Method, system, and apparatus for routing a query to one or more providers

A method for routing a query, the method comprising:

• receiving a query from a user passed by an application program on a client side, including:
• allowing the user to highlight text in a word processing document;
• and
• allowing the user to select one or more action items from a menu to initiate the query;
• processing the query on the client side to create one or more query terms;
• analyzing the query terms on the client side to identify one or more providers that are matches for the query terms;
• sending a test query including at least a portion of the query to a particular provider;
• determining whether or not the particular provider is a match based on a response to the test query from the particular provider;
• grouping the providers into a plurality of categories on the client side according to information provided by the providers;
• allowing the user to select a category from the plurality of categories on the client side to route the query;
• querying the providers that are matches;
• assembling results from the providers into a hierarchy, the hierarchy including a top level having each provider's name and a status for each provider indicating whether or not the provider is available, and the hierarchy including a bottom level listing search results for one or more of the providers;
• and
• presenting the results from the providers to the user in context within a results interface of the application program.

A method for routing a query, the method comprising:

• allowing a user to highlight text in a word processing program to initiate the query based on the highlighted text;
• receiving, by an application program, the query from the word processing program on a client side;
• processing the query on the client side to create one or more query terms, and to identify patterns in the query;
• comparing the query terms on the client side to a list of terms for each provider of one or more providers to identify providers that are matches for the query terms, wherein the one or more providers are determined from any user-selected providers and can include one or more non-selected providers based at least in part on the query terms;
• grouping the providers into a plurality of categories according to information provided by the providers;
• allowing the user to select a category from the plurality of categories to route the query to the providers that are matches;
• querying the providers that are matches;
• presenting results from the providers that are matches to the user in context within a results interface of the word processing program, the results being displayed according to each provider that returned each result;
• displaying a dropdown menu within the results interface that when selected allows the user to select from displayed prior queries based upon previous query text;
• and presenting forward and backward buttons within the results interface that allow the user to move forward and backward between the prior queries generated by a search processor, included in the dropdown menu and shown in the results interface, wherein the results from the providers that are matches are stored on one or more computer-readable storage media.