Intelligent buffer and related applications
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An integrated communications application reads information copied to a shared buffer by a user from another application. The information copied can comprise any format and can originate from any application from which the user can paste information. In this way there is no restriction on the source of information. The computer application reads the buffer and copies the information so that it can subsequently process it to determine if it conforms to a predetermined data-type. One or more means to communicate with an entity whose address corresponds to the data-type are then determined from a single data-type. This enables the application to revert to an alternative means of communication automatically if the means first used to try to communication with the entity is not successful. More generally, the computer application is arranged for use in a computer communications environment and comprises: means arranged to read information stored in a buffer, the buffer arranged to be shared between a plurality of applications in said computing environment; and means arranged to process said information to determine if the information can be determined to comprise one or more of a plurality of data-types.
42 Citations
94 Claims
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1-47. -47. (canceled)
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48. An integrated communications application arranged in use to associate one or more means of communicating with one or more entities with selected information included within a range of information selected by a user in another application operating in the same environment as the integrated communications application, the range of information having been copied by the user to a shared memory buffer, wherein the other application is configured to at least write to the said shared memory buffer and the integrated communications application is configured to at least read from the said shared memory buffer, the integrated communications application further comprising:
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means arranged to extract said selected information from within said range of information stored in the shared buffer; and
means arranged to process said extracted information to determine if the selected information included within said range of information selected by the user comprises one or more of a plurality of data-types. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 57, 58, 65, 66, 78)
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51. A method communicating with an entity, the method comprising:
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a user operating a terminal to open an application which displays textual information on a screen;
the user selecting a range of text from the displayed textual information;
the user copying the range of text to a buffer available to at least one other application;
determining if a text string within the range of the text in the buffer conforms to a predetermined data-type associated with an entity; and
in the event the predetermined data-type associated with an entity comprises a communications-related data-type associated with an identified means to communicate with the entity, initiating communication with the entity using said means to communicate; and
otherwise if the pre-determined data-type comprises a data-type which is not related to a means of communication, determining an associated communications-related data-type for the entity and initiating communication with the entity using a predetermined means to communicate associated with the associated communications-related data-type. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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59. A method of enabling a user to select an action to be performed on information included within a range of information selected by the user, the method comprising the steps of:
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the user selecting the range of information; and
automatically determining if within the range of information, some information conforms to a predetermined set of format rules;
processing the information items conforming to said predetermined set of format rules;
associating each said one or more processed information items with one or more communication options;
associating each communication option with an application enabling said communication option to be activated. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80)
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81. A method of integrating communication means in a computer-telephony environment, the method comprising:
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processing a text-string derived from a range of textual information a user has selected to copy to a shared buffer application;
determining if the text string in the buffer conforms to a predetermined data-type associated with an entity by comparing the text-string with textual information associated with the predetermined data-base, the textual information comprising a component of a record stored in database; and
in the event a predetermined data-type is associated with an entity, if the data-type is associated with an identified means to communicate with the entity, initiating communication with the entity using said associated means to communicate and the text-string selected by the user; and
otherwise if the pre-determined data-type comprises an identified entity, initiating communication with the entity using a predetermined means to communicate determined by further associating the data-type with a data-type associated with said predetermined means to communicate. - View Dependent Claims (82)
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83. A memory-facility arranged to enable a user operating a user-terminal to communicate with at least one entity using one or more communication means associated with said user-terminal, the memory-facility being arranged to interface with a plurality of applications whose operation is supported by said user-terminal, wherein one of said plurality of applications comprises a communications application arranged to associate one or more communication means with information selected by said user from a range of information provided by one or more others of said plurality of applications, the memory-facility comprising:
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memory means arranged to store a range of information selectively copied by the user and written to said shared memory by said one or more others of said plurality of applications; and
means arranged to share said memory with at least said communications application and to enable said communications application to read information from the said shared memory, said read information enabling at least one available communication means to be selected by the communications application to enable the user communicate with said entity. - View Dependent Claims (84, 85, 86, 87)
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88. A communications application arranged in use for operation on a user-terminal capable of communicating over a communications network with one or more other entities, the communications application comprising:
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means arranged to associate one or more means of communicating with one or more entities with information within a range of information selected by a user in another application operating in the same environment, the range of information selected having been copied by the user to a shared memory, wherein said other application is configured to at least write to the said shared memory and the communications application is configured to at least read from said shared memory;
means arranged to extract selected textual information from the range of information stored in said shared memory; and
means arranged to process said extracted information to determine if the user selected textual information can be determined to comprise one or more of a plurality of data-types. - View Dependent Claims (91, 92, 93)
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89. A method of communicating with one or more entities using a terminal operated by a user and capable of forming one or more connections to a communications network, the method comprising the steps of:
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the user selecting a range of information from a display;
copying the selected information to a buffer;
processing the information to determine from the context of the copied information, a communications address for each of said one or more entities; and
automatically initiating a communications application associated with each communications address identified, to enable the user to communicate with said one or more entities. - View Dependent Claims (90)
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94. An intelligent buffer is provided in which the buffer is arranged to receive a text-string selected by a method according to the previous aspect.
Specification