CA2331097A1 - System, apparatus and method for using and managing digital information - Google Patents
System, apparatus and method for using and managing digital information Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2331097A1 CA2331097A1 CA002331097A CA2331097A CA2331097A1 CA 2331097 A1 CA2331097 A1 CA 2331097A1 CA 002331097 A CA002331097 A CA 002331097A CA 2331097 A CA2331097 A CA 2331097A CA 2331097 A1 CA2331097 A1 CA 2331097A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- user
- information
- term
- occurrence
- index
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
- G06F16/30—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor of unstructured textual data
- G06F16/33—Querying
- G06F16/338—Presentation of query results
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S707/00—Data processing: database and file management or data structures
- Y10S707/99931—Database or file accessing
- Y10S707/99932—Access augmentation or optimizing
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S707/00—Data processing: database and file management or data structures
- Y10S707/99931—Database or file accessing
- Y10S707/99933—Query processing, i.e. searching
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S707/00—Data processing: database and file management or data structures
- Y10S707/99931—Database or file accessing
- Y10S707/99933—Query processing, i.e. searching
- Y10S707/99934—Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S707/00—Data processing: database and file management or data structures
- Y10S707/99931—Database or file accessing
- Y10S707/99933—Query processing, i.e. searching
- Y10S707/99935—Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S707/00—Data processing: database and file management or data structures
- Y10S707/99931—Database or file accessing
- Y10S707/99933—Query processing, i.e. searching
- Y10S707/99936—Pattern matching access
Abstract
A system, apparatus and method for using, identifying, interacting and managing digital information in a useful and convenient manner. When a digital representation of information is loaded, an index is constructed of unique terms in the information, which index includes the terms, a count of the occurrences of each term in the information and a reference to each location wherein the term occurs in the information. A user can select a term of interest from the index and a context box comprising a user-selected amount of information from before and/or after each occurrence of the selected term is displayed to the user to allow the user to more readily identify portions of the information which are of interest. The user can select one a context box of interest and the display of the information is repositioned to the location in the information which corresponds to the select box. A user can also create a knowledge base entry from each identified and/or selected portion of the information, which knowledge base can be searched in a variety of manners.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system, apparatus and method for using and managing digital information. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system, apparatus and method for identifying and interacting with digital representations of information, in a useful and convenient manner.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
With the omnipresence of computers and the Internet, increasing amounts of information are created, distributed and/or accessed in digital form. Examples of such digital forms of information, including text and graphics information, include Adobe's Acrobat (pdf) format, HTML and/or SGML formats, various word processor formats (such as Microsoft Word's 'doc' format or Corel WordPerfect's 'wpd' format), video formats including Apple's Quicklime MOV
format and Microsoft's AVI format, MPEG compressed video and many others.
Information can be created in, or converted to or between, these formats and distributed and/or stored in them as desired.
While this revolution in distribution and representation of information has many advantages, it does suffer from some disadvantages. For example, especially in view of the development of the Internet, the amount of information available on a macroscopic level can be overwhelming, making it difficult or impossible to recognize relevant information even after it has been located. Specifically, it is not uncommon that a search of the Internet on any common topic will return several hundreds of possible documents of interest which must be reviewed by a user to determine the relevance of the documents to the topic.
On a microscopic level, when a document is under consideration, it can be difficult to find the portions of that document which are of interest or significance.
This is especially true for long documents which cannot be displayed on one or two screen displays of a computer monitor, such as legal decisions, technical documents, patents, stories, etc.
It is therefore desired to have a system, apparatus and method which makes easier the identification and interaction with information represented and/or stored in digital form.
The present invention relates to a system, apparatus and method for using and managing digital information. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system, apparatus and method for identifying and interacting with digital representations of information, in a useful and convenient manner.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
With the omnipresence of computers and the Internet, increasing amounts of information are created, distributed and/or accessed in digital form. Examples of such digital forms of information, including text and graphics information, include Adobe's Acrobat (pdf) format, HTML and/or SGML formats, various word processor formats (such as Microsoft Word's 'doc' format or Corel WordPerfect's 'wpd' format), video formats including Apple's Quicklime MOV
format and Microsoft's AVI format, MPEG compressed video and many others.
Information can be created in, or converted to or between, these formats and distributed and/or stored in them as desired.
While this revolution in distribution and representation of information has many advantages, it does suffer from some disadvantages. For example, especially in view of the development of the Internet, the amount of information available on a macroscopic level can be overwhelming, making it difficult or impossible to recognize relevant information even after it has been located. Specifically, it is not uncommon that a search of the Internet on any common topic will return several hundreds of possible documents of interest which must be reviewed by a user to determine the relevance of the documents to the topic.
On a microscopic level, when a document is under consideration, it can be difficult to find the portions of that document which are of interest or significance.
This is especially true for long documents which cannot be displayed on one or two screen displays of a computer monitor, such as legal decisions, technical documents, patents, stories, etc.
