Data collection tool for a computer

• US 20060161856A1
• Filed: 01/20/2005
• Published: 07/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd., International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Heir, Harvey J.
• Application Number:
  US11/039,496
• Publication Number:
  US 20060161856A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A system and method for enabling the capture of visible and hidden information about files and data on a computer and rendering collected data accessible as a data file. The system and method provides an interface adapted to invoke computing platform API'"'"'s to expose and capture useful information about computer resources without the need for specialized software. The interface is manifested as a graphic element or icon that can be dragged to a target object or area on the user'"'"'s display screen where it collects information contained in or about a target object or area. The specification of the target and the information that should be collected from the target are configured for each instance of the icon. The system and method provides the ability for the icon to selectively connect with an object and perform a capture data from the target object without interacting with or influencing the target or the objects in the target.

Claims

1. A data collection tool for a computer device having a display interface comprising:

a graphic element adapted for manipulation by a user on said display interface having programmable properties for collecting hidden information associated with a target element present on said display interface;

a memory storage device for storing collected hidden data contents according to a user-specified manner.

2. The data collection tool of claim 1, wherein the graphic element operates in conjunction with one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) provided for a computing platform in which said computer device operates to expose types of data to be collected, said data types including attributes of said target element.

3. The data collection tool of claim 2, wherein the graphic element operates in conjunction with an API to obtain hidden information including one or more of:

the name of the target element, the program that is associated with the target element, the logical size or dimensions of the element, any pointers to the content of the target element;

or, parameters regarding the status of the target element.

4. The data collection tool of claim 1, further comprising means for generating a user interface adapted to enable a user to specify said programmable properties for said graphic element, said properties comprising one or more of:

a target area in which said graphic element operates;

an object type that the graphic element will seek in the target area; and

, one or more attributes of said object type in the target.

5. The data collection tool of claim 4, wherein said specified target area comprises one or more of:

a predetermined area on said display interface, or a Window defined or currently present on said display interface.

6. The data collection tool of claim 4, wherein said specified object types comprise one or more of:

a file, a graphic element, text, a program, or a representation of these object types.

7. The data collection tool of claim 6, wherein specified file object attributes comprise one or more of:

an object name;

object size or dimension;

object type;

date object was modified;

date object was created;

date object was accessed;

object status;

object owner;

an object'"'"'s encrypted or security status;

an object'"'"'s compression status; and

, object title or other properties of the object.

8. The data collection tool of claim 6, wherein specified text object attributes comprise one or more of:

a font type;

rich text attributes; and

a hyperlink.

9. The data collection tool of claim 4, wherein said specified programmable properties further includes a results property for indicating said user-specified manner for storing and organizing said collected data.

10. The data collection tool of claim 4, wherein said results property enables specification of a name and environment in which said collected data are to be stored and retrieved.

11. The data collection tool of claim 10, wherein said environment in which said collected data for said graphic element are to be stored include a CSV (comma separated values) file format, an HTML, or a program.

12. The data collection tool of claim 4, wherein said graphic element comprises means adapted for collecting data only from pre-selected highlighted target elements present in said target area.

13. The data collection tool of claim 2, wherein a computing platform in which said graphic element operates comprises one or more of:

Windows®

operating system;

the UNIX operating system AIX and LINUX.

14. The data collection tool of claim 9, wherein said graphic element is adapted to build a list of information of values according to a pre-specified format that are stored in various directories in a system platform.

15. The data collection tool of claim 9, wherein said graphic element is adapted to consolidate research results conducted from a Word Wide Web search, text file displays, e-mail messages and other word processor sources, said collected data adapted to be stored and organized as a collection of text excerpts and links from these sources.

16. The data collection tool of claim 1, wherein said graphic element includes programmable properties for collecting visible information associated with a target element.

17. A method for collecting data from target elements displayed on a display interface of a computer device comprising:

manipulating a graphic element on said display interface to a target area having one or more displayed target elements, said graphic element having programmable properties for collecting hidden information associated with a target element; and

,

storing collected hidden data contents according to a user-specified manner.

18. The method for collecting data according to claim 17, wherein the graphic element operates in conjunction with one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) provided for a computing platform in which said computer device operates to expose types of data to be collected, said data types including attributes of said target element.

19. The method for collecting data according to claim 18, wherein the graphic element operates in conjunction with an API to obtain information including one or more of:

the name of the target element, the program that is associated with the target element, the logical size or dimensions of the element, any pointers to the content of the target element;

or, parameters regarding the status of the target element.

20. The method for collecting data according to claim 17, further comprising the step of:

generating a user interface adapted to enable a user to specify said programmable properties for said graphic element, said properties comprising one or more of;

a target area in which said graphic element operates;

an object type that the graphic element will seek in the target area; and

, one or more attributes of said object type in the target area.

21. The method for collecting data according to claim 20, wherein said step of specifying a target area comprises specifying one or more of:

a predetermined area on said display interface or, a Window defined or currently present on said display interface.

22. The method for collecting data according to claim 20, wherein said step of specifying object types includes specifying one or more of:

a file, a graphic element, text, a program, or the representations of these object types.

23. The method for collecting data according to claim 20, wherein said step of specifying object attributes comprises specifying one or more of:

an object name;

object size or dimension;

object type;

date object was modified;

date object was created;

date object was accessed;

object status;

object owner;

an object'"'"'s encrypted or security status;

an object'"'"'s compression status; and

, object title or other properties of the object.

24. The method for collecting data according to claim 20, further comprising the step of specifying a results property for indicating said user-specified manner for storing and organizing said collected data.

25. The method for collecting data according to claim 24, wherein said step of specifying a results property includes specifying a name and environment in which said collected data are to be stored.

26. The method for collecting data according to claim 25, wherein said environment in which said collected data for said graphic element are to be stored include a CSV (comma separated values) file format, an HTML, or a program.

27. The method for collecting data according to claim 20, further comprising the step of highlighting pre-selected target elements present in a target area, said graphic element collecting data only from said highlighted pre-selected target elements present in said target area.

28. The method of claim 17, wherein said graphic element includes programmable properties for collecting visible information associated with a target element.

29. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for collecting data from target elements displayed on a display interface of a computer device, said method steps including the steps of:

manipulating a graphic element on said display interface to a target area having one or more displayed target elements, said graphic element having programmable properties for collecting hidden information associated with a target element; and

,

storing collected hidden data contents according to a user-specified manner.

30. The program storage device readable by a machine as claimed in claim 29, wherein the graphic element operates in conjunction with one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) provided for a computing platform in which said computer device operates to expose types of data to be collected, said data types including attributes of said target element.

31. The program storage device readable by a machine as claimed in claim 30, wherein the graphic element operates in conjunction with an API to obtain information including one or more of:

the name of the target element, the program that is associated with the target element, the logical size or dimensions of the element, any pointers to the content of the target element;

or, parameters regarding the status of the target element.

32. The program storage device readable by a machine as claimed in claim 29, wherein said method steps further comprises the step of:

generating a user interface adapted to enable a user to specify said programmable properties for said graphic element, said properties comprising one or more of;

a target area in which said graphic element operates;

an object type that the graphic element will seek in the target area; and

, one or more attributes of said object type in the target area.