Abstract:
An expansion of the construction and organization of the electronic literary macramé (ELM), the knowledge transfer tool (KTT), or any document of similar type to enrich the connections and associations for their readers, providing for manual author- or editor-defined links and directives for hypertext handling and navigation, easy-to-use indexing capabilities, structuring and presentation of information in a visually-organized form such as a table, list, matrix, tree, pyramid, or other two-dimensional arrangement, with all features integrated into an unobtrusive, and enriched referencing mechanism to assist authors, editors and readers of an ELM, KTT, or other electronic document of similar type.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/828,083 filed Jul. 25, 2007, now issued U.S. patent Ser. No. ______ issued on ______, and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/833,201, filed Jul. 25, 2006, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/909,197, filed Mar. 30, 2007, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This application also claims the benefit of PCT Application No. PCT/US2007/062801, filed Feb. 26, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Reference is also made to the following related applications: U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 11/361,439, filed Feb. 24, 2006, entitled “Apparatus and Method for Creating Literary Macramés” now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,810,021, issued on Oct. 5, 2010; U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 11/782,976, filed Jul. 25, 2007 now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,555,138, issued on Jun. 30, 2009, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Digital Watermarking for Electronic Literary Macramé,” Attorney Docket No. 305466.301883US02; U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 11/828,238, filed Jul. 25, 2007 now issued U.S. Pat. No. 8,010,897 issued on Aug. 30, 2011, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Presenting Electronic Literary Macramé on Handheld Computer Systems,” Attorney Docket No. 305466.301883US04; and U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No. 11/828,010 filed Jul. 25, 2007, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Electronic Literary Macramé Business Development,” Attorney Docket No. 305466.301883US05, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     AREA OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    This disclosure relates to the creation of texts readable on computers, and more specifically to the linking, indexing, and tabulation of interconnected narratives and references readable using browser programs such as those adapted for use on the World Wide Web. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    To illustrate and provide background for the present method and apparatus, the patent application titled “Apparatus and Method for Creating Literary Macramés”, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/361,439, by the present inventor, is incorporated herein by reference. A literary macramé, also called here an ‘ELM’, or electronic literary macramé, is a form of text offering readers advantages over other forms of literature in referencing and tracing connections. 
         [0004]    To provide further background and support for the present method and apparatus, the patent application titled “The Knowledge Transfer Tool: An Apparatus And Method For Knowledge Transfer”, International Application No. PCT/US2007/062801, also by the present inventor, is also incorporated herein by reference. The Knowledge Transfer Tool, also called here a ‘KTT’, combines ELM characteristics and capabilities with rule-based expert system and programmed-instruction components to allow authors to produce immersive learning programs in literary and textbook forms on electronic media. 
         [0005]    To provide context for ongoing developments relating to the present method and apparatus, the patent applications titled “Method And Apparatus For Electronic Literary Macramé Business Development”, “Method For Presenting Electronic Literary Macramés On Handheld Computer Systems”, and “Method And Apparatus For Digital Watermarking For The Electronic Literary Macramé”, also by the present inventor, are additionally incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0006]    The ELM and KTT allow great flexibility and productivity, and to accomplish their tasks effectively and with maximum utility to authors and readers, they interconnect the units or components to be consumed by readers. The profusion of routine hypertext links (hyperlinks, or links), the frequent use of visually-readable indices and tables, and the author&#39;s special associations of otherwise-disparate units or components create special challenges for the ELM and KTT technology, and indeed for any similar mechanisms and processes for interconnecting readable electronic document components. The present description hereinafter uses “ELM/KTT” to refer to all such classes of mechanisms and processes. 
         [0007]    One opportunity for expanding ELM/KTT capabilities is in the realm of author- or editor-defined links and directives for hypertext handling and navigation. The variety and depth of literary and pedagogical effects achievable with the ELM/KTT would be considerably extended by addressing such linking and directive capabilities. 
         [0008]    The addition of easy-to-use indexing capabilities constitutes a second opportunity for enhancement of the value of the ELM/KTT. The index to a literary or academic work is vital for readers seeking occurrences of special terms in the work, particularly if such an index can be provided so as to avoid impact of its use on the immersive experience of the reader. Such an index, in a possibly-expanded form, is highly useful to the author in the midst of developing an ELM/KTT product, especially when the author is learning or creating the terminology peculiar to the product and its realm of knowledge. 
         [0009]    A third opportunity for extending the ELM/KTT capabilities arises when considering how authors and readers struggle with information in a visually-organized form such as a table, list, matrix, tree, pyramid, or other two-dimensionally-arranged presentation. Such structures can be integrated with links and indices in an ELM/KTT. Such structures can also be presented to readers in multiple forms, for example, each entry in a table may be shown in a glossary independently for readers who prefer such modes of presentation. Software for constructing and presenting tabular or other structured data in multiple modes would enhance the power and utility of the ELM/KTT. 
         [0010]    All three opportunities center around a single theme: the referencing of separate components or units of the ELM/KTT from within other components or units without disrupting the work&#39;s immersive character for the reader. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  shows the overview of the apparatus of the ELM/KTT. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  shows an overview of the linking relationships among the components of the output of the present method and apparatus. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  shows the present method for building and installing initial thread links. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  shows the database structure and relationships for the present apparatus. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  shows the present method for building and installing initial reference links. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  shows the database structure and relationships for the textual information of the present method and apparatus. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  shows the present method for building and installing scene (unit) starting point links. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  shows the present method for building and installing character (theme) starting point links. 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  shows the present method for building and installing contents links. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  shows the present method for building and installing glossary-to-reference links. 
           [0021]      FIG. 11  shows the present method for building and installing glossary supplement-to-reference links. 
           [0022]      FIG. 12  shows the present method for building and installing and ELM/KTT index in a basic indexing embodiment. 
           [0023]      FIG. 13  shows the present method for building and installing and ELM/KTT index in a paragraph-level indexing embodiment. 
           [0024]      FIG. 14  shows the present method for building and installing symbolic anchors. 
           [0025]      FIG. 15  shows the present method for building and installing symbolic links. 
           [0026]      FIG. 16  shows the inputs, processing, and outputs for symbolic file inclusion directives. 
           [0027]      FIG. 17  shows the present method for converting symbolic anchors and links to hypertext anchors and links respectively, and for including files based on file inclusion directives. 
           [0028]      FIG. 18  shows the present method for building and installing tables, tabular text, and the glossary supplement. 
       
    
    
