8. A computer-implemented method of editing an electronic document using a computing system having processor, memory, and data storage subsystems, the computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving input in an electronic document via an input device, wherein the electronic document includes a data structure having a plurality of independent data sets, the input being converted by a recognizer to standard text data; maintaining a supporting data structure that minors content of a user-visible document which is based on content in at least a portion of the electronic document and the converted standard text data, wherein the supporting data structure includes a plurality of supporting data sets such that at least some of the independent data sets in the electronic document and the converted standard text data are directly linked to an associated supporting data set in the supporting data structure, wherein: the data structure includes a plurality of different linked nodes, where each linked node stores additional information related to data stored in the linked node including a location within the electronic document of recognized content and a global unique identifier that identifies a source of the recognized content, and the supporting data structure is directly linked to the data structure of the electronic document, and the supporting data structure is saved and made available to a user upon subsequent access of the electronic document; receiving input requesting display of or access to information contained in at least one supporting data set; receiving input selecting information from the at least one supporting data set; changing the electronic document based on the selected information from the at least one supporting data set; wherein: the supporting data structure includes an expanded version of the electronic document containing data that is not accepted or supported by the electronic document, the supporting data structure being maintained separate from and exclusively linked to the electronic document, and at least some of the supporting data sets include one or more properties associated with its corresponding independent data set in the electronic document, and wherein the properties are not stored in the data structure of the electronic document; and maintaining synchronization between the content of the electronic document and the content of the expanded version, wherein a change to the content of the expanded version changes the electronic document accordingly.
8. A computer-implemented method of editing an electronic document using a computing system having processor, memory, and data storage subsystems, the computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving input in an electronic document via an input device, wherein the electronic document includes a data structure having a plurality of independent data sets, the input being converted by a recognizer to standard text data; maintaining a supporting data structure that minors content of a user-visible document which is based on content in at least a portion of the electronic document and the converted standard text data, wherein the supporting data structure includes a plurality of supporting data sets such that at least some of the independent data sets in the electronic document and the converted standard text data are directly linked to an associated supporting data set in the supporting data structure, wherein: the data structure includes a plurality of different linked nodes, where each linked node stores additional information related to data stored in the linked node including a location within the electronic document of recognized content and a global unique identifier that identifies a source of the recognized content, and the supporting data structure is directly linked to the data structure of the electronic document, and the supporting data structure is saved and made available to a user upon subsequent access of the electronic document; receiving input requesting display of or access to information contained in at least one supporting data set; receiving input selecting information from the at least one supporting data set; changing the electronic document based on the selected information from the at least one supporting data set; wherein: the supporting data structure includes an expanded version of the electronic document containing data that is not accepted or supported by the electronic document, the supporting data structure being maintained separate from and exclusively linked to the electronic document, and at least some of the supporting data sets include one or more properties associated with its corresponding independent data set in the electronic document, and wherein the properties are not stored in the data structure of the electronic document; and maintaining synchronization between the content of the electronic document and the content of the expanded version, wherein a change to the content of the expanded version changes the electronic document accordingly. 32. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the input device comprises one of an electronic pen device and a touch-sensitive input device.