System and method for content and information transfer between program entities

• US 20040250215A1
• Filed: 06/05/2003
• Published: 12/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Yen-Fu, Dunsmoir, John W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,310,781 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/543 User-generated data transfer, e.g. clipboards, dynamic data exchange [DDE], object linking and embedding [OLE]

Abstract

Content is transferred from one computer resource to another computer resource by receiving a first insertion point or replacement area from a first user interface to a destination computer resource, receiving an enablement to perform automatic paste operation, switching to a user interface to a source computer resource, receiving a user selection of content from said source user interface, and automatically copying the selected content to a transfer buffer and to the designated insertion point(s) in the destination computer resource. Additional content may be copied to the destination computer resource by simply selecting additional content in the same source computer resource or other computer resources without need to toggle back to the destination user interface between every copy and paste operation.

Claims

1. A method for transferring content from one computer resource to another computer resource, comprising the steps of:

receiving from a user a first insertion point or replacement area from a first user interface to a destination computer resource, said insertion point or replacement area being user-selected;

providing a source user interface to a user-selected source computer resource upon user command;

receiving a user selection of content from said source user interface;

automatically copying said selected content to a transfer buffer; and

automatically inserting said selected content into said replacement area or at said insertion point without further requirement for said user to manipulate said first user interface.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said step of receiving a first insertion point or replacement area comprises receiving a plurality of insertion points, replacement areas, or a combination of insertion points and replacement areas.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said step of providing a source user interface comprises providing a window to an application program.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said step of providing a source user interface comprises providing a screen to an application program.

5. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said step of copying said content to a transfer buffer comprises copying content to a clipboard.

6. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising repetition of the steps of selecting source content, copying selected content to a transfer buffer, and inserting selected content without returning to said first user interface between steps of copying.

7. The method as set forth in claim 6 further comprising the step of concatenating said selected content in said transfer buffer prior to said step of inserting.

9. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a step of converting said selected content to a format compatible with said first computer resource prior to inserting said selected content.

10. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising the steps of tracking source points, destination points, and transferred content so as to produce a log of transfer operations.

11. The method as set forth in claim 10 further comprising the step of providing a user-operable undo function which reverses any selected operation as recorded by said log.

12. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said step of receiving an insertion point or replacement area comprises receiving a user enablement of cutting source content, and wherein said step of copying said selected content to a transfer buffer comprises deleting said selected content from said source computer resource.

13. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising the steps of inserting an annotation between selected content in said destination computer resource.

14. The method as set forth in claim 13 wherein said step of inserting an annotation comprises inserting an annotation selected from the group of a fixed annotation, a web address, a file name, a file path, a time value, a date value, and a user identifier.

8. The method as set forth in claim 8 further comprising the step of inserting a delimiter between portions of concatenated content.

15. One or more computer readable media encoded with software for transferring content from one computer resource to another computer resource, said software causing one or more processors to perform steps comprising:

receiving from a user a first insertion point or replacement area from a first user interface to a destination computer resource, said insertion point or replacement area being user-selected;

providing a source user interface to a user-selected source computer resource upon user command;

receiving a user selection of content from said source user interface;

automatically copying said selected content to a transfer buffer; and

automatically inserting said selected content into said replacement area or at said insertion point without further requirement for said user to manipulate said first user interface.

16. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 15 wherein said step of receiving a first insertion point or replacement area comprises receiving a plurality of insertion points, replacement areas, or a combination of insertion points and replacement areas.

17. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 15 wherein said step of providing a source user interface comprises providing a window to an application program.

18. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 15 wherein said step of providing a source user interface comprises providing a screen to an application program.

19. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 15 wherein said step of copying said content to a transfer buffer comprises copying content to a clipboard.

20. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 15 further comprising software for performing repetition of the steps of selecting source content, copying selected content to a transfer buffer, and inserting selected content without returning to said first user interface between steps of copying.

21. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 20 further comprising software for concatenating said selected content in said transfer buffer prior to said step of inserting.

22. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 21 further comprising software for inserting a delimiter between portions of concatenated content.

23. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 15 further comprising software for converting said selected content to a format compatible with said first computer resource prior to inserting said selected content.

24. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 15 further comprising software for tracking source points, destination points, and transferred content so as to produce a log of transfer operations.

25. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 24 further comprising software for providing a user-operable undo function which reverses any selected operation as recorded by said log.

26. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 15 wherein said step of receiving an insertion point or replacement area comprises receiving a user enablement of cutting source content, and wherein said step of copying said selected content to a transfer buffer comprises deleting said selected content from said source computer resource.

27. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 15 further comprising software for inserting an annotation between selected content in said destination computer resource.

28. The computer readable media as set forth in claim 27 wherein said software for inserting an annotation comprises inserting an annotation selected from the group of a fixed annotation, a web address, a file name, a file path, a time value, a date value, and a user identifier.

35. The system as set forth in claim 24 further comprising a content concatenator configured to concatenate said selected content in said transfer buffer prior to said step of inserting.

36. The system as set forth in claim 35 further comprising a delimitation marker configured to insert a delimiter between portions of concatenated content.

29. A system for transferring content from one computer resource to another computer resource, comprising:

a user-designated first insertion point or replacement area in a first user interface to a destination computer resource, said insertion point or replacement area being user-selected;

at least one user-selectable source user interface to a user-selected source computer;

a user-designated selection of content from said source user interface;

an automatic content copier configured to automatically copying said selected content to a transfer buffer; and

an automatic content inserter configured to automatically inserting said

selected content into said replacement area or at said insertion point without further requirement for said user to manipulate said first user interface.

30. The system as set forth in claim 29 comprises a plurality of user-designated insertion points, replacement areas, or a combination of insertion points and replacement areas.

31. The system as set forth in claim 29 wherein said source user interface comprises a window to an application program.

32. The system as set forth in claim 29 wherein said source user interface comprises providing a screen to an application program.

33. The system as set forth in claim 29 wherein copier is configured to copy content to a clipboard.

34. The system as set forth in claim 29 further comprising an automatic operation repeater configured to allow said user to repetitiously select source content in a source user interface, automatically copy said selected content to a transfer buffer, and automatically insert said selected content without returning to said first user interface between steps of copying.

37. The system as set forth in claim 29 further comprising a converter for converting said selected content to a format compatible with said first computer resource prior to inserting said selected content.

38. The system as set forth in claim 29 further comprising a change logger for tracking source points, destination points, and transferred content so as to produce a log of transfer operations.

39. The system as set forth in claim 38 further comprising a user-operable undo function which reverses any selected operation as recorded by said log.

40. The system as set forth in claim 29 wherein said user-designated insertion point or replacement area comprises an user-operable control for enabling cutting of selected source content, and wherein said content copier comprises a source content deleter configured to delete said selected content from said source computer resource.

41. The system as set forth in claim 29 further comprising an annotation inserter configured to insert an annotation between selected content in said destination computer resource.

42. The system as set forth in claim 41 wherein said annotation inserter is further configured to insert an annotation selected from the group of a fixed annotation, a web address, a file name, a file path, a time value, a date value, and a user identifier.