Installing data with settings

• US 20070043839A1
• Filed: 08/18/2005
• Published: 02/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Erickson, Paul, Amadio, Louis, Amos, Keira, Fisher, Oliver, Streams, David
• Granted Patent: US 7,499,989 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/222
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for displaying information, such as a gadget or a part and for dragging and dropping the part from a web page onto a separate location on a display such that the part is instantiated at the separate location and configured based on setting information contained within a representation of the part. Data associated with the part can be downloaded from a remote site.

Claims

1. In a computer system, a method of instantiating a locally executed program, comprising:

displaying a first representation of the program in a window on a display screen, the first representation corresponding to a location identifier and a first setting associated with the program, the location identifier identifying a location from which the program can be obtained by the computer system;

receiving a user selection of the first representation, the selection comprising the user dragging the first representation to a predefined location on the display screen separate from the window;

when the user drops the dragged first representation in the predefined location, downloading a program package defining the program from the identified location;

installing the program package; and

instantiating the program based on the first setting.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the predefined location comprises a location on a desktop displayed on the display screen separate from the window.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the location identifier and the setting are defined by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) corresponding to the first representation, said URL comprising a link to the program package and at least one variable.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the program package is the program.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the program package includes a script file for execution by the computer system.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the setting provides configuration data for the instantiating of the program.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first representation comprises a thumbnail image simulating the program executing on the computer system.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the program is instantiated by a sidebar application executing on the computer system.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the first representation is displayed as the user drags the first representation.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the program is configured on the client computer based on the setting.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising

receiving a second user selection of a second representation of the program, the second representation corresponding to the location identifier and a second setting associated with the program, the second user selection comprising the user dragging the second representation to a predefined location on the display screen;

and

instantiating the program based on the second setting.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the program package is not downloaded from the identified location based on receiving the second user selection.

13. In a computer system including a display, a method of instantiating a locally executed program, comprising:

displaying a window on the display, the window including a representation of the program at a first location within the window, the representation corresponding to a location identifier for identifying a location from which the program can be obtained by the computer system and a first setting associated with the program;

receiving a user selection of the representation, the selection including a request for moving the representation to a predefined location on the display;

moving the representation to the predefined location on the display responsive to the receiving step, the predefined location being separate from the window;

downloading a program package from the location identified by the location identifier; and

instantiating the program based on the setting.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the predefined location comprises an application on a desktop displayed on the display separate from the window.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the application is a sidebar application and wherein the program is instantiated by the sidebar application.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the representation comprises a URL when the representation is moved over the window.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the representation includes an icon when the representation is moved over an area separate from the window.

18. A system for displaying information on a display device comprising:

a display device for graphically displaying a window and a representation of a program within the window, the representation corresponding to a location identifier for identifying a location from which the program can be obtained by the system and a setting associated with the program;

a processor for moving the representation of the part to a destination location on the display device, the destination location being separate from the window, and for instantiating the program at the destination location.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the destination location is a sidebar on the display device.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the processor further downloads a program package from the identified location from which the program can be obtained and wherein the instantiating is based on the setting.