Method and system for control of spawned web frames

• US 6,493,000 B1
• Filed: 02/17/2000
• Issued: 12/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Brown, Michael W., Ullmann, Cristi N., Wynn, Allen C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Cao H.
• Application Number:
  US09/506,226
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• Field of Search: 345/733, 345/753, 345/781, 345/848, 345/810, 345/853, 345/808, 707/500, 707/501, 707/513, 707/517, 707/526
• US Class Current: 715/733
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web

Abstract

A web browser with a set of controls which allows a user to select several page hold modes of operation when selecting standard or plain hyperlinks. In a first state, the web browser software will display pages in a way unaltered from it'"'"'s standard functionality. In a second state, selection of any hyperlink on the parent page shown in the original instance of the web browser will result in the spawning of a new instance of the web browser in a new window showing the selected document, and the parent page will be “held” in the original instance of the web browser. The user may select many hyperlinks on the parent page, and many new instances of the web browser would be spawned. In the third state, only one additional web browser instance will created to display most recently selected document, and the parent page will be “held” in the original instance of the web browser. Finally, the web browser detects certain changes in the address of the document being viewed to the document selected by the user, and automatically updates the parent instance of the web browser to display a new parent page in the original instance of the web browser. The change criteria may be specified by the user, such as changes in host name and domain only, or change in host, domain or subdomain.

Claims

1. A method for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer, said web browser computer having a processor capable of executing web browser software and having connectivity to a web server computer via a computer network, and having a parent instance of web browser software in execution and operable by a user, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a user hold control having a normal state and at least one hold state, said user control being operable by a user through a user interface on a web browser computer using said parent instance of web browser software;

retrieving web documents and objects from a web server computer via a computer network in response to selection by a user of the web browser computer, each said web document and object being associated with a web address; and

displaying said retrieved web documents and objects in a child browser window if a hold state is enabled by the user.

2. A method for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a singular child hold state for said user hold control; and

spawning a singular child web browser instance if no child web browser instance is in existence such that the retrieved web documents and objects are displayed in the singular child web browser instance, replacing any display which is already presented in the singular child web browser instance.

3. A method for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

comparing the web address associated with the selected web document or address to a previously selected web address; and

overriding the display of the selected document in a child window if web address of the selected document meets predetermined criteria relative to the previously selected web address such that the selected document is displayed “

normally”

according to any coding contained within the selected document.

4. A method for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 3, wherein said step of comparing the web address of the selected web document or object with a previously selected web address further comprises comparison of Internet Protocol addresses.

5. A method for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 4, wherein said comparison of Internet Protocol addresses further comprises comparison of said selected web address and a previously selected address on a label-by-label basis.

6. A method for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a multiple child hold state for said user hold control; and

spawning multiple child web browser instances in response to each selected web document or object such that each selected web document or object is displayed in a new web browser instance and all previously displayed documents in previously spawned child web browser instances remain in tact displaying their respective documents.

7. A method for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

comparing the web address associated with the selected web document or address to a previously selected web address; and

overriding the display of the selected document in a child window if web address of the selected document meets predetermined criteria relative to the previously selected web address such that the selected document is displayed “

normally”

according to any coding contained within the selected document.

8. A method for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 7, wherein said step of comparing the web address of the selected web document or object with a previously selected web address further comprises comparison of Internet Protocol addresses.

9. A method for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 8, wherein said comparison of Internet Protocol addresses further comprises comparison of said selected web address and a previously selected address on a label-by-label basis.

10. A computer program product for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer, said web browser computer having a processor capable of executing web browser software and having connectivity to a web server computer via a computer network, and having a parent instance of web browser software in execution and operable by a user, said computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for providing a user hold control having a normal state and at least one hold state, said user control being operable by a user through a user interface on a web browser computer using said parent instance of web browser software;

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for retrieving web documents and objects from a web server computer via a computer network in response to selection by a user of the web browser computer, each said web document and object being associated with a web address; and

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for displaying said retrieved web documents and objects in a child browser window if a hold state is enabled by the user.

11. A computer program product for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 10, further comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for providing a singular child hold state for said user hold control; and

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for spawning a singular child web browser instance if no child web browser instance is in existence such that the retrieved web documents and objects are displayed in the singular child web browser instance, replacing any display which is already presented in the singular child web browser instance.

