Visual search implies that all the controls or information are displayed on screen. The search is visual; the user simply scans the screen display.
Visual search is convenient for repetitive searching because once the users are familiar with the design, the users have direct access to the control or information.
Visual search is inconvenient for an infrequent search of information beyond the capacity of the user's short-term memory. It is not applicable for:
Inconsistent data presentation, when the data is the result of queries or when the location on screen is not fixed
Occasional search, for users who see the screen for the first time.
In both cases, when looking for a particular item, the users cannot see the forest for the trees. They may waste too much time and mental effort in examining and evaluating many irrelevant items.
Updated on 09 Mar 2016.