Method of preparing an electronic book for a computer system
First Claim
1. A method by which a first computer system automatically converts a document to an interactive reference that can be interpreted by and displayed on a second computer system having a display screen sensitive to a pointer, a processor in communication with the display screen, and a memory in communication with the processor such that at least portions of the interactive reference residing in the memory can be retrieved by interaction of the pointer with the display screen, the method comprising the following steps:
- separating the document into content blocks delineated by content commands within the document, some content blocks containing templates for live interaction between the pointer and the display screen and other content blocks containing text or a picture;
creating page descriptions in which the content blocks are arranged on pages whose boundaries are defined by the display screen of the second computer;
preparing instructions for treating pointer actions on templates displayed on the display screen; and
outputting commands describing the interactive reference, the commands having a format, at least when compiled, that can be stored in the memory of the second computer system and interpreted by the processor of the second computer system.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for preparing interactive references having pages which can be displayed on the screen of a pointer-based computer system. Some of the reference'"'"'s pages have "live" features or icons which the user can select to cause various actions such as moving to other locations within the reference, displaying dialog boxes on the screen, etc. The present invention converts a document containing appropriate comments into a set of instructions for an interactive reference according to a defined sequence of steps. First, the document is separated into content blocks delineated by content commands. Each such block can be separately formatted for use in the interactive reference. Next, the system creates page descriptions in which the content blocks are arranged on pages whose boundaries are defined by the display screen of the computer system on which the interactive references will be displayed. In addition, the system prepares instructions for treating pointer actions on buttons and other live screen features. Finally, commands describing the interactive reference, are output. The commands will be provided a format, at least when compiled, that can be stored and processed in the computer on which the interactive reference is displayed.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method by which a first computer system automatically converts a document to an interactive reference that can be interpreted by and displayed on a second computer system having a display screen sensitive to a pointer, a processor in communication with the display screen, and a memory in communication with the processor such that at least portions of the interactive reference residing in the memory can be retrieved by interaction of the pointer with the display screen, the method comprising the following steps:
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separating the document into content blocks delineated by content commands within the document, some content blocks containing templates for live interaction between the pointer and the display screen and other content blocks containing text or a picture; creating page descriptions in which the content blocks are arranged on pages whose boundaries are defined by the display screen of the second computer; preparing instructions for treating pointer actions on templates displayed on the display screen; and outputting commands describing the interactive reference, the commands having a format, at least when compiled, that can be stored in the memory of the second computer system and interpreted by the processor of the second computer system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 28)
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11. A method by which a first computer system automatically converts a document to an interactive reference that can be interpreted by and displayed on a second computer system having a display screen sensitive to the position of a pointer, a processor in communication with the display screen, and a memory in communication with the processor such that at least portions of the interactive reference residing in the memory can be retrieved by interaction of the pointer with the display screen, the method comprising the following steps:
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separating the document into content blocks delineated by content commands within the document, some content blocks containing text or a picture, and at least one other content block containing a template for an interactive navigation dialog box allowing live interaction between the pointer and the display screen; creating page descriptions in which the content blocks are arranged on pages whose boundaries are defined by the display screen of the second computer, at least one of the page descriptions specifying the structure of a menu page; linking one or more buttons in the interactive navigation dialog box to other locations in the interactive reference such that when one of the buttons is selected with said pointer, another location within the interactive reference is displayed; and outputting commands describing the interactive reference, the commands having a format, at least when compiled, that can be stored in the memory of the second computer system and interpreted by the processor of the second computer system. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer system for automatically converting a document to an interactive reference that can be interpreted by and displayed on a stylus-based second computer system having a display screen sensitive to a stylus, a processor in communication with the display screen, and a memory in communication with the processor such that at least portions of the interactive reference in the memory can be retrieved by interaction of the stylus with the display screen, the computer system comprising:
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processor means; memory means in communication with the processor means; means for separating the document into content blocks delineated by content commands within the document, some content blocks containing templates for live interaction between the stylus and the display screen of the second computer system and other blocks of content containing text or a picture; means for creating page descriptions in which the content blocks are arranged on pages whose boundaries are defined by the display screen of the second computer system; means for preparing instructions for treating stylus actions on templates displayed on the screen display of the second computer system; and means for outputting commands describing the interactive reference, the commands having a format, at least when compiled, that can be stored in the memory of the second computer system and interpreted by the processor of the second computer system. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method by which a first computer system automatically converts a document to an interactive reference that can be interpreted by and displayed on a second computer system having a display screen sensitive to a pointer, a processor in communication with the display screen, and a memory in communication with the processor such that at least portions of the interactive reference residing in the memory can be retrieved by interaction of the pointer with the display screen, the method comprising the following steps:
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separating the document into content blocks delineated by content commands within the document, some content blocks containing templates for live interaction between the pointer and the display screen and other content blocks containing text or a picture; creating page descriptions in which the content blocks are arranged on pages whose boundaries are defined by the display screen of the second computer; preparing instructions for treating pointer actions on templates displayed on the display screen; and outputting commands describing the interactive reference including the page descriptions, the commands having a format, at least when compiled, that can be stored in the memory of the second computer system and interpreted by the processor of the second computer system. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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29. A computer system for automatically converting a document to an interactive reference that can be interpreted by and displayed on a stylus-based second computer system having a display screen sensitive to a stylus, a processor in communication with the display screen, and a memory in communication with the processor such that at least portions of the interactive reference in the memory can be retrieved by interaction of the stylus with the display screen, the computer system comprising:
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processor means; memory means in communication with the processor means; means for separating the document into content blocks delineated by content commands within the document, some content blocks containing templates for live interaction between the stylus and the display screen of the second computer system and other blocks of content containing text or a picture; means for creating page descriptions in which the content blocks are arranged on pages whose boundaries are defined by the display screen of the second computer system; means for preparing instructions for treating stylus actions on templates displayed on the screen display of the second computer system; and means for outputting commands describing the interactive reference including the page descriptions, the commands having a format, at left when compiled, that can be stored in the memory of the second computer system and interpreted by the processor of the second computer system. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
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Specification