It is therefore desired to have a system, apparatus and method which makes easier the identification and interaction with information represented and/or stored in digital form.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel system, apparatus and method for using and managing digital representations of information.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of using and managing information represented in a digital form, comprising the steps o~
(i) selecting a set of digital information;
(ii) constructing an index of unique terms in said selected digital information, said index further including a count of the occurrence of each term in the digital information and a reference to the location of each occurrence of each unique term in said digital information;
(iii) displaying said index to a user;
(iv) receiving input from said user to select a displayed term and constructing a context box for each occurrence of said selected term, said context box comprising a user-selected amount of said digital information occurnng before and/or after the occurrence of said term and displaying said constructed context boxes to said user;
(v) receiving input from said user to select one of said constructed context boxes and displaying said portion of said digital information containing said referenced location of said occurrence of said term to said user.
Preferably, the method also comprises the step of applying a filter to said index, prior to step (iv) to remove terms not of interest to said user.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for using and managing information represented in a digital format, comprising:
storage for maintaining information represented in digital form;
user input means;
user output means;
a computer connected to said storage, user input means and user output means, said computer operable to:
(a) load and display said information to a user with said user output means;
(b) construct an index of unique terms in said information, said index comprising a count of the occurrence of each term in the digital information and a reference to the location of each occurrence of each unique term in said digital information;
(c) display said index to said user;
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel system, apparatus and method for using and managing digital representations of information.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of using and managing information represented in a digital form, comprising the steps o~
(i) selecting a set of digital information;
(ii) constructing an index of unique terms in said selected digital information, said index further including a count of the occurrence of each term in the digital information and a reference to the location of each occurrence of each unique term in said digital information;
(iii) displaying said index to a user;
(iv) receiving input from said user to select a displayed term and constructing a context box for each occurrence of said selected term, said context box comprising a user-selected amount of said digital information occurnng before and/or after the occurrence of said term and displaying said constructed context boxes to said user;
(v) receiving input from said user to select one of said constructed context boxes and displaying said portion of said digital information containing said referenced location of said occurrence of said term to said user.
Preferably, the method also comprises the step of applying a filter to said index, prior to step (iv) to remove terms not of interest to said user.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for using and managing information represented in a digital format, comprising:
storage for maintaining information represented in digital form;
user input means;
user output means;
a computer connected to said storage, user input means and user output means, said computer operable to:
(a) load and display said information to a user with said user output means;
(b) construct an index of unique terms in said information, said index comprising a count of the occurrence of each term in the digital information and a reference to the location of each occurrence of each unique term in said digital information;
(c) display said index to said user;
(d) receive input from said user representing a selection of a term of interest;
(e) construct and display to said user a context bow for each occurrence of said selected term, each context box including a user-selected amount of said digital information from before and/or after said occurrence of said selected term in said information;
and (f) receive input from said user representing the selection of a context box of interest and updating said display of said digital information to said user to display the location of the occurrence corresponding to said selected context box.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
Figure 1 shows a system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, for identifying, using and managing digital information;
Figure 2 shows a flowchart of an indexing process in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 3 shows a screen display of an html browser including an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 4 shows a screen display of the html browser of Figure 3 wherein an index window is shown in context mode;
Figure 5 shows a form for creating a new entry in a knowledge base, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 6 shows the results of a keyword search in a knowledge base; and Figure 7 shows the results of a creation date search in a knowledge base.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
For clarity, the following discussion of the present invention relates to an embodiment employed with an html browser. The present invention is not limited to use with html browsers and the present invention can also be used with application programs, browsers for other formats, etc. which allow the viewing and/or interacting with information represented in other digital formats (eg. - pdf, doc, wpd, etc.).
(e) construct and display to said user a context bow for each occurrence of said selected term, each context box including a user-selected amount of said digital information from before and/or after said occurrence of said selected term in said information;
and (f) receive input from said user representing the selection of a context box of interest and updating said display of said digital information to said user to display the location of the occurrence corresponding to said selected context box.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
Figure 1 shows a system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, for identifying, using and managing digital information;
Figure 2 shows a flowchart of an indexing process in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 3 shows a screen display of an html browser including an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 4 shows a screen display of the html browser of Figure 3 wherein an index window is shown in context mode;
Figure 5 shows a form for creating a new entry in a knowledge base, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 6 shows the results of a keyword search in a knowledge base; and Figure 7 shows the results of a creation date search in a knowledge base.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
For clarity, the following discussion of the present invention relates to an embodiment employed with an html browser. The present invention is not limited to use with html browsers and the present invention can also be used with application programs, browsers for other formats, etc. which allow the viewing and/or interacting with information represented in other digital formats (eg. - pdf, doc, wpd, etc.).
Figure 1 shows a system 20 for using and managing digital information in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. System 20 includes a computer 24, including a microprocessor or the like, RAM memory, etc. and executing an operating system and one or more applications programs. For example, computer 24 can be an IBM PC
compatible computer including an Intel Pentium II processor and executing the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system.
Computer 24 can be connected to a mass storage device 28, such as a LAN file server, CDROM or other storage device, and/or to a communications network 32, such as the Internet. Computer 24 is also connected to a user input device, such as a keyboard 36 and/or a pointing device 40 and to a user output device 44, such as a computer monitor, LCD panel or television.
Digital information to be used and/or managed with the present invention can be stored on mass storage device 28 and accessed by computer 24 or can be accessed by computer 24 via communications network 32.
