Method and system for rendering hyper-link information in a printable medium from a graphical user interface

• US 5,870,767 A
• Filed: 11/22/1996
• Issued: 02/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kraft, George IV
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen S.
• Application Number:
  US08/755,426
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: 707/501, 707/511, 707/512, 707/513, 707/514, 707/526, 707/527, 707/537, 707/10, 707/104, 345/335, 345/336
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/94 Hypermedia Hyperlinking G06F40/134
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations

Abstract

A method and system for rendering in a printable medium hyper-link information contained in a document displayed within a graphical user interface within a data processing system linked to other data processing systems in a data processing network. A document constructed from data generated at a data processing network server is selected and displayed within a graphical user interface. Thereafter, in response to the selection of the document, if the document includes hyper-link information, a reference object is generated. Next, the reference object is associated with the hyper-link information. Thereafter, in response to a user input, the document is automatically printed in a printable medium, in association with the reference object, such that the hyper-link information is automatically presented in association with the printed document.

Claims

1. A method in a data processing system for rendering in a printable medium, hyper-link information contained in a document displayed within a graphical user interface within said data processing system, wherein said data processing system is linked to at least one other data processing system in a data processing network, comprising the steps of:

selecting a document to be printed from among a plurality of documents, wherein said document is displayed within said graphical user interface and is constructed from data generated at a data processing network server;

generating at least one footnote object in response to a selection of said document, if said document includes hyper-link information, wherein said at least one footnote object references said hyper-link information by including the location of data associated with said hyper-link information;

associating with said at least one footnote objects, said hyper-link information; and

automatically presenting, in response to a user input, said document in a printable medium in association with said at least one footnote object, such that said hyper-link information is automatically presented in association with said document, thereby permitting users to ascertain the origin of said hyper-link information via said printable medium.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating at least one footnote object in response to a selection of said document, if said document includes hyper-link information, wherein said at least one footnote object references said hyper-link information by including the location of data associated with said hyper-link information, further comprises the step of:

generating at least one footnote object in response to said selection of said document, if said document includes at least one hyper-text address link.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of associating with said at least one footnote object, said hyper-link information, further comprises the step of:

associating with said at least one footnote object, said at least one hyper-text address link.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of automatically presenting, in response to a user input, said document in a printable medium in association with said at least one footnote object, such that said hyper-link information is automatically presented in association with said document, thereby permitting users to ascertain the origin of said hyper-link information via said printable medium, further comprises the step of:

automatically presenting, in response to a user input, said document in a hardcopy form in association with a footnote corresponding to said at least one footnote object, such that said at least one hyper-text address link is automatically presented in association with said document as a footnote, thereby permitting users to ascertain the origin of said hyper-link information via said printable medium.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of automatically presenting, in response to user input, said footnote in proximity to said at least one hyper-text address link.

6. An apparatus in a data processing system for rendering in a printable medium, hyper-link information contained in a document displayed within a graphical user interface within said data processing system, wherein said data processing system is linked to at least one other data processing system in a data processing network, comprising:

means for selecting a document to be printed from among a plurality of documents, wherein said document is displayed within said graphical user interface and is constructed from data generated at said data processing network server;

means for generating at least one footnote object in response to a selection of said document, if said document includes hyper-link information, wherein said at least one footnote object references said hyper-link information by including the location of data associated with said hyper-link information;

means for associating with said at least one footnote object, said hyper-link information; and

means for automatically presenting, in response to a user input, said document in a printable medium in association with said at least one footnote object, such that said hyper-link information is automatically presented in association with said document, thereby permitting users to ascertain the origin of said hyper-link information via said printable medium.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said means for automatically presenting, in response to a user input, said document in a printable medium in association with said at least one footnote objects such that said hyper-link information is automatically presented in association with said document, thereby permitting users to ascertain the origin of said hyper-link information via said printable medium, further comprises:

means for automatically presenting, in response to a user input, said at least one footnote object in proximity to said hyper-link information.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said hyper-link information comprises at least one hyper-text address link.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said printable medium comprises hardcopy.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said data generated at said data processing network server comprises data written in a mark-up data processing language.