Query generation from displayed text documents using virtual magnets

A system for dynamically generating a query comprising:

• a tactile user interface comprising a display device for displaying text documents stored in associated memory and for displaying a plurality of virtual magnets, each of the plurality of virtual magnets being movable on the display, in response to touching on the tactile user interface;
• memory which stores instructions for generating a query based on user-selected fragments of at least one of the text documents displayed on the display device and for populating a first of the virtual magnets with a first part of the query based on a first text fragment of one of the displayed text documents and populating a second of the virtual magnets with a second part of the query based on a second text fragment of one of the displayed text documents, the text fragments being selected by a highlighting gesture, whereby when the first and second magnets are moved so that they are, at the same time, within a threshold distance of one of the displayed documents, the query is applied to that displayed document;
• and
• a processor in communication with the memory which implements the instructions.

A tactile user interface comprising:

• a display device comprising a touch-screen;
• instructions stored in memory for:
• displaying a set of graphic objects on the display, each graphic object representing a respective text document,
• causing a virtual magnet to move on the display device in response to touching on the touch-screen,
• displaying one of the text documents in response to selection of a respective one of the graphic objects,
• recognizing a highlighting gesture over the displayed text document as selection of a fragment of the text in the displayed text document, and
• populating the magnet with a query based on the selected text fragment;
• and
• causing the magnet populated with the query to move close to a displayed document in response to touching on the touch-screen and displaying responsive instances of the query in the displayed text document;
• and
• a processor in communication with the memory and display device for executing the instructions.