Abstract: A computer-implemented method involving: gathering a set of files from one or more computers; analyzing the set of files to identify a plurality of files among the set of files that contain spatial information; storing information about the plurality of files, the stored information indicating that the identified files contain spatial information; and causing to be displayed to a user an indication that the identified files contain spatial information.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for searching a corpus of documents for documents that are responsive to a query specifying one or more search words and spatial information, the method involving: storing in memory a spatial document index for the corpus of documents, wherein the spatial document index indexes documents in the corpus according to spatial references found within the documents; storing in a storage medium a plurality of spatial keyword document indexes for the corpus of documents, wherein each of the spatial keyword document indexes is for a different keyword and indexes those documents among the corpus that are responsive to that keyword; and intersecting a portion of the spatial document index and selected indexes among the plurality of spatial keyword document indexes to identify a result set of those documents from among the corpus of documents that are responsive to the query.

Abstract: A method for displaying information about documents in a corpus of documents, the method involving: accepting search criteria including a free text entry query and a domain identifier identifying a domain; in response to accepting the search criteria, identifying a set of documents among the corpus of documents, wherein each document of the set of documents: (1) contains anywhere within the document location-related information that locates that document within the domain; and (2) contains anywhere within the document information that is responsive to the free text entry query, wherein said identified documents are identified by a plurality of document identifiers; displaying a multi-dimensional representation of the domain on the display device; and displaying within the representation of the domain a plurality of visual indicators as representations of the documents identified by the plurality of document identifiers, wherein each visual indicator of the plurality of visual indicators represents a correspon

Abstract: A method of querying a first corpus of documents and a second corpus of documents, the method involving: accepting search criteria from a user, the search criteria including a free text entry query and a domain identifier identifying a domain; requesting a search of the first corpus of documents to identify a first set of documents, wherein each document of the first set of documents: (1) contains anywhere within the document location-related information that identifies a location within the domain; and (2) contains anywhere within the document information that is responsive to the free text entry query, wherein said identified documents are identified by a plurality of document identifiers; receiving a first result set for the first corpus of documents, the first result set identifying the first set of documents in order of relevance; requesting a search of the second corpus of documents to identify a second set of documents, wherein each document of the second set of documents: (1) contains anywhere within

Abstract: An interface program stored on a computer-readable medium for causing a computer system with a display device to perform the functions of: accepting search criteria from a user including a free text entry query and a domain identifier identifying a domain; in response to accepting the search criteria, retrieving a plurality of record identifiers each of which identifies a corresponding record which: (1) has associated therewith a location identifier that locates it at a specific location within the domain identified by the domain identifier; and (2) contains information that is responsive to the free text entry query; displaying a representation of the domain on the display device; and displaying on the display device a plurality of icons as representations of the records identified by the plurality of record identifiers, wherein for each of the record identifiers, a corresponding one of the plurality of icons is displayed within the representation of the domain that is being displayed on the display device,

Abstract: A method for populating a document repository that involves: retrieving a document address from a page queue that stores document addresses; loading into the document repository a document that is identified by the retrieved document address; parsing the loaded document for links to new documents; storing addresses of the new documents into the page queue along with a spatial relevance level for each stored address; and iteratively repeating the steps of retrieving, loading, parsing and storing to populate the document repository, wherein retrieving involves using the spatial relevance levels of the stored addresses in the page queue to determine which document addresses are retrieved from the page queue.

Abstract: A method of querying a first corpus of documents and a second corpus of documents, the method involving: accepting search criteria from a user, the search criteria including a free text entry query and a domain identifier identifying a domain; requesting a search of the first corpus of documents to identify a first set of documents, wherein each document of the first set of documents: (1) contains anywhere within the document location-related information that identifies a location within the domain; and (2) contains anywhere within the document information that is responsive to the free text entry query, wherein said identified documents are identified by a plurality of document identifiers; receiving a first result set for the first corpus of documents, the first result set identifying the first set of documents in order of relevance; requesting a search of the second corpus of documents to identify a second set of documents, wherein each document of the second set of documents: (1) contains anywhere within

Abstract: A computer-implemented method involving a user communicating with a search engine that is also accessible by other users, the method involving: receiving a search query from the user and causing the search query to be submitted to the search engine; on a display device operated by the computer, displaying a multi-dimensional representation of a spatial domain along with search results supplied by the search engine in response to the search query; and on the display device, also displaying other information about the spatial domain, said other information including an indication of how many other users have previously viewed a representation that includes that spatial domain.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method involving: gathering a set of files from one or more computers; analyzing the set of files to identify a plurality of files among the set of files that contain spatial information; storing information about the plurality of files, the stored information indicating that the identified files contain spatial information; and causing to be displayed to a user an indication that the identified files contain spatial information.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method of processing a corpus of one or more documents, the method involving: for each document in the corpus of documents, identifying spatial identifiers in that document; and for each document in the corpus of documents, computing a numerical score for that document that takes into account the presence of the spatial identifiers identified in that document, wherein the numerical score characterizes an association between that document and a location with which the spatial identifiers are associated.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method of searching a corpus of documents, the method involving: accepting a single free text query from a user, wherein the free text query includes one or more keywords and a reference to a domain; and based on said single free text query from the user, identifying a set of documents among the corpus of documents, wherein each document of the set of documents: (1) contains anywhere within the document location-related information that identifies a location within the domain; and (2) contains anywhere within the document information that is responsive to said one or more keywords.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method involving a corpus of documents, the method involving: analyzing the documents in the corpus of documents to identify known spatial identifiers, each of the known spatial identifiers identifying a corresponding spatial location; analyzing the corpus of documents to identify a specific text that is not a known spatial identifier; analyzing the corpus of documents to assess a degree of association between the specific text and one or more known spatial identifiers; and if the degree of association between the specific text and a known spatial identifier is sufficiently high, associating the specific text with the spatial location identified by that known spatial identifier.

Abstract: An interface program stored on a computer-readable medium for causing a computer system with a display device to perform the functions of: accepting search criteria from a user including a free text entry query and a domain identifier identifying a domain; in response to accepting the search criteria, retrieving a plurality of record identifiers each of which identifies a corresponding record which: (1) has associated therewith a location identifier that locates it at a specific location within the domain identified by the domain identifier; and (2) contains information that is responsive to the free text entry query; displaying a representation of the domain on the display device; and displaying on the display device a plurality of icons as representations of the records identified by the plurality of record identifiers, wherein for each of the record identifiers, a corresponding one of the plurality of icons is displayed within the representation of the domain that is being displayed on the display device,

Abstract: An interface program stored on a computer-readable medium for causing a computer system with a display device to perform the functions of: accepting search criteria from a user including a free text entry query and a domain identifier identifying a domain; in response to accepting the search criteria, retrieving a plurality of record identifiers each of which identifies a corresponding record which: (1) has associated therewith a location identifier that locates it at a specific location within the domain identified by the domain identifier; and (2) contains information that is responsive to the free text entry query; displaying a representation of the domain on the display device; and displaying on the display device a plurality of icons as representations of the records identified by the plurality of record identifiers, wherein for each of the record identifiers, a corresponding one of the plurality of icons is displayed within the representation of the domain that is being displayed on the display device,