Patent ID: 8023745

Claim:
A computer implemented method, comprising: receiving, via an input system of a computer, plural electronic ink strokes including at least a first electronic ink stroke, each of the plural electronic ink strokes comprising plural vertices, wherein at least some of the plural electronic ink strokes are grouped in a hierarchical manner to form a hierarchical association, the hierarchical association including the plural electronic ink strokes grouped into plural electronic ink words and the plural electronic ink words grouped into the plural electronic ink lines; a processor of the computer connected to the input system defining at least a first vertex in the first electronic ink stroke; receiving, via the input system of the computing system, input data indicating a selection of at least a first electronic ink line; the processor of the computer connected to the input system determining at least a first neighbor vertex to the first vertex, wherein the first neighbor vertex is in an electronic ink stroke other than the first electronic ink stroke, the determining including determining which electronic ink line or lines located outside of the selection include one or more electronic ink strokes having one or more vertices that are neighbors to one or more vertices included in the first electronic ink line; and the processor of the computer connected to the input system repeating the defining and the determining to determine another neighbor vertex for each vertex of the plural vertices.