OVERLAY FOR DIGITAL ANNOTATIONS

• US 20100325527A1
• Filed: 06/18/2009
• Published: 12/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Estrada, Julio, Asmi, Yasser, Agsen, Mohsen
• Application Number:
  US12/486,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20100325527A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/230
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes

Abstract

A user input is received as a digital annotation, and the digital annotation is maintained as at least part of an overlay layer. The digital annotation is displayed, and if information from a program is being displayed then the digital annotation is displayed concurrently with the information from the program. Interaction between the overlay layer and the application layer can also be allowed.

Claims

1. One or more computer storage media having stored thereon multiple instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the one or more processors to:

receive user input as a digital annotation;

maintain the digital annotation as at least part of an overlay layer;

display the digital annotation concurrently with information in an application layer displayed by a program; and

allow interaction between the overlay layer and the application layer.

2. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein the digital annotation includes a written note.

3. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein the digital annotation includes an image being displayed by the program.

4. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein the digital annotation includes both a written note and information copied from another source.

5. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 1, the instructions further causing the one or more processors to save a current image of information being displayed by the program, and save the digital annotation as being associated with the current image.

6. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein the interaction comprises information from the overlay layer being passed to the program.

7. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein the interaction comprises the program manipulating the digital annotation being displayed in the overlay layer.

8. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein the overlay layer is provided by a module independent of the program.

9. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein the program comprises a Web browser, and the information in the application layer comprises a Web page.

10. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 1, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to receive, without the program running, information from an additional user input as an additional digital annotation.

11. A method implemented in a computing device, the method comprising:

receiving user inputs as a digital annotation;

maintaining the digital annotation as at least part of an overlay layer; and

displaying, if information from a program is being displayed, the digital annotation concurrently with the information from the program, otherwise displaying the digital annotation.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the digital annotation includes a written note.

13. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the digital annotation includes an image copied from another source.

14. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein the image comprises an image being displayed by the program.

15. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising, if information from the program is being displayed, saving a current image of the information being displayed by the program, and saving the digital annotation as being associated with the current image.

16. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising, if information from the program is being displayed, then allowing interaction between an overlay module providing the overlay layer and the program.

17. A method as recited in claim 16, the allowing comprising allowing information from the overlay module to be passed to the program.

18. A method as recited in claim 16, the allowing comprising allowing the program to manipulate the digital annotation being displayed by the overlay module in the overlay layer.

19. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein if there is a program, then the overlay layer is provided by a separate module independent of the program.

20. One or more computer storage media having stored thereon multiple instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the one or more processors to:

receive user input as a digital annotation;

maintain the digital annotation as at least part of an overlay layer;

check whether information from a program is being displayed in an application layer;

if information from the program is not being displayed in the application layer, then display the digital annotation;

if information from the program is being displayed in the application layer, then;

save a current image of the information being displayed by the program and the digital annotation as being associated with the current image;

display the digital annotation concurrently with information in the application layer; and

allow interaction between the overlay layer and the application layer.