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Research Browser View

1 Overview

Research

The Research Browser is a built-in MarginNote 4 tool for looking things up as you read. While you read documents and build mind maps, it lets you quickly call up several types of search and, at the same time, save web pages and compare content across sources — all without switching to an external app — so you can supplement and verify your knowledge in place. It is designed primarily for academic research, in-depth reading, and similar scenarios.

2 Core Features

2.1 Eight Search Tools

  • Video Search: Find related videos on Bilibili and YouTube with one tap, without switching to an external platform.
  • Dictionary Search: Quickly look up word definitions, with support for multilingual translation.
  • Text Search: Run a web-wide keyword search on the selected content.
  • Academic Search: Connect to academic databases to precisely locate papers and literature.
  • Question Search: Get targeted answers in a Q&A format.
  • Image Search: Reverse-search for related resources based on image content.
  • Translation: Supports translation between multiple languages, and you can customize the search URL to use your preferred translation tool.
  • PDF Search: Search the web specifically for relevant PDF documents.

The Research Browser's eight search tools The Research Browser's eight search tools

2.2 Saving Web Pages and Further Processing

  • You can convert useful web pages directly into PDF, download them to your local Document Library, and automatically add them to the current study set as supplementary study material.
  • The converted PDF can be further processed directly using features such as annotation, excerpts, and mind map generation.

Steps for converting a web page to PDF in the Research Browser Steps for converting a web page to PDF in the Research Browser

Animated demo: PDFs saved from the Research Browser can be freely processed Animated demo: PDFs saved from the Research Browser can be freely processed

2.3 Linked Multi-Window Comparison

  • You can view a document and the Research Browser side by side in split screen, reading and looking things up at the same time.
  • It also supports multi-document bi-article comparison, building a closed-loop learning flow.

Split-screen comparison between the Research Browser and multiple documents Split-screen comparison between the Research Browser and multiple documents

3 Basic Usage

3.1 Opening the Research Browser

There are two ways to open the Research Browser.

  • Method 1: While reading a document, select the target text or excerpt to bring up the menu bar, then tap the Research Browser icon to open the browser.
  • Method 2: Open it manually from the top-right corner of the study set > Research Browser.

Method 1: select the target > tap the icon when the menu bar pops up Method 1: select the target > tap the icon when the menu bar pops up

Method 2: open it from the top-right corner of the study set Method 2: open it from the top-right corner of the study set

3.2 Choosing a Search Tool and Searching

  • Choosing a search tool: Once the browser is open, the icons for the eight search tools appear at the top. Tap an icon to start the corresponding search (for example, tap "Academic Search" to find specialized literature).

Animated demo: starting a search from the search tools at the top of the Research Browser Animated demo: starting a search from the search tools at the top of the Research Browser

  • Searching: If you tap the Research Browser icon within 5 seconds of selecting text, it searches the selected content directly; if no text is selected, you can type in keywords to search manually.

Animated demo: in the Research Browser you can search automatically or manually Animated demo: in the Research Browser you can search automatically or manually

  • Page forward and back: In the navigation bar at the bottom of the Research Browser, the first button on the left is "Back" and the second is "Forward"; they let you move through your page history within the current search session.

The "Back" and "Forward" buttons in the Research Browser The "Back" and "Forward" buttons in the Research Browser

  • Handling results: You can open a link in a new window, open it in an external browser, copy the link, or save it directly as a PDF and import it into the Document Library.

You can copy a Research Browser link, or open its content in an external browser You can copy a Research Browser link, or open its content in an external browser

  • Customize the search engine order: in the app, go to Settings and adjust the display order of the tools in the Research section, moving frequently used ones to the front.

Animated demo: you can choose which search tools take priority in Settings Animated demo: you can choose which search tools take priority in Settings

3.3 Switching Window Modes

  • Locking results: Tap the lock icon at the bottom of the Research Browser window to keep the current search content; tap it again to unlock, and it will automatically sync to newly selected text.
  • Split-screen comparison: Splitting the screen between a document and the browser is supported natively.

Animated demo: you can lock the page in the Research Browser to keep the current search content Animated demo: you can lock the page in the Research Browser to keep the current search content

3.4 Saving and Importing Web Pages

  • Saving a single page: On the target web page, tap Download in the top-right corner; the page is automatically converted to PDF and saved to the WebDownloads folder.
  • Locating the file: After saving, you can find the file in the Document > WebDownloads folder; you can move it, rename it, and add tags.

Animated demo: downloading search results in the Research Browser automatically converts them to PDF, saves them to a local folder, and adds them to the current study set Animated demo: downloading search results in the Research Browser automatically converts them to PDF, saves them to a local folder, and adds them to the current study set

Animated demo: files downloaded in the Research Browser can be found in the local WebDownLoads folder Animated demo: files downloaded in the Research Browser can be found in the local WebDownLoads folder

4 Advanced Customization

4.1 Customizing Search Engines (with Academic Engine Examples)

  • How it works: Replace the keyword in the search engine URL with the placeholder %s, and the system fills in your search content automatically.
  • Path: Settings > Research > select the target search type > Custom URL.
  • Saving: After entering the URL, tap OK to use your custom engine from the search toolbar.

Animated demo: choosing a custom search engine in Settings Animated demo: choosing a custom search engine in Settings

4.2 Plugin Installation and Configuration (MN Browser)

MN Browser is the officially recommended plugin for enhancing the Research Browser. It breaks past the limits of the native feature — solving pain points such as fixed windows and video compatibility — and supports capabilities like split-screen layouts, greatly improving the flexibility and adaptability of "search while you learn." It is an efficient tool for academic research and for integrating content from multiple sources.

  • Prerequisite: You must first install the required plugin MN Utils, or the plugin will not run.
  • For the plugin installation steps, see: Handling MN Tasks Efficiently with Plugins