System and method for providing an enterprise oriented web browser and productivity environment

• US 20030048286A1
• Filed: 08/12/2002
• Published: 03/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ranjan Lal
• Original Assignee: Ranjan Lal
• Inventors: Lal, Ranjan
• Application Number:
  US10/218,056
• Publication Number:
  US 20030048286A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/700
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131

Abstract

A method of reducing the complexity of managing information and coordinating information technology tools through the use of a enterprise oriented browser and productivity environment is disclosed. A specialized software application (“Research-Desk”), coordinates, manages, and extends individual information technology applications and makes the combined superset of features of those applications available through a single user-interface. Research-Desk communicates with, and hosts the underlying applications in such a way as to make the end-user experience similar to that of a single seamless application. The hosting mechanism of Research-Desk uses applications that can act as DocObject servers, software objects that can act as ActiveX Controls, Windows Single Document Interface (WIN-SDI) applications, and Windows Multiple Document Interface (WIN-MDI) applications. Research-Desk also enables software developers to develop subsets of applications with features that are targeted to knowledge workers in specific tasks which may then be hosted by Research-Desk thereby integrating its functionality with that of other software components or applications also hosted by Research-Desk

Claims

1. In an electronic device with a plurality of executing applications, each said application generating at least one viewable object, a method, comprising the steps of:

providing a graphical user interface for a user of said electronic device, said graphical user interface providing access to each of said viewable objects; and

displaying simultaneously a plurality of active windows within said graphical user interface, each said window displaying at least one viewable object generated by one of said applications.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said object is at least one of a DocObject and an Active X Control.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising the further step of:

deactivating a view in one of said plurality of active windows while leaving the window image unchanged; and

replacing said deactivated view in said one window with a new view generated by said application upon the user attempting to access said window image.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising the further step of:

saving the current state of said plurality of executing applications in a single workspace.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising the further step of:

saving the current state of only user-selected applications from among said plurality of executing applications in a single workspace.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising the further step of:

saving the objects generated by said applications with a single command.

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

receiving a single search command with said graphical user interface; and

searching each of said objects in response to said single search command.

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

mapping the menu commands from a first application from among said plurality of applications to a second application from among said plurality of applications; and

accessing said menu commands from said first application in said second application.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising the further step of:

dragging and dropping data from an object produced by a first application from among said plurality of applications to an object produced by a second application from among said plurality of applications.

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

providing a menu proxy object, said menu proxy object merging menus from said executing applications with a menu of said graphical user interface;

intercepting messages intended for said executing applications using HOOKDLL;

processing said intercepted messages using said menu proxy object.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said executing applications are at least one of a Single Document Interface (SDI) document and a Multiple Document Interface (MDI) document.

12. In an electronic device with a plurality of executing applications, each said application generating at least one Active X document, a method, comprising the steps of:

providing a graphical user interface for a user of said electronic device, said graphical user interface providing access to each of said Active X documents; and

displaying simultaneously a plurality of active frame windows within said graphical user interface, each said frame window displaying one of said Active X documents.

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

implementing IOleInPlaceFrame for each frame window hosting one of said Active X documents.

14. The method of claim 13, comprising the further step of:

preserving Undo states for each Active X document when switching focus between said frame windows.

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

displaying a first browser window;

logging mouse and keyboard events;

receiving notice of the occurrence of a new window being displayed by said graphical user interface;

comparing the intial display time of said new window to the log of said mouse and keyboard event times to determine if the compared times are within a predetermined parameter; and

closing said new window based on the comparison of times.

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

displaying a first browser window;

retrieving a web page from a web server directly to a browser cache;

displaying said web page in said browser window by retrieving the web page from said cache.

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

displaying a first browser window;

retrieving the first page of a multi-page web page;

analyzing programmatically said first page of said multi-page web page to determine a reference to a next sequential page in said multi-page web page; and

linking said determined next page to at least one browser control.

18. In an electronic device with a plurality of executing applications, each said application generating at least one document, a medium holding computer-executable steps for a method, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a graphical user interface for a user of said electronic device, said graphical user interface providing access to each of said documents; and

displaying simultaneously a plurality of active windows within said graphical user interface, each said window displaying an object generated by one of said applications.

19. The medium of claim 18 wherein said object is a DocObject.

20. The medium of claim 19 wherein said method comprises the further steps of:

deactivating a view in one of said plurality of active windows while leaving the window image unchanged; and

replacing said deactivated view in said one window with a new view generated by said application upon the user attempting to access said window image.

21. The medium of claim 18 wherein said method comprises the further step of:

saving the current state of said plurality of executing applications in a single workspace.

22. The medium of claim 18 wherein said method comprises the further step of:

saving the current state of only user-selected applications from among said plurality of executing applications in a single workspace.

23. The medium of claim 18 wherein said method comprises the further step of:

saving the documents generated by said applications with a single command.

24. The medium of claim 18 wherein said method comprises the further steps of:

receiving a single search command with said graphical user interface; and

searching each of said documents in response to said single search command.

25. The medium of claim 18 wherein said method comprises the further steps of:

mapping the menu commands from a first application from among said plurality of applications to a second application from among said plurality of applications; and

accessing said menu commands from said first application in said second application.

26. The medium of claim 18 wherein said method comprises the further step of:

dragging and dropping data from a document produced by a first application from among said plurality of applications to a document produced by a second application from among said plurality of applications.