     SUMMARY 
       [0029]    The present method and apparatus exploit the construction and organization of the electronic literary macramé (ELM) and the knowledge transfer tool (KTT) to expand and enrich the reader&#39;s ability to reference one component of an ELM/KTT work while reading another component, smoothly and with minimal distraction. 
         [0030]    First, the present method and apparatus provide for manual author- or editor-defined links and directives for hypertext handling and navigation, in forms which maintain the independent character of such links and directives, enabling authors and editors to adjust and maintain their definitions across all other changes to the underlying documents. Manually-provided links and directives enhance the variety and depth of literary and pedagogical effects achievable with the ELM/KTT. 
         [0031]    Second, the present method and apparatus add easy-to-use indexing capabilities to the ELM/KTT, aiding readers seeking occurrences of special terms in the work, and supporting authors in the midst of developing an ELM/KTT product, especially when the author is learning or creating the terminology peculiar to the product and its realm of knowledge. The present method and apparatus provide such indices in such a way as to avoid impact of its use on the immersive experience of the reader. 
         [0032]    Third, the present method and apparatus provide for structuring and presentation of information in a visually-organized form such as a table, list, matrix, tree, pyramid, or other two-dimensional arrangement The present method and apparatus further provide for presentation of such structures to readers in multiple forms, for example, each entry in a table may be shown in a glossary independently for readers who prefer such modes of presentation. 
         [0033]    Finally, the present method and apparatus combine the three features described above—author-defined links and directives, enriched indexing capabilities, and structured-information presentation—into an integrated, unobtrusive, and enriched referencing mechanism to assist authors, editors and readers of an ELM or KTT. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0034]    See  FIG. 1 . The present apparatus comprises a computer system  6 , made up of one or more processors (CPUs)  61 , a user display interface component  63  such as a CRT, flat-panel display, or other viewing device, one or more user input interface components  64  such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a scribing device such as a stylus, or some other pointing, selection, or data entry device, and one or more memory components  62 . Any of the memory components  62  may hold an operating system  601 , one or more software applications  602 , and one or more electronic documents  611 . Each electronic document  611  comprises a plurality of components  621 . 
         [0035]    The software applications  602  of the present apparatus comprise three hypertext linking programs: a first software application for generating and installing one or more hypertext link anchors in one or more of said components of each said electronic document, a second software application for generating and installing one or more hypertext links to said link anchors, in one or more of said components of each said electronic document, and a third software application for generating one or more lists of said hypertext links. 
         [0036]    The software applications of the present apparatus further comprise two indexing programs: a fourth software application for defining, generating, and installing one or more indices in one or more components of an electronic document, and a fifth software application for defining and installing hypertext links between said indices and one or more components of an electronic document. 
         [0037]    The software applications of the present apparatus still further comprise two programs for using author-supplied symbolic directives including symbolic links: a sixth software application for defining and installing one or more symbolic directives in one or more components of said one or more electronic documents, and a seventh software application for interpreting said one or more symbolic directives in one or more components of said one or more electronic documents. 
         [0038]    The software applications of the present apparatus still further comprise an eighth software application for defining and installing one or more readable tables in one or more components of said one or more electronic documents. 
         [0039]    Improvements to the ELM/KTT class of electronic documents require careful integration in order to preserve the essential immersive experience for readers. Referencing, or looking up information in the course of reading, is in conventional documents a process disruptive to concentration. In electronic documents, the availability of hypertext links simplifies and accelerates the lookup process, but introduces a different problem: the distraction presented by too many links displayed too prominently with too much irrelevance to any specific purpose of a reader. The improvements of the present method and apparatus—enriched linking and indexing, symbolic linking and directives, and structured-information management and presentation—all work together to elevate and intensify the reader&#39;s engagement with the overall work offered as an ELM or KTT output. Furthermore, considering authors as the first readers of their own works, the improvements of the present method and apparatus simplify the author&#39;s tasks in a work&#39;s preparation, and present the author with new opportunities for exploiting ideas in concerted and harmonious ways to improve the work for all other readers. 
       ELM/KTT Link Generation 
       [0040]    The ELM/KTT uses different classes of hypertext links as shown in  FIG. 2  to assist a reader in making transitions from component to component without substantially degrading the reading experience. HTML links, derived and installed according to the art of the present method and apparatus, are the primary means for defining and making such transitions in the ELM/KTT. 
         [0041]      FIG. 2  shows an overview of the many linking relationships in the ELM/KTT  9 . Scenes, also called units or narrative text units  51 , contain the primary narrative reading content of the ELM/KTT. Glossary text units  52  contain terms of significance in the ELM/KTT and their meanings or definitions. Encyclopedia (reference) text units  53  contain expository and elaborative narrative material and illustrations. Index text units  54  list all narrative text units in which each specific glossary term is found. 
         [0042]    The principal links among components of the ELM/KTT are the links  510  from terms used in the narrative text units  51  to corresponding term definitions within the glossary units  52 , the links  520  from terms used in the glossary units  52  to corresponding term definitions within the same or other glossary units  52 , the links  524  from terms used in the glossary units  52  to corresponding index entries within index text units  54 , the links  546  from index entries within index text units  54  to narrative text units  51 , and the links  542  from index entries within index text units  54  to corresponding term definitions within the glossary units  52 . 
         [0043]    Glossary text units  52  contain additional links that enrich the connections among ELM/KTT components for a reader. A links  515  from a specific term in a glossary text unit  52  to a narrative text unit  51  grants a reader direct access to a narrative thread for which the term defines a theme, character, or other significant entity. A link  535  from a specific term in a glossary text unit  52  to an encyclopedia text unit  53  directs a reader to additional expository, tabular, or otherwise structured material concerning the term. 
         [0044]    Encyclopedia text units  53  contain tabular or list material which is used in the KTT/ELM to generate textual explanations of terms presented therein in a table, along with their contexts as defined in the table. Said textual explanations are stored in glossary supplement text units  55 . Links  537  direct a reader from a tabulated term to its textual explanation, and links  557  direct the reader from the textual explanation to the table in which the term appears. 
         [0045]    The simplest form of link connects a unit of a given type to another unit of the same type. Narrative text units  51  are linked to one another for reading via links  513 . Glossary text units  52  are likewise linked to one another for browsing using links  523 . Encyclopedia (reference) text units  53  are likewise linked to one another for browsing using links  533 . Index text units  54  are likewise linked to one another for browsing using links  543 . In an enhanced-glossary-supplement embodiment, glossary supplement text units  55 , containing terms tabulated or listed in the ELM/KTT and their meanings or definitions in the tabular or list context, are likewise linked to one another for browsing using links  553 . 
         [0046]    Links inserted by an author, also called symbolic links, may appear in any component of any type and may lead to any component of any type. In  FIG. 2 , encyclopedia text units  53  are shown with links  538 , illustrating one use of symbolic links, leading to narrative text units  51 . 
         [0047]    The reader&#39;s attention to the sequential reading experience is supported by the lack of large numbers of diverse types of links from narrative text units  51  to other components  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55 . Only the links  510  to terms in glossary text units  52  lead outside the narrative text units  51 . 
         [0048]    In Table 1 are identified the current classes of links used in the ELM/KTT, including both symbolic links used by authors, and generated links used to build lists of links for symbolic file inclusion in ELM/KTT output presentations for readers. Table 1 identifies the classes of symbolic links and generated links of the present method and apparatus. Table 2 identifies classes of links already supported in the ELM/KTT, and is included to show that the features of the present method and apparatus are significant enhancements of the basic ELM/KTT. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 ELM/KTT Link Classes of the Present method and apparatus 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                  1. 
                 Initial  
                 This link class is constructed from the definitions of 
               
               
                   
                 Thread 
                 narrative threads defined by the author during the 
               
               
                   
                 Links 
                 preparation of the ELM/KTT. These links are built as a 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 513) 
                 text in HTML format (see paragraph below titled  
               
               
                   
                   
                 “Building and Installing Initial Thread Links”), and are  
               
               
                   
                   
                 added to the Introduction using the Include symbolic  
               
               
                   
                   
                 directive, which incorporates entire files in a text at the  
               
               
                   
                   
                 point of its appearance. The set of thread starting links  
               
               
                   
                   
                 offers readers a simple set of choices of characters/ 
               
               
                   
                   
                 themes and threads to follow in the ELM/KTT from  
               
               
                   
                   
                 their respective starting points. To facilitate reader 
               
               
                   
                   
                 selection, a narrative passage is presented along with  
               
               
                   
                   
                 each link as a ‘teaser’ or brief summary. 
               
               
                  2. 
                 Initial  
                 This link class is constructed from the list of 
               
               
                   
                 Reference 
                 references defined by the author during the 
               
               
                   
                 Links 
                 preparation of the ELM/KTT. These links are built as 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 543) 
                 a text in HTML format (see paragraph below titled 
               
               
                   
                   
                 “Building and Installing Initial Reference Links”), and 
               
               
                   
                   
                 are added to a menu of references using the Include 
               
               
                   
                   
                 symbolic directive, which incorporates entire files in 
               
               
                   
                   
                 a text at the point of its appearance. The set of 
               
               
                   
                   
                 reference links offers readers a simple set of choices 
               
               
                   
                   
                 of references to browse or study in the ELM/KTT. 
               
               
                   
                   
                 To facilitate reader selection, a narrative passage is 
               
               
                   
                   
                 presented along with each link as a ‘teaser’ or brief  
               
               
                   
                   
                 summary. 
               
               
                  3. 
                 Scene (Unit) 
                 This class of links appears at the end of the ELM/KTT 
               
               
                   
                 Starting 
                 as a complete menu of all initial appearances of all the 
               
               
                   
                 Point Links 
                 characters or themes identified for linking in the 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 513) 
                 ELM/KTT, each link leading to a trace of links 
               
               
                   
                   
                 following a particular character or theme. Scene/unit 
               
               
                   
                   
                 starting point links are built as a text in HTML format 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (see paragraph below titled “Building and Installing 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Scene (Unit) Starting Point Links”), and are added to 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the final scene text using the symbolic Include 
               
               
                   
                   
                 directive, which incorporates entire files in a text at 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the point of its appearance. Each such link is 
               
               
                   
                   
                 accompanied by the character or theme name, the title 
               
               
                   
                   
                 of the first scene or unit, and an indication of 
               
               
                   
                   
                 whether or not the character or theme has an 
               
               
                   
                   
                 independent narrative to be followed.  
               
