US2012072818A1PendingUtilityA1

Method and apparatus for electronic literary macrame component referencing

46
Individually held — no corporate assignee on recordPriority: Jul 25, 2006Filed: Nov 30, 2011Published: Mar 22, 2012
Est. expiryJul 25, 2026(~0 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:Dana W. Paxson
G06F 40/131
46
PatentIndex Score
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Cited by
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Claims

Abstract

An expansion of the construction and organization of the electronic literary macramé (ELM), the knowledge transfer tool (KTT), or any document of similar type to enrich the connections and associations for their readers, providing for manual author- or editor-defined links and directives for hypertext handling and navigation, easy-to-use indexing capabilities, structuring and presentation of information in a visually-organized form such as a table, list, matrix, tree, pyramid, or other two-dimensional arrangement, with all features integrated into an unobtrusive, and enriched referencing mechanism to assist authors, editors and readers of an ELM, KTT, or other electronic document of similar type.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
What is claimed: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for enhancing a reader's use of references in an electronic document, comprising:
 a computer system, further comprising one or more processors, a user display interface component, one or more user input interface components, and one or more memory components for holding an operating system, one or more software applications, and one or more electronic documents each comprising a plurality of components;   a first software application for generating and installing one or more hypertext link anchors in one or more of said components of each said electronic document;   a second software application for generating and installing one or more hypertext links to said link anchors, in one or more of said components of each said electronic document;   a third software application for generating one or more lists of said hypertext links;   a fourth software application for defining, generating, and installing one or more indices in one or more components of an electronic document; and   a fifth software application for defining and installing hypertext links between said indices and one or more components of an electronic document.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein each said electronic document comprises an electronic literary macramé (ELM). 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein each said electronic document comprises a knowledge transfer tool (KTT). 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein each said electronic document further comprises:
 one or more narrative components;   one or more reference components;   one or more glossary components; and   one or more index components.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein each narrative component comprises:
 one or more scenes of a story;   one or more units of a lesson; and   one or more units of a presentation.   
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said third software application further comprises a software program for generating one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more components of an electronic document; 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the software program for generating one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more components of an electronic document further comprises:
 a software program for generating a list of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more threaded narrative components of an electronic document; and   a software program for installing said list of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more threaded narrative components of an electronic document in an introduction page of said electronic document.   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the software program for generating one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more components of an electronic document further comprises:
 a software program for generating a list of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more reference components of an electronic document; and   a software program for installing said list of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more reference components of an electronic document in a reference menu page of said electronic document.   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the software program for generating one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more components of an electronic document further comprises:
 a software program for generating one or more lists of hypertext links to all of the starting points for reading one or more traces through narrative components of an electronic document; and   a software program for installing said one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more traces through narrative components of an electronic document in a starting point map page of said electronic document.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the software program for generating one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more components of an electronic document further comprises:
 a software program for generating one or more lists of hypertext links to all of the starting points for reading one or more traces through narrative components of an electronic document; and   a software program for installing each item of said one or more lists of hypertext links to all of the starting points for reading one or more traces through narrative components into one or more glossary component entries of said electronic document, said glossary entries corresponding to said traces through narrative components.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the software program for generating one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more components of an electronic document further comprises:
 a software program for generating a list of hypertext links to every narrative component of an electronic document, said list further comprising a table of contents for said electronic document; and   a software program for installing said list of hypertext links to every narrative component of an electronic document in an table of contents page of said electronic document.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said second software application further comprises:
 a software program for generating a list of hypertext link anchors to one or more named parts of one or more reference components of an electronic document;   a software program for installing said list of hypertext link anchors to one or more named parts of one or more reference components of an electronic document in said reference component;   a software program for identifying each glossary term in one or more glossary components of said electronic document which matches the name of said named parts of said one or more reference components of said electronic document; and   a software program for installing a hypertext link to each of said hypertext anchors in said one or more parts of one or more reference components of an electronic document in text of said glossary term which matches said name.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising a software program for using tabular data to generate one or more glossary terms in one or more glossary components of an electronic document. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a software program for selecting one of two hypertext links from the display of a single hypertext link. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14  wherein the software program for selecting one of two hypertext links from the display of a single hypertext link further comprises:
