ON-LINE TAX PREPARATION APPLICATION SCREEN NAVIGATION USING URL BOOKMARKS
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for generating a bookmark of a screen of an on-line tax preparation application operable to prepare an electronic tax return, the method comprising:
- determining context data associated with a selected screen of the on-line tax preparation application, the context data identifying a path to a location of the selected screen or definition thereof within a hierarchical data structure; and
generating a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) bookmark based at least in part upon the context data, the selected screen being directly accessible by a user of the on-line tax preparation application with the URL bookmark without the user navigating through any prior screens along the path to the selected screen.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Bookmarking interview screens of an electronic tax return prepared using an on-line tax preparation application. A widget or other element is executed by a user to request a URL bookmark of a screen. A bookmark program of or associated with the on-line tax preparation application dynamically generates a URL bookmark based at least in part upon context data of the screen identifying a path to the screen within hierarchical structure of screens. The URL bookmark is provided to the user and may be utilized to jump to the bookmarked screen without having retracing prior navigation steps through multiple screens before the subject screen. Embodiments may be utilized by technical support persons assisting end users, e.g., by requesting a URL bookmark in the form of a hypertext link and sending the link to a screen to an end user who may click on the link to jump to the bookmarked screen.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for generating a bookmark of a screen of an on-line tax preparation application operable to prepare an electronic tax return, the method comprising:
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determining context data associated with a selected screen of the on-line tax preparation application, the context data identifying a path to a location of the selected screen or definition thereof within a hierarchical data structure; and generating a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) bookmark based at least in part upon the context data, the selected screen being directly accessible by a user of the on-line tax preparation application with the URL bookmark without the user navigating through any prior screens along the path to the selected screen. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 21, 35)
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- 14. The URL bookmark comprising a URL address including the context data or a link embodying the URL address.
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15. A computer-implemented method for bookmarking a screen of an on-line tax preparation application hosted by a first computer and operable to prepare an electronic tax return, the method comprising:
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utilizing a second computer to access the first computer and navigate a first path of the hierarchical structure of screens to a selected screen of the on-line tax preparation application; transmitting a request to bookmark the selected screen from the second computer through a first network to the first computer; and receiving a URL bookmark at the second computer from the first computer, the selected screen being directly accessible by a user of the on-line tax preparation application with the URL bookmark without the user navigating through any prior screens along the path to the selected screen. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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26. A computer-implemented method for generating a bookmark of a screen of an on-line tax preparation application operable to prepare an electronic tax return, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a first computer hosting the on-line tax preparation application through a first network and from a second computer of the user of the on-line tax preparation application, a request for a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) bookmark of a selected screen following navigation of a path of a hierarchical structure of screens to the selected screen by a user of the on-line tax preparation application; determining context data associated with the selected screen, the context data identifying the path to the location of the selected screen or definition thereof within the hierarchical structure; in response to the request, dynamically generating the URL bookmark based at least in part upon the determined context data; and transmitting the URL bookmark from the first computer to the second computer in response to the first request, the URL bookmark comprising a link embodying a URL address including context data and being selectable by a user from within a second application other than the on-line tax preparation application without the user navigating through any prior screens along the path to the selected screen. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A computer-implemented method for generating a bookmark of a screen of an Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) application, the method comprising:
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determining context data associated with a selected screen of the AJAX application, the context data identifying a path to a location of the selected screen or definition thereof within a hierarchical data structure; and generating a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) bookmark based at least in part upon the context data, the selected screen being directly accessible by a user of the AJAX application with the URL bookmark without the user navigating through any prior screens along the path to the selected screen. - View Dependent Claims (31, 33, 34)
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32. The method of claim 32, the second application comprising an electronic mail application utilized to access the URL bookmark in an electronic mail message or a browser utilized to access the URL bookmark within a website.
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36. A computer-implemented method for bookmarking a screen of an Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) application hosted by a first computer, the method comprising:
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utilizing a second computer to access the first computer and navigate a first path of the hierarchical structure of screens to a selected screen of the AJAX application; transmitting a request to bookmark the selected screen from the second computer through a first network to the first computer; and receiving a URL bookmark at the second computer from the first computer, the selected screen being directly accessible by a user of the AJAX application with the URL bookmark without the user navigating through any prior screens along the path to the selected screen. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39)
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40. A computer-implemented method for generating a bookmark of a screen of an Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) application, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a first computer hosting the AJAX application through a first network and from a second computer of the user of the AJAX application, a request for a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) bookmark of a selected screen following navigation of a path of a hierarchical structure of screens to the selected screen by a user of the AJAX application; determining context data associated with the selected screen, the context data identifying the path to the location of the selected screen or definition thereof within the hierarchical structure; in response to the request, dynamically generating the URL bookmark based at least in part upon the determined context data; transmitting the URL bookmark from the first computer to the second computer in response to the first request, the URL bookmark comprising a link embodying a URL address including context data and being selectable by a user from within a second application other than the AJAX application without the user navigating through any prior screens along the path to the selected screen.
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Specification