               
                  4. 
                 Character 
                 This class of links is constructed to provide access to 
               
               
                   
                 (Theme) 
                 narratives regarding specific characters or themes from 
               
               
                   
                 Starting 
                 the ELM/KTT glossary (see paragraph below titled 
               
               
                   
                 Point Links 
                 “Building and Installing Character (Theme) Starting 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 515) 
                 Point Links”). The present method and apparatus 
               
               
                   
                   
                 insert each member of this class of links in the glossary 
               
               
                   
                   
                 entry for the corresponding character or theme named 
               
               
                   
                   
                 in the glossary as having a narrative thread that can be 
               
               
                   
                   
                 followed, or appearing in a scene/unit for the first time. 
               
               
                   
                   
                 For example, a glossary entry for such a character, 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Allashani, might have a text that reads, “Allashani 
               
               
                   
                   
                 has a story beginning in the scene titled ALLASHANI, 
               
               
                   
                   
                 and is first seen in a scene titled THE ANTH.” The 
               
               
                   
                   
                 reader perusing such a glossary entry may select either 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the word ‘ALLASHANI’ or the words “THE ANTH” 
               
               
                   
                   
                 to view the scene having the name given. The scene 
               
               
                   
                   
                 selected appears, as usual, in the main window of the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 ELM/KTT. 
               
               
                  5. 
                 Contents 
                 This class of links is generated to support a table of 
               
               
                   
                 Links 
                 contents (TOC) in various embodiments, containing 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 513) 
                 the title and link for every scene or unit in the ELM/ 
               
               
                   
                   
                 KTT (see paragraph below titled “Building and  
               
               
                   
                   
                 Installing Contents Links”). In a linear TOC 
               
               
                   
                   
                 embodiment, the present method and apparatus list 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the scene/unit titles in a primary or canonical 
               
               
                   
                   
                 narrative order from first to last. In a geographic TOC 
               
               
                   
                   
                 embodiment, the present method and apparatus present 
               
               
                   
                   
                 each scene/unit title for reader selection during the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 mouseover of a corresponding region of a graphical 
               
               
                   
                   
                 or narrative display. 
               
               
                  6. 
                 Glossary- 
                 The present method and apparatus insert members of 
               
               
                   
                 to- 
                 this class of links in glossary entries for all the terms 
               
               
                   
                 Reference 
                 appearing prominently in reference articles, i.e., in 
               
               
                   
                 Links 
                 the title, paragraph headers, or other significant place 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 535) 
                 in an article (see paragraph below titled “Building and 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Installing Glossary-to-Reference Links”). A glossary 
               
               
                   
                   
                 entry for such a term will have a text that reads, for 
               
               
                   
                   
                 example, “More information is found in the section 
               
               
                   
                   
                 titled Argazindar in the reference article titled COLLS, 
               
               
                   
                   
                 LANGUAGES, AND MEMBERS.” The reader 
               
               
                   
                   
                 perusing such a glossary entry may select either the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 word ‘Argazindar’ to view the section of the reference 
               
               
                   
                   
                 article having the term in a paragraph header, or the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 article title to view the head of the article. The article 
               
               
                   
                   
                 selected appears, as usual, in the encyclopedia, or 
               
               
                   
                   
                 reference, window of the ELM/KTT. 
               
               
                  7. 
                 Glossary 
                 This link class comprises the set of links each of 
               
               
                   
                 Supplement- 
                 which leads a reader from a term in the newly- 
               
               
                   
                 to- 
                 developed glossary supplement to a tabular 
               
               
                   
                 Reference 
                 presentation of terms that includes the term defined 
               
               
                   
                 Links  
                 (see paragraph below titled “Building and Installing 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 557) 
                 Glossary Supplement-to-Reference Links”). The form 
               
               
                   
                   
                 of the supplement entry is defined by a series of  
               
               
                   
                   
                 templates created for the table in the reference article,  
               
               
                   
                   
                 but the reference link to the table works in the same 
               
               
                   
                   
                 way as reference links do in the glossary. 
               
               
                  8. 
                 Reference- 
                 This class of links is the set of links each of which 
               
               
                   
                 to-Glossary 
                 takes a reader from a table entry in a reference to the 
               
               
                   
                 Supplement 
                 text in the glossary supplement corresponding to the 
               
               
                   
                 Links 
                 table entry (see paragraph below titled “Building and 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 537) 
                 Installing Reference-to-Glossary Links”). The 
               
               
                   
                   
                 glossary supplement text is generated using the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 software processes of the present method and 
               
               
                   
                   
                 apparatus (see paragraph below titled “Building and 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Installing Tables” for the generation of supplement 
               
               
                   
                   
                 entries). 
               
               
                  9. 
                 Glossary- 
                 Any of this class of links leads a reader from the 
               
               
                   
                 to-Index 
                 glossary term itself directly to a corresponding index 
               
               
                   
                 Links 
                 term listing for the term all of the scenes/units in 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 524) 
                 which the term appears (see paragraph below titled 
               
               
                   
                   
                 “Building and Installing an ELM/KTT Index” and 
               
               
                   
                   
                 “Building and Installing Glossary-to-Index and 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Index-to-Glossary Links”). Each index term list entry 
               
               
                   
                   
                 comprises a link to the scene or unit it identifies. 
               
               
                 10. 
                 Index-to- 
                 Any of this class of links leads a reader from the 
               
               
                   
                 Glossary 
                 index term itself directly to a corresponding glossary 
               
               
                   
                 Links  
                 term definition, enabling the reader to toggle easily 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 542) 
                 back and forth between glossary and index displays 
               
               
                   
                   
                 for a given term (see paragraph below titled “Building 
               
               
                   
                   
                 and Installing an ELM/KTT Index” and “Building 
               
               
                   
                   
                 and Installing Glossary-to-Index and Index-to-Glossary 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Links”). 
               
               
                 11. 
                 Symbolic 
                 This class of ELM/KTT links is the set of links and 
               
               
                   
                 Links 
                 their corresponding anchors which are defined as text 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 538) 
                 in square brackets and placed independently by an 
               
               
                   
                   
                 author or editor in a text by manual means, as 
               
               
                   
                   
                 described in (see section below starting with the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 paragraph titled “Symbolic Links and Symbolic 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Anchors”). Although HTML could be used to do the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 same thing, the ELM/KTT replaces existing HTML 
               
               
                   
                   
                 linkages in all texts during every compilation, and such 
               
               
                   
                   
                 replacement introduces complications eliminated by 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the use of symbolic links. The symbolic links are not 
               
               
                   
                   
                 removed or replaced or otherwise changed by the ELM 
               
               
                   
                   
                 processing, since they are easily recognized and 
               
               
                   
                   
                 distinguished from HTML links, and protected from 
               
               
                   
                   
                 changes when HTML links are updated. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0049]    Linking and referencing have been essential features of the ELM/KTT from its beginning. Table 2 lists and describes the classes of links already described or now being defined elsewhere. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Basic ELM/KTT Link Classes 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 1. 
                 Narrative- 
                 The most-commonly-used class of links, embedded 
               
               
                   
                 to-Glossary 
                 invisibly in the narrative text or in a reference text. 
               
               
                   
                 Links 
                 The ELM/KTT inserts glossary links in the text of 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 510) 
                 a scene or unit using a massive script that 
               
               
                   
                   
                 recognizes the glossed term in its different forms 
               
               
                   
                   
                 in a text, and replaces the term shown in the text 
               
               
                   
                   
                 with a link to its glossary entry, preserving the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 term&#39;s appearance in the text. 
               
               
                 2. 
                 Glossary- 
                 Terms within a glossary entry are themselves 
               
               
                   
                 to-Glossary 
                 linked to other glossary entries. Such links appear 
               
               
                   
                 Links 
                 and behave in the same way as narrative-to- 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 520) 
                 glossary links, and are generated using the same 
               
               
                   
                   
                 type of large script. 
               
