Patent ID: 7432938

Claim:
A method for annotating at least a first portion of a first electronic document displayable to a first person via a display screen, comprising the steps of: receiving at least a first input from the first person; generating, in response to at least the first input, at least one of a first annotation and a first annotation box displayable to the first person via a window of the display screen, wherein the first annotation is displayable within the first annotation box, the first annotation box being positioned a distance away from the first text portion of the first electronic document, over a second text portion of the first electronic document, such that the first text portion of the first electronic document and said at least one of the first annotation and the first annotation box are displayable simultaneously in the window; linking said at least one of the first annotation and the first annotation box with the first text portion of the first electronic documents via a displayable first referencer, wherein the first referencer comprises one of a displayable arrow and a displayable line extending between the first text portion of the first electronic document and said at least one of the first annotation box and the first annotation; receiving at least a second input from the first person, the second input corresponding to relating at least one of the first annotation aid the first annotation box with the first portion of the first electronic document via the first referencer; within the window of the display screen, generating, from the second input, the first referencer to link at least one of the first annotation and the first annotation box with the first portion of the first electronic document, wherein the first referencer is wholly displayed with in the window without crossing boundaries of other displayed windows in the display screen; receiving at least a third input from the first person, wherein the third input corresponds to moving at least one of the first annotation and the first annotation box from a first location relative to the first portion of the first electronic document to a second location relative to the first portion of the first electronic document, and reconfiguring the first referencer to link at least one of the first annotation box and the first annotation at the second location with the first text portion of the first electronic document, wherein the first end of the first referencer is moved from a first position proximate the first location to a second position, where the second location is determined relative to at least one of the first position of the first end and the first text portion of the first electronic document, and is proximate the second location; and positioning the first end of the first referencer at the second position, proximate the second location, along with at least one of the first annotation box and the first annotation.