Smart tag

Smart tags are an early selection-based search feature found in later versions of Microsoft Word, and beta versions of the Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 8 web browser by which the application recognizes certain words or types of data and converts it to a hyperlink. Selection-based search allows a user to invoke an online service from any other page using only the mouse. Initially Microsoft had intended the technology to be built into its Windows XP operating system but changed its plans due to public criticism.^[1]

Smart tags in Microsoft Word

Smart tags in Microsoft Office Word

With smart tags enabled, Word attempts to recognize certain types of data in a document (for example, dates or names) and automatically makes such text a smart tag, visually indicated as a purple dotted underline. Clicking on a smart tag is the selection-based search command to bring up a list of possible actions for that data type.

As an example, in Microsoft Word the words "John Smith" would be recognized as a personal name and smart tagged. The list of actions available when clicked might be Open Contact, Schedule a Meeting, Add to Contacts, or Insert Address.

Smart tags in Internet Explorer

Within a web browser, smart tag technology parses its way through a web page, underlines the words it has been pre-programmed to react to, and inserts its own hyperlinks. Selecting a smart tag, like many selection-based search commands, involved a hover followed by a mouse click. No keyboard commands are required to invoke the search. The click takes you to wherever the smart tag developer wants to take you, entirely without the knowledge or permission of the web site proprietor (in early tests almost all the links offered were to sites or products of Microsoft or its affiliates.)

Smart tags can also be generated by third parties; for example, a company might contract a technology firm to develop a set of smart tags and actions for their specific products or services, so that product names are automatically recognized and linked to actions such as "check quantity in stock" or "check price."

Criticism

Some feared that smart tags could be used for user tracking or other data collection purposes that might violate user's privacy.^[2] Another concern was that they could be used in negative or harmful ways such as linking a political candidate's name on his own website to negative advertising on other sites.

In response to the criticism, Microsoft removed the technology from its Windows XP operating system and made it a feature that could be turned on or off in IE and in Office XP.^[3]

However, Microsoft has revisited the concept of smart tags in recent versions of Internet Explorer 8 web browser, which implements a selection-based search feature called Internet Explorer 8 Accelerators. The Accelerators interface is open to developers, but a disproportionate number of early links are to products of Microsoft or its affiliates. The user is required to change default settings within each category to switch from a Microsoft-provider to another provider. ^[4]

References