Abstract: An easy-to-use technique for specifying measurements of a document to be printed uses a pointing method, such as a cursor which is moved around a display screen by means of a pointing device having a select button. The pointing cursor is moved to each desired location in a predetermined sequence, and the select button is pressed. The values of the measurements so selected are calculated based on the relative position of the pointing cursor at the time the select button is pressed.

Abstract: A method of, and system for, designating footnotes and footnote references based on, and beginning with, an operator defined initial designation. The initial designation can be made up of both a variable functional portion and an accompanying fixed aesthetic portion. The functional portion is for numbering and can be either a numeric or other graphic character. The fixed portion can be both cosmetic and functional and can be made up of a character or characters. The designation can be located either on-line or in an indexed position. When numeric characters are used in number designating footnotes and footnote references, there is an incrementing by one of the operator selected initial number for each succeeding footnote and footnote reference designated. When other graphic characters are used in number designating footnotes and footnote references, the number of graphic characters is increased by one for each succeeding footnote and footnote reference designated.

Abstract: A method of managing body and footnote text during preparation, review, editing, and printing of a document. Preparation can be accomplished in a one pass input keying operation without regard to (1) storage of the body and footnote text, and (2) numbering of reference points in the body text and corresponding footnotes. During preparation there is separate storage of the body and footnote text, separate display frames are provided for each, editing is permitted in the frame being operated on, and the system automatically numbers and updates the numbering of the reference points and footnotes. For a review of the appearance of the document in its to-be-printed format, and any editing thereof, the body and footnote text are assembled for display. Thereafter, the document can be printed.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for assisting the operator of an interactive text processing system to add a list of numbers that have been entered into the system during the creation of a document. The method involves the operator positioning the cursor adjacent the first number in the sequence by operating the cursor move keys. The next step involves the operator pressing and holding either the "column add" or the "row add" function key while watching the movement of the cursor from the first number in the sequence to succeeding numbers in the sequence until the cursor is positioned adjacent the last number in the sequence, at which time the function key is released. The last step in the process is for the operator to press the Enter key which enters the total into the system for subsequent processing and displays the total in the appropriate location on the display.

Abstract: A method for editing data stored in a word processing system in table entry format. Means are provided for operator selection and definition of a top reference area for displaying table column headings or a side reference area for displaying table row entry headings, or both. A vertical separator column of video-reverse spaces separates the display screen into left and right viewports, when a side reference is defined. A horizontal separator bar of video-reverse spaces separates the display screen into top and bottom viewpoints when a top reference is defined. Means are also provided for scrolling the displayed side reference area headings in synchronism with the scrolling of the editable portion of the table, and segmenting the top reference area headings in synchronism with the segmenting of the portion of the editable table entries.

Abstract: A method of, and system for, managing assembly and formatting of footnotes and body text. Following preparation and separate storage of both body and footnote text, assembly of the footnote text with the body text can be accomplished in one pass for a review of the appearance of the document in its to-be-printed format. Two techniques are available for assembly of the document. The technique selected will be the one which will provide optimum performance and will be determined by the amount of footnote text being assembled and/or the body and footnote text edited. If any editing is performed, the new and/or edited footnote text can be re-assembled in one pass.

Abstract: Disclosed is an improved system for verifying the spelling and providing hyphenation points for text words from a plurality of interspersed languages. The control system includes control codes which are inserted in the text to define the language of the text following the control code. The system accepts the control codes and responds by comparing the text following the control code against a storage dictionary of correctly spelled words and hyphenation points for the language associated with the control code. The system provides as an output an indicator of whether the word is correctly spelled or where the proper hyphenation points for the word appears. The systemn further includes control codes which when detected will cause blocks of data which should not be compared to the storage dictionary to be skipped.

Abstract: A system that intelligently abstracts and archives a document for storage and interprets a free form user retrieval query to recall the document from the storage file. The system includes a method for automatically selecting keywords from the document using a parts of a speech directory. A method is given for weighing the importance or centrality of each keyword with respect to the document of its origin. Using the same logic paths, a free form query that describes the document in the same manner that it would have to be described to a secretary to "find" it in a filing cabinet, the system automatically determines the key matching terms and finds the archived document(s) with the greatest affinity.

Abstract: A system for reducing storage requirements and accessing times in a text processing machine for automatic spelling verification and hyphenation functions. The system includes a method for storing a word list file and accessing the word list file such that legal prefixes and suffixes are truncated and only the unique root element, or "stem", of a word is stored. A set of unique rules is provided for prefix/suffix removal during compilation of the word list file and subsequent accessing of the word list file. Spelling verification is accomplished by applying the rules to the words whose spelling is to be verified and application of the said rules provides, under most circumstances, a natural hyphenation break point at the prefix-stem and stem-suffix junctions.