Effective Browsing in Hypertext Systems

A drawback of browsing through nonlinear electronic documents is the accompanying sense of disorientation often reported by users. It is difficult to ascertain the layout of the document network so people often lose their place or forget to follow up on tasks they meant to complete, while wondering if they are missing anything relevant to their interests. This paper critiques existing approaches to computerized support for browsing and describes four new types of browsers, which have been implemented in the Xerox NoteCards hypertext system. These browsers support the process of pursing and returning from digressions and facilitate the integration of diverse sets of materials that have been browsed.