Usages

The usages are the same as for Faceted Navigation: Vertical Stack, however:

• This pattern is aimed predominantly at users who want to be aware of and actively consider tradeoffs among varied facets and may prefer (by convention) a "parametric search" style of interaction in which the facets are laid out in a horizontal sequence with dimension values displayed in their “open” state by default.
• As a consequence of the above, this style of faceted navigation supports the use of "inline" mementos, i.e., markers within the faceted navigation panel that indicate which facet values are currently selected. As a result (in contrast to Faceted Navigation: Vertical Stack), the current navigational state is implicit in the state of the navigation menu, meaning that a separate breadbox may not be necessary.
  

Constraints and Challenges

• Displaying too many choices can be overwhelming for the user, particularly as the facets are all displayed in their "open" state by default.
• Displaying the facets in fixed positions can lead to wasted screen space (in displaying facets that would otherwise have been refined away).
• If the width of all the combined facets is greater than the width of the page, horizontal scrolling will be required. As a result, some facets will be hidden from view at any given time.
• Arranging the facets in an N by M table and wrapping them across the page can remove the need for horizontal scrolling, but depending on how the facets wrap, space can be wasted (e.g., if six facets are laid out in a table that is five columns by two rows). In addition, this approach risks pushing the search results below the fold/out of the user’s immediate view without scrolling.