Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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APPARATUS AND METHOD PERTAINING TO PREDICTED-TEXT ENTRY
Field of Technology
[0001] The present disclosure relates to electronic devices, including but not
limited to, portable electronic devices having touch-sensitive displays and
their
control. More particularly the present disclosure relates to the presentation
and use
of predicted text entries.
Background
[0002] Electronic devices, including portable electronic devices, have gained
widespread use and may provide a variety of functions including, for example,
telephonic, electronic messaging and other personal information manager (PIM)
application functions. Portable electronic devices include, for example,
several
types of mobile stations such as simple cellular telephones, smart phones,
wireless
personal digital assistants (PDAs), and laptop computers with wireless 802.11
or
Bluetooth capabilities.
[0003] Portable electronic devices such as PDAs or smart telephones are
generally intended for handheld use and ease of portability. Smaller devices
are
generally desirable for portability. A touch-sensitive display, also known as
a
touchscreen display, is particularly useful on handheld devices, which are
small and
have limited space for user input and output. The information displayed on the
touch-sensitive displays may be modified based on the functions and operations
being performed. With continued demand for decreased size of portable
electronic
devices, touch-sensitive displays continue to decrease in size.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
[0004] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portable electronic device in accordance
with the disclosure.
[0005] FIG. 2 is a flowchart in accordance with the disclosure.
[0006] FIG. 3 is a schematic screen shot in accordance with the disclosure.
[0007] FIG. 4 is a schematic screen shot in accordance with the disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 5 is a schematic screen shot in accordance with the disclosure.
[0009] FIG. 6 is a schematic screen shot in accordance with the disclosure.
[0010] FIG. 7 is a schematic screen shot in accordance with the disclosure.
[0011] FIG. 8 is a schematic screen shot in accordance with the disclosure.
[0012] FIG. 9 is a schematic screen shot in accordance with the disclosure.
[0013] FIG. 10 is a schematic screen shot in accordance with the disclosure.
[0014] FIG. 11 is a flowchart in accordance with the disclosure.
[0015] FIG. 12 is a schematic screen shot in accordance with the disclosure.
[0016] FIG. 13 is a schematic screen shot in accordance with the disclosure.
Detailed Description
[0017] The following describes an apparatus for and method of displaying (via,
for example, a touch-sensitive display) a plurality of predicted entries as a
function,
at least in part, of at least some characters entered via a non-virtual
alphanumeric
keyboard and detecting and using a particular touch (for example, of the touch-
sensitive display) to identify and select a particular one of the predicted
entries. By
one approach the predicted entries are displayed along a side of a touch-
sensitive
display that is most near to a non-virtual alphanumeric keyboard.
[0018] These teachings are highly flexible in practice and will accommodate a
wide variety of alterations, embellishments, and combinations. For example, by
one approach, the aforementioned plurality of predicted entries can be
presently
immediately selectable via a detected touch (by, for example, the touch-
sensitive
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display). In such a case, at least a second group of predicted entries that
are not
presently immediately selectable via a detected touch can also be
simultaneously
displayed along with that group of selectable predicted entries. Also in such
a case,
and if desired, upon detecting another touch the selectability of these groups
of
predicted entries can be switched to thereby permit the user to quickly select
any of
that second group of predicted entries using a corresponding touch.
[0019] As another example with respect to the flexibility of these teachings,
in
combination with the foregoing or in lieu thereof these teachings will
accommodate
responding to another detected touch by displaying a different plurality of
predicted
entries altogether and/or undoing a previous predicted entry action.
[0020] For simplicity and clarity of illustration, reference numerals may be
repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.
Numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the examples
described herein. The examples may be practiced without these details. In
other
instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components are not described in
detail to avoid obscuring the examples described. The description is not to be
considered as limited to the scope of the examples described herein.
[0021] The disclosure generally relates to an electronic device, such as a
portable
electronic device as described herein. Examples of electronic devices include
mobile, or handheld, wireless communication devices such as pagers, cellular
phones, cellular smart-phones, wireless organizers, personal digital
assistants,
wirelessly-enabled notebook computers, tablet computers, mobile internet
devices,
electronic navigation devices, and so forth. The electronic device may also be
a
portable electronic device lacking wireless communication capabilities, such
as a
handheld electronic game, digital photograph album, digital camera, media
player,
e-book reader, and so forth.
