PROVIDING ENHANCED FUNCTIONALITY IN AN INTERACTIVE ELECTRONIC TECHNICAL MANUAL

1 . A method for dynamically displaying media content associated with textual information for a topic found in technical documentation for an item via an interactive electronic technical manual system (IETM) configured to provide electronic and credentialed access to the technical documentation for the item via an IETM viewer, the method comprising:

providing a window for display via the IETM viewer executing on a user computing entity being used by a user signed into the IETM, the window comprising a first view pane comprising the textual information and a second view pane in which the window is configured to display the first view pane and the second view pane on non-overlapping portions of the window;

receiving input of a user scrolling through the textual information, wherein the user performs the scrolling through the textual information via the IETM viewer; and

responsive to receiving the input of the user scrolling through the textual information:

identifying a first occurrence of an identifier for particular media content provided in the textual information shown in the first view pane with respect to a top of the first view pane;

retrieving the particular media content; and

providing the particular media content for automatic display in the second view pane of the window.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the particular media content comprises a figure and a sheet of the figure and the identifier is a reference to the figure and the sheet mentioned in the textual information.

3 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving input of the user further scrolling through the textual information, wherein the user performs the further scrolling through the textual information via the IETM viewer so that the particular media content is no longer viewable on the first view pane; and

responsive to receiving the input of the user further scrolling through the textual information:

identifying a first occurrence of an identifier for second particular media content in the textual information shown in the first view pane with respect to the top of the first view pane;

retrieving the second particular media content;

causing removal of displaying the particular media content in the second view pane; and

providing the second particular media content for automatic displaying in the second view pane of the window.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the window comprises a third view pane in which the window is configured to display the first view pane, the second view pane, and the third view pane on non-overlapping portions of the window and the method further comprises:

responsive to receiving the input of the user scrolling through the textual information:

identifying a first occurrence of an identifier for a second particular media content appearing in the textual information shown in the first view pane after the identifier for the particular media content with respect to the top of the first view pane;

retrieving the second particular media content; and

providing the second particular media content for automatic displaying in the third view pane of the window.

5 . An apparatus for dynamically displaying media content associated with textual information for a topic found in technical documentation for an item via an interactive electronic technical manual system (IETM) configured to provide electronic and credentialed access to the technical documentation for the item via an IETM viewer, 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:

provide a window for display via the IETM viewer executing on a user computing entity being used by a user signed into the IETM, the window comprising a first view pane comprising the textual information and a second view pane in which the window is configured to display the first view pane and the second view pane on non-overlapping portions of the window;

receive input of a user scrolling through the textual information, wherein the user performs the scrolling through the textual information via the IETM viewer; and

responsive to receiving the input of the user scrolling through the textual information:

identify a first occurrence of an identifier for particular media content provided in the textual information shown in the first view pane with respect to a top of the first view pane;

retrieve the particular media content; and

provide the particular media content for automatic display in the second view pane of the window.

6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the particular media content comprises a figure and a sheet of the figure and the identifier is a reference to the figure and the sheet mentioned in the textual information.

7 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

receive input of the user further scrolling through the textual information, wherein the user performs the further scrolling through the textual information via the IETM viewer so that the particular media content is no longer viewable on the first view pane; and

responsive to receiving the input of the user further scrolling through the textual information:

identify a first occurrence of an identifier for second particular media content in the textual information shown in the first view pane with respect to the top of the first view pane;

retrieve the second particular media content;

cause removal of displaying the particular media content in the second view pane; and

provide the second particular media content for automatic displaying in the second view pane of the window.

8 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the window comprises a third view pane in which the window is configured to display the first view pane, the second view pane, and the third view pane on non-overlapping portions of the window and the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

responsive to receiving the input of the user scrolling through the textual information:

identify a first occurrence of an identifier for a second particular media content appearing in the textual information shown in the first view pane after the identifier for the particular media content with respect to the top of the first view pane;

retrieve the second particular media content; and

provide the second particular media content for automatic displaying in the third view pane of the window.

9 . A non-transitory computer storage medium comprising instructions for dynamically displaying media content associated with textual information for a topic found in technical documentation for an item via an interactive electronic technical manual system (IETM) configured to provide electronic and credentialed access to the technical documentation for the item via an IETM viewer, the instructions being configured to cause one or more processors to at least perform operations configured to:

provide a window for display via the IETM viewer executing on a user computing entity being used by a user signed into the IETM, the window comprising a first view pane comprising the textual information and a second view pane in which the window is configured to display the first view pane and the second view pane on non-overlapping portions of the window;

receive input of a user scrolling through the textual information, wherein the user performs the scrolling through the textual information via the IETM viewer; and

responsive to receiving the input of the user scrolling through the textual information:

identify a first occurrence of an identifier for particular media content provided in the textual information shown in the first view pane with respect to a top of the first view pane;

retrieve the particular media content; and

provide the particular media content for automatic display in the second view pane of the window.

10 . The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the particular media content comprises a figure and a sheet of the figure and the identifier is a reference to the figure and the sheet mentioned in the textual information.

11 . The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to at least perform operations configured to:

receive input of the user further scrolling through the textual information, wherein the user performs the further scrolling through the textual information via the IETM viewer so that the particular media content is no longer viewable on the first view pane; and

responsive to receiving the input of the user further scrolling through the textual information:

identify a first occurrence of an identifier for second particular media content in the textual information shown in the first view pane with respect to the top of the first view pane;

retrieve the second particular media content;

cause removal of displaying the particular media content in the second view pane; and

provide the second particular media content for automatic displaying in the second view pane of the window.

12 . The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the window comprises a third view pane in which the window is configured to display the first view pane, the second view pane, and the third view pane on non-overlapping portions of the window and the instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to at least perform operations configured to:

responsive to receiving the input of the user scrolling through the textual information:

identify a first occurrence of an identifier for a second particular media content appearing in the textual information shown in the first view pane after the identifier for the particular media content with respect to the top of the first view pane;

retrieve the second particular media content; and

provide the second particular media content for automatic displaying in the third view pane of the window.