In an embodiment of the present invention, a plugin is provided for an html browser, which plugin and browser are executed by computer 24. When digital information is loaded into such a browser, the plugin operates as described below to organize the information. While the following discussion presumes the use of a plugin, the present invention is not so limited and can be implemented as a standalone program or as an application program integrated with program functions to create the digital information display on user output means 44.
Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, the method of the present invention commences at step 100 where digital information, selected by a user via user input means or otherwise selected, is loaded into computer 24 from mass storage device 28 or from communications network 32. At step 104, an index of terms within the digital information is constructed, including an occurrence count for each term, is constructed. In a present embodiment of the invention, "terms" comprise words in the document, although it is also contemplated that "terms" can include figures, graphics, audio and/or video included in the digital information.
When constructed, this index preferably comprises a list of each unique term and includes references between each term and a reference to its location within the digital information, as described below in more detail.
At step 108, any Dictionaries that have been selected by the user are applied to the Index to filter the index. Dictionaries are lists of terms defined by a user and dictionaries can be defined to remove included terms from the index, for example it is contemplated that most users will wish to employ a dictionary to remove articles, prepositions participles and other words of little interest from the index. In addition, dictionaries can also be defined by a user to specify the only terms to be included in the index. For example, a user may be interested only in portions of the digital information which relate to a specific topic and such a user can define a dictionary which contains those terms the user believes relevant to that topic. In such a case, after step 108 is performed, only the occurrences of those terms in the defined dictionary will be included in the index.
At step 112, the developed and, if applicable, filtered index is displayed to the user.
It is presently preferred that the index be displayed in a window adjacent the digital information being displayed to the user.
Figure 3 shows an html browser 200 which includes a window 204 wherein the digital information is displayed to the user. Another window 208 is displayed adjacent to window 204 and lists the terms of the index constructed for the digital information, in this case an html document, being displayed in window 204. The terms of window 208 can be ordered in a variety of 1 S manners including, alphabetic order, as shown, reverse alphabetic order, frequency count order or reverse frequency count order, as desired by the user and as appropriate to the type of terms (words, graphics, etc.). It should be apparent to those of skill in the art that, the html document displayed in window 204 can in fact comprise many tens, or more, of full windows of information through which the user can scroll as desired, but that the index in window 208 is not limited to those terms presently displayed in window 208, but is instead constructed for the entire html document. In the Figure, pop-up menu 212 shows one mechanism whereby a user can select a dictionary to apply to an index.
As mentioned above, in addition to the terms and their frequency of occurrence, the index constructed at step 104 also maintains a reference between each term of the index and the location of each occurrence of that term in the digital information. For example, the word "computer" may occur three times in an html document and the term "computer"
in the constructed index will have three references, one to each of the three locations in the document. A reference can be an offset from the beginning of the document, or any other method for locating a position within the document.
Selecting a term in window 208 changes window 208 from index mode to context mode, as shown in Figure 4. A user can select an indexed term from those displayed in window 208 by any suitable selection method, such as by double clicking it with pointing device 40 and, in Figure 4, the user has selected the term "activist" from the index in window 208. In context mode, each occurrence of the selected term is displayed in window 208. As shown in Figure 3, there are three occurrences of "activist" in the html document of window 204 and, in context mode, the context for each occurrence of the selected term is displayed in window 208.
Specifically, a user-selected amount of information, in this example a number of words, before and/or after each occurrence of the selected term is displayed in window 208 to create a context box 216 which better enables a user to identify the occurrences of the selected term that are most of interest. When an occurrence is identified as being of interest, the user can select the particular context box 216 and the reference between the term and its location of occurrence is used to move the display of the document in window 204 to the position wherein that occurrence is located, which movement has already occurred in Figure 4 where the bottommost context box 216 had been selected by a user. Additional context boxes 216 can be selected, as desired, to examine other portions of the document. Thus, the present invention allows a user to quickly and easily identify and locate portions of a document which are conceivably of interest to the user. Should the user wish to consult the indexed terms again, the index can be accessed by selecting the tab labeled "Index" at the top of window 208.
In addition to identifying and locating portions of documents of interest, the present invention also allows a user to construct a database, referred to herein as a knowledge base, of information of interest from collections of documents. Specifically, a user can construct a database of information of interest by selecting digital information of interest, by a suitable selection method such as highlighting text displayed in window 204 with pointing device 40, and selecting the menu entry "Save to Kbase" as shown on pop-up menu 220 in Figure 4.
Figure 5 shows the knowledge base creation form which is displayed to a user to create an entry. As shown, the selected digital information of interest, in this example text, appears in the form and the user adds a title, zero or more keywords appropriate to the entry, and assigns a category, which can be selected from a drop down menu if pre-existing, or which can be created by pressing the "Create new" box.
Figure 6 shows a typical entry which has been created in a knowledge base. As shown, each entry is shown in a window 240 and includes the date the entry was created, the keywords, if any, defined by the user when the entry is created, the title, a context excerpt from information of interest and a pointer to locate the original document from which the entry was created. In the case of an html document, the pointer can be a 1JRL. The entry can also include a reference, such as an offset from the beginning of the document, to identify and return to the location within the document where the information of interest occurs.