12. A computer program product for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 11, further comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for comparing the web address associated with the selected web document or address to a previously selected web address; and

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for overriding the display of the selected document in a child window if web address of the selected document meets predetermined criteria relative to the previously selected web address such that the selected document is displayed “

normally”

according to any coding contained within the selected document.

13. A computer program product for for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 12, wherein said a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means for comparing the web address of the selected web document or object with a previously selected web address further comprises program code means for comparison of Internet Protocol addresses.

14. A computer program product for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 13, wherein said program code means for comparison of Internet Protocol addresses further comprises program code means for comparison of said selected web address and a previously selected address on a label-by-label basis.

15. A computer program product for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 10, further comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for providing a multiple child hold state for said user hold control; and

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for spawning multiple child web browser instances in response to each selected web document or object such that each selected web document or object is displayed in a new web browser instance and all previously displayed documents in previously spawned child web browser instances remain in tact displaying their respective documents.

16. A computer program product for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 15, further comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for comparing the web address associated with the selected web document or address to a previously selected web address; and

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for overriding the display of the selected document in a child window if web address of the selected document meets predetermined criteria relative to the previously selected web address such that the selected document is displayed “

normally”

according to any coding contained within the selected document.

17. A computer program product for for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 16, wherein said a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means for comparing the web address of the selected web document or object with a previously selected web address further comprises program code means for comparison of Internet Protocol addresses.

18. A computer program product for retrieving and displaying to a user web documents and objects received over a computer network using a web browser computer as set forth in claim 17, wherein said program code means for comparison of Internet Protocol addresses further comprises program code means for comparison of said selected web address and a previously selected address on a label-by-label basis.

19. A web browser system for selecting, retrieving, and displaying web documents and objects from a web server system over a computer network, said web documents and objects having web addresses associated with them, said web browser system comprising:

a computer platform including a processor capable of executing software, a computer readable memory means, a means for interfacing to a web server system via a computer network, a means for receiving input selections from a user, and a means for displaying web documents to a user;

a parent instance of a web browser disposed in said computer readable memory and being executed by said processor, said parent instance having a user interface for displaying a parent web document on said display means and for receiving document selections from a user through said input means, and having at hold mode control operable by a user, said hold mode control having a normal mode and at least one hold mode enablable by a user; and

a child spawner under control of said parent instance and activated by enabling of a hold mode of the hold mode control, said child spawner being capable of creating a child instance of a web browser for displaying a selected web document or object, and further being capable of causing an existing child instance of a web browser to display a selected webdocument or object.

20. A web browser system as set forth in claim 19, wherein said means for interfacing to a web server system via a computer network includes a computer network interface and an Internet communications suite and protocol stack.

21. A web browser system as set forth in claim 20, wherein said computer network interface includes a modem.

22. A web browser system as set forth in claim 20, wherein said computer network interface includes a local area network interface card.

23. A web browser system as set forth in claim 19, wherein said means for displaying web documents to a user includes a computer graphical display.

24. A web browser system as set forth in claim 19, wherein said for receiving input selections from a user includes a keyboard.

25. A web browser system as set forth in claim 19, wherein said for receiving input selections from a user includes a mouse.

26. A web browser system as set forth in claim 19 wherein said child spawner is further capable of spawing a singular child instance of a web browser under the control of the parent instance and in response to a user selection of a web document or object for retrieval, said singular child instance being then used to display all subsequently selected web documents and objects in the same singular child instance of a web browser.

27. A web browser system as set forth in claim 19, wherein said child spawner is further capable of spawing a multiple child instances of a web browser under the control of the parent instance and in response to user selections of web documents or objects for retrieval, said multiple child instances being then used to display all subsequently selected web documents and objects in a new child instance such that all displays of previously selected documents and objects are maintained in tact.

28. A web browser system as set forth in claim 19, further comprising:

a web address comparator activated by repoint of the web browser or selection of a web document or object by a user, said comparator having an override output activated by a comparison of the address associated with the web document or object with a previously selected address if said comparison meets predetermined conditions; and

an hold overrider which temporarily disables the child spawner in response to said web address comparator output being activated, such that selections of web document, objects, or domain names which differ from the previously selected web address in a manner consistent with said predetermined conditions will allow the display of selected document to be performed according to a default behavior defined by the selected web document or object.

29. A web browser system as set forth in claim 28, wherein said web address comparator further comprises an Internet Protocol address comparator.

30. A web browser system as set forth in claim 29, wherein said Internet Protocol address comparator further comprises a label-to-label comparator.