 a software program for selecting a first hypertext link from the display of said single hypertext link based on a first selection event; and 
 a software program for selecting a second hypertext link from the display of said single hypertext link based on a second selection event. 
 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said fourth software application further comprises:
 a software program for locating the first occurrence of each glossary term in each narrative component of said electronic document;   a software program for creating an index list entry for each said first occurrence of each glossary term in each narrative component of said electronic document; and   a software program for creating an index entry containing a hypertext link for each said index list entry, said hypertext link pointing to said first occurrence of a glossary term in said narrative component of said electronic document.   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said fourth software application further comprises:
 a software program for locating the first occurrence of each glossary term in each paragraph of each narrative component of said electronic document;   a software program for generating and installing a hypertext link anchor in said paragraph of said each narrative component of an electronic document;   a software program for creating an index list entry for each said first occurrence of each glossary term in each paragraph of each narrative component of said electronic document; and   a software program for creating an index entry containing a hypertext link for each said index list entry, said hypertext link pointing to said hypertext link anchor in said first occurrence of said glossary term in said each paragraph of said each narrative component of said electronic document.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said fifth software application further comprises:
 a software program for installing a glossary term hypertext anchor in each glossary entry for a term in each glossary in said electronic document.   a software program for installing an index term hypertext anchor in each index entry for a term in each index in said electronic document.   a software program for installing a hypertext link in each index entry in each said index in said electronic document for a term pointing to said glossary term hypertext anchor corresponding to said index term; and   a software program for installing a hypertext link in each glossary entry for a term in each said glossary in said electronic document pointing to said index term hypertext anchor corresponding to said glossary term.   
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a sixth software application for defining and installing one or more symbolic directives in one or more components of said one or more electronic documents;   a seventh software application for interpreting said one or more symbolic directives in one or more components of said one or more electronic documents; and   an eighth software application for defining and installing one or more readable tables in one or more components of said one or more electronic documents.   
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19  wherein said sixth software application further comprises:
 a software program for defining and installing one or more symbolic link anchors in one or more components of an electronic document; 
 a software program for defining and installing one or more symbolic links in one or more components of an electronic document; and 
 a software program for defining and installing one or more symbolic file inclusion directives in one or more components of an electronic document. 
 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 20  wherein the software program for defining and installing one or more symbolic link anchors in one or more components of an electronic document further comprises:
 a software program for validating a user-supplied symbolic link anchor definition; 
 a software program for inserting said symbolic link anchor definition at a user-specified location in a component of an electronic document; and 
 a software program for adding said symbolic link anchor definition to a list of all symbolic link anchor definitions for said electronic document. 
 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 20  wherein the software program for defining and installing one or more symbolic links in one or more components of an electronic document further comprises:
 a software program for validating a user-supplied symbolic link definition; 
 a software program for inserting said symbolic link definition at a user-specified location in a component of an electronic document; and 
 a software program for adding said symbolic link definition to a list of all symbolic link definitions for said electronic document. 
 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 20  wherein the software program for defining and installing one or more symbolic file inclusion directives in one or more components of an electronic document further comprises:
 a software program for validating a user-supplied symbolic file inclusion definition; 
 a software program for inserting said symbolic file inclusion definition at a user-specified location in a component of an electronic document; and 
 a software program for adding said symbolic file inclusion definition to a list of all symbolic link definitions for said electronic document. 
 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 19  wherein said seventh software application further comprises:
 a software program for converting each symbolic link anchor definition in an electronic document to a corresponding hypertext link anchor; 
 a software program for converting each symbolic link definition in an electronic document to a corresponding hypertext link; 
 a software program for replacing each symbolic file inclusion definition in an electronic document with the contents of the file identified in the file inclusion definition; 
 a software program for using symbolic file inclusion directives in one or more components of an electronic document to install one or more lists of hypertext links in said one or more components of said electronic document; and 
 a software program for using symbolic file inclusion directives in one or more components of an electronic document to install one or more readable tables in said one or more components of said electronic document. 
 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 19  wherein said eighth software application further comprises:
 a software program for constructing a readable data table of an electronic document from a user's tabulation definition inputs; 
 a software program for constructing a textual entry from each datum of said readable data table; and 
 a software program for creating a glossary component of an electronic document from all said textual entries from all data of all said readable data tables. 
 