The knowledge base can be examined and/or searched on a variety of basis. For example, in Figure 6 the keyword "license" has been used to locate an entry.
In Figure 7, the date on which the entry was created has been used to locate an entry. Other alternatives to locating entries can include, the source locations of the entries (URL's, etc.), the identity of the user who created the entry (in the case of a shared knowledge base), etc.
As will be apparent, knowledge bases allow users to manage and organize relevant portions of information represented in digital form in a convenient and useful manner. Information sources can be easily re-accessed in appropriate manners, such as by clicking on a URL, if it is desired to examine other portions of the source information and a user can search for information using categories and keyword schemes that they have defined.
The above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be examples of the present invention and alterations and modifications may be effected thereto, by those of skill in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto.
compatible computer including an Intel Pentium II processor and executing the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system.
Computer 24 can be connected to a mass storage device 28, such as a LAN file server, CDROM or other storage device, and/or to a communications network 32, such as the Internet. Computer 24 is also connected to a user input device, such as a keyboard 36 and/or a pointing device 40 and to a user output device 44, such as a computer monitor, LCD panel or television.
Digital information to be used and/or managed with the present invention can be stored on mass storage device 28 and accessed by computer 24 or can be accessed by computer 24 via communications network 32.
In an embodiment of the present invention, a plugin is provided for an html browser, which plugin and browser are executed by computer 24. When digital information is loaded into such a browser, the plugin operates as described below to organize the information. While the following discussion presumes the use of a plugin, the present invention is not so limited and can be implemented as a standalone program or as an application program integrated with program functions to create the digital information display on user output means 44.
Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, the method of the present invention commences at step 100 where digital information, selected by a user via user input means or otherwise selected, is loaded into computer 24 from mass storage device 28 or from communications network 32. At step 104, an index of terms within the digital information is constructed, including an occurrence count for each term, is constructed. In a present embodiment of the invention, "terms" comprise words in the document, although it is also contemplated that "terms" can include figures, graphics, audio and/or video included in the digital information.
When constructed, this index preferably comprises a list of each unique term and includes references between each term and a reference to its location within the digital information, as described below in more detail.
At step 108, any Dictionaries that have been selected by the user are applied to the Index to filter the index. Dictionaries are lists of terms defined by a user and dictionaries can be defined to remove included terms from the index, for example it is contemplated that most users will wish to employ a dictionary to remove articles, prepositions participles and other words of little interest from the index. In addition, dictionaries can also be defined by a user to specify the only terms to be included in the index. For example, a user may be interested only in portions of the digital information which relate to a specific topic and such a user can define a dictionary which contains those terms the user believes relevant to that topic. In such a case, after step 108 is performed, only the occurrences of those terms in the defined dictionary will be included in the index.
At step 112, the developed and, if applicable, filtered index is displayed to the user.
It is presently preferred that the index be displayed in a window adjacent the digital information being displayed to the user.
Figure 3 shows an html browser 200 which includes a window 204 wherein the digital information is displayed to the user. Another window 208 is displayed adjacent to window 204 and lists the terms of the index constructed for the digital information, in this case an html document, being displayed in window 204. The terms of window 208 can be ordered in a variety of 1 S manners including, alphabetic order, as shown, reverse alphabetic order, frequency count order or reverse frequency count order, as desired by the user and as appropriate to the type of terms (words, graphics, etc.). It should be apparent to those of skill in the art that, the html document displayed in window 204 can in fact comprise many tens, or more, of full windows of information through which the user can scroll as desired, but that the index in window 208 is not limited to those terms presently displayed in window 208, but is instead constructed for the entire html document. In the Figure, pop-up menu 212 shows one mechanism whereby a user can select a dictionary to apply to an index.
As mentioned above, in addition to the terms and their frequency of occurrence, the index constructed at step 104 also maintains a reference between each term of the index and the location of each occurrence of that term in the digital information. For example, the word "computer" may occur three times in an html document and the term "computer"
in the constructed index will have three references, one to each of the three locations in the document. A reference can be an offset from the beginning of the document, or any other method for locating a position within the document.
Selecting a term in window 208 changes window 208 from index mode to context mode, as shown in Figure 4. A user can select an indexed term from those displayed in window 208 by any suitable selection method, such as by double clicking it with pointing device 40 and, in Figure 4, the user has selected the term "activist" from the index in window 208. In context mode, each occurrence of the selected term is displayed in window 208. As shown in Figure 3, there are three occurrences of "activist" in the html document of window 204 and, in context mode, the context for each occurrence of the selected term is displayed in window 208.
Specifically, a user-selected amount of information, in this example a number of words, before and/or after each occurrence of the selected term is displayed in window 208 to create a context box 216 which better enables a user to identify the occurrences of the selected term that are most of interest. When an occurrence is identified as being of interest, the user can select the particular context box 216 and the reference between the term and its location of occurrence is used to move the display of the document in window 204 to the position wherein that occurrence is located, which movement has already occurred in Figure 4 where the bottommost context box 216 had been selected by a user. Additional context boxes 216 can be selected, as desired, to examine other portions of the document. Thus, the present invention allows a user to quickly and easily identify and locate portions of a document which are conceivably of interest to the user. Should the user wish to consult the indexed terms again, the index can be accessed by selecting the tab labeled "Index" at the top of window 208.
