Automated Conversion

Automated conversion facilitates the easy identification of nodes and links based on pre-defined criteria. The output of an automated conversion process can be easily modified/enhanced by authors. Also, large information spaces such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and training manuals can be converted to hypertext format very efficiently. As mentioned earlier, most linear documents have structural elements such as titles, sub-titles, chapters, sections, paragraphs, sentences, words, figures, tables, and indexes. An automated conversion system must be able to recognize these structural elements, identify nodes and links, and construct the appropriate links to form the hypertext network.^{[Riner, 1991]} Links can capture both the hierarchical and referential nature of the material.