SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR WEB-BASED CONTROL OF DESKTOP APPLICATIONS

• US 20100115401A1
• Filed: 07/10/2009
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GmbH (The Woodbridge Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Reuters Global Resources Unlimited Company (The Woodbridge Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Parhar, Anudeep, Dauk, Richard N., Nordine, Troy Douglas, Matzek, Bart
• Granted Patent: US 10,372,798 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/255
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

The present inventors devised, among other things, systems, methods, and software that allow users to readily access online legal research tools, while using other applications, such as word processors. One exemplary computer-implemented system provide an add-on software framework that integrates into a host word-processing application on a client access device. The add-on software framework allows users to select from an expandable listing of one or more web applications on a web server, with each of the web application capable of controlling operation of the host word processing application. The web applications facilitate extraction and access to information from the information-retrieval services and incorporation of the information in the document or in metadata associated with the document.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a web server for communicating with a client access device executing a word processing application hosted by the client access device, the web server having one or more processors coupled to a memory, with the memory storing a first set of instructions for controlling the word-processing application; and

automatically controlling the word-processing application on the client access device by executing the first set of instructions on the web server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically controlling the word-processing application occurs in response to a user of the client access device selecting a first item on a portion of a graphical user interface associated with the word processing application.

3. The method of claim 2:

wherein the word processing application includes a native graphical user interface; and

wherein the portion of the graphical user interface is not part of the native graphical user interface of the word processing application.

4. The method of claim 2:

wherein the memory further stores a second set of instructions for controlling the word-processing application; and

wherein the method further comprises automatically controlling the word-processing application on the client access device by executing the second set of instructions on the web server in response to a user of the client access device selecting a second item on a portion of a graphical user interface associated with the word processing application.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of instructions includes instructions for processing legal citations within a document within an active edit window of the word-processing application and the second set of instructions includes instructions for extracting names from a document within an active edit window of the word-processing application and instructions for associating profile information corresponding to the one or more of the extracted names with one or more portions of the document.

6. A system comprising:

a server having a memory storing two or more web applications which control operation of a word processing application; and

a client access device having a memory storing a word processing application, with the word processing application having a native graphical user interface and operatively associated with a non-native graphical user interface portion, wherein the non-native graphical user interface portion includes a first user selectable option for invoking execution of a first one of the web application on the server and a second user selectable option for invoking execution of a second of the web applications on the web server.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first one of the web applications includes means for processing legal citations within a document within an active edit window of the word-processing application and the second one of the web applications includes means for extracting names from a document within an active edit window of the word-processing application and means for associating profile information corresponding to the one or more of the extracted names with one or more portions of the document.