In addition to identifying and locating portions of documents of interest, the present invention also allows a user to construct a database, referred to herein as a knowledge base, of information of interest from collections of documents. Specifically, a user can construct a database of information of interest by selecting digital information of interest, by a suitable selection method such as highlighting text displayed in window 204 with pointing device 40, and selecting the menu entry "Save to Kbase" as shown on pop-up menu 220 in Figure 4.
Figure 5 shows the knowledge base creation form which is displayed to a user to create an entry. As shown, the selected digital information of interest, in this example text, appears in the form and the user adds a title, zero or more keywords appropriate to the entry, and assigns a category, which can be selected from a drop down menu if pre-existing, or which can be created by pressing the "Create new" box.
Figure 6 shows a typical entry which has been created in a knowledge base. As shown, each entry is shown in a window 240 and includes the date the entry was created, the keywords, if any, defined by the user when the entry is created, the title, a context excerpt from information of interest and a pointer to locate the original document from which the entry was created. In the case of an html document, the pointer can be a 1JRL. The entry can also include a reference, such as an offset from the beginning of the document, to identify and return to the location within the document where the information of interest occurs.
The knowledge base can be examined and/or searched on a variety of basis. For example, in Figure 6 the keyword "license" has been used to locate an entry.
In Figure 7, the date on which the entry was created has been used to locate an entry. Other alternatives to locating entries can include, the source locations of the entries (URL's, etc.), the identity of the user who created the entry (in the case of a shared knowledge base), etc.
As will be apparent, knowledge bases allow users to manage and organize relevant portions of information represented in digital form in a convenient and useful manner. Information sources can be easily re-accessed in appropriate manners, such as by clicking on a URL, if it is desired to examine other portions of the source information and a user can search for information using categories and keyword schemes that they have defined.
The above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be examples of the present invention and alterations and modifications may be effected thereto, by those of skill in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto.
Claims (5)
1. A method a method of using and managing information represented in a digital form, comprising the steps of:
(i) selecting a set of digital information;
(ii) constructing an index of unique terms in said selected digital information, said index further including a count of the occurrence of each term in the digital information and a reference to the location of each occurrence of each unique term in said digital information;
(iii) displaying said index to a user;
(iv) receiving input from said user to select a displayed term and constructing a context box for each occurrence of said selected term, said context box comprising a user-selected amount of said digital information occurring before and/or after the occurrence of said term and displaying said constructed context boxes to said user;
(v) receiving input from said user to select one of said constructed context boxes and displaying said portion of said digital information containing said referenced location of said occurrence of said term to said user.
(i) selecting a set of digital information;
(ii) constructing an index of unique terms in said selected digital information, said index further including a count of the occurrence of each term in the digital information and a reference to the location of each occurrence of each unique term in said digital information;
(iii) displaying said index to a user;
(iv) receiving input from said user to select a displayed term and constructing a context box for each occurrence of said selected term, said context box comprising a user-selected amount of said digital information occurring before and/or after the occurrence of said term and displaying said constructed context boxes to said user;
(v) receiving input from said user to select one of said constructed context boxes and displaying said portion of said digital information containing said referenced location of said occurrence of said term to said user.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of applying a filter to said constructed index to remove terms which are not of interest therefrom.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
(a) a user identifying an occurrence of a term which is of interest;
(b) said user selecting a portion of said digital information adjacent said occurrence of said term and creating a database entry including said selected portion of digital information.
(a) a user identifying an occurrence of a term which is of interest;
(b) said user selecting a portion of said digital information adjacent said occurrence of said term and creating a database entry including said selected portion of digital information.
4. A system for using and managing information represented in a digital format, comprising:
storage for maintaining information represented in digital form;
user input means;
user output means;
a computer connected to said storage, user input means and user output means, said computer operable to:
(a) load and display said information to a user with said user output means;
(b) construct an index of unique terms in said information, said index comprising a count of the occurrence of each term in the digital information and a reference to the location of each occurrence of each unique term in said digital information;
(c) display said index to said user;
(d) receive input from said user representing a selection of a term of interest;
(e) construct and display to said user a context bow for each occurrence of said selected term, each context box including a user-selected amount of said digital information from before and/or after said occurrence of said selected term in said information; and (f) receive input from said user representing the selection of a context box of interest and updating said display of said digital information to said user to display the location of the occurrence corresponding to said selected context box.
storage for maintaining information represented in digital form;
user input means;
user output means;
a computer connected to said storage, user input means and user output means, said computer operable to:
(a) load and display said information to a user with said user output means;
(b) construct an index of unique terms in said information, said index comprising a count of the occurrence of each term in the digital information and a reference to the location of each occurrence of each unique term in said digital information;
(c) display said index to said user;
(d) receive input from said user representing a selection of a term of interest;
(e) construct and display to said user a context bow for each occurrence of said selected term, each context box including a user-selected amount of said digital information from before and/or after said occurrence of said selected term in said information; and (f) receive input from said user representing the selection of a context box of interest and updating said display of said digital information to said user to display the location of the occurrence corresponding to said selected context box.
