A probabilistic approach for automatically filling form-based web interfaces

Abstract

In this paper we present a proposal for the implementation and evaluation of a novel method for automatically using data-rich text for filling form-based input interfaces. Our solution takes a text as input, extracts implicit data values from it and fills appropriate fields. For this task, we rely on knowledge obtained from values of previous submissions for each field, which are freely obtained from the usage of the interfaces. Our approach, called iForm , exploits features related to the content and the style of these values, which are combined through a Bayesian framework. Through extensive experimentation, we show that our approach is feasible and effective, and that it works well even when only a few previous submissions to the input interface are available.