There is presented a method and system for providing a compact graphical user interface for flexible filtering of data. The method comprises showing a search interface on a display device for filtering a content set by a plurality of domains, including a first domain, displaying, within the search interface, a first graphical representation of a parameter set of the first domain in response to a selecting of the first domain, receiving a first parameter subset from the first graphical representation, filtering a content set using the first parameter subset to obtain a search result, and displaying the search result on a display device. The search interface includes a temporally visible menu for selecting parameter sets of the domains and a compact single line query box to display graphical representations of parameter sets or to provide a conventional text entry box.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention (1) The present invention relates generally to providing a compact graphical user interface. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing a compact graphical user interface for flexible filtering of data. 2. Background Art (2) There are constant attempts in the art to create search interfaces for filtering digital data with ever increasing accuracy to find desired content more quickly and easily. Search interfaces are often equipped with multiple search components to perform multiple domain searches for increased search accuracy. However, using only conventional textual search components may be insufficient or inefficient for filtering certain kinds of digital data. Thus, it is useful to incorporate non-textual search components into search interfaces to perform facilitated searches on digital data. (3) However, there are substantial shortcomings in using conventional search interfaces having multiple search components. Conventional search interfaces having multiple search components often require reserving a large portion of the user interface area, which is a valuable and limited resource. For example, to support multiple search domains, multiple search components are required, each component reserving dedicated user interface area. Furthermore, these multiple search components often add confusion to the user experience, thereby decreasing intuitive usability. For example, a conventional user interface m
1. A method comprising: showing a search interface on a display device for filtering a content set by a plurality of domains including a first non-textual domain, the search interface displaying the plurality of domains including the first non-textual domain for a selection by a user; in response to the selection of the first non-textual domain by the user, without searching or filtering the content set, receiving and displaying, within the search interface, a first non-textual graphical representation of a digital image set of the first non-textual domain, wherein each digital image of the digital image set of the first non-textual domain displays a respective non-textual graphical representation of a parameter associated with the first non-textual domain; receiving a first digital image selected by the user from the digital image set of the first non-textual graphical representation; filtering the content set using the first digital image to obtain a search result; and displaying the search result on the display device. ||
4. A method comprising: showing a search interface on a display device for filtering a content set by a plurality of domains including a first non-textual domain, the search interface displaying the plurality of domains including the first non-textual domain for a selection by a user; in response to the selection of the first non-textual domain by the user, receiving and displaying, within the search interface, a first non-textual graphical representation of a digital image set of the first non-textual domain, each digital image of the digital image set of the first non-textual domain depicting a respective parameter associated with the first non-textual domain; receiving a first digital image selected by the user from the digital image set of the first non-textual graphical representation; filtering the content set using the first digital image to obtain a search result; displaying the search result on the display device; replacing the first non-textual graphical representation in the search interface with a text entry box in response to a selection of a textual parameter set of a textual domain of the plurality of domains; receiving a textual parameter of the textual parameter set from the text entry box; filtering the content set using the textual parameter to update the search result; and displaying the updated search result on the display device. ||
10. A device comprising: a processor configured to: show a search interface on a display device for filtering a content set by a plurality of domains including a first non-textual domain, the search interface displaying the plurality of domains including the first non-textual domain for a selection by a user; in response to the selection of the first non-textual domain by the user, without searching or filtering the content set, receive and display, within the search interface, a first non-textual graphical representation of a digital image set of the first non-textual domain, wherein each digital image of the digital image set of the first non-textual domain displays a respective non-textual graphical representation of a parameter associated with the first non-textual domain; receive a first digital image selected by the user from the digital image set of the first non-textual graphical representation; filter the content set using the first digital image to obtain a search result; and display the search result on the display device.