Mechanism for integrated information search and retrieval from diverse sources using multiple navigation methods

• US 6,012,055 A
• Filed: 04/09/1996
• Issued: 01/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Silicon Graphics Incorporated (Graphics Properties Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jaramillo, Narciso B., Shields, Michael L., Weber, Kate E., Hoyt, Sharon L., Boudreau, Dana L., Campbell, Ellen C.
• Primary Examiner(s): AMSBURY, WAYNE P
• Application Number:
  US08/629,997
• Time in Patent Office: 1,365 Days
• Field of Search: 395/603, 395/610, 345/338, 707/5, 707/10, 707/3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3328 using graphical result space presentation or visualisation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

A software tool providing a single access mechanism for diverse and varied information spaces. The invention incorporates a plurality of navigator interfaces, including: a "How do I?" navigator, an Index navigator, a Tree navigator, and a Search Term navigator. Each navigator operates across the entire information space, allowing the user to find information in any available online source. The user can switch between the various navigators at will. The present invention presents search results to the user in a uniform manner through iconographic and textual descriptions of the information at the other end of the link. The user then selects the information to view. After the user has performed a search of the information space and viewed the description of the search results, the invention also allows the user to perform a "cross reference" operation, the results of which can be viewed using the same or different navigator. Certain embodiments echo the search results from a particular navigator in minimized display areas corresponding to the other navigators.

Claims

1. A method of searching an information space, comprising the steps, performed by a data processing system, of:

displaying an initial window, wherein one navigator of a plurality of navigators, designated as a first current navigator, is displayed in a current navigator area;

displaying, in the initial window, respective navigator areas representing others of the plurality of navigators;

inputting an indication that the user wishes to use a particular one of the other navigators as a new current navigator; and

displaying, in the current navigator area of the initial window, the particular navigator indicated by the user in the current navigator window, in place of the current navigator.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein the step of displaying respective navigator areas includes the step of displaying minimized navigator areas including portions of the other navigators;

and

further including the step of switching the first current navigator and the new current navigator between the minimized navigator area and the current navigator area.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein the step of displaying respective navigator areas include the step of displaying tabs representing the other navigators;

and

further including the step of displaying a tab for the new current navigator "on top" of the tabs after the user has indicated a new current navigator.

4. The method of claim 1, further including performing a search on the information space using a search parameter input via the first current navigator.

5. The method of claim 1, further including performing a search on the information space using a search parameter input via the particular navigator indicated by the user.

6. The method of claim 1, further including performing a search on the information space using a search parameter input via a navigator in the current navigator window.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information space includes a plurality of types of information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the information space includes at least two of:

manuals, unix manpages, World Wide Web documents, and TaskCards.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the information space includes at least one of TaskCards, Task Pros, Online Release Notes, and software applications.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of navigators include at least two of a "How do I?" navigator, an Index navigator, a Tree Navigator, and a Search Term navigator.

11. The method of claim 1,

wherein the information space includes a plurality of information types, and further including the steps of:

performing a search of the information space using the first current navigator, to yield search results; and

echoing the search results in a one of the navigator areas, representing another of the plurality of navigators.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the echoing step is performed automatically after the searching step.

13. The method of claim 1,

performing a search of the information space using the first current navigator, to yield search results;

inputting an indication from the user that the user wishes to cross-reference the search results;

hashing into a database of the information space, in accordance with the search results, to yield database keys of the search results; and

highlighting elements of a displayed navigator that correspond to the database keys.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the highlighting step includes the substep of highlighting elements of the first current navigator that correspond to the database keys.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the highlighting step includes the substeps of:

displaying another of the plurality of navigators in place of the first current navigator, designated as a new current navigator; and

highlighting elements of the new current navigator that correspond to the database keys.

16. A method of searching an information space including a plurality of types of information, comprising the steps, performed by a data processing system, of:

displaying an initial window, wherein one navigator of a plurality of navigators, designated as a current navigator, is displayed in a current navigator window;

inputting a search term via the current navigator; and

performing a search of at least two types of information in the information space in accordance with the search parameter, wherein a respective search engine is used to search each respective information type.

17. The method of claim 16, further including the step of performing a search of at least two types of information in the information space using another of the plurality of navigators.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the information space includes at least two of:

manuals, unix manpages, and World Wide Web documents, and TaskCards.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the information space includes at least one of Taskcards, Task Pros, Online Release Notes, and software applications.

20. An apparatus for searching an information space having a plurality of information types therein, comprising:

a database including respective entries for each piece of information in the information space, where a database entry includes a database key and a pointer to the location of the respective piece of information in the information space;

a navigator selector mechanism that allows a user to chose one of a plurality of navigators as a current navigator;

a search input mechanism that obtains a search parameter from the current navigator; and

a search mechanism that performs a search over at least two types of information in the information space in accordance with the search parameter.

21. A method of inputting a search parameter for an information space, comprising the steps, performed by a data processing system, of:

displaying a list of verbs;

displaying a list of nouns;

inputting an indication from a user that the user has selected a first word from a first one of the displayed lists, the other list being the second list;

altering the display of the second list to indicate which words of the second list correspond to the user-selected word;

inputting an indication from a user that the user has selected a second word from the second list, where the second user-selected word is a word that corresponds to the first user-selected word.

22. The method of claim 21, further including the step of:

using the first and second user-selected words as search parameters to search the information space.

23. The method of claim 22, further including the steps of:

indicating an error, after the altering step, when the user tries to select a word from the second list that does not correspond to the first user-selected word.