System and method for in-line editing of web-based documents

• US 20020188636A1
• Filed: 05/02/2001
• Published: 12/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lerner, Matthew R., Kocher, Jesse G., Peck, David K., Morearty, Michael S., Greenfield, Eliot S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,111,234 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/530
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

A software package for editing Web-based documents, comprising an interface module for interfacing with a browser software and a receiving module for receiving from a user an indication of a selected portion of a Web-based document currently displayed by the browser software, and of a desired editing function to be performed on the selected portion in combination with an object tag detecting module detecting object tag elements within the selected portion and an insertion module inserting immediately prior to and after each object tag element within the selected portion editing tags corresponding to the desired editing function, the insertion module inserting editing tags immediately prior to the selected portion and immediately after the selected portion, wherein the editing tags are distinguishable from the object tag elements.

A method for editing Web-based documents, comprising the steps of receiving from a user an indication of a selected portion of a Web-based document to be edited and of a desired editing function to be performed on the selected portion and inserting immediately prior to the selected portion a first tag corresponding to the desired editing function in combination with the steps of detecting object tag elements within the selected portion, inserting immediately prior to each object tag element within the selected portion a second tag object corresponding to the desired editing function and inserting the second tag at the end of the selected portion, and inserting immediately after each tag object within the selected portion the first tag, wherein the first and second tags are distinguishable from the object tag elements.

Claims

1. A method for editing Web-based documents, comprising the steps of:

receiving from a user an indication of a selected portion of a Web-based document to be edited and of a desired editing function to be performed on the selected portion;

inserting immediately prior to the selected portion a first editing tag corresponding to the desired editing function;

detecting object tag elements within the selected portion;

inserting immediately prior to each object tag element within the selected portion a second editing tag corresponding to the desired editing function and inserting the second tag at the end of the selected portion; and

inserting immediately after each object tag element within the selected portion the first editing tag, wherein the first and second editing tags are distinguishable from the object tag elements.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first editing tag opens the desired editing function and the second editing tag closes the desired editing function.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of saving re-creation data including those portions of an edited Web-based document including first and second editing tags along with contextual data sufficient to locate the saved portions within the original Web-based document so that the edited Web-based document may be re-created by combining the re-creation data and the original Web-based document.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, if an original Web-based document has been changed so that a previously edited portion of the Web-based document is in a different location within the Web-based document, the contextual data is used to position the first and second editing tags at this new location within the Web-based document in the same position relative to the contextual data.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when an object tag element closing a first function is found within the selected portion without a corresponding object tag element opening the first function, the method further comprises the steps of:

inserting a third editing tag closing the first function immediately prior to the first editing tag immediately before the selected portion; and

inserting a fourth editing tag opening the first function immediately after the first editing tag immediately before the selected portion.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when an object tag element opening a first function is found within the selected portion without a corresponding object tag element closing the first function, the method further comprises the steps of:

inserting a third editing tag opening the first function immediately after the second editing tag immediately after the selected portion;

inserting a fourth editing tag closing the first function immediately before each object tag element within the selected portion after the object tag element opening the first function; and

inserting a third editing tag reopening the first function immediately after each object tag element within the selected portion after the object tag element opening the first function.

7. A software package for editing Web-based documents, comprising:

an interface module for interfacing with a browser software;

a receiving module for receiving from a user an indication of a selected portion of a Web-based document currently displayed by the browser software, and of a desired editing function to be performed on the selected portion;

an object tag detecting module detecting object tag elements within the selected portion;

an insertion module inserting immediately prior to and after each object tag element within the selected portion editing tags corresponding to the desired editing function, the insertion module inserting editing tags immediately prior to the selected portion and immediately after the selected portion, wherein the editing tags are distinguishable from the object tag elements.

8. The software package according to claim 7, wherein a first editing tag opens the desired editing function and a second editing tag closes the desired editing function so that the insertion module inserts a first editing tag immediately prior to each object tag encountered within the selected portion and inserts a second editing tag immediately after each object tag encountered within the selected portion.

9. The software package according to claim 7, further comprising a saving module saving re-creation data including those portions of an edited Web-based document including editing tags along with contextual data sufficient to locate the saved portions within the original Web-based document so that the edited Web-based document may be re-created by combining the re-creation data and the original Web-based document.

10. The software package according to claim 9, wherein, when an original Web-based document has been changed so that a previously edited portion of the Web-based document is in a different location within the Web-based document than when the Web-based document was edited, the contextual data is used to position the editing tags at this new location within the Web-based document in the same position relative to the contextual data.

11. The software package according to claim 7, wherein, when an object tag element closing a first function is found within the selected portion without a corresponding object tag element opening the first function, the insertion module inserts an editing tag closing the first function immediately prior to the editing tag immediately before the selected portion and inserts an editing tag opening the first function immediately after the editing tag immediately before the selected portion.

12. The software package according to claim 7, wherein, when an object tag element opening a first function is found within the selected portion without a corresponding object tag element closing the first function, the insertion module inserts an editing tag opening the first function immediately after the editing tag immediately after the selected portion, and inserts an editing tag closing the first function immediately before each object tag element within the selected portion after the object tag element opening the first function and inserts an editing tag reopening the first function immediately after each object tag element within the selected portion after the object tag element opening the first function.

13. A method for editing Web-based documents using a predetermined software program, comprising the steps of:

scanning a selected portion of a Web-based document to be edited for embedded tags using the predetermined software program;

inserting into a portion of the Web-based document selected by a user editing tags based on the embedded tags and a desired editing operation selected by the user to generate an edited document which may be viewed using a conventional web browser, wherein the editing tags are distinguishable from the embedded tags.