[0022] A block diagram of an example of a portable electronic device 100 is
shown in FIG. 1. The portable electronic device 100 includes multiple
components
including a processor 102, which may comprise discrete components, one or more
microprocessors or other types of processors, and so forth, that controls the
overall
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operation of the portable electronic device 100. Communication functions,
including
data and voice communications, are performed through a communication
subsystem 104. Data received by the portable electronic device 100 is
decompressed and decrypted by a decoder 106. The communication subsystem
104 receives messages from and sends messages to a wireless network 150. The
wireless network 150 may be any type of wireless network, including, but not
limited to, data wireless networks, voice wireless networks, and networks that
support both voice and data communications. A power source 142, such as one or
more rechargeable batteries or a port to an external power supply, powers the
portable electronic device 100.
[0023] The processor 102 interacts with other components, such as a Random
Access Memory (RAM) 108, memory 110, a touch-sensitive display 118, an
auxiliary
input/output (I/O) subsystem 124, a data port 126, a speaker 128, a microphone
130, short-range communications 132, and, pursuant to some optional
approaches,
a non-virtual keyboard 134. As used herein this reference to a "non-virtual
keyboard" will be understood to refer to a keyboard other than a keyboard that
is
presented on a touch-sensitive display. Accordingly, a non-virtual keyboard
includes key assemblies that each include at least one moving mechanical
component. This keyboard can comprise, by one approach, an alphanumeric
keyboard with keys corresponding to one or more alphabetic and/or numeric
characters (which may include any of a variety of alphabetic, logographic,
and/or
syllabic characters and/or numeric characters).
[0024] The touch-sensitive display 118 includes a display 112 and touch
sensors
114 that are coupled to at least one controller 116 that is utilized to
interact with
the processor 102. Input via a graphical user interface is provided via the
touch-
sensitive display 118. Information, such as text, characters, symbols, images,
icons, and other items that may be displayed or rendered on a portable
electronic
device, is displayed on the touch-sensitive display 118 via the processor 102.
The
processor 102 may also interact with an accelerometer 136 that may be utilized
to
detect direction of gravitational forces or gravity-induced reaction forces.
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[0025] To identify a subscriber for network access, the portable electronic
device
100 may utilize a Subscriber Identity Module or a Removable User Identity
Module
(SIM/RUIM) card 138 for communication with a network, such as the wireless
network 150. Alternatively, user identification information may be programmed
into memory 110.
[0026] The portable electronic device 100 includes an operating system 146 and
software programs, applications, or components 148 that are executed by the
processor 102 and are typically stored in a persistent, updatable store such
as the
memory 110. Additional applications or programs may be loaded onto the
portable
electronic device 100 through the wireless network 150, the auxiliary I/O
subsystem 124, the data port 126, the short-range communications subsystem
132, or any other suitable subsystem 134.
[0027] A received signal such as a text message, an e-mail message, or web
page download is processed by the communication subsystem 104 and input to the
processor 102. The processor 102 processes the received signal for output to
the
display 112 and/or to the auxiliary I/O subsystem 124. A subscriber may
generate
data items, for example e-mail messages, which may be transmitted over the
wireless network 150 through the communication subsystem 104. For voice
communications, the overall operation of the portable electronic device 100 is
similar. The speaker 128 outputs audible information converted from electrical
signals, and the microphone 130 converts audible information into electrical
signals
for processing.
[0028] The touch-sensitive display 118 may be any suitable touch-sensitive
display, such as a capacitive, resistive, infrared, surface acoustic wave
(SAW)
touch-sensitive display, strain gauge, optical imaging, dispersive signal
technology,
acoustic pulse recognition, and so forth. A capacitive touch-sensitive display
includes one or more capacitive touch sensors 114. The capacitive touch
sensors
may comprise any suitable material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO).
[0029] One or more touches, also known as touch contacts or touch events, may
be detected by the touch-sensitive display 118. The processor 102 may
determine
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attributes of the touch, including a location of the touch. Touch location
data may
include data for an area of contact or data for a single point of contact,
such as a
point at or near a center of the area of contact. The location of a detected
touch
may include x and y components, e.g., horizontal and vertical components,
respectively, with respect to one's view of the touch-sensitive display 118.
For
example, the x location component may be determined by a signal generated from
one touch sensor, and the y location component may be determined by a signal
generated from another touch sensor. A touch may be detected from any suitable
input member, such as a finger, thumb, appendage, or other objects, for
example,
a stylus (active or passive), pen, or other pointer, based on the nature of
the touch-
sensitive display 118. Multiple simultaneous touches may be detected.
