Accelerator (Internet Explorer)

{{Short description|Internet Explorer selection-based search}}

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| name = Accelerator

| icon = Ie8 accelerators icon.png

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| caption = A map Accelerator using the IE8 Accelerators Smart tag

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| owner = Microsoft

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| latest release version = 0.8

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| open = Yes, as part of Microsoft Open Specification Promise

| url = {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323051646/http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc289775(VS.85).aspx |date=March 23, 2009 |title=OpenService Accelerators Developer Guide}}

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Accelerators were a form of selection-based search which allowed a user to invoke an online service from any other page using only the mouse; they were introduced by Microsoft in Internet Explorer 8.{{cite web | url = http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/ie8/readiness/NewFeatures.htm | title = New and exciting features | accessdate = 2008-03-05 | publisher = Microsoft| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080307001236/http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/ie8/readiness/NewFeatures.htm| archivedate= 7 March 2008 | url-status= live}} Actions such as selecting the text or other objects gave users access to the Accelerator services (such as blogging with the selected text, or viewing a map of a selected geographical location), which could then be invoked with the selected object.

According to Microsoft, Accelerators eliminated the need to copy and paste content between web pages.{{cite web |url=http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1241 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306234410/http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1241 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 6, 2008 |title=IE 8 to feature WebSlices, Activities |author=Mary Jo Foley |publisher=CNet Blogs |accessdate=2007-03-05}} IE 8 specified an XML-based encoding which allowed a web application or web service to be invoked as an Accelerator service. How the service would be invoked and for what categories of content it would show up were specified in the XML file.{{cite web |title=How do I make my site 'light up' with Internet Explorer 8? |url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/ie8/readiness/DevelopersNew.htm |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307012717/http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/ie8/readiness/DevelopersNew.htm |archivedate=7 March 2008 |accessdate=2008-03-05 |publisher=Microsoft}} Similarities have been drawn between Accelerators and the controversial smart tags, a feature experimented with in the IE 6 Beta but withdrawn after criticism (though later included in MS Office).{{cite web|url=http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/ie8_beta1.asp |title=Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 Review |author=Paul Thurrott |publisher=Windows IT Pro |accessdate=2008-03-12 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314225106/http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/ie8_beta1.asp |archivedate=14 March 2008 |url-status=dead }}

Support for Accelerators was removed in Microsoft Edge, the successor to Internet Explorer.{{cite web |title=A break from the past, part 2: Saying goodbye to ActiveX, VBScript, attachEvent… |url=https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2015/05/06/a-break-from-the-past-part-2-saying-goodbye-to-activex-vbscript-attachevent/ |website=Microsoft Edge Dev Blog |date=6 May 2015 |accessdate=4 September 2018}}