               
                 3. 
                 Scene-to- 
                 These links lead a reader from one text unit, such 
               
               
                   
                 Scene 
                 as a scene, to another, in a meaningful narrative 
               
               
                   
                 (Unit-to- 
                 sequence. These links appear in any of a plurality 
               
               
                   
                 Unit) Links 
                 of general forms, among them the ‘Next/Previous’ 
               
               
                   
                 (FIG. 2 513) 
                 form, the point-of-view form, the character- 
               
               
                   
                   
                 present or theme-present form, and the keyword 
               
               
                   
                   
                 form. These forms of links are described in the text. 
               
               
                 4. 
                 External 
                 The set of links that connect from within the ELM/ 
               
               
                   
                 Links 
                 KTT to points outside it. This class breaks down 
               
               
                   
                   
                 into authhor site links, ELM/KTT server site links, 
               
               
                   
                   
                 and ELM/KTT peer site links. Author links lead to 
               
               
                   
                   
                 an author&#39;s Website, where the reader can interact 
               
               
                   
                   
                 with Website content to purchase or access author- 
               
               
                   
                   
                 developed content. ELM/KTT server site links are 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the publisher&#39;s links made available for commercial 
               
               
                   
                   
                 service to readers for new ELM/KTT versions, 
               
               
                   
                   
                 updates and enhancements, and other content (for 
               
               
                   
                   
                 details of the commercial use and enhancement of 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the ELM/KTT, see the U.S. patent application 
               
               
                   
                   
                 titled “Method And Apparatus For Electronic 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Literary Macramé Business Development”, which 
               
               
                   
                   
                 is incorporated herein by reference. ELM/KTT peer 
               
               
                   
                   
                 site links allow limited sharing of ELM/KTT 
               
               
                   
                   
                 content between readers. 
               
               
                 5. 
                 Watermark 
                 This is the set of links used to concatenate hidden 
               
               
                   
                 Links 
                 scene presentations produced by the watermarking 
               
               
                   
                   
                 process. These links are of interest to readers who 
               
               
                   
                   
                 want access to otherwise-unavailable passages from 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the ELM/KTT. The watermark link sequence can 
               
               
                   
                   
                 be reached using a special link placed in the final 
               
               
                   
                   
                 scene of the ELM/KTT. (for the details of the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 ELM/KTT watermarking process, see the U.S. 
               
               
                   
                   
                 patent application titled “Method And Apparatus  
               
               
                   
                   
                 For Digital Watermarking For The Electronic 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Literary Macramé” which is incorporated here by 
               
               
                   
                   
                 reference.) 
               
               
                 6. 
                 Linkless 
                 Search engines offer a ‘linkless’ method of linking, 
               
               
                   
                 Links 
                 which can be done by searching out occurrences of 
               
               
                   
                   
                 a term and selecting an occurrence based on a set 
               
               
                   
                   
                 of selection rules and a menu offered to a reader. 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Such a system eliminates many of the forms of 
               
               
                   
                   
                 linkage above, at the expense of ease of use and the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 risk of breaking the work&#39;s immersive hold on the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 reader. It can be implemented as a browser plug-in 
               
               
                   
