ico
See also
*
Smart tag
SmartTAG (acronym in Malay for Sistem Membayar Automatik Rangkaian Tol or "Toll Network Automatic Payment Systems") is an on-board unit (OBU) vehicle-based device used as an electronic toll collection (ETC) system over long distances (maximum ...
*
Web Slice
Web Slices are a web feed technology based on the hAtom Microformat that allows users to subscribe to portions of a web page. Microsoft developed the Web Slice format, and published a specification under their Open Specification Promise. The s ...
*
Ubiquity (Firefox)
Ubiquity, a legacy extension for Mozilla Firefox, was a collection of quick and easy natural-language-derived commands that act as mashups of web services, thus allowing users to get information and relate it to current and other webpages. It ...
*
click.to (browser independent)
References
External links
Accelerators Video Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
Internet Explorer 8
Windows Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is a web browser for Windows. It was released by Microsoft on March 19, 2009, as the eighth version of Internet Explorer and the successor to Internet Explorer 7. It was the default browser in Windows 7 (later def ...
Videos
Add-ons Gallery: Accelerators Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
Internet Explorer 8
Windows Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is a web browser for Windows. It was released by Microsoft on March 19, 2009, as the eighth version of Internet Explorer and the successor to Internet Explorer 7. It was the default browser in Windows 7 (later def ...
Development
OpenService Accelerators Developer GuideAccelerators Internet Explorer 8 Readiness Toolkit
Wikimedia Accelerators
Wikipedia Visual Search IE8 Addons Gallery
Define with Wikipedia IE8 Addons Gallery
Define with Wiktionary IE8 Addons Gallery
Veoh Video Compass IE8 Addons Gallery
{{Internet search
User interface techniques
Internet Explorer
Microsoft initiatives