A computer-assisted method for assisting a user to search for documents or other file objects includes receiving a query comprising a queried term from a user, wherein the queried term comprises a sequence of characters entered by the user, obtaining a first context term list comprising a first context term semantically related to the queried term, obtaining and displaying a first search result, dynamically displaying the first context term list in response to each character being entered in the query, allowing the user to select the first context term in the first context term list, obtaining a second context term list comprising a second context term semantically related to the queried term and the first context term, and displaying a second search result and the second context term list in a user interface in response to the selection of the first context term in the first context term list.