Method and apparatus for facilitating improved navigation through a list

One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates improved navigation through a list. During operation, the system obtains a list, wherein the list includes a set of list-entries. The system then analyzes the list to determine a set of list-properties for the list. Next, the system associates a set of identifiers with the list based on the set of list-properties. Then, the system inserts the list into a list-box. The system also inserts the set of identifiers into a scrollbar associated with the list-box, thereby enabling a user to navigate to a subset of the list by selecting an identifier which corresponds to the subset from the scrollbar.