Abstract: The present invention is a method and apparatus for generating nodes and link definitions for a hypertext database from at least one source document which includes text and formatted properties that define a logical structure of the source document. Initially, the source document is segmented according to selected formatted properties. A node is then generated for each segment of the source document. Thereafter, link definitions are created to establish associations between the nodes so as to maintain the logical structure of the source document defined by the format properties. The nodes and link definitions can be imported to a hypertext database and searched with a hypertext engine.