                   
                 if considered necessary. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       Forms of Scene-to-Scene Links 
       [0050]    See  FIG. 2 . Scene-to-scene links  513 , also called unit-to-unit links, are described in the incorporated references, but are listed here for completeness to disclose their current forms. The first scene-to-scene link form is the ‘Next/Previous’ form, which is displayed as one of two isolated standard phrases at the foot of a scene or other text unit. The reader may select one of these two links to go forward or back in the main narrative line according to the narrative line selected and using other criteria established for the ELM/KTT. The actual unit to which this form of link takes the reader is dynamic, determined at link selection time. The ‘Next/Previous’ link form is also used in the reference articles to take the browsing reader from reference article to reference article. 
         [0051]    A second scene-to-scene link form is the point-of-view form, which is displayed as the title of the scene or unit to which the link takes the reader, followed by the name of a character or narrator in the scene/unit with the word ‘Viewpoint’ or similar indicator. This form of link takes the reader to the next (or previous) scene/unit in which the named character is the point-of-view character. 
         [0052]    A third scene-to-scene link form is the character-present form, which is like the second form with the word ‘Present’ or similar indicator. This form of link takes the reader to the next (or previous) scene/unit in which the named character or narrator is present in the scene/unit. 
         [0053]    A fourth scene-to-scene link form is the keyword form, which presents a thematic indicator or phrase to the reader. This form of link takes the reader to the next (or previous) scene/unit, in a temporal or otherwise canonical sequence, for which one or more keywords associated with the scene/unit are applicable. 
         [0054]    The present method and apparatus provide for definition and use of other similar forms of narrative scene/unit links as needed. 
       Building and Installing Initial Thread Links 
       [0055]    See  FIG. 3 . To generate initial thread links, the present method and apparatus use the unit tables ( 202 ,  204  of  FIG. 4 ) and the thread tables ( 232   a, b, c  of  FIG. 4 ) to construct ( 402 ) a single thread-based list  403  containing for each story or narrative thread a link to the first scene in the ELM/KTT for that thread, and a brief description of the thread. The present method and apparatus incorporate ( 404 ) said list into an ELM&#39;s or KTT&#39;s Introduction page  405  at compilation time using the ELM/KTT symbolic-include directive as stored in the base introduction unit text file  306 , completing the page with the incorporation of introduction unit header template  322  and introduction unit footer template  324 . A reader may choose a narrative thread to follow using the introduction page  405 . 
       Building and Installing Initial Reference Links 
       [0056]    See  FIG. 5 . To generate initial reference links, the present method and apparatus use the unit tables ( 202 ,  204  of  FIG. 4 ) and optionally the reference files ( 310 ,  314   b  of  FIG. 6 ) to construct ( 412 ) a single reference list  413  containing a link to each reference article together with a brief description of the article. The present method and apparatus use this link list with the symbolic-include feature to build a menu page to let browsing readers choose a reference article from the list. The present method and apparatus incorporate ( 414 ) said list into a reference menu page  415  at compilation time using the ELM/KTT symbolic-include directive as stored in the base reference menu unit text file  306 , completing the page with the incorporation of reference menu unit header template  322  and reference menu unit footer template  324 . A reader may choose a reference page to read using the reference menu page  415 . 
       Building and Installing Scene (Unit) Starting Point Links 
       [0057]    See  FIG. 7 . To generate scene or unit starting point links, the present method and apparatus use the unit tables ( 202 ,  204  of  FIG. 4 ) and the scene/unit files ( 308 ,  314   a  of  FIG. 6 ) to construct ( 422 ) two starting point lists  423   a ,  423   b . The first list  423   a  contains for each character or theme a link to the first scene or unit in the ELM/KTT in which that character or theme is the point of view for readers, together with the title of the scene or unit and an indication that the theme is the point of view for the reader. The second list  423   b  contains for each character or theme a link to the first scene or unit in the ELM/KTT in which that character or theme is present in some role, together with the title of the scene or unit and an indication that the character or theme is present in any role. The present method and apparatus use the symbolic-include feature with said lists  423   a ,  423   b  to build a “map” page  425  to let browsing readers choose entries to the narratives on the basis of the starting points of the narratives for each character or theme. The present method and apparatus incorporate ( 424 ) said list into a starting point map page  425  at compilation time using the ELM/KTT symbolic-include directive as stored in the base map page unit text file  306 , completing the page with the incorporation of map page unit header template  322  and map page unit footer template  324 . A reader may choose a narrative to read using the starting point map page  425 . 
       Building and Installing Character (Theme) Starting Point Links 
       [0058]    See  FIG. 8 . To generate character starting point links, the present method and apparatus use the unit tables ( 202 ,  204  of  FIG. 4 ) and the scene/unit files ( 308 ,  314   a  of  FIG. 6 ) to construct ( 432 ) two lists  433   a ,  433   b , the first list point-of-view-based and the second list first-appearance-based, for every identified character or theme. The first list contains a link to the first scene in the ELM/KTT in which each character is point-of-view or the theme is central for readers. The second list contains for each character or theme a link to the first scene in which that character or theme is present in any role, if the character or theme appears before it is central for readers. The present method and apparatus place a link from each of said lists into the glossary entry for the corresponding character or theme. The present method and apparatus place the link inside a generated text passage to help a reader find a starting point for each glossary-identified character or theme in the ELM/KTT. The present method and apparatus incorporate ( 434 ) links from said lists into a character or theme glossary entry  435  at glossary compilation time using the ELM/KTT symbolic-include directive as stored in the linked glossary unit text file  316 . A reader may choose a narrative to read using the character or theme glossary entry  435 . 
       Building and Installing Contents Links 
       [0059]    See  FIG. 9 . To generate complete contents links, the present method and apparatus use the scene/unit unit tables ( 202 ,  204  of  FIG. 4 ) and the scene/unit files ( 308 ,  314   a  of  FIG. 6 ) to construct ( 442 ) a single list  443  containing a link for every single scene or unit in the ELM/KTT, identified by name or title. The present method and apparatus incorporate ( 444 ) said list  443  into a table of contents (TOC) page  445  at compilation time using the ELM/KTT symbolic-include directive as stored in the base TOC unit text file  306 , completing the page with the incorporation of TOC page unit header template  322  and TOC page unit footer template  324 . A reader may choose a narrative to read using the starting point map page  445 . The present method and apparatus offer browsing readers the choice of entries to the narratives either on the basis of the titles alone or on the basis of the titles as associated with browser linkmap zones, the latter comprising a type of geographical table of contents for the ELM/KTT. 
       Building and Installing Glossary-to-Reference Links 
       [0060]    See  FIG. 10 . To generate glossary-to-reference links, the present method and apparatus use the unit tables ( 202 ,  204  of  FIG. 4 ), the reference files ( 310 ,  314   b  of  FIG. 6 ), and the term and term usage tables ( 228 ,  230  of  FIG. 4 ) to construct ( 452 ) a list  453  of link anchor points based on the titles of the parts of the reference, install ( 454 ) each anchor point within each reference at the title location to produce updated reference pages  455 , determine ( 456 ) whether or not a particular title matches a glossary term in the glossary  316 , and when a match occurs, insert ( 457 ) a link from the matching glossary entry  456  to the link point in the reference  455  for the matching term, together with text for the reader to facilitate link use, producing an updated glossary entry  458  with reference links. An example of the text is “More information is found in the section titled XXX in the reference article titled YYY”, where XXX identifies the section title of the reference, and YYY is the title of the reference. 
       Glossary Supplement Links Overview 
       [0061]    The glossary supplement removes certain more-trivial entries from the glossary itself to reduce clutter for readers. Tabular data, when listed out entry by entry for presentation in the glossary, tend to produce a large number of glossary entries with routine data associated. Such entries may be useful to a reader seeking the meaning of a specific entry without doing a table lookup, but they get in the way of glossary readers who prefer to use the tables to find such data. Consequently, the glossary supplement of the present method and apparatus serves as a repository for tabular data and the explanations of such data in forms preferred by some readers, such as those who dislike scanning tables. 
         [0062]    The glossary supplement links to the tables and other structures that generate it (see the paragraph titled “Structured-Information Management and Presentation” below.). The present method and apparatus include said tables and structures in its references using its symbolic-include feature, and incorporates in each such table and structure element a link back to the appropriate glossary supplement entry. 
         [0063]    Different forms of terms and phrases require reference and linking to the same glossary entry. The present method and apparatus address the use of diverse forms for each term, so that the link-construction processes of the ELM/KTT covers the range of forms for each term. 
       Building and Installing Glossary Supplement-to-Reference Links 
       [0064]    See  FIG. 11 . To generate glossary supplement-to-reference links, the present method and apparatus use the unit tables ( 202 ,  204  of  FIG. 4 ), the linked reference table ( 314   b  of  FIG. 6 ), the reference link anchor point list  453 , the tabular reference table ( 314   c  of  FIG. 6 ) and the tabulation definition tables ( 226  of  FIG. 4 ) to construct ( 462 ) the glossary supplement, determine ( 463 ) whether or not a particular reference link anchor matches a glossary supplement term, and when a match occurs, install ( 464 ) a link from the glossary supplement entry to the link point in the reference for the matching term, together with text for the reader to facilitate link use, producing an updated glossary entry  465  with reference links. 
       Building and Installing Reference-to-Glossary Supplement Links 
       [0065]    Where tabulated terms in a reference generate both glossary and glossary supplement entries, the present method and apparatus provide for selection of either the link to the term&#39;s glossary entry or the link to the term&#39;s glossary supplement entry. At the time the present method and apparatus insert a reference&#39;s glossary and glossary supplement links, the present method and apparatus incorporate a pair of conventional event-processing requests in the reference&#39;s page. The present method and apparatus use, for example, the single-click selection event to initiate display of the glossary entry, and the double-click selection event to initiate display of the glossary supplement entry instead. With this feature, the reader can quickly and easily access either the glossary or the supplement for the term. 
       ELM/KTT Index Generation, Linking, and Use 
       [0066]    The ELM and KTT presentation methods use the current glossary window to display either the glossary of terms or the glossary term index, as requested by the reader. The index contains the complete set of terms in the glossary, listed in their primary (anchor) form only. Following each term is a list of references, each reference a title for a scene or unit in which the term appears. An indexed term in a scene or unit may appear in any of the forms listed for it in the glossary. In the basic index embodiment, the displayed scene/unit title contains a link to the head of the scene, so that a reader can link from the glossary entry for a term to the index entry for that term, and then to any of the scenes/units in which the term appears in one or more of its glossed forms. Linking to a scene or unit from the index brings up that scene in the main (scene or unit) window, as for any scene. 
         [0067]    The reader may link back from the index to the glossary by selecting the displayed name of the indexed term, which links to its corresponding glossary entry. Reciprocally, selecting the displayed name of the glossary term links to the corresponding index entry allows the reader to toggle back and forth between glossary and index without moving the mouse or other selection device. 
         [0068]    A paragraph-level index embodiment for the index provides links to specific paragraphs or sections in scenes or units, in contrast to the links that lead only to the openings of the scenes/units. The paragraph-level embodiment addresses special needs for authors and readers needing links that focus more closely to the region of text in which the indexed term appears. The paragraph-level embodiment requires a manifold expansion of the index resulting from the generation of multiple links per scene and term used, and the inclusion of information to identify each indexed paragraph or section. 
         [0069]    An expanded-index embodiment provides indexing for terms not stored in the glossary at all. In the expanded-index embodiment, the displayed scene titles and their associated links are presented in the index just as for terms appearing in the glossary. Selecting the displayed index entry name, however, returns the reader to the first entry in the glossary section containing terms with the same initial letter as the index entry selected. 
         [0070]    In an expanded-scope embodiment, the present method and apparatus process both scene text files and reference text files to develop its list of indexed references for each term indexed. All embodiments may be combined as desired to accomplish any combination of the objectives of the present method and apparatus. 
       Building and Installing an ELM/KTT Index 
       [0071]    See  FIG. 12 . In its basic indexing embodiment, the present method and apparatus use the unit tables ( 202 ,  204  of  FIG. 4 ), the term and term usage tables ( 228 ,  230  of  FIG. 4 ), and the scene/unit files ( 308 ,  314   a  of  FIG. 6 ) to locate ( 472 ) the first occurrence of each glossary term from the glossary in each scene/unit file  314   a . For each occurrence, the present method and apparatus create ( 473 ) an index list entry  474  containing the glossary term, the scene/unit title where the term was found, and the link anchor of the scene/unit file  314   a . From each index list entry  474 , the present method and apparatus build ( 475 ) an index entry  476 , linking each indexed term to the same term&#39;s definition in the glossary, and listing in each index entry  476  the indexed term and, for each scene/unit file  314   a  in which the term was found, the scene/unit title and the link anchor of the scene/unit file  314   a.    
         [0072]    See  FIG. 13 . In its paragraph-level indexing embodiment, the present method and apparatus use the unit tables ( 202 ,  204  of  FIG. 4 ), the term and term usage tables ( 228 ,  230  of  FIG. 4 ), and the scene/unit files ( 308 ,  314   a  of  FIG. 6 ) to locate ( 482 ) the first occurrence of each glossary term from the glossary in each section or paragraph of each scene/unit file  314   a . For each occurrence matched in a paragraph/section of a scene/unit file  314   a , the present method and apparatus insert ( 483 ) at the start of said paragraph or section of said scene/unit file  314   a  a location link anchor to be used in the index entry, creating scene/unit text files with location anchors  484 , and creates ( 485 ) a readable location identifier for the link anchor&#39;s paragraph or section. The present method and apparatus further create ( 486 ) an index list entry  487  containing the glossary term, the scene/unit title where the term was found, the location identifier for the link anchor&#39;s paragraph or section, and the link anchor of the scene/unit. From each index list entry  487 , the present method and apparatus build ( 488 ) an index entry  489 , linking each indexed term to the same term&#39;s definition in the glossary, and listing in each index entry  489  the indexed term along with the scene/unit title, location identifier, and link anchor of each scene/unit file  484  in which the term was found. 
       Building and Installing Glossary-to-Index and Index-to-Glossary Links 
       [0073]    The present method and apparatus present each glossary term as a link to the corresponding index entry, so that a reader can navigate directly from the glossary term to the index and its list of scenes or units containing an occurrence of said term. Conversely, the present method and apparatus present each index term as a link to the corresponding glossary entry, so that a reader can navigate directly from the index term to the glossary and its definition of said term. 
       Symbolic Links and Symbolic Anchors 
       [0074]    When a written work is prepared for presentation in electronic form, the preparer, who is usually an author or an editor, must decide how and where the work&#39;s parts are to be interconnected for the reader&#39;s use. The ELM/KTT is a process and a product which give preparers and readers a much-expanded range of possible ways to link and experience a narrative written work. 
         [0075]    During compilation of a work, the ELM/KTT processes texts in detailed form, removing earlier HTML links and replacing them with new ones as the linked and linking texts undergo changes in the writing. HTML commands can be preserved through the compilation process for texts which previously contained HTML, but there is no such preservation for HTML originating in a word-processor file. The present method and apparatus provide exactly such a capability, and exploits said capability to provide support for related types of directives as well. 
         [0076]    To support the capability, the present method and apparatus set up and maintains a pair of files: a symbolic-anchor file containing the names and filenames of all the symbolic anchor points an author creates for an ELM/KTT, and a symbolic-link file containing the names, filenames, and symbolic-anchor names for all the symbolic links the author creates for the same ELM or KTT. Both symbolic-anchor names and symbolic-link names are unique across the entire ELM/KTT. 
         [0077]    See  FIG. 14 . An author or other user of the present method and apparatus locates a point in an electronic text document  1  where a hypertext anchor is needed, so that a link elsewhere in the narrative may take the reader directly to the anchor point. The author positions the text pointer (cursor) and requests a form display. The author enters on the form a symbolic name for the anchor, an internal identifier for the anchor, and a target window type for the window in which the document containing the anchor is to be displayed. The present method and apparatus confirm the entry as unique ( 111 ) by insuring that its internal identifier is not already stored in a symbolic-anchor file, and closes the form. The present method and apparatus insert ( 113 ) the symbolic anchor in the text in a visible form (e.g., [Symbolic Anchor:anchor_id:anchor_name:display_text]) and adds ( 112 ) the symbolic name, the internal identifier, the target window type, and the file containing said symbolic name to the ELM&#39;s or KTT&#39;s symbolic-anchor file list  5  of such names. The resulting electronic document  11  contains one or more symbolic anchors. 
         [0078]    See  FIG. 15 . For linking to an anchor, the author locates a point in an electronic text document  1  where a hypertext link is needed to let the reader transfer to a symbolic anchor point. The author positions the text pointer (cursor) to highlight the word representing the link point and requests a form display. The present method and apparatus retrieve all symbolic anchor names and their associated data from the anchor list  5  and presents them in said form. The author selects or enters the symbolic name for the anchor point, and the present method and apparatus verify ( 121 ) the anchor point&#39;s validity. The author then enters a symbolic name for the link itself, confirms the selection and entry, and closes the form. The present method and apparatus insert ( 123 ) the symbolic link in the text in a visible form (e.g., [Symbolic Link:link_id:display_textanchor_file:anchorname:window_target]), incorporating the highlighted word representing the link point, the symbolic anchor name, the symbolic anchor&#39;s file name, and the symbolic anchor&#39;s target window type as retrieved from symbolic-anchor file list  5 . The present method and apparatus then add ( 122 ) the symbolic link name, the file containing said symbolic link name, and the symbolic anchor name to the symbolic-link file list  25  of such names. Note that electronic text documents may contain both symbolic anchors and symbolic links. 
       Symbolic Inclusion of Files 
       [0079]    The incorporation of generated links and generated lists of links into the outputs of the present method and apparatus as described above is supported by the file inclusion feature of the present method and apparatus. See  FIG. 16 . An author or other user of the present method and apparatus locates a point in an electronic text document  1  where the contents of a separate file is needed, so that the contents of said separate file may be inserted in electronic text document  1  at a later stage in the construction of the ELM/KTT output. The author positions the text pointer (cursor) and requests a form display. The author enters on the form a pathname for the file to be included and the filename of the file to be included ( 130 ). The present method and apparatus validate the filename and attributes of the file to be included (step not shown), adds ( 132 ) the file inclusion directive to a file inclusion list  35 , and inserts ( 133 ) the include directive in the text in a visible form (e.g., [Include File:path_and_file_name]). The resulting electronic document  31  contains one or more file-inclusion directives. 
         [0080]    In extended embodiments, the present method and apparatus create, propagate, and convert symbolic references to additional hypertext features (e.g., HTML or XML features) to support an author&#39;s use of such features in an electronic text document without knowledge of the detailed coding requirements of said features, analogously to the method hereinabove described. In this way the present method and apparatus support the author&#39;s incorporation of image files, tables, and other hypertext features in a symbolic form to be resolved when all author-entered symbolic components are resolved into hypertext components as described hereinabove. 
         [0081]    The present method and apparatus give the inserted symbolic anchors and links and the inclusion directives a distinctive form to mark them for later processing during ELM/KTT compilation. Each symbolic anchor or link is preceded by an escape sequence of one or more delimiting characters (the left mark, e.g., ‘[’ here) and followed by an escape sequence of one or more delimiting characters collectively distinct from those in the left mark (the right mark, e.g., ‘]’ here). 
         [0082]    As shown in  FIG. 17 , during compilation of the ELM/KTT the present method and apparatus convert ( 140 ,  141 ) the symbolic links and anchors in electronic text documents  41  to HTML links and anchors respectively, inserting additional formatting and processing parameters in the HTML code for the links and anchors as the ELM/KTT may require. The present method and apparatus also insert ( 142 ) any files for which file inclusion directives were present in the input document. This process produces electronic text documents  91  containing hypertext links, hypertext anchors, and included files. 
         [0083]    Through later ELM/KTT processing, electronic text documents  91  become components of the ELM/KTT output. The present method and apparatus make the resulting converted links identifiably distinct from the links inserted in the basic ELM/KTT processing, in order to preserve the converted links during glossary and reference link rebuilding. 
         [0084]    As shown in  FIGS. 14 ,  15 , and  16 , the present method and apparatus use the symbolic-anchor file list  5 , the symbolic-link file list  25 , and the file inclusion list  35  to provide the author or editor with reports, respectively  19 ,  29 , and  39 , containing all the symbolic components and file inclusion directives which were manually installed by the author or editor. The present method and apparatus govern symbolic links in their appearance by separate stylesheet specifications. 
         [0085]    Through the present method and apparatus, the ELM/KTT combines automated linking with author-defined manual linking in such a way as to avoid interference between the two processes by which links are implemented in the ELM/KTT for use by readers. In this way an author or editor can produce literary, rhetorical, or pedagogical effects not easily accomplished using conventional means. 
       Sets, Relationships, and Structured Information 
       [0086]    A written narrative, whether literary or academic, engenders an environment or context in the mind of its reader. This context comprises a kind of conceptual or imagined ‘space’ in which events and entities interact. For the reader, such a space forms an inner reality in which the reader becomes, and stays, immersed. One principle authors try to follow is that of enrichment of the attributes of the inner reality without sacrificing narrative momentum and reader attention. The ELM/KTT offers unique support for such enrichment. 
         [0087]    The ELM/KTT provides an author with methods for organizing the entities and elements of a narrative&#39;s conceptual or imagined space. Set membership, hierarchies of sets, family relationships, social groupings, rankings, even functional relationships definable as maps from one collection or set to another, all belong in a writer&#39;s conceptual space for a piece. Authors usually draw upon such organization in a piecemeal fashion, using members of a set to sketch the set&#39;s existence and generate a credible realm in which the narrative is situated. 
         [0088]    A consequence of such piecemeal usage may be a certain thinness to the inner reality of the narrative. A browsing reader, immersing herself or himself more and more deeply in the world of the narrative, uncovers unanswered questions about the relationships and aggregates of things in the narrative&#39;s world. The present method and apparatus support both an author&#39;s construction of fuller sets of relationships and entities, and a reader&#39;s ability to engage with those sets to recreate individually the vivid reality of the author&#39;s generated realm. 
         [0089]    The fields of database design and artificial intelligence supply many conventional methods of codifying relationships for computational use in automated reasoning. The present method and apparatus orchestrate the use of such conventional methods to give readers of a narrative some useful connections among the entities and processes an author develops, helping authors to integrate these entities and processes smoothly and easily into an ELM or KTT. 
         [0090]    The following classes of structure exemplify the types of relationships to be defined:
       lists of entities that are members of a class in a many-to-one relationship, such as days of the week, or months of the year;   members of a class in a many-to-many relationship, such as languages spoken in a province where a language may be spoken in many provinces;   hierarchies of lists of entities, such as subclasses of subclasses of a class of vehicles; and sequences of theorems or definitions used in the proof of a mathematical proposition.       
 
