Method and apparatus for fast-path location and selection of links

• US 6,222,541 B1
• Filed: 01/20/1998
• Issued: 04/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Day, Paul Reuben, Bates, Cary Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Ba
• Application Number:
  US09/009,203
• Time in Patent Office: 1,190 Days
• Field of Search: 345/973, 345/974, 345/123, 345/341, 345/146, 345/968, 707/512, 707/513
• US Class Current: 715/786
• 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: Y10S 715/973 Scroll tool, e.g. window scroll bar
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/974 Slider control as on-screen object in operator interface

Abstract

An apparatus and method for locating and selecting hypertext links allows a web user to select a web page, then quickly and efficiently locate and select any hypertext link on the web page. A web user simply navigates to a web page and scrolls through the web page using the slider on the scroll bar. As the web user scrolls through the page, each link that appears on the screen is displayed in one of several predefined colors with no two adjacent links being displayed in the same color. When a given hypertext link is within the range of the slider on the scroll bar, this link becomes the current or active link and the slider on the scroll bar changes to a color which corresponds to the color of the link. The color change provides a visual cue to the user that the current or active link can now be selected. In addition, when the slider changes color, a link display on the menu bar of the web browser may be used to display the title of the current or active link as indicated by an HTML tag in the web page corresponding to the link. As long as the slider remains the color corresponding to the link and the link display shows the title of the active link, the user can select the link by simply pressing the right button of the mouse or using some other selection method.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor;

a memory coupled to the at least one processor; and

a link selection mechanism residing in the memory and executed by the at least one processor, the link selection mechanism determining a current link in a document containing a plurality of links, the current link being determined based upon a position of a slider on a scroll bar, the link selection mechanism visually correlating the slider with the current link to indicate to a user which of the plurality of links is the current link, and to facilitate user selection and activation of the current link.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the scroll bar comprises an upward s scrolling button and a downward scrolling button.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the link selection mechanism visually correlates the slider with the current link by coloring the slider to substantially match the current link.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a user input device that facilitates the selection and activation of the current link, and wherein the user activates the user input device to activate the current link.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the link selection mechanism further comprises a slider range mechanism, the slider range mechanism defining a slider range within the document.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the slider range comprises a predefined number of lines in the document.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the slider range mechanism detects the number of links within the slider range.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the link selection mechanism further comprises a sinkhole mechanism, wherein the link selection mechanism activates the sinkhole mechanism when more than one link is within the slider range, and wherein the sinkhole mechanism slows the rate of scrolling in proportion to the number of links within the slider range.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

the link selection mechanism applies a color to each of the plurality of links such that no two adjacent links on the document have the same color.

10. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor;

a memory coupled to the at least one processor;

a web browser residing in memory, the web browser retrieving and displaying a document containing a plurality of links, the web browser including a scroll bar having, a slider for navigating through the document;

a link selection mechanism residing in the memory, wherein the link selection mechanism applies a color to each of the plurality of links on the document using alternating colors, the link selection mechanism determining which of the plurality of links is a current link based upon a position of the slider on a scroll bar and facilitating user selection and activation of the current link, the link selection mechanism comprising;

a slider range mechanism, the slider range mechanism defining a slider range in the document; and

a highlight mechanism, the highlight mechanism updating the color of the slider on the scroll bar on the web browser to correspond with the color of a current link, and

a user input device, wherein activation of the user input device activates the current link.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the user input device is activated by pressing the right mouse button.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the user input device is a tab key.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the slider range comprises a predefined number of lines of the document.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the slider range mechanism determines how many of the plurality of links are within the slider range.

15. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the link selection mechanism further comprises a sinkhole mechanism, wherein the link selection mechanism activates the sinkhole mechanism when more than one link is within the slider range, and wherein the sinkhole mechanism slows the scrolling rate of the document displayed on the web browser in proportion to the number of links within the slider range.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the sinkhole mechanism calculates a difference in distance between a previous position of the slider on the scroll bar and the current position of the slider on the scroll bar.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the sinkhole mechanism calculates a new position for the slider on the scroll bar by adding the previous position of the slider to the result of dividing the difference by the number of links within the slider range.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the sinkhole mechanism sets the previous position of the slider equal to the new position of the slider on the scroll bar.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the sinkhole mechanism determines a current link based upon the new position of the slider.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the sinkhole mechanism positions the slider at the new position on the scroll bar.

21. A program product comprising:

(A) a link selection mechanism determining a current link in a document containing a plurality of links, the current link being determined based upon a position of a slider on a scroll bar, the link selection mechanism visually correlating the slider with the current link to indicate to a user which of the plurality of links is the current link, and to facilitate selection and activation of the current link by a user input device; and

(B) signal bearing media bearing the link selection mechanism.

22. The program product of claim 21 wherein the signal bearing media comprises transmission media.

23. The program product of claim 21 wherein the signal bearing media comprises recordable media.

24. The program product of claim 21 wherein the scroll bar comprises an upward scrolling button and a downward scrolling button.

25. The program product of claim 21 wherein the current link further comprises a color and wherein the link selection mechanism visually correlates the slider with the current link by coloring the slider to substantially match the color of the current link.

