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2011 NOVEMBER–DECEMBER No. 383
November 08, 2011 [posted]

Search Auto-Complete Feature Added to NLM Main Web Site, MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en Español

In November 2011, the National Library of Medicine® (NLM®) released a search box auto-complete feature for the NLM main Web site, MedlinePlus® and MedlinePlus en español. Auto-complete improves the search experience on these sites by:

As a user types a query, a list of suggested terms and/or phrases displays dynamically beneath the search box (see Figure 1). The suggested terms appear after three or more letters are entered into the box. The suggestions begin with or contain the word and/or phrase in the search query. Letters not yet typed appear in bold. As a user types more letters, the suggestions automatically update to reflect different terms or phrases. No more than five terms and/or phrases appear in the suggestion list for each query. A light gray bar highlights the suggestions as a cursor scrolls up or down the list. Users can also use the arrow keys on their keyboards to navigate through the list. Once a user clicks on the preferred term or phrase, the suggestion populates the search box, and the search engine executes the query.

Screen capture of autocomplete terms and phrases after typing index.
Figure 1: Auto-complete suggestions for "index"
on the NLM main Web search.

The auto-complete feature appears in search boxes across MedlinePlus, MedlinePlus en español (see Figure 2 and Figure 3), and the NLM main Web site (see Figure 4).

Screen capture of auto-complete feature appears in all MedlinePlus search boxes.
Figure 2: The auto-complete feature appears in search boxes throughout the MedlinePlus site.
Screen capture of auto-complete feature appears in all MedlinePlus en español search boxes.
Figure 3: The auto-complete feature appears in search boxes throughout the MedlinePlus en español site.
Screen capture of auto-complete feature appears on the NLM main Web site search results page.
Figure 4: The auto-complete feature appears in search boxes throughout the NLM main Web site.

By Sarena Burgess and Brooke Dine
Public Services Division

Burgess S. and Dine B. Search Auto-Complete Feature Added to NLM Main Web Site, MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en Español. NLM Tech Bull. 2011 Nov-Dec;(383):e2.

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