5. A system according to claim 4 wherein said computer is further operable to apply a filter to said constructed index, said filter removing terms which are not of interest to said user.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US09/482,908 US6845369B1 (en) | 2000-01-14 | 2000-01-14 | System, apparatus and method for using and managing digital information |
US09/482,908 | 2000-01-14 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
CA2331097A1 true CA2331097A1 (en) | 2001-07-14 |
Family
ID=23917896
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
CA002331097A Abandoned CA2331097A1 (en) | 2000-01-14 | 2001-01-15 | System, apparatus and method for using and managing digital information |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (3) | US6845369B1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2331097A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (40)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP4630480B2 (en) * | 2001-03-19 | 2011-02-09 | 株式会社東芝 | Summary extraction program, document analysis support program, summary extraction method, document analysis support method, document analysis support system |
US7103848B2 (en) * | 2001-09-13 | 2006-09-05 | International Business Machines Corporation | Handheld electronic book reader with annotation and usage tracking capabilities |
US9489853B2 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2016-11-08 | Kenneth Nathaniel Sherman | Reading and information enhancement system and method |
US9547994B2 (en) * | 2003-10-01 | 2017-01-17 | Kenneth Nathaniel Sherman | Progressive reference system, method and apparatus |
US20060161856A1 (en) * | 2005-01-20 | 2006-07-20 | International Business Machines Corporation | Data collection tool for a computer |
US8117196B2 (en) * | 2006-01-23 | 2012-02-14 | Chacha Search, Inc. | Search tool providing optional use of human search guides |
US8266130B2 (en) | 2006-01-23 | 2012-09-11 | Chacha Search, Inc. | Search tool providing optional use of human search guides |
US7962466B2 (en) * | 2006-01-23 | 2011-06-14 | Chacha Search, Inc | Automated tool for human assisted mining and capturing of precise results |
US7792967B2 (en) * | 2006-07-14 | 2010-09-07 | Chacha Search, Inc. | Method and system for sharing and accessing resources |
US20080107039A1 (en) * | 2006-11-02 | 2008-05-08 | Marios Hadjieleftheriou | Method and Apparatus for Estimating Dominance Norms of a Plurality of Signals |
US20090138466A1 (en) * | 2007-08-17 | 2009-05-28 | Accupatent, Inc. | System and Method for Search |
US20090228777A1 (en) * | 2007-08-17 | 2009-09-10 | Accupatent, Inc. | System and Method for Search |
US20090138296A1 (en) * | 2007-11-27 | 2009-05-28 | Ebay Inc. | Context-based realtime advertising |
US8577894B2 (en) | 2008-01-25 | 2013-11-05 | Chacha Search, Inc | Method and system for access to restricted resources |
US9836448B2 (en) * | 2009-04-30 | 2017-12-05 | Conversant Wireless Licensing S.A R.L. | Text editing |
WO2010141598A2 (en) * | 2009-06-02 | 2010-12-09 | Index Logic, Llc | Systematic presentation of the contents of one or more documents |
US20110060788A1 (en) * | 2009-09-04 | 2011-03-10 | ExactFactor, Ltd. | System and method for automatically providing metadata elements on a web page or web site |
CN101859293B (en) * | 2010-03-05 | 2013-08-28 | 鸿富锦精密工业(深圳)有限公司 | Electronic reader and edition document storage method |
KR20120021061A (en) * | 2010-08-31 | 2012-03-08 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Method for providing search service to extract keywords in specific region and display apparatus applying the same |
US8892635B2 (en) | 2011-01-06 | 2014-11-18 | Oracle International Corporation | Techniques for detecting inactive browser windows |
US9223769B2 (en) | 2011-09-21 | 2015-12-29 | Roman Tsibulevskiy | Data processing systems, devices, and methods for content analysis |
US9250872B2 (en) * | 2011-10-19 | 2016-02-02 | Oracle International Corporation | Task flow interface in a popup region |
US20140074648A1 (en) * | 2012-09-11 | 2014-03-13 | Google Inc. | Portion recommendation for electronic books |
US10162893B2 (en) * | 2013-02-20 | 2018-12-25 | The Marlin Company | Configurable electronic media distribution system |
US9229674B2 (en) | 2014-01-31 | 2016-01-05 | Ebay Inc. | 3D printing: marketplace with federated access to printers |
US10691299B2 (en) | 2014-09-25 | 2020-06-23 | Oracle International Corporation | Display of hierarchical datasets using high-water mark scrolling |
US9595037B2 (en) | 2014-12-16 | 2017-03-14 | Ebay Inc. | Digital rights and integrity management in three-dimensional (3D) printing |
US11762989B2 (en) | 2015-06-05 | 2023-09-19 | Bottomline Technologies Inc. | Securing electronic data by automatically destroying misdirected transmissions |
US9940320B2 (en) * | 2015-12-01 | 2018-04-10 | International Business Machines Corporation | Plugin tool for collecting user generated document segmentation feedback |
US20170163664A1 (en) | 2015-12-04 | 2017-06-08 | Bottomline Technologies (De) Inc. | Method to secure protected content on a mobile device |
US10032208B2 (en) * | 2015-12-15 | 2018-07-24 | International Business Machines Corporation | Identifying recommended electronic books with detailed comparisons |
