Universal resource locator dialog with extended top level domains

• US 5,977,969 A
• Filed: 11/03/1997
• Issued: 11/02/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: DiAngelo, Michael Franz
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BAUTISTA, XIOMARA L
• Application Number:
  US08/963,470
• Time in Patent Office: 729 Days
• Field of Search: 345/336, 345/338, 345/347, 345/348, 345/354, 345/357, 395/200.47, 395/200.49, 707/501, 707/505, 707/507, 707/534
• US Class Current: 715/780
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/975 Pop-up dialog box for entry

Abstract

A dialog for entry of uniform resource locators is provided with options, selected by actuation of a radio button, for entering blocks containing a resource identifier, a domain identifier, and a filename extension. The block text is visually distinguished from text entered by single characters from a physical or virtual keyboard. Once entered, the blocks are treated in a unitary manner for the purposes of deletion or substitution, with backspaces or deletes removing the entire block add selection of alternative options replacing the entire block. Character strings entered manually may be compared to the text blocks associated with the options provided and, when a match is identified, replaced with the block form to facilitate form checking of the composed uniform resource locator before returning it to the underlying application.

Claims

1. A method of facilitating correct entry of a uniform resource locator, comprising:

providing a dialog box including a plurality of options for portions of a uniform resource locator; and

responsive to a user selecting one of the plurality of options, inserting a corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator as a block within an entry box, the insertion further comprising;

responsive to a user selecting a resource option, inserting a resource identifier in the entry box;

responsive to a user selecting a domain option, inserting a domain identifier in the entry box; and

responsive to a user selecting a filename option, inserting a filename extension in the entry box.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing a dialog box including a plurality of options for portions of a uniform resource locator further comprises:

providing a plurality of resource options, domain options and filename options.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of inserting a corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator as a block within an entry box further comprises:

inserting the corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator at a current insertion point.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of inserting a corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator as a block within an entry box further comprises:

determining whether the entry box contains a block entry of a type including the corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator; and

replacing the block entry with the corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of inserting a corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator as a block within an entry box further comprises:

providing a visual indicator of the block within the entry box.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to a user pressing key for deleting text in a selected direction within the entry box while a block containing the corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator is adjacent to an insertion point in the selected direction, deleting the block.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to a user actuating a control to returning a composed uniform resource locator in the entry box to an application, checking a form of the composed uniform resource locator.

8. A data processing system assisting a user in correctly entering a uniform resource locator, comprising:

a dialog box on a display within the data processing system, the dialog box including a plurality of user-selectable resource options, domain options, and filename options;

means, responsive to a user selecting a resource option, for inserting a corresponding resource identifier as a block in a uniform resource locator being composed within an entry box;

means, responsive to a user selecting a domain option, for inserting a corresponding domain identifier as a block in the uniform resource locator being composed; and

means, responsive to a user selecting a filename option, for inserting a corresponding filename extension as a block in the uniform resource locator being composed.

9. The data processing system of claim 8 wherein the plurality of user-selectable resource options, domain options, and filename options each further comprise:

a radio button which changes visual appearance when a user selects a previously unselected, corresponding option within the plurality of resource options, domain options, and filename options.

10. The data processing system of claim 8, further comprising:

a blinking insertion point indicator within the entry box indicating a current insertion point within the uniform resource locator being composed.

11. The data processing system of claim 8, further comprising:

means, responsive to a user selecting a new resource option while a previous resource option was selected, for replacing a block within the uniform resource locator being composed containing a resource identifier corresponding to the previously selected resource option with a resource identifier corresponding to the new resource option;

means, responsive to a user selecting a new domain option while a previous domain option was selected, for replacing a block within the uniform resource locator being composed containing a domain identifier corresponding to the previously selected domain option with a domain identifier corresponding to the new domain option; and

means, responsive to a user selecting a new filename option while a previous filename option was selected, for replacing a block within the uniform resource locator being composed containing a filename extension corresponding to the previously selected filename option with a filename extension corresponding to the new filename option.

12. The data processing system of claim 8, further comprising:

means, responsive to a user entering text within the entry box coinciding with a resource identifier corresponding to a resource option, for replacing the text with a block containing the resource identifier and for providing a visual indication that the resource option is selected;

means, responsive to a user entering text within the entry box coinciding with a domain identifier corresponding to a domain option, for replacing the text with a block containing the domain identifier and for providing a visual indication that the domain option is selected; and

means, responsive to a user entering text within the entry box coinciding with a filename extension corresponding to a filename option, for replacing the text with a block containing the filename extension and for providing a visual indication that the filename option is selected.

13. The data processing system of claim 8, further comprising:

a user control within the dialog box for initiating return of a composed uniform resource locator within the entry box to an application; and

means, responsive to a user actuating the user control, for checking a form of the composed uniform resource locator.

14. A computer program product in a computer usable medium, comprising:

first instructions in the computer usable medium for providing a dialog box including a plurality of options for portions of a uniform resource locator; and

second instructions in the computer usable medium, responsive to a user selecting one of the plurality of options, for inserting a corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator as a block within an entry box, the insertion further comprising;

responsive to a user selecting a resource option, inserting a resource identifier in the entry box;

responsive to a user selecting a domain option, inserting a domain identifier in the entry box; and

responsive to a user selecting a filename option, inserting a filename extension in the entry box.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the instructions for providing a dialog box including a plurality of options for portions of a uniform resource locator further comprise:

instructions for providing a plurality of resource options, domain options and filename options.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the instructions for inserting a corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator as a block within an entry box further comprise:

instructions for inserting the corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator at a current insertion point.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the instructions for inserting a corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator as a block within an entry box further comprise:

instructions for determining whether the entry box contains a block entry of a type including the corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator; and

instructions for replacing the block entry with the corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the instructions for inserting a corresponding portion of a uniform resource locator as a block within an entry box further comprises:

instructions for providing a visual indicator of the block within the entry box.