Method and system for providing a separate browser window with information from the main window in a simpler format

• US 20020154172A1
• Filed: 12/29/2000
• Published: 10/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hill, Charles Robert, Linsey, Terry June
• Granted Patent: US 7,127,676 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/804
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/968 interface for database querying and retrieval

Abstract

Collaboration space object model provides for a place consisting of rooms created by users interacting with a client browser. A skin (i.e., theme) may be used as template for creating places. PlaceBots (i.e., agents) provide for accessing, processing and managing data in a place. HTML may be dragged and dropped into a place, where it is parsed and corresponding place fields created. MS Excel or Word documents may be dragged and dropped into a place, which creates a corresponding form, and users may create new documents using that form. A place type comprising a template of an entire place, or collaboration space, may be used to create new places. Changes made to a place may be reported, subject to security controls, by selecting what'"'"'s new. Task fields are provided allowing web browser creation of forms for work flow. Place enabled objects are provided for synchronous communications. A quick browse feature provides a simplified format for browser windows based on selection of HTML links. MS Office documents may launched within a place for in place editing and importing the resulting document into the place.

Claims

1. A method for browsing in collaboration space, comprising the steps of:

presenting to a user at a browser an interface to said collaboration space;

providing in a main window in said interface a quick browse selector;

responsive to user selection of said quick browse selector,

creating a set of links to control said main window without losing context,

displaying said context in a separate quick browse window in a simpler format; and

responsive to user selection of an item in said context, displaying in said main window an object linked to said item.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of organizing said collaboration space according to an object model selectively including place, room, folder, page, member, form, field, placetype, roomtype, skin, and placebot objects.

3. The method of claim 1, said simpler format being a hypertext markup language format.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of implementing said object as a room in said collaboration space.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of implementing said quick browse selector as a remote control selector in a search results window.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step responsive to user selection of a link to a target page in said quick browse window, of reloading said main window with said target page.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of implementing said quick browse selector as a remote control selector in a what'"'"'s new window.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step responsive to user selection of said quick browse selector of enabling random access browsing of links in said quick browse window.

9. The method of claim 8, said links being to objects in a plurality of rooms.

10. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of implementing said quick browse selector as go there links from a tutorial window, as go there links from a help window, and as go there links from a site map.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of generating said site map as a simple rendering of an access controlled table of context hierarchy.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

displaying said quick browse window in minimal screen space while said user browses target pages and allowing said user to see and access local settings of said target page so as to display context of said target page.

13. The method of claim 12, said context selectively including a table of contents, location, folder, parent, responses, ancestors, and/or revisions of said target page.

15. The system of claim 14, said collaboration space being organized according to an object model selectively including place, room, folder, page, member, form, field, placetype, roomtype, skin, and placebot objects.

16. The system of claim 14, said context including search results and what'"'"'s new contexts.

17. The system of claim 16, said context including help and tutorial windows.

18. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

said quick browse window being opened responsive to user selection of said remote control mechanism;

said link being opened in said main window responsive to said user selection of said link;

said quick browse window further providing a remote control on said main window with said links displayed in said quick browse window while said user browses selected links in said main window.

14. A system for browsing within collaboration space, comprising:

a browser for displaying a user interface in a main window;

a quick browse window;

a remote control mechanism displayed in any context in said user interface supporting a quick browse feature for displaying in said quick browse window links to linked pages;

said quick browse feature redirecting said main window to a linked page upon user selection of said link.

19. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for browsing in collaboration space, said method steps comprising:

presenting to a user at a browser an interface to said collaboration space;

providing in a main window in said interface a quick browse selector;

responsive to user selection of said quick browse selector,

creating a set of links to control said main window without losing context,

displaying said context in a separate quick browse window in a simpler format; and

responsive to user selection of an item in said context, displaying in said main window an object linked to said item.

20. A computer program product or computer program element for browsing in collaboration space by

presenting to a user at a browser an interface to said collaboration space;

providing in a main window in said interface a quick browse selector;

responsive to user selection of said quick browse selector,

creating a set of links to control said main window without losing context,

displaying said context in a separate quick browse window in a simpler format; and

responsive to user selection of an item in said context, displaying in said main window an object linked to said item.