     
     
         26 . A method for enhancing a reader's use of references in an electronic document, comprising:
 generating one or more lists of hypertext links to one or more components of an electronic document;   generating and installing one or more hypertext links in one or more components of an electronic document;   generating and installing one or more hypertext link anchors in one or more components of an electronic document;   defining, generating, and installing one or more indices in an electronic document; and   defining and installing links between the one or more indices in an electronic document and one or more other components of the electronic document.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the step of generating one or more lists of hypertext links to one or more components of an electronic document further comprises the step of generating one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more components of an electronic document; 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the step of generating one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more components of an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 generating a list of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more threaded narrative components of an electronic document; and   installing said list of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more threaded narrative components of an electronic document in an introduction page of said electronic document.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the step of generating one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more components of an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 generating a list of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more reference components of an electronic document; and   installing said list of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more reference components of an electronic document in a reference menu page of said electronic document.   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the step of generating one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more components of an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 generating one or more lists of hypertext links to all of the starting points for reading one or more traces through narrative components of an electronic document; and   installing said one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more traces through narrative components of an electronic document in a starting point map page of said electronic document.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the step of generating one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more components of an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 generating one or more lists of hypertext links to all of the starting points for reading one or more traces through narrative components of an electronic document; and   installing each item of said one or more lists of hypertext links to all of the starting points for reading one or more traces through narrative components into one or more glossary component entries of said electronic document, said glossary entries corresponding to said traces through narrative components.   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the step of generating one or more lists of hypertext links to the starting points for reading one or more components of an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 generating a list of hypertext links to every narrative component of an electronic document, said list further comprising a table of contents for said electronic document; and   installing said list of hypertext links to every narrative component of an electronic document in an table of contents page of said electronic document.   
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the step of generating and installing one or more hypertext links in one or more components of an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 generating a list of hypertext link anchors to one or more named parts of one or more reference components of an electronic document;   installing said list of hypertext link anchors to one or more named parts of one or more reference components of an electronic document in said reference component;   identifying each glossary term in one or more glossary components of said electronic document which matches the name of said named parts of said one or more reference components of said electronic document; and   installing a hypertext link to each of said hypertext anchors in said one or more parts of one or more reference components of an electronic document in text of said glossary term which matches said name.   
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising the step of using tabular data to generate one or more glossary terms in one or more glossary components of an electronic document. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 26 , further comprising the step of selecting one of two hypertext links from the display of a single hypertext link. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35  wherein the step of selecting one of two hypertext links from the display of a single hypertext link further comprises the steps of:
 selecting a first hypertext link from the display of said single hypertext link based on a first selection event; and 
 selecting a second hypertext link from the display of said single hypertext link based on a second selection event. 
 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the step of defining, generating, and installing one or more indices in an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 locating the first occurrence of each glossary term in each narrative component of said electronic document;   creating an index list entry for each said first occurrence of each glossary term in each narrative component of said electronic document; and   creating an index entry containing a hypertext link for each said index list entry, said hypertext link pointing to said first occurrence of a glossary term in said narrative component of said electronic document.   
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the step of defining, generating, and installing one or more indices in an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 locating the first occurrence of each glossary term in each paragraph of each narrative component of said electronic document;   generating and installing a hypertext link anchor in said paragraph of said each narrative component of an electronic document;   creating an index list entry for each said first occurrence of each glossary term in each paragraph of each narrative component of said electronic document; and   creating an index entry containing a hypertext link for each said index list entry, said hypertext link pointing to said hypertext link anchor in said first occurrence of said glossary term in said each paragraph of said each narrative component of said electronic document.   
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the step of defining, generating, and installing one or more indices in an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 installing a hypertext link in each index entry in each said index for a term pointing to the glossary entry for said term in said electronic document; and   installing a hypertext link in each glossary entry for a term in each glossary in said electronic document pointing to the index entry for said term in said electronic document.   
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 26  further comprising the steps of:
 defining and installing one or more symbolic directives in one or more components of an electronic document; and 
 interpreting said one or more symbolic directives in one or more components of said electronic document. 
 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40  wherein the step of defining and installing one or more symbolic directives in one or more components of an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 defining and installing one or more symbolic link anchors in one or more components of an electronic document; 
 defining and installing one or more symbolic links in one or more components of an electronic document; and 
 defining and installing one or more symbolic file inclusion directives in one or more components of an electronic document. 
 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41  wherein the step of defining and installing one or more symbolic link anchors in one or more components of an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 validating a user-supplied symbolic link anchor definition; 
 inserting said symbolic link anchor definition at a user-specified location in a component of an electronic document; and 
 adding said symbolic link anchor definition to a list of all symbolic link anchor definitions for said electronic document. 
 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 41  wherein the step of defining and installing one or more symbolic links in one or more components of an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 validating a user-supplied symbolic link definition; 
 inserting said symbolic link definition at a user-specified location in a component of an electronic document; and 
 adding said symbolic link definition to a list of all symbolic link definitions for said electronic document. 
 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 41  wherein the step of defining and installing one or more symbolic file inclusion directives in one or more components of an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 validating a user-supplied symbolic file inclusion definition; 
 inserting said symbolic file inclusion definition at a user-specified location in a component of an electronic document; and 
 adding said symbolic file inclusion definition to a list of all symbolic link definitions for said electronic document. 
 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 26  wherein the step of interpreting said one or more symbolic directives in one or more components of said electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 converting each symbolic link anchor definition in an electronic document to a corresponding hypertext link anchor; 
 converting each symbolic link definition in an electronic document to a corresponding hypertext link; 
 replacing each symbolic file inclusion definition in an electronic document with the contents of the file identified in the file inclusion definition; 
 using symbolic file inclusion directives in one or more components of an electronic document to install one or more lists of hypertext links in said one or more components of said electronic document; and 
 using symbolic file inclusion directives in one or more components of an electronic document to install one or more readable tables in said one or more components of said electronic document. 
 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 26  further comprising the step of defining and installing one or more readable tables in one or more components of an electronic document. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 46  wherein the step of defining and installing one or more readable tables in one or more components of an electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 constructing a readable data table of an electronic document from a user's tabulation definition inputs; 
 constructing a textual entry from each datum of said readable data table; and 
 creating a glossary component of an electronic document from all said textual entries from all data of all said readable data tables. 
 