US10235356B2 (en) * | 2016-06-03 | 2019-03-19 | Bottomline Technologies (De), Inc. | Dual authentication method for identifying non-exactly matching text |
US11163955B2 (en) | 2016-06-03 | 2021-11-02 | Bottomline Technologies, Inc. | Identifying non-exactly matching text |
US11416713B1 (en) | 2019-03-18 | 2022-08-16 | Bottomline Technologies, Inc. | Distributed predictive analytics data set |
US11042555B1 (en) | 2019-06-28 | 2021-06-22 | Bottomline Technologies, Inc. | Two step algorithm for non-exact matching of large datasets |
US11269841B1 (en) | 2019-10-17 | 2022-03-08 | Bottomline Technologies, Inc. | Method and apparatus for non-exact matching of addresses |
US11763278B2 (en) | 2020-03-13 | 2023-09-19 | Bottomline Technologies, Inc. | Deposit token service system, apparatus and method |
US11449870B2 (en) | 2020-08-05 | 2022-09-20 | Bottomline Technologies Ltd. | Fraud detection rule optimization |
US11544798B1 (en) | 2021-08-27 | 2023-01-03 | Bottomline Technologies, Inc. | Interactive animated user interface of a step-wise visual path of circles across a line for invoice management |
US11694276B1 (en) | 2021-08-27 | 2023-07-04 | Bottomline Technologies, Inc. | Process for automatically matching datasets |
Family Cites Families (39)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5758148A (en) * | 1989-03-10 | 1998-05-26 | Board Of Regents, The University Of Texas System | System and method for searching a data base using a content-searchable memory |
CA2048039A1 (en) * | 1991-07-19 | 1993-01-20 | Steven Derose | Data processing system and method for generating a representation for and random access rendering of electronic documents |
US5469540A (en) * | 1993-01-27 | 1995-11-21 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Method and apparatus for generating and displaying multiple simultaneously-active windows |
US5696963A (en) * | 1993-11-19 | 1997-12-09 | Waverley Holdings, Inc. | System, method and computer program product for searching through an individual document and a group of documents |
US5692176A (en) * | 1993-11-22 | 1997-11-25 | Reed Elsevier Inc. | Associative text search and retrieval system |
US5675819A (en) * | 1994-06-16 | 1997-10-07 | Xerox Corporation | Document information retrieval using global word co-occurrence patterns |
JP2809341B2 (en) * | 1994-11-18 | 1998-10-08 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Information summarizing method, information summarizing device, weighting method, and teletext receiving device. |
US5634121A (en) * | 1995-05-30 | 1997-05-27 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | System for identifying and linking domain information using a parsing process to identify keywords and phrases |
US5680511A (en) * | 1995-06-07 | 1997-10-21 | Dragon Systems, Inc. | Systems and methods for word recognition |
JPH09128396A (en) * | 1995-11-06 | 1997-05-16 | Hitachi Ltd | Preparation method for bilingual dictionary |
US5754840A (en) * | 1996-01-23 | 1998-05-19 | Smartpatents, Inc. | System, method, and computer program product for developing and maintaining documents which includes analyzing a patent application with regards to the specification and claims |
JP2840589B2 (en) * | 1996-02-09 | 1998-12-24 | 富士通株式会社 | Data compression device and data decompression device |
US5873107A (en) * | 1996-03-29 | 1999-02-16 | Apple Computer, Inc. | System for automatically retrieving information relevant to text being authored |
US5913215A (en) * | 1996-04-09 | 1999-06-15 | Seymour I. Rubinstein | Browse by prompted keyword phrases with an improved method for obtaining an initial document set |
CA2184518A1 (en) * | 1996-08-30 | 1998-03-01 | Jim Reed | Real time structured summary search engine |
US6038561A (en) * | 1996-10-15 | 2000-03-14 | Manning & Napier Information Services | Management and analysis of document information text |
JP3427692B2 (en) * | 1996-11-20 | 2003-07-22 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Character recognition method and character recognition device |
JP3607462B2 (en) * | 1997-07-02 | 2005-01-05 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Related keyword automatic extraction device and document search system using the same |
US6112212A (en) * | 1997-09-15 | 2000-08-29 | The Pangea Project Llc | Systems and methods for organizing and analyzing information stored on a computer network |
US6236768B1 (en) * | 1997-10-14 | 2001-05-22 | Massachusetts Institute Of Technology | Method and apparatus for automated, context-dependent retrieval of information |
JP3531468B2 (en) * | 1998-03-30 | 2004-05-31 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Document processing apparatus and method |
GB2336698A (en) * | 1998-04-24 | 1999-10-27 | Dialog Corp Plc The | Automatic content categorisation of text data files using subdivision to reduce false classification |
JP3622503B2 (en) * | 1998-05-29 | 2005-02-23 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Feature character string extraction method and apparatus, similar document search method and apparatus using the same, storage medium storing feature character string extraction program, and storage medium storing similar document search program |
