Displaying search results on a one or two dimensional graph

Abstract

Embodiments retrieve a set of search results that have been previously identified as having at least one associated date or location. A timeline or map is displayed that visually represents the distribution of the dates or locations within the results. The timeline is displayed with a histogram graph corresponding to the number of dates in the search results at points along the timeline. The map is displayed with markers at the locations corresponding to the locations in the search results. The user can navigate the result set using the displayed timeline or map.

1 . A computer-implemented method of displaying query results on a timeline, comprising:
 receiving a search query;   determining query results in accordance with the received search query, each query result mentioning an associated date;   formatting a histogram graph of the dates of the results; and   displaying the histogram graph along a timeline.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying the query results. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein a result having the highest frequency is displayed in a style different from other results. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein results mentioning associated dates of particular importance are displayed in a predetermined style different from the rest of the results. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the query results are displayed along with a URL of a result web site. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein time-ordered short descriptions of the associated dates are displayed with the query results. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying a list of dates and descriptions. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising processing crawled web pages to determine which crawled web pages mention an associated date. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the associated date of a result is extracted from the text of the result. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a snippet around the associated date of a result is extracted from the result. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the query results refer to documents on the user's local computer. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the query results refer to documents within the local area network. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the query results refer to documents on the World Wide Web. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one query result has a plurality of associated dates and at least two of the associated dates are represented in the histogram graph of the dates. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein formatting comprises determining a date range and a scale of the timeline. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein formatting comprises determining a scale of the histogram graph. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a selection of a portion of the timeline; and   displaying the selected portion of the timeline in greater detail.   
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein displaying the selected portion of the timeline in greater detail comprises expanding the selected portion of the timeline. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a selection of a portion of the timeline; and   displaying the selected portion of the timeline in lesser detail.   
   
   
       20 . A computer-implemented method for displaying query results on a map, comprising:
 receiving a non-geographic search query;   determining query results in accordance with the received search query, each result having an associated location;   formatting a map of the locations of the results, each location on the map identified by a marker; and   displaying the map with the markers.   
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising displaying the query results. 
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the query results are displayed along with a URL of a result web site. 
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein short descriptions of the associated locations are displayed with the query results. 
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein displaying the query results comprises displaying the query results with the associated locations and markers. 
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising processing crawled web pages to determine which crawled web pages mention an associated location. 
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein a name of the associated location of a result is extracted from the result. 
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein a geopoint of the associated location of a result is extracted from the result. 
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein a snippet around the associated location of a result is extracted from the result. 
   
   
       29 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the query results refer to documents on the user's local computer. 
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the query results refer to documents within the local area network. 
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the query results refer to documents on the World Wide Web. 
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein at least one query result has a plurality of associated locations and at least two of the associated locations identified by markers on the map. 
   
   
       33 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein formatting comprises determining a scale of the map. 
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein each marker is distinctive. 
   
   
       35 . A user interface for presenting search results on a timeline, the interface comprising:
 a list of search results, each result having an associated date, the list of search results in order by the associated date; and   a histogram of the dates of the results presented on a timeline.   
   
   
       36 . The user interface of  claim 35 , further comprising a button for generating a hyperlink, for placement on an external web page, to a view of the list of search results and the histogram of the dates of the results presented on a timeline. 
   
   
       37 . The user interface of  claim 35 , wherein each result comprises a URL of a web page associated with the result. 
   
   
       38 . The user interface of  claim 35 , wherein each result comprises a description of a web page associated with the result. 
   
   
       39 . The user interface of  claim 35 , wherein portions of the timeline are selectable, and wherein selecting a portion of the timeline causes an expansion of the portion. 
   
   
       40 . The user interface of  claim 35 , wherein the associated date of each result is displayed in the list of search results. 
   
   
       41 . The user interface of  claim 35 , wherein the timeline spans one selected from a group consisting of a century, a decade, a year, a month, a week, and a day. 
   
   
       42 . A user interface for navigating search results on a map, the interface comprising:
 a list of search results, each result having an associated location and an associated marker; and   a map of the locations of the results, each location on the map identified by the associated marker.   
   
   
       43 . The user interface of  claim 42 , further comprising a button for generating a hyperlink, for placement on an external web page, to a view of the list of search results and the map of the locations of the results. 
   
   
       44 . The user interface of  claim 42 , wherein each result comprises a URL of a web page associated with the result. 
   
   
       45 . The user interface of  claim 42 , wherein each result comprises a description of a web page associated with the result. 
   
   
       46 . The user interface of  claim 42 , further comprising pan and zoom controls. 
   
   
       47 . The user interface of  claim 42 , wherein each marker is distinctive. 
   
   
       48 . A method of refining search results, the method comprising:
 processing crawled web pages to determine which crawled web pages have an associated location;   responsive to a non-geographic search query, displaying a map of the results from the crawled web pages having an associated location, each result associated with a location on the map;   receiving a selection of a location on the map corresponding to a search result;   modifying the search query to include the selected location; and   displaying search results from the modified search query.   
   
   
       49 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein the search results from the modified search query appear in a bubble connected to the selected location on the map. 
   
   
       50 . A computer program product for displaying query results on a timeline, the computer program product stored on a computer readable medium and adapted to perform the operations of:
 receiving a search query;   determining query results in accordance with the received search query, each query result mentioning an associated date;   formatting a histogram graph of the dates of the results; and   displaying the histogram graph along a timeline.   
   
   
       51 . A computer program product for displaying query results on a map, the computer program product stored on a computer readable medium and adapted to perform the operations of:
 receiving a non-geographic search query;   determining query results in accordance with the received search query, each result having an associated location;   formatting a map of the locations of the results, each location on the map identified by a marker; and   displaying the map with the markers.