     
     
         48 . A method for inserting hypertext anchors, links, and other directives in an electronic document, comprising the steps of:
 establishing an anchor list for storing names and locations of symbolic anchors for the electronic document;   establishing a link list for storing names and locations of symbolic links and the associated anchors for the electronic document;   prompting a user editing an electronic document text for the name of a symbolic anchor;   comparing the user's response to the entries in the anchor list to insure that the anchor name entered by the user is distinct from all anchor names in the anchor list;   storing the symbolic anchor in the electronic document text at a point determined by the user;   adding the symbolic anchor's name and location to the anchor list;   prompting a user editing an electronic document text for the name of a symbolic link and its associated anchor;   comparing the user's response to the entries in the link list to insure that the link name entered by the user is distinct from all link names in the link list;   storing the symbolic link in the electronic document text at a point determined by the user;   adding the symbolic link's name, location, and the name of the associated anchor and the anchor's location to the link list;   converting the symbolic links in the electronic document text to hypertext links distinguishable from other types of hypertext links in the electronic document;   converting the symbolic anchors in the electronic document text to hypertext anchors distinguishable from other types of hypertext anchors in the electronic document;   prompting a user editing an electronic document text for the name of a file to be included in the electronic document text;   storing a directive to include the named file in the electronic document text at a point determined by the user;   producing from the anchor list a report showing the complete list of user-created symbolic anchors and their locations; and   producing from the link list a report showing the complete list of user-created symbolic links, their locations, their associated symbolic anchors, and the locations of the associated symbolic anchors.   
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 48  wherein the step of storing the symbolic anchor in the electronic document text at a point determined by the user further comprises the steps of:
 inserting an identifier for the symbolic anchor; 
 inserting the symbolic anchor name in the symbolic anchor; 
 placing a distinctive left delimiter to the left of the symbolic anchor; 
 placing a distinctive right delimiter to the right of the symbolic anchor; and 
 inserting the left delimiter, the symbolic anchor, and the right delimiter in the electronic document text at the current cursor location. 
 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 48  wherein the step of storing the symbolic link in the electronic document text at a point determined by the user further comprises the steps of:
 inserting an identifier for the symbolic link; 
 inserting the symbolic link name in the symbolic link; 
 inserting the associated symbolic anchor name in the symbolic link; 
 inserting the associated symbolic anchor name location in the symbolic link; 
 placing a distinctive left delimiter to the left of the symbolic link; 
 placing a distinctive right delimiter to the right of the symbolic link; and 
 inserting the left delimiter, the symbolic link, and the right delimiter in the electronic document text at the current cursor location. 
 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 48  wherein the step of converting the symbolic anchors in the electronic document text to hypertext anchors distinguishable from other types of hypertext anchors in the electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 extracting the symbolic anchor name from the symbolic anchor; 
 converting the symbolic anchor name to a hypertext anchor name unique within the compiled electronic document; 
 placing the hypertext anchor name in a conventional hypertext anchor; 
 adding hypertext identifying features to the hypertext anchor; and 
 replacing the symbolic anchor in the electronic document text with the hypertext anchor. 
 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 48  wherein the step of converting the symbolic links in the electronic document text to hypertext links distinguishable from other types of hypertext links in the electronic document further comprises the steps of:
 extracting the symbolic link name from the symbolic link; 
 converting the symbolic link name to a hypertext link name; 
 placing the hypertext link name in a conventional hypertext link for display; 
 extracting the symbolic anchor name from the symbolic link; 
 converting the symbolic anchor name to a hypertext anchor name; 
 placing the hypertext anchor name in a conventional hypertext link for use in linking to the named hypertext anchor; 
 extracting the symbolic anchor location from the symbolic link; 
 converting the symbolic anchor location to a hypertext anchor location; 
 placing the hypertext anchor location in said conventional hypertext link for use in linking to the named hypertext anchor; 
 adding hypertext identifying features to the hypertext link; and 
 replacing the symbolic link in the electronic document text with the hypertext link. 
 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 48  comprising the additional step of producing an augmented electronic document.

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