US6115709A (en) * | 1998-09-18 | 2000-09-05 | Tacit Knowledge Systems, Inc. | Method and system for constructing a knowledge profile of a user having unrestricted and restricted access portions according to respective levels of confidence of content of the portions |
US6377949B1 (en) * | 1998-09-18 | 2002-04-23 | Tacit Knowledge Systems, Inc. | Method and apparatus for assigning a confidence level to a term within a user knowledge profile |
US6253202B1 (en) * | 1998-09-18 | 2001-06-26 | Tacit Knowledge Systems, Inc. | Method, system and apparatus for authorizing access by a first user to a knowledge profile of a second user responsive to an access request from the first user |
US6154783A (en) * | 1998-09-18 | 2000-11-28 | Tacit Knowledge Systems | Method and apparatus for addressing an electronic document for transmission over a network |
US6104990A (en) * | 1998-09-28 | 2000-08-15 | Prompt Software, Inc. | Language independent phrase extraction |
US6473753B1 (en) * | 1998-10-09 | 2002-10-29 | Microsoft Corporation | Method and system for calculating term-document importance |
US7062707B1 (en) * | 1998-12-08 | 2006-06-13 | Inceptor, Inc. | System and method of providing multiple items of index information for a single data object |
US6834276B1 (en) * | 1999-02-25 | 2004-12-21 | Integrated Data Control, Inc. | Database system and method for data acquisition and perusal |
US6510406B1 (en) * | 1999-03-23 | 2003-01-21 | Mathsoft, Inc. | Inverse inference engine for high performance web search |
US6862710B1 (en) * | 1999-03-23 | 2005-03-01 | Insightful Corporation | Internet navigation using soft hyperlinks |
AU4328000A (en) * | 1999-03-31 | 2000-10-16 | Verizon Laboratories Inc. | Techniques for performing a data query in a computer system |
US6493711B1 (en) * | 1999-05-05 | 2002-12-10 | H5 Technologies, Inc. | Wide-spectrum information search engine |
US6907562B1 (en) * | 1999-07-26 | 2005-06-14 | Xerox Corporation | Hypertext concordance |
US6434547B1 (en) * | 1999-10-28 | 2002-08-13 | Qenm.Com | Data capture and verification system |
AU7339700A (en) * | 1999-11-16 | 2001-05-30 | Searchcraft Corporation | Method for searching from a plurality of data sources |
US6567103B1 (en) * | 2000-08-02 | 2003-05-20 | Verity, Inc. | Graphical search results system and method |
-
2000
- 2000-01-14 US US09/482,908 patent/US6845369B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
2001
- 2001-01-15 CA CA002331097A patent/CA2331097A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2004
- 2004-11-19 US US10/992,292 patent/US7340456B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
2008
- 2008-03-03 US US12/073,247 patent/US7734634B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US20080215515A1 (en) | 2008-09-04 |
US7734634B2 (en) | 2010-06-08 |
US20050187949A1 (en) | 2005-08-25 |
US6845369B1 (en) | 2005-01-18 |
US7340456B2 (en) | 2008-03-04 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US6845369B1 (en) | System, apparatus and method for using and managing digital information | |
US20230297602A1 (en) | Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for semantically enriching content and for semantic navigation | |
US6256631B1 (en) | Automatic creation of hyperlinks | |
US7882450B2 (en) | Interactive document summarization | |
JP6116247B2 (en) | System and method for searching for documents with block division, identification, indexing of visual elements | |
US7890533B2 (en) | Method and system for information extraction and modeling | |
US6826576B2 (en) | Very-large-scale automatic categorizer for web content | |
US20080319955A1 (en) | Web browser page rating system | |
JP3577819B2 (en) | Information search apparatus and information search method | |
US8565526B2 (en) | Method and system for converting image text documents in bit-mapped formats to searchable text and for searching the searchable text | |
US20010020238A1 (en) | Document searching apparatus, method thereof, and record medium thereof | |
US20020083045A1 (en) | Information retrieval processing apparatus and method, and recording medium recording information retrieval processing program | |
US20070136348A1 (en) | Screen-wise presentation of search results | |
JP2009288870A (en) | Document importance calculation system, and document importance calculation method and program | |
JP3711710B2 (en) | Information search and collection system and storage medium storing information search and collection program | |
EP0679999B1 (en) | A method and apparatus for storage and retrieval of data | |
US20080228725A1 (en) | Problem/function-oriented searching method for a patent database system | |
Jones | Dynamic query result previews for a digital library | |
Bradley | TACT design | |
Paynter et al. | A combined phrase and thesaurus browser for large document collections | |
Fass et al. | PicturePiper: Using a re-configurable pipeline to find images on the Web | |
JP2000099543A (en) | Information retrieval device | |
Steele | " The Whole Wealth of thy Wit in an Instant": TACT and the Explicit Structures of Shakespeare's Plays | |
Card et al. | The Development of Software to Facilitate Use of Archived Data Sets | |
Saxton | ProCite 5.0 |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
EEER | Examination request | ||
FZDE | Discontinued |