         [0094]    The glossary of the ELM/KTT itself is a form of list, with each entry in the glossary having many instances of the entry&#39;s use linked back to it. The enhanced indexing capability of the present method and apparatus, defined hereinabove as leading back from a glossary entry to all the instances of a term&#39;s use, comprises an inverse relationship vis-á-vis the glossary itself. 
         [0095]    Elements of the narrative that contribute directly to a reader&#39;s sense of verisimilitude and immersion are of intense interest to readers of an ELM or KTT, much more so than for readers of a traditional, linear narrative. For example, an author who names a single day of the week in a created world suggests by that naming that the other days have other names, but doesn&#39;t want to interrupt the flow of the narrative to list them all. On the other hand, when that one day is named in the narrative, the reader may not remember how it relates to the other days of the week. The present method and apparatus augment the ELM/KTT glossary with links that immediately offer the reader some assistance as needed. 
         [0096]    While browsing the created realm of an ELM or KTT, readers often want to delve into relationships among the entities of that realm as they read. For example, if the author mentions a musical instrument of a particular type, a reader might want to know about other instruments. The same is true of colors, languages, foods, and other organizations of elements. 
         [0097]    The situation becomes more complex with familial relationships. Authors sometimes include genealogies as appendices in printed works. An ELM or KTT can incorporate genealogical relationships in a navigable form, so that a reader can locate siblings, parents, children, spouses, collateral relatives, ancestors, and descendants of a character whose place in the author&#39;s realm is made more vivid by such connections. 
         [0098]    The ELM/KTT relies on the author to provide all tabular information along with some specifications of relationships, but provides means for converting the tables and text into readable components for the readers of the ELM/KTT output. 
         [0099]    In the early stages of the development of a particular ELM or KTT, the author may only provide a few lists or tables of information. The dynamic character of the ELM/KTT, in which growth and change of its content and structure are essential parts, allows the repeated addition, refinement, and extension of the sets and relationships of the work. Each such added component serves as an attractant to the reader who wishes for more information from the world of the ELM or KTT. Attracted readers in turn provide commercial opportunity for the author and the publisher. This aspect of the ELM/KTT is further developed in the patent application titled “Method And Apparatus For Electronic Literary Macramé Business Development”, referenced hereinabove. 
       Structured-Information Management and Presentation 
       [0100]    To address the needs for handling structured data in the ELM/KTT for readers and authors, a structured-information-handling embodiment of the present method and apparatus using tabulation methods is presented. Other embodiments produce similar output results. The method of the ELM/KTT described herein suppresses information overloads for the reader, and spells out in text form some kinds of structured information for readers preferring a narrative approach to that information. The described embodiment is presented simply as an illustration and instance of the class of such table-handling methods, and should not be considered as restricting the present method and apparatus to any limitations implied by the illustration. 
         [0101]    Templates for standard sentences and phrases are useful in developing presentations, in text form, of elements and components of table content. The contents of any given table entry can then be presented to readers as narrative, which some readers find much easier to assimilate than tabular information. The present method provides for presentation of both the table itself as HTML and the narrative content of the table in glossary-entry format. 
         [0102]    To avoid cluttering the glossary itself with table content narratives, the supplement to the glossary of the present method and apparatus contains just the template-derived texts representing and elaborating table entries. To reach the supplement, links are provided in the glossary itself. Each supplement entry then links to the generating table, if it exists, in the document containing the table. 
         [0103]    Tabular entries may be fairly ordinary terms and phrases which have their special meaning only in certain contexts in the scenes or the reference documents. In order to avoid creating links from irrelevant scene or reference content, there are no links to the glossary supplement directly from the scenes or the reference documents. 
         [0104]    Tables in the ELM/KTT generally take one of three forms: a simple list of items, such as names of days of the week; a list with data associations, such as the names of military units and their constituent units; and a two-dimensional table, such as the names of andro colors and their octaves of wavelength. Other forms are provided as needed. The three listed here exemplify the approach used. 
         [0105]    Defining a table for the ELM/KTT uses a file in the following general form: 
         [0000]    [TABLE]|&lt;text-table-name&gt;|&lt;table-width&gt;|&lt;table-alignment&gt;|&lt;table-margin&gt;|&lt;table-class&gt;|&lt;table-reference-file-name&gt;|&lt;table-build-option&gt;|
 
