Providing enhanced functionality in an interactive electronic technical manual

An apparatus for displaying parts via one or more windows of an interactive electronic technical manual system (IETM) configured to provide electronic and credentialed access via an IETM viewer to technical documentation for an item, the apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including a computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

• receive input of a selection of a topic found in the technical documentation for the item, wherein the selection of the topic is performed by a user signed into the IETM via the IETM viewer executing on a user computing entity;
• responsive to receiving the input of the selection of the topic, retrieve textual information for the topic found in the technical documentation for the item;
• for each part on a list of parts identifying the parts found in the technical documentation for the item:
• programmatically search the textual information to identify occurrences of the part in the textual information, and
• configure each occurrence of the identified occurrences of the part in the textual information as selectable;
• provide a topic window for display via the IETM viewer, the topic window comprising the textual information for the topic with the identified occurrences of each part of the list of parts as selectable;
• receive input of a selection of a particular occurrence of a part in the textual information, wherein the selection of the particular occurrence of the part is performed by the user via the IETM viewer;
• and
• responsive of receiving the input of the selection of the particular occurrence of the part:
• retrieve information on the part found in the technical documentation of the item,
• generate a preview window for the part, the preview widow comprising the information on the part, and
• providing the preview window for display via the IETM viewer, wherein the preview window is superimposed over at least a portion of the topic window.

A non-transitory computer storage medium comprising instructions for displaying parts via one or more windows of an interactive electronic technical manual system (IETM) configured to provide electronic and credentialed access via an IETM viewer to technical documentation for an item, the instructions being configured to cause one or more processors to at least perform operations configured to:

• receive input of a selection of a topic found in the technical documentation for the item, wherein the selection of the topic is performed by the user signed into the IETM via the IETM viewer executing on a user computing entity;
• responsive to receiving the input of the selection of the topic, retrieve textual information for the topic found in the technical documentation for the item;
• for each part on a list of parts identifying the parts found in the technical documentation for the item:
• programmatically search the textual information to identify occurrences of the part in the textual information, and
• configure each occurrence of the identified occurrences of the part in the textual information as selectable;
• provide a topic window for display via the IETM viewer, the topic window comprising the textual information for the topic with the identified occurrences of each part of the list of parts as selectable;
• receive input of a selection of a particular occurrence of a part in the textual information, wherein the selection of the particular occurrence of the part is performed by the user via the IETM viewer;
• and
• responsive of receiving the input of the selection of the particular occurrence of the part:
• retrieve information on the part found in the technical documentation of the item,
• generate a preview window for the part, the preview widow comprising the information on the part, and
• providing the preview window for display via the IETM viewer, wherein the preview window is superimposed over at least a portion of the topic window.