1. A method of providing information associated with a selected item in an electronic document, comprising: receiving a selection of one of a text item, a display item, and a selectable object that is contained in an electronic document displayed in a first user interface of an application for processing the electronic document; passing data representing the selected item to an information source; at the information source, parsing a data source for information associated with the selection; returning the information associated with the selection, wherein the information is commonly presented by another application; if the information associated with the selection is received from more than one information source, displaying the information in a second lightweight user interface in a plurality of sections, where information from a first information source is displayed in a first section, and where information from a second information source is displayed in a second section; prioritizing the plurality of sections of information according to a preferred display orientation, where a most preferred section is displayed in a first orientation and a least preferred section is displayed in a second orientation, wherein the first orientation has a size that is larger than the second orientation and the second orientation comprises: a full display orientation that displays all of the least preferred section when available display space in the second lightweight user interface allows for full display of both the most preferred section and the least preferred section; a truncated display orientation that truncates a portion of the least preferred section so that only a portion of the information that will fit in the available display space provided in the second lightweight user interface is displayed if all of the information associated with the selection will not fit in an available display space provided in the second lightweight user interface; and a collapsed orientation that prevents viewing of the least preferred section when available display space in the second lightweight user interface disallows for full display of both the most preferred section and the least preferred section, wherein selection of a selectable control of the collapsed section causes display of the least preferred information and simultaneously causes collapse of the presently displayed information to prevent viewing of the information of the most preferred section; displaying the second lightweight user interface over the first user interface in proximity to the selection; and displaying the information associated with the selection in the second lightweight user interface without activating a third user interface for the other application.
1. A method of providing information associated with a selected item in an electronic document, comprising: receiving a selection of one of a text item, a display item, and a selectable object that is contained in an electronic document displayed in a first user interface of an application for processing the electronic document; passing data representing the selected item to an information source; at the information source, parsing a data source for information associated with the selection; returning the information associated with the selection, wherein the information is commonly presented by another application; if the information associated with the selection is received from more than one information source, displaying the information in a second lightweight user interface in a plurality of sections, where information from a first information source is displayed in a first section, and where information from a second information source is displayed in a second section; prioritizing the plurality of sections of information according to a preferred display orientation, where a most preferred section is displayed in a first orientation and a least preferred section is displayed in a second orientation, wherein the first orientation has a size that is larger than the second orientation and the second orientation comprises: a full display orientation that displays all of the least preferred section when available display space in the second lightweight user interface allows for full display of both the most preferred section and the least preferred section; a truncated display orientation that truncates a portion of the least preferred section so that only a portion of the information that will fit in the available display space provided in the second lightweight user interface is displayed if all of the information associated with the selection will not fit in an available display space provided in the second lightweight user interface; and a collapsed orientation that prevents viewing of the least preferred section when available display space in the second lightweight user interface disallows for full display of both the most preferred section and the least preferred section, wherein selection of a selectable control of the collapsed section causes display of the least preferred information and simultaneously causes collapse of the presently displayed information to prevent viewing of the information of the most preferred section; displaying the second lightweight user interface over the first user interface in proximity to the selection; and displaying the information associated with the selection in the second lightweight user interface without activating a third user interface for the other application. 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein passing data representing the selection to an information source includes: passing the data representing the selected item to a recognizer module for determining whether the selected item corresponds to a given data type; if the selected item corresponds to a given data type, passing the data representing the selected item to an information source containing information associated with the given data type; and wherein returning the information associated with the selected item includes returning information associated with the selected item that is further associated with the given data type.