Path Notation
- Omer Ben Yehuda
- Feb 1, 2005
- 2 min read
If we think about it, the world of the internet and intranet is like an endless forest of information. And if this world is like a forest, then we are all, in a way, a bit like Hansel and Gretel. We journey through this endless forest, and the deeper we go, the more the path we take to reach our destination becomes foggy. And just as hungry birds ate the breadcrumbs that Hansel and Gretel scattered to remember their way home, our memory sometimes forgets the path we traveled to find a piece of information, and we may not find it again.
For this purpose, they invented "Breadcrumbs.” The path shows users where they are within the content tree on Internet and intranet sites with long, branched content trees and complex hierarchies (more than three levels deep). Each stage in the path symbolizes a level in the hierarchy and typically serves as a link leading to that level.
Location of the Path:
Usually, we find the path in a separate bar with a small font at the top of the information page, below the title. On a site dealing with transportation, it would look like this: Used Vehicle Sales Board Transportation > Vehicles > Vehicle Board > Used Vehicles for Sale.
Advantages of the Path:
Serves as a map and shows the location of the information page within the hierarchy.
The links in the path allow "jumping" backward without going through the hierarchy in "reverse."
Helps embed the hierarchical structure of the site in the user's memory.
Helps recreate steps taken randomly to reach an information item.
Hansel and Gretel devised an excellent patent by marking their way in an unknown area. Perhaps they could have avoided meeting the witch in the gingerbread house if they hadn't used bread. This patent is used similarly on the internet: marking the path so we don't get lost. The only difference is that Hansel and Gretel did it to find their way home. We on the internet do it to recreate the path to the gingerbread house. Well, at least we always have antivirus software to deal with the witch.
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