[TABLEHDR]|&lt;table-header-text&gt;|&lt;table-definition-text
 
[COLUMNTTL]|&lt;column-1-title-1&gt;|&lt;column-2-title-1&gt;| . . . |&lt;column-J-title-1&gt;|
 
. . .
 
[COLUMNTTL]|&lt;column-1-title-K&gt;|&lt;column-2-title-K&gt;| . . . |&lt;column-J-title-K&gt;|
 
[COLUMNHDR]|&lt;column-title-1-name&gt;|&lt;column-title-1-definition&gt;|
 
. . .
 
[COLUMNHDR]|&lt;column-title-K-name&gt;|&lt;column-title-K-definition&gt;|
 
[COLUMNDATA]|&lt;column-1-data-type&gt;|&lt;column-2-data-type&gt;| . . . |&lt;column-J-data-type&gt;|
 
[COLUMNTYPE]|&lt;column-1-content-type&gt;|&lt;column-2-content-type&gt;| . . . |&lt;column-J-content-type&gt;|
 
[ROWHDR]|&lt;column-1-title-1&gt;|&lt;row-header-1-definition-text&gt;|
 
[ROWHDR] |&lt;column-2-title-1&gt;|&lt;row-header-2-definition-text&gt;|
 
. . .
 
         [0106]    [ROW]|&lt;row-1-column-1-data&gt;|&lt;row-1-column-2-data&gt;| . . . |&lt;row-1-column-J-data&gt;| 
         [0000]    . . . 
         [0107]    [ROW]|&lt;row-I-column-1-data&gt;|&lt;row-I-column-2-data&gt;| . . . |&lt;row-1-column-J-data&gt;| 
         [0000]    [TEMPLATE]|text . . . {&lt;column-A1-title-B1&gt;} . . . {&lt;column-A2-title-B2&gt;} . . . text|
 
. . .
 
