The setting of a search condition is supported. Databases 130 and 140
store use frequency information about search conditions, co-occurrence
frequency information between search conditions, relationship information
unique to a particular field, use history information for each search
condition, and simultaneous use history information. Based on a search
condition that is already set, the database are referred to so as to
calculate the recommendation level of other search conditions, and search
conditions that have high recommendation levels and that are likely to be
used simultaneously with the already-set search condition are arranged at
conspicuous positions. The recommendation level is calculated based on
the value of a co-occurrence frequency between search conditions, the
history of simultaneous setting, or the estimated number of search
results, for example.