Computer system, method and user interface components for abstracting and accessing a body of knowledge

摘要

A computer system and method implement a number of unique user interface mechanisms to visually link information presented to a user and thereby facilitate user comprehension of the contextual relationship of such information. Information may be visually linked by displaying a connector element that extends between first and second windows displayed on a computer display. In addition, information may be visually linked by applying one or more filter criteria to information elements and displaying the results. For example, first and second filter criteria may be applied to a plurality of information elements, with at least portions of the resulting sets of filtered information elements displayed concurrently. As another example, a filter criteria may be applied to an information element, with the filtered and unfiltered representations of the information element displayed concurrently. Information may also be visually linked through a coordinated scrolling relationship where portions of first and second sets of filtered information elements are concurrently displayed in separate windows, with the displayed portions in each window tracked with one another to display a particular location in a body of knowledge. Also, information may be visually linked by highlighting one of a pair of information element representations in response to selection of the other information element representation when such information element representations are associated with a common concept.