Text prediction with partial selection in a variety of domains

• US 8,504,349 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2007
• Issued: 08/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Manu, Mitica, Markiewicz, Jan-Kristian, Music, Bradley A., Haslam, Brian D.
• Primary Examiner(s): COLUCCI, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US11/764,783
• Publication Number:
  US 20080310723A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,241 Days
• Field of Search: 715/781, 715/811, 715/262, 715/261, 715/259, 715/255, 704/9, 704/260, 704/257, 455/154.2, 463/40, 345/169, 341/22
• US Class Current: 704/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs

Abstract

A computing system may predict a word based on received user input that selects a part of the word (e.g., the first characters, the first root, etc.). Specifically, a program, when run on the computing system, may perform a method including creating a candidate list of words based on received user input. These words may be then organized into a hierarchy, or tree structure, in which each word is associated with a parent and each parent is a partial match for its associated words. The top-tier partial matches may be presented, and user input corresponding to a selected partial match may be received. A set of candidates related to the selected partial match may then be presented for user selection.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for predicting a word, comprising:

creating a candidate list of words based on received user input;

grouping respective words of the candidate list according to a common character set, a common character set comprising two or more characters;

presenting at least two common character sets as a first tier, a first group of words represented by a first common character set and a second group of words represented by a second common character set, no words within the first group of words capable of being represented by the second common character set and no words within the second group of words capable of being represented by the first common character set;

receiving a user selection of a presented common character set; and

presenting at least some words of the group of words represented by the selected common character set.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving a user selection of a word from the presented words; and

inserting the selected word into a document.

3. The method of claim 1, the common character sets based on linguistic roots.

4. The method of claim 1, the common character sets based on linguistic stems.

5. The method of claim 1, the common character sets based on linguistic syllables.

6. The method of claim 1, respective common character sets representing a target range of words.

7. The method of claim 6, respective common character sets respectively representing at least two words.

8. The method of claim 1, the first tier of common character sets and the at least some words of the group of words represented by the selected common character set presented in a style similar to the style of the received user input.

9. A computing device comprising:

a console coupled with an input interface and a display interface, the console comprising computer-readable instructions for performing a word completion process, the word completion process comprising;

creating a candidate list of words based on received user input at the input interface;

presenting a first tier of nodes for display on the display interface, respective nodes comprising two or more characters and representing a plurality of words in the candidate list that begin with the two or more characters, respective nodes not comprising completed words;

receiving input corresponding to a selection of a node presented in the first tier of nodes; and

presenting a second tier of nodes for display on the display interface, respective nodes of the second tier of nodes comprising at least one additional character than the selected node and representing one or more words that begin with the two or more characters of the selected node.

10. The computing device of claim 9, comprising:

receiving input corresponding to a selection of a node presented in the second tier of nodes;

determining whether the selected node presented in the second tier of nodes is a word from the candidate list; and

when the selected node is a partial match for a word from the candidate list, presenting a third tier of nodes for display on the display interface, respective nodes of the third tier of nodes comprising at least one additional character relative to the characters of the selected node presented in the second tier and representing one or more words that begin with the characters of the selected node presented in the second tier.

11. The computing device of claim 10, at least one of:

a node in the second tier of nodes corresponding to a word from the candidate list presented in a different manner than a node in the second tier corresponding to a partial match for a word from the candidate list, or

the second tier of nodes comprising at least one node comprising a word from the candidate list and at least one node comprising a partial match for a word from the candidate list.

12. The computing device of claim 9, creating the candidate list of words comprising:

determining words for inclusion in the candidate list based on the received user input and at least one of frequency of usage, occurrence in a specified dictionary, or suitability based on surrounding context.

13. The computing device of claim 9, creating the candidate list of words comprising:

determining words for inclusion in the candidate list based on the received user input and previous word selections of a user of the console.

14. The computing device of claim 9, a first node in the first tier of nodes corresponding to a first group of words in the candidate list and a second node in the first tier of nodes corresponding to a second group of words in the candidate list, the first group of words not overlapping the second group of words.

15. A computer-implemented method comprising:

determining a first set of one or more predicted characters based on one or more user inputted characters;

presenting the first set of one or more predicted characters in an area that can be edited by a user;

receiving new character user input that overwrites a predicted character of the first set of one or more predicted characters;

removing a subset of characters of the first set of one or more predicted characters, the subset following the predicted character overwritten by the new character user input, the subset removed in response to receiving the new character user input;

accepting one or more predicted characters between the overwritten character and an end of the one or more user inputted characters; and

completing a word-based at least partially on the one or more user inputted characters, the accepted one or more predicted characters, and the new character user input.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, the accepted one or more predicted characters comprising one or more letters.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, comprising:

presenting a revised set of predicted characters after the new character user input based on the one or more user inputted characters, the accepted one or more predicted characters, and the new character user input, the one or more user inputted characters, the accepted one or more predicted characters, the new character user input, and the revised set of predicted characters forming a word.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, the accepted one or more predicted characters accepted without accepting the first set of one or more predicted characters in its entirety.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, comprising presenting the first set of one or more predicted characters in the area as a string of characters having a beginning character and a last character, and receiving new character user input comprising overwriting a character in the string other than the last character in the string.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, one or more of the predicted characters between the overwritten character and the end of the one or more user inputted characters not validated prior to receiving the new character user input that overwrites the predicted character.