Patent ID: 7937672

Claim:
A method for scrolling through a list in an electronic device comprising the steps of: providing a display having a single line for displaying alphanumeric text for one entry of an alphabetized list and a terminating character string, said alphanumeric text including an alphanumeric text string having alphanumeric text characters and said terminating character string including one or more terminating characters, wherein said one or more terminating characters includes using a same terminating-type character; replacing the display with a alphanumeric text phrase representing a cluster of items in said alphabetized list when a user requests a higher level of abstraction such that the alphanumeric text phase consists of at least one alphanumeric text character configured to form a common starting phrase of the group of alphabetized entries of which a currently displayed alphanumeric entry is a member; and navigating though multiple levels of abstraction using a control algorithm such that attaining each higher level of abstraction displays a successively shorter alphanumeric text string in said currently displayed entry while further displaying a successively larger terminating character string containing the same terminating-type character in said currently displayed entry, wherein when at least an alphanumeric text character in the alphanumeric text string is removed from the display the same terminating-type character is added in said terminating character string to replace the removed alphanumeric text character.