[0030] One or more gestures may also be detected by the touch-sensitive
display
118. A gesture, such as a swipe, also known as a flick, is a particular type
of touch
on a touch-sensitive display 118 and may begin at an origin point and continue
to
an end point, for example, a concluding end of the gesture. A gesture may be
identified by attributes of the gesture, including the origin point, the end
point, the
distance travelled, the duration, the velocity, and the direction, for
example. A
gesture may be long or short in distance and/or duration. Two points of the
gesture may be utilized to determine a direction of the gesture. A gesture may
also
include a hover. A hover may be a touch at a location that is generally
unchanged
over a period of time or is associated with the same selection item for a
period of
time. A gesture may also comprise a plurality of simultaneous or at least
overlapping (in time) sub-gestures (such as a drawing together or spreading
apart
of two individual concluding ends).
[0031] Numerous electronic devices offer the user an ability to enter
alphanumeric text on a character-by-character basis. User-input interfaces in
these
regards include but are not limited to physical keyboards as well as virtual
keyboards (i.e., keyboards that are displayed on a touch-sensitive display
that
offers keys that a user can individually select by tapping the display at the
location
of the desired key). Full-size keyboards can accommodate relatively high-speed
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text input with reasonably proficient typists typically achieving input rates
of dozens
of words per minute.
[0032] Smaller keyboards (such as those often found on so-called smartphones,
pad/tablet-styled devices, and so forth), however, will typically not
accommodate
ordinary typing practices and often require the user to instead employ either
a
hunt-and-peck style of typing or so-called thumb typing. Accordingly, the rate
at
which a typical typist can enter text using a smaller keyboard is usually
considerably lower than the ordinary rates that are associated with full-size
mechanical keyboards.
[0033] Some electronic devices attempt to shorten the number of characters
that
a user must enter by offering the user predicted text candidates. For example,
if
the user types the letter "t," the device may simultaneously display a listing
of
possible words that the user might be intending to type, such as the words
"there,"
"the," that," and "those." When the device successfully displays the intended
word,
the user can select that word (for example, by tapping the proffered word on a
touchscreen display). Upon selecting the word, the selected word is added to
the
user's previously entered text and the user can continue entering characters
to
complete their message.
[0034] While useful to a degree, prior-art approaches in these regards are not
necessarily well suited to all application settings. Electronic devices that
employ a
physical keyboard, for example, are not always able to usefully employ these
prior-
art approaches to good effect. Similarly, devices that offer only a relatively
small
display are also often unduly hampered in these regards.
[0035] By one approach the present teachings can pertain to text-entry
predictions. In particular, as a user enters characters (such as but not
limited to
alphabetic characters) via a keyboard various predicted entries are displayed.
By
selecting a predicted entry for use in the development of a complete message
the
user can at least sometimes avoid needing to enter all of the individual
characters
that constitute the selected predicted entry. Various prediction approaches
are
known in these regards. As the present teachings are not overly sensitive to
any
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particular choices in these regards, further elaboration regarding any
particular
prediction methodology is not provided here for the sake of brevity.
[0036] A first flowchart 200 illustrating a variety of approaches in these
regards is
shown in FIG. 2. The method may be carried out by software executed, for
example, by the aforementioned processor 102. Coding of software for carrying
out
such a method is within the scope of a person of ordinary skill in the art
given the
present description. The method may contain additional or fewer processes than
shown and/or described, and may be performed in a different order. Computer-
readable code executable by at least one processor of the portable electronic
device
to perform the method may be stored in a computer-readable medium, device, or
apparatus, which may be a non-transitory or tangible storage medium such as
the
memory 110 described above.
[0037] For the sake of an initial illustrative example it will be presumed
here that
the displayed information described in this flowchart 200 appears on the
aforementioned touch-sensitive display 118 and that the described entries are
input
via a non-virtual alphanumeric keyboard 134 as described above. It will
further be
presumed (again for the sake of an example) that the touch-sensitive display
118
and the non-virtual alphanumeric keyboard 134 are nonmovably disposed in close
proximity to one another and without another active user interface element
being
externally disposed therebetween. FIG. 3 presents an illustrative example in
these
regards. (Those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that the
described
flowchart 200 can be carried out using other enabling platforms and can in
particular be carried out using a touch-sensitive display 118 that offers a
virtual
keyboard as versus a non-virtual alphanumeric keyboard.)
