| The appearance of portable pen-enabled tablet PCs has prompted a renewed interest to the task of system design of human electronic document annotation applications. We approach this problem in three steps, Annotation system design requires a solid understanding of the bases of handwritten annotation of paper documents, We present results of an extensive case-based study of handwritten annotation appearance and functionality situated within a theoretical framework.; Document annotation is an activity integrally assisting essential reading tasks, Based on a review of existing annotation systems and taxonomies of reading goals and styles we undertake a functional systems analysis, An architectural and algorithmic system back-end framework that provides the required functionality is presented thereafter.; In conclusion, we focus on front-end design of human electronic document annotation applications and describe algorithms for automated high quality layout of annotation markup on pages, The algorithms build around principles underlying human document annotation on paper to assure high visual appeal and familiar appearance that parallels paper markup.; Two proof-of-concept software systems have been developed and evaluated, Annotator 2,0 implements system back-end supporting distributed annotations on on-line documents, The experimental layout engine realizes the front-end and generates high quality markup. |
