Providing enhanced functionality in an interactive electronic technical manual

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products for searching technical documentation for an item in an interactive electronic technical manual system (IETM) configured to provide electronic and credentialed access to the technical documentation for the item via an IETM viewer. In one embodiment, a method is provided comprising: providing a window for display via the IETM viewer; receiving a search term; and responsive to receiving the term: searching the documentation to identify first search results comprising components and topics having titles containing the term, searching the documentation to identify second search results comprising components and topics having textual content containing the term, searching the documentation to identify third search results comprising components and topics having part identifiers and part names containing the term, and providing the first, second, and third search results for display via first, second, and third view panes on the window.

1 . A method for programmatically searching technical documentation for an item in an interactive electronic technical manual system (IETM) configured to provide electronic and credentialed access to the technical documentation for the item via an IETM viewer, the method comprising:
 providing a search window for display via the IETM viewer executing on a user computing entity, the search window comprising a search field;   receiving a search term, wherein a user has input the search term in the search field via the IETM viewer; and   responsive to receiving the search term:
 programmatically searching the technical documentation to identify first search results comprising components and corresponding topics found in the technical documentation for the item having titles containing the search term, 
 providing the first search results for display via a first view pane of the search window according to a table of contents architecture configured for the technical documentation for the item, 
 programmatically searching the technical documentation to identify second search results comprising components and corresponding topics found in the technical documentation for the item having textual content containing the search term, 
 providing the second search results for display via a second view pane of the search window according to a plurality of data modules making up the technical documentation for the item, 
 programmatically searching the technical documentation to identify third search results comprising components and corresponding topics found in the technical documentation for the item having at least one of part identifiers and part names containing the search term, and 
 providing the third search results for display via a third view pane of the search window of the IETM viewer according to a plurality of parts found in the technical documentation for the item. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 receiving at least one alphanumeric, wherein the user has input the alphanumeric in the search field via the IETM viewer; 
 programmatically searching an index comprising a plurality of terms, wherein the plurality of terms is based at least in part on text found in content of the technical documentation for the item; 
 identifying a plurality of suggestions from the plurality of terms found in the index based at least in part on the at least one alphanumeric entered by the user; 
 ordering the plurality of suggestions based at least in part on one criterion; and 
 providing the highest ordered suggestion as a search suggestion for display via the search window, wherein the search suggestion is selectable by the user as the search term. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the criterion is at least one of ordering the plurality of suggestions by alphabetical order and ordering the plurality of suggestions based on frequency of use for programmatically searching. 
     
     
         4 . The of method of  claim 1 , wherein the search window comprises an applicability field and the components and corresponding topics found in at least one of the first search results, the second search results, and the third search results are based at least in part on an applicability corresponding to each of the corresponding topics matching a search applicability found in the applicability field. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the search window comprises a content type field and the components and corresponding topics found in at least one of the first search results, the second search results, and the third search results are based at least in part on a content type corresponding to each of the corresponding topics matching a search content type found in the content type field. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 causing the first view pane to be displayed hiding the second view pane and the third view pane on the search window based on receiving input of the user selecting a first selection mechanism displayed on the search window; 
 causing the second view pane to be displayed hiding the first view pane and the third view pane on the search window based on receiving input of the user selecting a second selection mechanism displayed on the search window; and 
 causing the third view pane to be displayed hiding the first view pane and the second view pane on the search window based on receiving input of the user selecting a third selection mechanism displayed on the search window. 
 
     
     
         7 . An apparatus for programmatically searching technical documentation for an item in an interactive electronic technical manual system (IETM) configured to provide electronic and credentialed access to the technical documentation for the item via an IETM viewer, the apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
 provide a search window for display via the IETM viewer executing on a user computing entity, the search window comprising a search field;   receive a search term, wherein a user has input the search term in the search field via the IETM viewer; and   responsive to receiving the search term:
 programmatically search the technical documentation to identify first search results comprising components and corresponding topics found in the technical documentation for the item having titles containing the search term, 
 provide the first search results for display via a first view pane of the search window according to a table of contents architecture configured for the technical documentation for the item, 
 programmatically search the technical documentation to identify second search results comprising components and corresponding topics found in the technical documentation for the item having textual content containing the search term, 
 provide the second search results for display via a second view pane of the search window according to a plurality of data modules making up the technical documentation for the item, 
 programmatically search the technical documentation to identify third search results comprising components and corresponding topics found in the technical documentation for the item having at least one of part identifiers and part names containing the search term, and 
 provide the third search results for display via a third view pane of the search window of the IETM viewer according to a plurality of parts found in the technical documentation for the item. 
   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
 receive at least one alphanumeric, wherein the user has input the alphanumeric in the search field via the IETM viewer;   programmatically search an index comprising a plurality of terms, wherein the plurality of terms is based at least in part on text found in content of the technical documentation for the item;   identify a plurality of suggestions from the plurality of terms found in the index based at least in part on the at least one alphanumeric entered by the user;   order the plurality of suggestions based at least in part on one criterion; and   provide the highest ordered suggestion as a search suggestion for display via the search window, wherein the search suggestion is selectable by the user as the search term.   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the criterion is at least one of ordering the plurality of suggestions by alphabetical order and ordering the plurality of suggestions based on frequency of use for programmatically searching. 
     
