Searching and Browsing URLs and URL History

• US 20110022971A1
• Filed: 10/05/2010
• Published: 01/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Davis, Jeffrey M., Epling, Jeremiah Seth, Huang, Li-Hsin, Van Dok, Cornelis K.
• Granted Patent: US 9,141,716 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/760
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9562 Bookmark management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

System(s) and/or method(s) (“tools”) are described that present indicia for implicitly and explicitly user-associated web pages of a network browser application. The tools can present these indicia in a single graphic user interface, in response to a user'"'"'s selection of a single unified access point, or in response to a search of the browser'"'"'s user-associated web pages.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media embodying computer-readable instructions that, when executed, implement a method comprising:

receiving a selection to present indicia for implicitly and explicitly user-associated web pages of a network browser application; and

presenting the indicia, wherein the act of presenting the indicia comprises presenting the indicia in a single navigable window and wherein the single navigable window is docked within a graphic user interface of the network browser application.

2. The media of claim 1, further comprising presenting a single unified access point and wherein the act of receiving the selection comprises receiving selection of the single unified access point with a single user action.

3. The media of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling selection of two or more of the indicia with a single user action;

receiving selection of two or more of the indicia to provide selected indicia; and

opening web pages associated with the selected indicia without further user action.

4. The media of claim 1, wherein the act of presenting the indicia comprises presenting the indicia arranged in two or more groups, each of the groups having a group indicia, and further comprising:

enabling selection of one of the group indicia with a single user action;

receiving selection of one of the group indicia to provide selected web pages associated with the group indicia; and

associating the selected web pages with a user.

5. The media of claim 1, wherein the act of presenting the indicia further comprises ordering the indicia in a hierarchy determined by the network browser application.

6. The media of claim 1, wherein the single navigable window further comprises a search entry field configured to enable a search of the implicitly and explicitly user-associated web pages.

7. The media of claim 6, wherein presenting the indicia further comprises:

determining a hierarchy of the indicia based, at least in part, on input in the search entry field; and

presenting the indicia in the determined hierarchy.

8. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:

receiving a selection to present indicia for implicitly and explicitly user-associated web pages of a network browser application; and

presenting the indicia, wherein the act of presenting the indicia comprises presenting the indicia in a single navigable window and wherein the single navigable window is docked within a graphic user interface of the network browser application.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising presenting a single unified access point and wherein the act of receiving the selection comprises receiving selection of the single unified access point with a single user action.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising:

enabling selection of two or more of the indicia with a single user action;

receiving selection of two or more of the indicia to provide selected indicia; and

opening web pages associated with the selected indicia without further user action.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the act of presenting the indicia comprises presenting the indicia arranged in two or more groups, each of the groups having a group indicia, and further comprising:

enabling selection of one of the group indicia with a single user action;

receiving selection of one of the group indicia to provide selected web pages associated with the group indicia; and

associating the selected web pages with a user.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the act of presenting the indicia further comprises ordering the indicia in a hierarchy determined by the network browser application.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the single navigable window further comprises a search entry field configured to enable a search of the implicitly and explicitly user-associated web pages.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein presenting the indicia further comprises:

determining a hierarchy of the indicia based, at least in part, on input in the search entry field; and

presenting the indicia in the determined hierarchy;

15. One or more computer-readable media embodying computer-readable instructions that, when executed, implement a method comprising:

receiving a selection to present indicia for implicitly and explicitly user-associated web pages of a network browser application; and

presenting, in a single navigable window that is docked within a graphic user interface of the network browser application, indicia associated with the user-associated web pages, wherein the indicia associated with the user-associated web pages are determined, based at least in part, on input from a search entry field of the single navigable window and wherein presenting the indicia associated with the user associated web pages comprises presenting the determined indicia in groups sharing a similar feature.

16. The media of claim 15, wherein presenting indicia associated with the user associated web pages further comprises:

receiving the input from the search entry field of the single navigable window, wherein the input contains characters;

responsive to receiving input from the search entry field, searching user-associated web pages for web pages having associated character matches with the input; and

ordering user-associated web pages having character matches by a weighting.

17. The media of claim 16, wherein the weighting is a weighting of a number of views of each user-associated web page having character matches.

18. The media of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, implement a method further comprising:

presenting, in a second region of the single navigable window, without user interaction, user-selectable indicia associated with at least one previously viewed web page.

19. The media of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, implement a method further comprising:

presenting, in the single navigable window, at least one user-selectable control that is associated with a grouping of the user-associated web pages, wherein selection of the at least one user-selectable control causes presentation of indicia associated with the user-associated web pages of the grouping in the single navigable window.

20. The media of claim 19, wherein the grouping is a grouping of explicitly selected user-associated web pages.