[0038] At 202 (and referring as well to FIG. 3) this flowchart 200 provides
for
displaying via the touch-sensitive display 118 a plurality of predicted
entries 302 as
a function, at least in part, of at least some entries being entered by a user
via the
non-virtual alphanumeric keyboard 134. In this particular illustrative example
the
user entered the alphabetic character "T." Accordingly, this "T" appears on
the
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touch-sensitive display 118 in an entered-text area 304 of the touch-sensitive
display 118.
[0039] Also in this particular illustrative example the aforementioned
predicted
entries 302 (in this case, the complete words "the," "thanks," and "to") are
presented in the lower portion of the touch-sensitive display 118. More
particularly
these predicted entries 302 appear along a side of the touch-sensitive display
118
that is most near to the non-virtual alphanumeric keyboard 134. So configured
a
user can conveniently and easily access the predicted entries 302 with one or
more
fingers without likely needing to rearrange their grasp of the device as
suited to
input entries via that keyboard 134. (It should be understood, however, that
other
arrangements in these regards are possible. For example, the predicted entries
302
can be as grouped or ungrouped as desired. As another example, when the
keyboard comprises a virtual keyboard that appears on the touch-sensitive
display
118, one or more of the predicted entries 302 can wholly or partially overlay
one or
more keys of the keyboard and/or can be disposed between keys of the keyboard.
As yet another example, if desired, one or more of the predicted entries 302
can
appear, in whole or in part, in or near the aforementioned entered-text area
304.)
[0040] If desired, by one optional approach as illustrated at FIG. 4 this
flowchart
200 at 202 will also accommodate displaying the aforementioned predicted
entries
302 as a first group of presently immediately selectable predicted entries
while also
simultaneously displaying a second group 402 of predicted entries that are not
presently immediately selectable via a detected touch. By one approach, the
predicted entries that comprise this second group 402 can be displayed using a
smaller-size font than is used to display the first group of predicted entries
302.
These teachings will also accommodate visually differentiating these groups of
predicted entries in other ways if desired. Examples include but are not
limited to
using different fonts, different font colors, different background
colors/patterns, and
so forth. In this illustrative example there are three such predicted entries
that are
not presently immediately selectable via a detected touch, these being the
complete
words "then," "try," and "those."
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[0041] In any event, referring again to the example shown in FIG. 3 any of the
plurality of predicted entries 302 are presently immediately selectable by a
detected
touch on the touch-sensitive display 118. For example, and referring to FIG.
5, by
one approach the user could select the predicted entry "thanks" by tapping
once on
the displayed word "thanks." These teachings will readily accommodate any of a
variety of touches as desired. (In FIG. 5 this touch is generically
represented by a
circle 502 rendered using a dashed line.)
[0042] Referring as well to FIG. 2 the flowchart 200 provides for detecting
that
touch 502 (denoted in FIG. 2 as a "selection touch") at 204 and responding by
using that touch 502 to identify (at 206) a first one of the predicted entries
(in this
example, the word "thanks") and selecting (at 208) that predicted entry. As
shown
in FIG. 5, by one approach this selecting can include displaying the predicted
entry
(at 504) as entered text.
[0043] In this particular example the predicted entries 302 are located on the
touch-sensitive display 118 next to and just above the non-virtual
alphanumeric
keyboard 134. Accordingly it will be understood that the user has easy and
convenient access to the displayed predicted entries 302 in a way that
intuitively
and ergonomically merges the functionality and usability of these two very-
different
user-input modalities.
[0044] The present teachings are highly flexible in practice and will readily
accommodate a wide variety of alterations and additions. As one example in
these
regards, and by one optional approach, when the touch-sensitive display 118
provides both a first group of presently immediately selectable predicted
entries 302
as well as a second group of non-presently immediately selectable predicted
entries
402 as illustrated above in FIG. 4, these teachings will accommodate
permitting the
user to switch that availability status for those groups.
[0045] By way of illustration, and referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, the
flowchart
200 can optionally provide for detecting (at 210) a switch touch (generically
represented in FIG. 6 by a hexagon 602 rendered with a dashed line and that
will
typically be different from the above-described selection touch 502). For
example,
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this switch touch 602 might comprise an upward swipe or a downward swipe that
includes, at least in part, one or more of the predicted entries 302 and 402.
Other
possibilities for the specific nature of the switch touch 602 of course exist
and can
be accommodated by this flowchart 200.
