Process for automatically displaying graphical objects such as buttons in a web page

• US 6,954,903 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2001
• Issued: 10/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Richard, Bruno
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Kristine
• Assistant Examiner(s): VU, THANH T
• Application Number:
  US09/883,725
• Publication Number:
  US 20020011970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,576 Days
• Field of Search: 345/760, 345/762, 345/764, 715/501.1, 715/513, 715517-519, 715/760, 715/762, 715/763, 715/764
• US Class Current: 715/760
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A process for displaying a composite object in a markup language page, which comprises at least two cells with a first cell containing an image and a second cell containing a textual information. The at least two cells are arranged in a table for the purpose of building a composite image wherein said textual information can be separately modified. Each cell is associated with different files in order to produce a composite image having different states in accordance with the position of the cursor relative to said object. A first state—the normal state—corresponds to a first file. A second state corresponds to a second file for a state where the cursor is moving over the object. At last a third file is used for a third state which corresponds to the selection of the object by the cursor.

Claims

1. Process for decomposing an image of a graphic object to be displayed within a Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) page comprising:

(a) computing the middle of said graphic object;

(b) extracting a first vertical sample of n pixel wide, which passes through said middle;

(c) determining the next adjacent sample located on the right and comparing it to said first vertical sample;

(d) repeating (c) until the next adjacent sample located on the right is different than the first vertical sample, and setting the boundary of the right corners of variant portions of the object;

(e) determining the next adjacent sample located on the left and comparing it to the first vertical sample;

(f) repeating (e) as long as the next adjacent sample is different to the first vertical sample, and setting the left boundary of the left corners of variant portions of the object;

(g) extracting a second horizontal sample of n pixel wide which passes through said middle of the object;

(h) determining the next adjacent sample located upward and comparing it to said second horizontal sample;

(i) repeating (h) until the next adjacent sample located upward is different than said second horizontal sample, and setting the boundary of superior left and right corners of variant portions of the object;

(j) determining the next adjacent sample located downward and comparing it to said second horizontal sample;

(k) repeating (j) as long as the next adjacent sample is different to said second horizontal sample, and setting the boundary of inferior left and right corners of the objects; and

(l) using said boundaries to;

derive a first image file corresponding to the superior left corner corresponding to a first variant portion of said object;

derive a second image file corresponding to the superior right corner corresponding to a second variant portion of the image;

derive a third image file corresponding to the inferior left corner corresponding to a third variant portion of said image;

derive a fourth image file corresponding to the inferior right corner corresponding to a fourth variant portion of said image;

derive a fifth image file, corresponding to an invariant n-pixel wide portion of the image located between said superior left and said superior right corners;

derive a sixth image file corresponding to an invariant n-pixel wide portion of the image located between said superior left and said inferior left corners;

derive a seventh image file corresponding to an invariant n-pixel wide portion of the image located between said superior right and said inferior right corners; and

derive an eighth image file corresponding to an invariant n-pixel wide portion of the image located between said inferior left and said inferior right corners.

2. Process according to claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a graphical user interface to allow the user to enter a manual determination of the left, right, up and down boundaries of said objects for said image files.

3. Process according to claim 1, further comprising:

constructing an HTML page for displaying the graphic object wherein the graphic object is represented by a table having a cellpadding set to zero, a cellspacing set to zero, a border set to zero, and

a first row having

a first cell for displaying the first top left corner (111) of said graphic object;

a second cell for displaying the upper vertical portion (116) of a vertical slice of said graphic object;

a third cell for displaying the right top corner (112) of said graphic object;

a second row having

a first cell for displaying a left portion (115) of a horizontal slice of said graphic object;

a second cell for displaying the textual information which is to be incorporated within said graphic object;

a third cell for displaying the right portion (117) of an horizontal slice of said graphic object; and

a third row having

a first cell for displaying the bottom left corner (113) of the graphic object;

a second cell for displaying the lower portion (118) of a vertical slice of said graphic object; and

a third cell for displaying the bottom right corner (114) of said graphic object.

4. Process according to claim 3 wherein the second cell of the second row codes the hexadecimal code of the colour of the background of said graphical object.

5. Computer readable medium comprising computer code for executing an active object for returning the HTML page of claim 3.