Method and apparatus for providing multi-level searching in an electronic book

摘要

A technique for providing simplified and more flexible text recovery in an electronically stored text. The text storage device is of the hand-held type and may accommodate the text of the entire bible, for example. The user may access the stored text in a read or search mode. The device is programmed to perform certain functions automatically, such as: selecting search or read mode; accommodating different syntax formulations; providing a fixed screen map of respective different portions of the text; and visually indicating specific words of a search to which a search will be limited. Expanded flexibility is also programmed into the device which includes: optionally expanding searches to cover both different forms of the same words and unrelated words having the same meaning; providing assistance to the user upon request which takes into account the current operational phase; and providing the capability of tagging a preselected location in the text for simplified access during reacquisition.