Editing Incremental search (section)

{{Short description|User interface method to search for text}}
{{For|the class of search techniques in artificial intelligence and robotics|Incremental heuristic search}}

[[File:Firefox FAYT.png|thumb|340px|right|Screenshot of performing "Find as you type" in [[Mozilla Firefox]]. "ency" was being typed and the first matched text was highlighted in [[green]].]]
In [[computing]], '''incremental search''', also known as '''hot search''', '''incremental find''' or '''real-time suggestions''', is a [[user interface]] interaction method to progressively search for and filter through text. As the user types text, one or more possible matches for the text are found and immediately presented to the user. This immediate feedback often allows the user to stop short of typing the entire word or phrase they were looking for. The user may also choose a closely related option from the presented list.

The method of incremental search is sometimes distinguished from user interfaces that employ a [[modal window]], such as a [[dialog box]], to enter searches. For some applications, a separate [[Mode (user interface)|user interface mode]] may be used instead of a dialog box.