[TEMPLATE]|text . . . {Table Title} . . . {Table Link} . . . text|
 
         [0108]    HTML table definitions are not used because HTML offers little to assist the table-builder to identify relationships among the table&#39;s rows, columns, and their contents. The above type of file allows us to exploit the relationships of meaning to build useful narrative explanations for each table entry, a feature which many readers appreciate when facing the task of skimming through tabular data to find the term they want. 
         [0109]    Following are the explanations for the table definition statements. 
       The [TABLE] Definition Statement 
       [0110]    This statement defines the general characteristics of the table itself. The fields of this statement, separated by ‘|’ and ending with a ‘|’, are as follows:
   &lt;text-table-name&gt; the name of the table itself, alphanumeric with no spaces   &lt;table-width&gt; the table width as specified for HTML   &lt;table-alignment&gt; the alignment of the table on the Web page, as for HTML   &lt;table-margin&gt; the HTML margin specification for the table   &lt;table-class&gt; the CSS stylesheet for the table   &lt;table-reference-file-name&gt; the name of the file containing the table   &lt;table-build-option&gt; the word ‘yes’ if the table is to be constructed as an HTML table for storage and presentation, with any other value omitting the generation of the HTML table.   
 
       The [TABLEHDR] Definition Statement 
       [0118]    This statement defines the header for the table. The fields of this statement, separated by ‘|’ and ending with a ‘|’, are as follows: 
         [0000]    &lt;table-header-text&gt; the text to appear in enhanced form as the title of the table
 
&lt;table-definition-text&gt; a text describing the table and its contents
 
       The [COLUMNTTL] Definition Statement 
       [0119]    This statement defines the title to be used for each column of the table. There may be several column title definitions, each requiring a row of the table to display. The fields of this statement, separated by ‘|’ and ending with a ‘|’, are as follows. The ‘X’, for the column, and ‘Y’, for the title row, are shown here for descriptive reasons, and are not a part of the title: 
         [0000]    &lt;column-1-title-1&gt; the first title for column 1.
 
&lt;column-2-title-1&gt; the first title for column 2.
 
. . .
 
&lt;column-X-title-1&gt; the first title for column X
 
. . .
 
&lt;column-1-title-Y&gt; the Yth title for column 1&lt;column-2-title-Y&gt; the Yth title for column 2
 
. . .
 
&lt;column-X-title-Y&gt; the Yth title for column X
 
The [COLUMNHDR] Definition Statement This statement defines the characteristics of each column title row. There is one COLUMNHDR statement for each COLUMNTTL statement. The fields of the COLUMNHDR statement, separated by ‘|’ and ending with a ‘|’, are as follows:
 
&lt;column-title-1-name&gt; the name of the first column title row
 
&lt;column-title-1-definition&gt; a text describing the contents of the first column title row
 
. . .
 
&lt;column-title-Y-name&gt; the name of the Yth column title row
 
&lt;column-title-Y-definition&gt; a text describing the contents of the Yth column title row
 
       The [COLUMNDATA] Definition Statement 
       [0120]    This statement identifies the type of content for each column. Some tables present the same type of information in multiple columns, while others present different content in each column. There is only one [COLUMNDATA] statement per table. The terms found in this statement The fields of this statement, separated by ‘|’ and ending with a ‘|’, are as follows: 
         [0000]    &lt;column-1-data-type&gt; a name or phrase for the kind of content in the first column
 
. . .
 
&lt;column-X-data-type&gt; a name or phrase for the kind of content in the Xth column
 
       The [COLUMNTYPE] Definition Statement 
       [0121]    This statement defines the usage of the column content. Some columns contain entries for which narrative statements are constructed, while others contain only values associated with such entries. There is only one [COLUMNTYPE] statement per table. The fields of this statement, separated by ‘|’ and ending with a ‘|’, are as follows:
   &lt;column-1-content-type&gt; if column 1 contains only data to be associated with the narrative generated from another column, the word ‘data’ appears here. Otherwise empty.   . . .   &lt;column-X-content-type&gt; if column 1 contains only data to be associated with the narrative generated from another column, the word ‘data’ appears here. Otherwise empty.   
 
       The [ROWHDR] Definition Statement 
       [0125]    This statement defines the presence and meaning of a row header, or an entry that serves to identify the row of the table to a reader. More than one column may be used as a row header. The fields of this statement, separated by ‘|’ and ending with a ‘|’, are as follows: 
         [0000]    &lt;column-1-title-1&gt; the title of a first column in which the row header appears
 
&lt;row-header-1-definition-text&gt; text describing the first row header column
 
. . .
 
&lt;column-Z-title-1&gt; the title of the Zth column in which the row header appears
 
&lt;row-header-2-definition-text&gt; text describing the Zth row header column
 
       The [ROW] Definition Statement 
       [0126]    This statement presents the actual table contents, with each statement defining a row of the table, and each field a column of that row. The fields of this statement, separated by ‘|’ and ending with a ‘|’, are as follows: 
         [0000]    &lt;row-1-column-1-data&gt;
 
&lt;row-1-column-2-data&gt;
 
. . .
 
&lt;row-1-column-X-data&gt;
 
. . .
 
&lt;row-Y-column-1-data&gt;
 
&lt;row-Y-column-2-data&gt;
 
. . .
 
&lt;row-Y-column-X-data&gt;
 
       The [TEMPLATE] Definition Statement 
       [0127]    This statement defines a text template for use in presenting a description or definition of an individual table entry. The fields of this statement, as for preceding statements, are separated by ‘|’ and end with a ‘|’. The template is filled in using references to table entries, row headers, column titles, or general table data. Each such reference is identified in the template by the structure 
         [0128]    {&lt;table-reference&gt;} 
         [0000]    with the curly braces as shown, and with &lt;table-reference&gt; referring to one of the following:
   $ A &lt;column-N-data-type&gt; as found in a [COLUMNDATA] statement. Use of this reference generates a text for each entry in the columns and rows under the name given, replacing this reference and the curly braces with the entry value.   $ A &lt;column-title-N-name&gt; as found in a [COLUMNHDR] statement. Use of this reference replaces this reference and the curly braces with the named column header value.   $ A &lt;column-N-title-M&gt; as found in a [ROWHDR] statement. Use of this reference replaces this reference and the curly braces with the named row header value.   $ The reference {Table Title}. Use of this reference replaces this reference and the curly braces with the title of the table found in &lt;table-header-text&gt;.   $ The reference {Table Link}. Use of this reference replaces this reference and the curly braces with the title of the table found in &lt;table-header-text&gt; in the [TABLEHDR] statement, as the display for an HTML link to the table itself. The &lt;table-reference-file-name&gt; and &lt;text-table-name&gt; are taken from the [TABLE] statement to construct the link&#39;s file and anchor.   $ The reference {Table Description}. Use of this reference replaces this reference and the curly braces with the description of the table found in &lt;table-definition-text&gt; in the [TABLEHDR] statement.   
 
       Building and Installing Tables 
       [0135]    The present method and apparatus produce outputs from the table definitions in two forms, using the definitions of form and content as defined above and supplied by the author. First is the XHTML table format, which uses the conventional markup language and stylesheet definitions to build, store, and make available to the reader a tabular display of the contents of the table as defined. Second is the table element narrative format, which uses string and text processing tools to generate a separate element text description for each data element of the table. The element text descriptions generated in this manner become the entries in the glossary supplement of the present method and apparatus. 
         [0136]    See  FIG. 18 . To generate tables and their content presentations for readers, the present method and apparatus use the author&#39;s tabulation definition inputs ( 226  of  FIG. 4 ) to construct ( 492 ) for each table an XHTML tabular reference unit text file  312 , a list of table terms  493 , and a database file comprised of a set of texts  494  generated from templates and data from the table&#39;s input tabulation definition inputs  226 . From the set of texts  494  from all tables the present method and apparatus build ( 495 ) the glossary supplement entries  496  and then the complete glossary supplement. The XHTML tabular reference unit text file  312  is stored for inclusion, via the symbolic-inclusion process of the present method and apparatus, in one or more reference files for readers. 
       Integration of Improvements 
       [0137]    The improvements described herein comprise a concerted set of enhancements to the ELM/KTT and its outputs. By its unconventional and synergistic use of ordinary and conventional methods, the present method and apparatus grant to readers and authors considerable navigational power and ease in moving from one location in the ELM/KTT to another, while preserving and enhancing the reader&#39;s attention on the topics and narratives of the author&#39;s intent. 
         [0138]    While the present method and apparatus have been described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the software and related arts that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof to adapt to particular situations without departing from the scope of the present method and apparatus. Therefore, it is intended that the present method and apparatus not be limited to any particular embodiments or combination of embodiments disclosed as the basic, primary, or best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.