[0046] In response to detecting this switch touch 602 the flowchart 200 can
provide for causing (at 212) the second group of predicted entries 402 as
displayed
via the touch-sensitive display 118 to now be switched with the first group of
predicted entries 302 and hence now presently immediately selectable via a
detected touch. Accordingly, the first group of predicted entries 302 as
displayed
via the touch-sensitive display 118 are now not presently immediately
selectable via
a detected touch. By one approach, and as shown in FIG. 7, this change in
sefectability status can be signaled and represented by switching the
respective
positions of the first and second groups of predicted entries 302 and 402.
Other
approaches can serve as well in these regards, however, in lieu of the
foregoing or
in combination therewith. For example, presently immediately selectable
predicted
entries can be colored green while non-presently immediately selectable
predicted
entries can be colored a different color, such as red.
[0047] So configured, a user can have ready and convenient access to an
increased number of predicted entries notwithstanding the use of only a small
portion of the available display space to present those entries.
[0048] It is possible that none of the displayed predicted entries (including
both
presently immediately selectable predicted entries as well as predicted
entries that
are not presently immediately selectable) match the user's intended entry. As
a
simple example in these regards, and referring again to FIG. 3, none of the
predicted entries 302 "the," "thanks," or "to" may properly complete the entry
"T"
in the opinion of the user.
[0049] Accordingly, if desired, this flowchart 200 will optionally accommodate
(at
214) detecting an "additional touch" 802 (generically illustrated in FIG. 8 as
a
square rendered with a dashed line) that is different, in this example, from
either
the selection touch 502 or the switch touch 602 described above. By way of
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example and without intending any limitations in these regards, this
additional
touch 802 could comprise an upward swipe that includes (or that passes
between)
one or more of the displayed predicted entries 302.
[0050] FIG. 2 (at 216) and FIG. 9 illustrate that the flowchart 200 can
provide for
responding to detection of that additional touch 802 by changing the display
of
predicted entries to provide a display of additional predicted entries 902 (in
this
example, the complete words "then," "try," and "those"). This process permits
the
user to select and use one of these newly-displayed predicted entries 902 by
asserting the aforementioned selection touch 502. Also, when simultaneously
displaying both immediately selectable predicted entries as well as predicted
entries
that are not presently immediately selectable these teachings will
accommodate, in
response to detecting the additional touch 802, changing the display of both
immediately selectable and non-immediately selectable predicted entries to
present
new predicted entries of both categories.
[0051] It is of course possible that a user will effect one of the foregoing
actions/instructions (either intentionally or through inadvertence) and wish
to undo
the completed action. For example, and referring again back to FIG. 3, a user
may
select the predicted entry "thanks" per the foregoing and decide that they
would
prefer not to proceed with that word.
[0052] Referring to FIG. 2 (at 218) and FIG. 10, this flowchart will
optionally
accommodate detecting an undo touch 1002 (generically represented in FIG. 10
as
a triangle rendered by a dashed line) and responding (at 220) by undoing the
just-
previous predicted entry action (in this case, the selection of the word
"thanks" as
entered text accompanied by a presentation of a next round of predicted
choices
1004). By way of example and without intending any limitations in these
regards,
this undo touch 1002 (which can be different than any of the selection touch
502,
switch touch 602, and additional touch 802 discussed above) might comprise a
sideways swipe. In this illustrative example this undo action can cause the
previous
predicted entry action to be undone and for the display to return to the
example
shown in FIG. 3.
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[0053] When providing an undo action as described above, if desired these
teachings will also optionally accommodate detecting a redo touch 1002 to
which
the process responds by redoing a just-previous undo action. This redo touch
can
be different than any of the aforementioned touches as desired.
[0054] So configured, such a process can provide a variety of options and
choices
for a user as regards viewing, selecting, and undoing actions pertaining to
predicted
entries. Those skilled in the art will recognize and appreciate that these
teachings
are highly flexible in practice and will accommodate a wide range of further
changes
and alterations.
[0055] FIG. 11 presents a flowchart 1100 that provides a further example in
such
regards. This process again presumes (at 202) the display of a plurality of
predicted entries that are provided as a function, at least in part, of
entries entered
via a keyboard (as illustrated by way of example in FIG. 3). For the sake of
an
illustrative example, however, here it will be presumed that the keyboard
comprises
a virtual keyboard that appears on the touch-sensitive display 118. Again,
those
skilled in the art will recognize that these teachings will accommodate any
combination of virtual and non-virtual keyboard with a touch-sensitive
display.
[0056] Referring to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, the flowchart 1100 provides (at 1102)
for detecting a "derivatives touch" 1202 (as generically represented in FIG.
