User interface for document table of contents

Abstract

Various technologies and techniques are disclosed for providing a table of contents for a document viewer application. A document viewer application is provided that can display a document that has multiple pages of content. Upon receiving a selection from the user to access a table of contents for the document, a table of contents is displayed that contains a representation of at least some of the pages of content in a manner that is overlaid on top of a current position in the document. A navigation feature allows a user to navigate through the table of contents while retaining the current position in the document. A preview size adjustment feature allows the user to adjust a size of the representation of the pages of content for the document.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A method for providing a table of contents, comprising:
 displaying information that contains a plurality of portions of content;   upon receiving a selection from a user to access a table of contents for the information, displaying a table of contents containing a plurality of thumbnail representations, each thumbnail representation corresponding to a respective portion of the plurality of portions of the content, in a manner that is overlaid on at least some of the information; and   allowing the user to view at least part of the information between a first thumbnail representation of the plurality of thumbnail representations and a second thumbnail representation of the plurality of thumbnail representations while the plurality of thumbnail representations is overlaid on the at least some of the information.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 enabling the user to perform navigation of the table of contents, the navigation including replacing at least one thumbnail representation in the plurality of thumbnail representations with at least one second thumbnail representation.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 allowing the user to view parts of the at least some of the information that are not covered by the table of contents while viewing and navigating the table of contents.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 enabling the user to scroll through the table of contents; and   displaying an indicator that indicates how quickly the user scrolls through the table of contents.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 enabling the user to change a size of thumbnail representations that are included in the plurality of thumbnail representations.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 enabling the user to select a specified thumbnail representation of the plurality of thumbnail representations; and   in response to selection of the specified thumbnail representation, displaying more content from a specified portion of the content, which corresponds to the specified thumbnail representation, than the specified thumbnail representation includes.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein displaying more content from the specified portion of the content comprises:
 displaying the more content in a representation that is bigger than the specified thumbnail representation.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein displaying more content from the specified portion of the content comprises:
 displaying the more content in a first area of a screen that is different from a second area of the screen in which the specified thumbnail representation is displayed.   
     
     
         29 . A computing device having stored computer-executable instructions that when executed by the computing device perform operations, comprising:
 displaying information that contains a plurality of portions of content;   upon receiving a selection from a user to access a table of contents for the information, displaying a table of contents containing a plurality of representations, each representation corresponding to a respective portion of the plurality of portions of the content, in a manner that is overlaid on at least some of the information; and   allowing the user to view at least part of the information between a first representation of the plurality of representations and a second representation of the plurality of representations while the plurality of representations is overlaid on the at least some of the information.   
     
     
         30 . The computing device of  claim 29 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 enabling the user to perform navigation of the table of contents to replace at least one representation of the plurality of representations with at least one second representation.   
     
     
         31 . The computing device of  claim 29 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 allowing the user to view parts of the at least some of the information that are not covered by the table of contents while viewing and navigating the table of contents.   
     
     
         32 . The computing device of  claim 29 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 enabling the user to scroll through the table of contents; and   displaying an indicator that indicates how quickly the user scrolls through the table of contents.   
     
     
         33 . The computing device of  claim 29 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 enabling the user to change a size of representations that are included in the plurality of representations.   
     
     
         34 . The computing device of  claim 29 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 enabling the user to select a specified representation of the plurality of representations; and   displaying more content from a specified portion of the content, which corresponds to the specified representation, than the specified representation includes, in response to the specified representation being selected.   
     
     
         35 . The computing device of  claim 34 , wherein the operation of displaying the more content comprises:
 displaying the more content in a designated representation that is bigger than each of the representations in the plurality of representations.   
     
     
         36 . The computing device of  claim 34 , wherein the operation of displaying the more content comprises:
 displaying the more content in a first area of a screen that is different from a second area of the screen in which the specified representation is displayed.   
     
     
         37 . A computer-readable memory device having computer-executable instructions for causing a computer to perform steps comprising:
 display information that contains a plurality of portions of content;   upon receipt of a selection from a user to access a table of contents for the information, display a table of contents containing a plurality of representations, each representation corresponding to a respective portion of the plurality of portions of the content, in a manner that is overlaid on at least some of the information; and   allow the user to view at least part of the information between a first representation of the plurality of representations and a second representation of the plurality of representations while the plurality of representations is overlaid on the at least some of the information.   
     
     
         38 . The computer-readable memory device of  claim 37 , wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the computer to perform the steps further comprising:
 allow the user to view parts of the at least some of the information that are not covered by the table of contents while viewing and navigating the table of contents.   
     
     
         39 . The computer-readable memory device of  claim 37 , wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the computer to perform the steps further comprising:
 enable the user to select a specified representation of the plurality of representations; and   in response to selection of the specified representation, display more content from a specified portion of the content, which corresponds to the specified representation, than the specified representation includes.   
     
     
         40 . The computer-readable memory device of  claim 39 , wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the computer to display the more content in a designated representation that is bigger than the specified representation.