Clip, connect, clone

Abstract

Many applications provide a form-like interface for requesting information: the user fills in some fields, submits the form, and the application presents corresponding results. Such a procedure becomes burdensome if (1) the user must submit many different requests, for example in pursuing a trial-and-error search, (2) results from one application are to be used as inputs for another, requiring the user to transfer them by hand, or (3) the user wants to compare results, but only the results from one request can be seen at a time. We describe how users can reduce this burden by creating custom interfaces using three mechanisms: clipping of input and result elements from existing applications to form cells on a spreadsheet; connecting these cells using formulas, thus enabling result transfer between applications; and cloning cells so that multiple requests can be handled side by side. We demonstrate a prototype of these mechanisms, initially specialised for handling Web applications, and show how it lets users build new interfaces to suit their individual needs.

Chameleon: Bringing Interactivity to Static Digital Documents

“…However, the primary goal of Wincuts was to optimize screen real estate during, for example, document creation, rather than to replace static content with interactive content for explorable explanations. In ways similar to Wincuts, tools like d.mix [27] or Clip, Connect, Clone [20] mix information from multiple web pages to create mashups: web pages juxtaposing elements from others [11]. In contrast, Chameleon transcludes HTML content using dynamic layering onto figures of static documents.…”

Using scenario-based requirements to direct research on web macro tools

“…Indeed, we do not even stipulate what examples the macro recorders may request from users: if a recorder can do better by requiring more input, then that innovation represents a tradeoff worth considering. For example, some recorders use a pure PBE approach, while others allow users to augment the macro with procedural code [4].…”

“…For over a decade, researchers have provided numerous tools that implement the PBE paradigm in the web context, automating actions that users take in a web browser [1][3] [4][6] [7][8] [9][12] [15]. Such tools provide several benefits.…”

User-friendly functional programming for web mashups

“…Like MashMaker, C3W (Fujima et al 2004) uses a spreadsheet metaphor. C3W uses a standard flat two-dimensional spreadsheet to connect web sites together.…”