12 by a
diamond rendered using a dashed line). Generally speaking this derivatives
touch
1202 is likely different from any of the earlier-described touches in order to
avoid
ambiguity when otherwise employing all of the earlier-described touches. That
said,
this derivatives touch 1202 (which might comprise, for example, a double-tap
or a
diagonal swipe) is at a location associated with an area of the touch-
sensitive
display 118 where a particular one of the predicted entries 302 is displayed.
In this
example the derivatives touch 1202 is so associated with the predicted entry
"thanks." Accordingly, at least for most application settings this derivatives
touch
1202 will not include locations of the touch-sensitive display 118 that are
associated
with one or more additional predicted entries in order to avoid ambiguity. So
configured, at 1104 a given one of the predicted entries 302 is identified by
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identifying the particular predicted entry 302 that is so associated with the
derivatives touch 1202.
[0057] At 1106 the flowchart 1100 provides for using that identified entry as
a
root to identify at least one further predicted entry. Accordingly, by one
approach,
this activity can comprise identifying one or more derivatives of the
identified
predicted entry.
[0058] By one approach identifying these derivatives can comprise, for
example,
identifying one or more inflections as correspond to the identified predicted
entry.
Grammatically speaking, inflection refers to modifying a word to express
different
grammatical categories such as tense, grammatical mood, grammatical voice,
aspect, person, number, gender, and case. Conjugation, for example, refers to
the
inflection of verbs while declension refers to the inflection of nouns,
adjectives, and
pronouns. An inflection often expresses one or more grammatical categories by
employing an explicitly-stated prefix, suffix, or infix, or another internal
modification
such as a vowel change.
[0059] By another approach identifying these derivatives can comprise, at
least
in part, leveraging syntactic categories. The traditional parts of speech
(such as
nouns, verbs, prepositions, and so forth) are examples of syntactic
categories. A
derivational suffix, for example, can often apply to words of one syntactic
category
and change them into words of another syntactic category. By way of
illustration
the English derivational suffix "Iy" changes adjectives into adverbs (for
example, the
adjective "slow" becomes the adverb "slowly").
[0060] By yet another approach identifying these derivatives can comprise
employing an affix. An affix is a morpheme that, when attached to a word stem,
forms a new word. Affixation is therefore a linguistic process whereby
different
words are formed by adding morphemes (affixes) at the beginning (prefixation),
the
middle (infixation), or the end (suffixation) of root words. An affix may or
may not
be separated from its stem by a hyphen.
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[0061] And as yet another approach, identifying these derivatives can
comprise,
at least in part, specifically using gender-based differences to identify
words having
a same meaning as the root word but expressed using a different sense of
gender.
[0062] Those skilled in the art will understand and recognize that the
forgoing
examples of derivatives can overlap to some extent with one another. It will
also
be understood that more than one such approach (and indeed, other approaches
as
well) can serve in a given application setting to form, for example, a pool of
candidate derivatives.
[0063] Referring to FIG. 11 and FIG. 13, at 1108 at least one of the
identified
derivatives (and in this illustrated example a group of such derivatives 1302)
are
displayed on the touch-sensitive display 118. In this particular example these
derivatives 1302 are displayed in substitution for the previously-displayed
predicted
entries 302. These teachings will accommodate other approaches in these
regards,
however. For example, the derivatives 1302 can be simultaneously presented
along
with the previously-displayed predicted entries 302 and/or just the root word
that
the user selected per the above description.
[0064] In this particular illustrative example the user selected the predicted
entry
"thanks" as the root and the derivatives "thank," "thankfully," and "thanking"
are
identified and displayed as a corresponding result.
[0065] By one approach one or more of the predictive entry actions can now
serve to permit the user to select a particular displayed derivative for use
as
selected text and/or to permit the user to replace the displayed derivatives
with a
display of additional, different derivatives. Also, these teachings will ready
accommodate applying the process shown in FIG. 11 to permit the user to select
one of the displayed derivatives as a new root and to responsively identify
and
display a new set of derivatives that use that new root. For example,
referring to
FIG. 13, a user could treat the displayed derivative "thankfully" as a new
selected
root and a new corresponding derivative "thankful" could be responsively
identified
and displayed.
1 1
CA 02840803 2014-01-27
45802-CA-PAT
[0066] It will be appreciated that a great variety of derivatives can be
quickly
developed and reviewed with only a very few touches. Accordingly, a user can
very
quickly and efficiently develop messages employing a rich vocabulary and
grammatical depth.
[0067] The present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without
departing from its essential characteristics. The described examples are to be
considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope
of the
disclosure is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the
foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of
equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
16
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