26. The program product of claim 21 wherein the user input device is a mouse comprising a mouse button, and wherein pressing the mouse button activates the current link.

27. The program product of claim 21 wherein the link selection mechanism includes a slider range mechanism, the slider range mechanism defining a slider range of the document.

28. The program product of claim 27 wherein the slider range comprises a predefined number of lines of the document.

29. The program product of claim 27 wherein the slider range mechanism detects the number of links within the slider range.

30. The program product of claim 27 wherein the link selection mechanism includes a sinkhole mechanism, wherein the link selection mechanism activates the sinkhole mechanism when more than one link is within the slider range, and wherein the sinkhole mechanism slows the rate of scrolling in proportion to the number of links within the slider range.

31. A method for locating and selecting links, the method comprising the steps of:

a) displaying a web browser having a slider on a scroll bar, the web browser displaying a document containing a plurality of links;

b) determining a current link from the plurality of links based upon a position of the slider;

c) visually correlating the slider with the current link, and

d) facilitating user selection and activation of the current link.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the step of visually correlating the slider with the current link comprises coloring the slider on the scroll bar to substantially match the current link.

33. The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of defining a slider range of the document, the slider range comprising a predefined number of lines of the document, wherein the slider range mechanism detects the number of links within the slider range.

34. The method of claim 33 further comprising the step of slowing the rate of scrolling in proportion to the number of links within the slider range.

35. The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of coloring the plurality of links with a plurality of alternating colors.

36. The method of claim 31 wherein the step of facilitating user selection and activation of the current link comprises the steps of receiving input from a user of the web browser and requesting a new web document corresponding to the current link.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the step of receiving input from a user of the web browser comprises the step of determining that the right button on a mouse has been pressed.

38. The method of claim 31 further comprising the steps of:

determining a new current link from the plurality of links;

visually correlating the scroll bar with the new current link; and

facilitating user selection and activation of the new current link.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein the step of determining a new current link is performed automatically when a user of the web browser scrolls through the web document.

40. The method of claim 39 wherein the step of determining a new current link comprises locating a link in the plurality of links which is most closely aligned with a slider in the scroll bar.

41. A method for locating and selecting links, the method comprising the steps of:

a) displaying a web browser document on a web browser having a scroll bar and a slider on the scroll bar, the web browser document including a plurality of links;

b) displaying the plurality of links such that adjacent links are displayed in different colors;

c) determining one of the plurality of links to be a current link based on a position of the slider;

d) displaying the slider in the same color as the current link;

e) as the web browser document is scrolled, determining a new one of the plurality of links to be a new current link based on a new position of the slider;

f) displaying the scroll bar in the same color as the new current link;

g) receiving input that the right button of a mouse has been pressed; and

h) displaying a new web page corresponding to the new current link.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein the step of displaying the scroll bar in the same color as the current link comprises the step of applying a plurality of colors to the plurality of links in an alternating fashion so that no two adjacent links have the same color.

43. The method of claim 41 wherein the step of determining one of the plurality of links to be a current link comprises the step of creating a slider range.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein the step of determining one of the plurality of links to be the current link further comprises the step of determining how many of the plurality of links are within the slider range.

45. The method of claim 44 wherein the step of determining one of the plurality of links to be the current link further comprises the step of slowing the scrolling rate of the document displayed on the web browser in proportion to the number of links within the slider range.

46. The method of claim 45 wherein the step of determining one of the plurality of links to be the current link further comprises the step of calculating a difference in distance between a previous position of the slider on the scroll bar and the current position of the slider on the scroll bar.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein the step of determining one of the plurality of links to be the current link further comprises the step of calculating a new position for the slider on the scroll bar further comprises the step of adding the previous position of the slider to the result of dividing the difference by the number of links within the slider range.

48. The method of claim 47 wherein the step of calculating a new position for the slider on the scroll bar further comprises the step of setting the previous position of the slider equal to the new position of the slider on the scroll bar.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein the step of calculating a new position for the slider on the scroll bar further comprises the step of determining a current link based upon the new position of the slider.

50. A method for locating and selecting hypertext links comprising the steps of:

a) displaying the web browser document on a web browser having a scroll bar, the scroll bar including a slider and the web browser document including a plurality of links;

b) coloring each of the plurality of links with a color such that adjacent links comprise different colors;

c) designating a portion of the document a slider range;

d) determining how many of the plurality of links are within the slider range;

e) designating one of the plurality of links that is most closely aligned with the slider as a current link;

f) coloring the slider a color substantially matching the current link color;

g) displaying a name associated with the current link in a current link display;

h) when the relative position of the slider has changed designating a new one of the plurality of links most closely aligned with the slider as a new current link;

i) coloring the slider a color substantially matching the new current link color; and

j) requesting a new web browser document corresponding to the new current link when a user device input is received.

51. The method of claim 50 further comprising the step of adjusting a scroll rate of the web browser document in proportion to how many of the plurality of links are within the slider range.

52. The method of claim 50 wherein the step of requesting a new web browser document corresponding to the new current link when a user device input is received comprises the step of requesting a new web browser document corresponding to the new current link when a right button on a mouse is pressed.