     
         10 . The of apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the search window comprises an applicability field and the components and corresponding topics found in at least one of the first search results, the second search results, and the third search results are based at least in part on an applicability corresponding to each of the corresponding topics matching a search applicability found in the applicability field. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the search window comprises a content type field and the components and corresponding topics found in at least one of the first search results, the second search results, and the third search results are based at least in part on a content type corresponding to each of the corresponding topics matching a search content type found in the content type field. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
 cause the first view pane to be displayed hiding the second view pane and the third view pane on the search window based on receiving input of the user selecting a first selection mechanism displayed on the search window;   cause the second view pane to be displayed hiding the first view pane and the third view pane on the search window based on receiving input of the user selecting a second selection mechanism displayed on the search window; and   cause the third view pane to be displayed hiding the first view pane and the second view pane on the search window based on receiving input of the user selecting a third selection mechanism displayed on the search window.   
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory computer storage medium comprising instructions for programmatically searching technical documentation for an item in an interactive electronic technical manual system (IETM) configured to provide electronic and credentialed access to the technical documentation for the item via an IETM viewer, the instructions being configured to cause one or more processors to at least perform operations configured to:
 provide a search window for display via the IETM viewer executing on a user computing entity, the search window comprising a search field;   receive a search term, wherein a user has input the search term in the search field via the IETM viewer; and   responsive to receiving the search term:
 programmatically search the technical documentation to identify first search results comprising components and corresponding topics found in the technical documentation for the item having titles containing the search term, 
 provide the first search results for display via a first view pane of the search window according to a table of contents architecture configured for the technical documentation for the item, 
 programmatically search the technical documentation to identify second search results comprising components and corresponding topics found in the technical documentation for the item having textual content containing the search term, 
 provide the second search results for display via a second view pane of the search window according to a plurality of data modules making up the technical documentation for the item, 
 programmatically search the technical documentation to identify third search results comprising components and corresponding topics found in the technical documentation for the item having at least one of part identifiers and part names containing the search term, and 
 provide the third search results for display via a third view pane of the search window of the IETM viewer according to a plurality of parts found in the technical documentation for the item. 
   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to at least perform operations configured to:
 receive at least one alphanumeric, wherein the user has input the alphanumeric in the search field via the IETM viewer;   programmatically search an index comprising a plurality of terms, wherein the plurality of terms is based at least in part on text found in content of the technical documentation for the item;   identify a plurality of suggestions from the plurality of terms found in the index based at least in part on the at least one alphanumeric entered by the user;   order the plurality of suggestions based at least in part on one criterion; and   provide the highest ordered suggestion as a search suggestion for display via the search window, wherein the search suggestion is selectable by the user as the search term.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the criterion is at least one of ordering the plurality of suggestions by alphabetical order and ordering the plurality of suggestions based on frequency of use for programmatically searching. 
     
     
         16 . The of non-transitory computer storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the search window comprises an applicability field and the components and corresponding topics found in at least one of the first search results, the second search results, and the third search results are based at least in part on an applicability corresponding to each of the corresponding topics matching a search applicability found in the applicability field. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the search window comprises a content type field and the components and corresponding topics found in at least one of the first search results, the second search results, and the third search results are based at least in part on a content type corresponding to each of the corresponding topics matching a search content type found in the content type field. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to at least perform operations configured to:
 cause the first view pane to be displayed hiding the second view pane and the third view pane on the search window based on receiving input of the user selecting a first selection mechanism displayed on the search window;   cause the second view pane to be displayed hiding the first view pane and the third view pane on the search window based on receiving input of the user selecting a second selection mechanism displayed on the search window; and   cause the third view pane to be displayed hiding the first view pane and the second view pane on the search window based on receiving input of the user selecting a third selection mechanism displayed on the search window.