Patent ID: 7581179

Claim:
An information retrieving apparatus which retrieves predetermined information according to an input of text information, comprising: an input operation section that selects characters from a character list that has a fixed predetermined number of character data areas for containing characters arranged in a fixed predetermined character sequence and performs input instructions of selected characters, wherein the input operation section is moved by an operator to select characters from the character list and a decision of a selected character is made by pressing on the input operation section; a display section that displays said character list on a character list display section and input instructed characters on a selected character display section that are input according to the input instructions performed by said input operation section; a succeeding input candidate character selection section that retrieves input candidate characters containing said input instructed characters and extracts a character immediately after said input instructed characters in the retrieved input candidate as a candidate character; a candidate definition processing section that temporarily allocates said candidate character to a display area of the character list in said display section that contains non-selectable characters, so that they can be selected using said input operation section, wherein said non-selectable characters vary based on the extracted candidate character; and a candidate display section that displays characters in said display area where the character data areas of said non-selectable characters are replaced temporarily by said candidate character by said candidate definition processing section, and differentiating said display area from a display area of the character list that contains selectable characters, wherein the character list displayed in the display area by the candidate display section maintains the predetermined number of character data areas arranged in the predetermined character sequences including the selectable characters and non-selectable characters and the character data areas of non-selectable characters in the character list are temporarily defined as character data of selectable characters.