USER INTERFACE FOR NETWORK BROWSER INCLUDING PRE PROCESSOR FOR LINKS EMBEDDED IN HYPERMEDIA DOCUMENTS

• US 20020032699A1
• Filed: 04/01/1998
• Published: 03/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Inventors: RUSS, MARTIN, GARNER, PAUL, EDWARDS, NICHOLAS HECTOR
• Granted Patent: US 6,952,799 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/513
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation

Abstract

An interface (105, 125, 120) for a World Wide Web (WWW) (110) browser is described which recognizes HyperText Markup Language (HTML) links embedded in WWW pages. Normally, such links are highlighted on a graphics screen and are activated using a pointing device such as a computer mouse. When each HTML link is recognized by the interface (105, 125, 120), it is assigned an identifier which can be selected by a user of a system incorporating the interface by means defined by the interface other than a mouse, for example by a keypad (105).

Claims

31. An information network browser for locating, retrieving and displaying files stored at a location accessible by means of an information network, said browser comprising means to process a retrieved file prior to display.

1. An access system for accessing a location in a network by activating a link in a file, which link contains a location address or an identifier for a location address, which system comprises:

i) means for retrieving one or more files;

ii) means for searching a file so retrieved to locate one or more links embedded therein;

iii) means for assigning an identifier to any link so located;

iv) selection means for use by the user to select an assigned identifier; and

v) activating means responsive to selection of an identifier to activate the associated link.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the activating means activates the associated link so as to retrieve a file located at an address contained in or identified by that link.

3. A system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the activating means activates the associated link so as to launch an application associated with the link.

4. A system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the system further comprises a display control outout for use in displaying the file containing the link to be activated.

5. A system according to claim 4, wherein the system is further provided with a user input for display control commands, and control means to receive such control commands and to control the display in accordance with said control commands.

6. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the system is provided with a translation data store for use in translating an identifier, when selected by use of said selection means, to an activatable link.

7. A system according to any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein means is provided to process at least one activatable link in a retrieved file, prior to display, so as to modify the on-screen appearance of the link.

8. A system according to claim 7 wherein the on-screen appearance of the link is modified by the addition of the identifier assigned to that link.

9. A system according to claim 8 wherein the identifier comprises a number.

10. A system according to either one of claims 8 or 9 wherein the identifier comprises a colour.

11. A system according to any one of claims 4 to 10 wherein means is provided to process at least one activatable link in a retrieved file so as to generate a second on-screen appearance of the link.

12. A system according to claim 11 wherein means is provided to process at least two-activatable links in a retrieved file so as to generate second on-screen appearances of each respective link, and means is provided to display a set of said second on-screen appearances of the links, separately from other content of said retrieved file.

13. A system according to either one of claims 11 or 12 wherein each said second on-screen appearance(s) of a processed link is different from the first on-screen appearance(s) of the associated processed link.

14. A system according to claim 13 wherein said second on-screen appearance of a processed link comprises substantially only the identifier for that processed link.

15. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 14 wherein said set comprises a smaller number of second on-screen appearances of processed links than the number of links in a retrieved file.

16. A system according to claim 15, said system being provided with link selection control means for use by the user to select the links in a retrieved file whose second on-screen appearances appear in said set.

17. A system according to claim 16 wherein the system has means to respond to a scroll input, by means of the link selection control means, to scroll the set of second on-screen appearances of links in relation to the links in a retrieved file.

18. A system according to claim 17 wherein the means to respond to a scroll input comprises:

i) means to compare the currently displayed set of second on-screen appearances of links with the currently displayed first on-screen appearances of the links in a retrieved file; and

ii) means to scroll the portion of the retrieved file currently displayed in the event that the last of said set and the last of the first on-screen appearances of the links, in the scroll direction, both relate to the same link.

19. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein means is provided to process at least one activatable link in a retrieved file, prior to display, so as to incorporate timing information, and wherein said activating means activates said processed link so as to display a file retrieved for a period of time determined by said timing information.

20. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the selection means comprises a remote control device, for instance based on infra-red transmission.

21. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the system is further provided with means for processing links, located by the means for searching a file, to generate an identifier for each link from information contained in the link, and means for displaying the file together with one or more identifiers so generated.

22. A system according to claim 21 wherein the means for processing links comprises a truncation device for generating a truncated version of a link.

23. A system according to any one of the preceding claims which further comprises means for preparing files with one or more embedded links and loading a prepared file to the system, at least one embedded link in a prepared file including, at least part of, an identifier to be assigned by the means for assigning identifiers, and further including an alert recognisable by the system to alert the system that said embedded link includes such an identifier or part of an identifier.

24. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the file is written in HyperText Markup Language.

25. A system according to any one of claims 4 to 24, which further comprises means for determining spatial co-ordinates for links located in a file, said spatial co-ordinates relating each link to its location in the file when displayed, and the means for assigning an identifier assigns an identifier to each link in accordance with its spatial co-ordinates.

26. A system according to claim 25 wherein said spatial co-ordinates are based on perpendicular axes and the means for assigning an identifier gives preference to the co-ordinate for one of the perpendicular axes, in assigning identifiers to a respective link.

27. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the system further comprises display control means to control the on-screen appearance of a file, in addition to the on-screen appearance of one or more links embedded in the file.

28. A system according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the activating means activates the associated link so as to set up a communication connection in one or more communication networks.

29. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a television display output for displaying a retrieved file.

30. An information network browser comprising a system according to any one of the preceding claims.

32. A browser according to claim 31 wherein said means to process a retrieved file comprises means to identify an activatable link embedded in said file, to generate an identifier for a link so identified, and to display the identifier together with the link, the browser further comprising selection means for use by the user to input the identifier so as to activate the link.

33. A browser according to claim 32 wherein the selection means comprises an array of independently selectable input means, each input means being dedicated to a respective identifier.

34. A browser according to claim 33 wherein the selection means comprises a keypad.

34-1. A browser according to any one of claims 31 to 33, further comprising control means for use by the user to control the display.