System and method for providing context to an input method by tagging existing applications

Abstract

An improved system and method for providing context information of executable code to an input method is provided. Advanced text input methods may be made aware of the type of text expected to be received as input so that input methods may achieve a higher accuracy in recognition of text input. Generic interfaces provide a framework for supporting application authoring platforms to allow application developers to easily specify context information to the system and have it reliably forwarded to the correct input methods. Additionally, a context tagging tool may associate specific text input fields of an existing application with a n input scope without modifying the application itself. The context tagging tool may create a manifest that contains tags associating the specific text input fields with an input scope. Any advanced input methods use by the application may be updated with instructions for accessing the context information stored in the manifest.

1 . A method for providing context information to an input method, comprising the steps of:
 selecting a text input field of executable software code;   selecting a scope of input for the text field of the executable software code;   adding a tag associating the selected field with the selected input scope to a manifest; and   persistently storing the manifest.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising selecting executable software code having the text input field. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein selecting executable software code having the text input field comprises runtime identification of a text input control. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein selecting the scope of input comprises selecting a list of input scopes. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein selecting the scope of input comprises selecting a list of words or phrases. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein selecting the scope of input comprises selecting a regular expression defining the input scope. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein selecting the scope of input comprises selecting a grammar such as SRGS defining the input scope. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein selecting the scope of input comprises invoking an application programming interface for setting the scope of input for the text field of executable software code. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein invoking an application programming interface for setting a scope of input for a text field of executable software code comprises passing a common input scope. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein passing a common input scope comprises passing an identifier for a defined format with an associated fixed list of characters. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising getting the tag associating the selected field with the selected input scope from the manifest. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein getting the tag comprises invoking an application programming interface for obtaining the scope of input set for the selected field. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising applying the input scope for recognizing input for the text field. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein applying the input scope for recognizing input for the text field comprises restricting the language model used for recognizing input to the type of text input expected by the executable software code. 
   
   
       15 . A computer-readable storage medium having stored computer-executable instructions for performing the method of  claim 1 . 
   
   
       16 . A computer-readable medium having computer-executable components, comprising:
 executable software code having a text input field;   a recognizer for an input method, the recognizer operably coupled to the executable software code for providing input to the text input field;   a context component operably coupled to the recognizer, the context component having an interface for obtaining a scope of input set by a context tagging tool for the text input field of the executable software.   
   
   
       17 . A computer-readable medium having computer-executable components, comprising:
 a context tagging tool for associating a text input field of executable software code with an input scope;   a context component having an interface for obtaining the input scope associated with the text input field of the executable software; and   a recognizer for an input method, the recognizer operably coupled to the context component for invoking the interface for obtaining the input scope associated with the text input field of the executable software.   
   
   
       18 . A computer system for providing context information to an input method, comprising:
 means for selecting a scope of input for a text field of executable software code;   means for adding a tag associating the selected field with the selected input scope to a manifest; and   means for persistently storing the manifest.   
   
   
       19 . The computer system of  claim 18  further comprising means for getting the tag associating the selected field with the selected input scope from the manifest. 
   
   
       20 . The computer system of  claim 19  further comprising means for obtaining the selected input scope for the selected field. 
   
   
       21 . The computer system of  claim 20  further comprising means for applying the input scope for recognizing input for the selected field.