SMS shorthand dictionary service

• US 7,366,500 B1
• Filed: 03/23/2004
• Issued: 04/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Malone, Diane, Yalovsky, David, Arayasantiparb, Athapan, Abbar, Mohamed Anas
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng; George
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUYNH, NAM TRUNG
• Application Number:
  US10/808,620
• Time in Patent Office: 1,498 Days
• Field of Search: 455/466, 455/414.1, 704/3, 704/2, 704/260, 704/8, 709/247, 340/7.31, 715531-534, 715/540, 707/10, 345/156, 345/160
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/242 Dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs

Abstract

The present invention provides a lookup service for shorthand terms directly from within an application. A lookup pane is provided to the user from which they can lookup a definition for the shorthand term. The lookup pane provides a consistent user interface for looking up shorthand terms from within a suite of applications. After entering a shorthand term, a dictionary of shorthand terms is accessed to determine the definition. If desired, the user can choose to insert the definition of the term directly into a document. The lookup service is provided directly to the user without the user having to open a web page and search for the term.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing a shorthand term dictionary service, comprising:

initiating a shorthand dictionary service from within a document creation application;

entering a shorthand term to be defined directly from within the document creation application;

wherein the document creation application includes a first window that includes a writing area and a second window that includes a search box and a list box that are displayed in response to the shorthand dictionary service being initiated and after the first window is displayed;

displaying a list of available dictionary services within the second window;

receiving a selection from the displayed list of available dictionary services that indicates a dictionary service to search for the shorthand term;

determining when the shorthand term is entered in the search box of the second window; and

when the shorthand term is entered within the search box of the second window performing actions, including;

accessing the dictionary service;

attempting to obtain a definition of the shorthand term;

displaying the definition of the shorthand term within the list box of the second window without replacing the shorthand term entered in the search box; and

inserting the definition into the writing area of the first window at a current cursor position within the writing area of the document creation application; and

determining when the shorthand term is entered within the writing area of the first window;

wherein determining when the shorthand term is entered within the writing area of the first window includes receiving a selection indicating to define the shorthand term; and

when the shorthand term is entered within the writing area of the first window, performing actions, including;

accessing the dictionary service;

attempting to obtain a definition of the shorthand term;

displaying the definition of the shorthand term within the list box of the second window;

receiving a selection of the definition of the shorthand term within the list box of the second window;

in response to the selection of the definition of the shorthand term, providing a first option to insert the selected definition into the first window at a current cursor position within the writing area and providing a second option to copy the selected definition;

determining when the first option is selected and when the first option is selected inserting the definition into the writing area of the first window at the cursor position without replacing the displayed definition within the list box of the second window.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of available dictionary services include dictionaries in different languages including English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the first option and the second option comprises displaying the first option and the second option within a drop down menu.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein entering the shorthand term to be defined directly from within the application further comprises selecting a shorthand term from within the application by highlighting the shorthand term.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing the dictionary service, further comprises accessing at least one dictionary over a network that is searched.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the available dictionary services include dictionaries other than shorthand dictionaries.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein displaying the definition of the shorthand term within the application further comprises making the definition selectable from within the application.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising inserting the definition into the application when the definition is selected.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein accessing the dictionary service, further comprises accessing at least one dictionary of shorthand terms.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, further comprising displaying a list of available dictionary services and receiving a selection from the displayed list of available dictionary services that indicates the dictionary service to search for the shorthand term.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein displaying the definition of the shorthand term within the application further comprises making the definition selectable from within the application.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising inserting the definition into the application when the definition is selected.

9. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for utilizing a shorthand term dictionary service, the instructions comprising:

initiating a shorthand dictionary service from within a document creation application;

entering a SMS shorthand term to be defined directly from within a document creation application;

wherein the document creation includes a first window containing a writing area and a second window that includes a search box and a results area that are displayed in response to the shorthand dictionary service being initiated and after the first window is displayed;

determining when the shorthand term is entered in the search box of the second window; and

when the shorthand term is entered within the search box of the second window performing actions, including;

accessing a dictionary service over a network;

obtaining a definition of the shorthand term;

providing the definition to the application; and

displaying the definition of the shorthand term within the results area of the second window without replacing the entered SMS shorthand term; and

inserting the definition into the writing area of the first window;

determining when the shorthand term is entered within the writing area of the first window and when the shorthand term is entered within the writing area of the first window, performing actions, including;

accessing the dictionary service over the network;

obtaining the definition of the shorthand term; and

displaying the definition of the shorthand term within the results area of the second window.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein when the shorthand term is entered within the writing area further includes:

receiving a selection of the definition of the shorthand term within the results area of the second window;

in response to the selection of the definition of the shorthand term, providing a first option to insert the selected definition into the first window at a current cursor position within the writing area and providing a second option to copy the selected definition;

determining when the first option is selected and when the first option is selected inserting the definition into the writing area of the first window at the cursor position without replacing the displayed definition within the list box of the second window.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein entering the SMS shorthand term to be defined directly from within the application further comprises highlighting the shorthand term.

16. A system for a shorthand dictionary service, comprising:

a first computing device that is coupled to a network and that includes a dictionary service application that is configured to perform actions, including;

receiving a shorthand term from a second computing device;

wherein the shorthand term is received directly from within an application on the second computing device having a writing area that is within a first window and a search box and a list box that is within a second window that is displayed in response to a shorthand dictionary service being initiated on the second computing device and after the first window is displayed;

determining when the shorthand term is entered in the search box of the second window; and

when the shorthand term is entered within the search box of the second window performing actions, including;

searching for a definition of the shorthand term within a dictionary; and

providing a result within the list box of the second window based on the search;

wherein the result is displayed within the application on the second computing device without replacing the shorthand term entered within the search box; and

providing an option to copy the definition and insert the definition into the writing area of the first window; and

determining when the shorthand term is entered within the writing area of the first window and when the shorthand term is entered within the writing area of the first window, performing actions, including;

obtaining the definition of the shorthand term within the dictionary; and

displaying the definition of the shorthand term within the list box of the second window.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein when the shorthand term is entered within the writing area further includes:

receiving a selection of the definition of the shorthand term within the results area of the second window;

in response to the selection of the definition of the shorthand term, inserting the definition into the writing area of the first window at a current cursor position without replacing the displayed definition within the list box of the second window.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the shorthand term is received directly from within the application on the second computing device, further comprises selecting the shorthand term from within writing area of the application by highlighting the shorthand term.

19. The system of claim 17, in response to the selection of the definition providing a first option to insert the selected definition into the first window at the current cursor position within the writing area and providing a second option to copy the selected definition.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the dictionary is selectable by a user and wherein a list of dictionaries including dictionaries in different languages is included to be selectable.

21. The system of claim 20, further comprising replacing the shorthand term with the definition of the shorthand term in the writing area of the first window.