An electronic search is automatically initiated when a cursor hovers in one location for a predetermined time. A target process associated with a target window is forced to re-render data to the target window in an update region that includes the detected cursor location. From the re-rendered data, a primary word and context words near the cursor location are determined. One or more local or remote electronic data stores are searched for substantive content related to the words. The content is prioritized according to user preference and displayed in a semitransparent window that is persistently visible to a user, yet does not obscure other content in an underlying window and does not shift the focus from an active window. Re-rendering is accomplished by invalidating an update region of the target window, and forcing the operating system to issue a paint message, causing the target process to redraw the update region.