Providing navigation from content to a portal page

• US 20070124663A1
• Filed: 11/28/2005
• Published: 05/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Fischer, Ilja, Schmerder, Juergen
• Granted Patent: US 7,925,968 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2428 Query predicate definition using graphical user interfaces, including menus and forms G06F16/2423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/26 Visual data mining; Browsing structured data

Abstract

Navigation from content to a portal page is provided by identifying a name of a first object in content to be displayed in a computer system. A first portal page is configured to present information about the first object. Metadata of a kind that, when received by the portal, causes the first portal page to be displayed, is obtained. An input control associated with the name of the first object is created in the content, the metadata to be forwarded to the portal upon a user activating the input control. A GUI comprises a portal area for displaying a first portal page associated with a first object upon the portal receiving metadata for the first object, and a content presentation area including an input control that is associated with a name of the first object. Upon a user activating the input control the metadata is forwarded to the portal.

Claims

1. A computer program product tangibly embodied in an information carrier, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform operations for providing navigation from content to a portal page, the operations comprising:

identifying a name of a first object in content to be displayed in a computer system, the first object being stored in a repository, wherein the computer system includes a portal and wherein a first portal page is configured to present information about the first object;

obtaining, from the repository, metadata associated with the first object, the metadata being of a kind that, when received by the portal, causes the first portal page to be displayed; and

creating, in the content, an input control that is associated with the name of the first object, wherein the metadata is to be forwarded to the portal upon a user activating the input control.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein a second portal page comprises the content, the second portal page being configured to present information about a second object stored in the repository.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein obtaining the metadata further comprises determining whether an association between the first object and the second object has previously been defined.

4. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein the association exists, and wherein the association is selected as the metadata.

5. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the association is to be evaluated at runtime to determine whether the association is valid.

6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the association is to be evaluated using data replicated from the repository to the portal.

7. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein a document comprises the content.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein identifying the name further comprises presenting to the user a command relating to the first object, and wherein activation of the command by the user triggers the obtaining of the metadata and the creation of the input control.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the name is placed in the document through an automatically executed process.

10. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the document is a word processing document.

11. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the metadata comprises a type of the first object and an identifier of the first object.

12. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the input control comprises a link that the user can activate to cause the first portal page to be displayed, the link comprising the name of the first object.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein creating the input control further comprises storing the metadata in the content in association with the link, and wherein the metadata is not visible to the user.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the link further has associated therewith an address of the portal for forwarding the metadata.

15. A computer program product tangibly embodied in an information carrier, the computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed, generate on a display device a graphical user interface (GUI) for providing navigation from content to a portal page, the GUI comprising:

a portal area generated by a portal, wherein the portal area displays a first portal page associated with a first object stored in a repository upon the portal receiving metadata for the first object; and

a content presentation area including an input control that is associated with a name of the first object, wherein upon a user activating the input control the metadata is forwarded to the portal, the metadata having been obtained from the repository upon identifying the name of the first object.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the GUI initially displays the content presentation area and not the portal area, and wherein the GUI displays the portal area upon the user activating the input control.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the input control comprises a link that the user can activate to cause the first portal page to be displayed, the link comprising the name of the first object.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the content presentation area is included in the portal area, and wherein the input control is included in a second portal page displayed in the portal area.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the metadata is stored in association with the input control, and wherein the metadata is not visible to the user.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the second portal page is associated with a second object stored in the repository, and wherein the metadata comprises an association that has previously been defined between the first object and the second object.