Selective display of content

• US 6,983,331 B1
• Filed: 10/17/2000
• Issued: 01/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lindenburg, Matthew J., Mitchell, Syne, Tomlin, G. Scott, Niva, Lori
• Primary Examiner(s): Barot, Bharat
• Assistant Examiner(s): LAZARO, DAVID R
• Application Number:
  US09/691,277
• Time in Patent Office: 1,904 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/203, 709/246, 715/513, 715/517
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

A method and system for selectively fully displaying additional content in a browser window, without requiring scrolling in more than one direction, based on an available display area. For example, additional advertising content is thus selectively displayed in an otherwise unused area of the browsing window to the right of a primary content of a Web page. The size of the available display area is automatically detected, and a determination is automatically made as to whether the additional content and primary content can both be fully displayed in the available display area under the scrolling constraint. If so, both the additional content and the primary content are displayed. Otherwise, only the primary content is displayed. The additional content is downloaded only when it can thus be included within the display area. If the browser window is resized so that the additional content no longer fits without scrolling in more than one direction, the additional content is removed from the display, but is preferably retained in local storage for redisplay if the available display area is subsequently increased sufficiently. The type (and version) of browser program used is detected so that the appropriate instructions will be provided to the client device to selectively display additional content in this manner. For smaller client device displays, such as on those on pocket PCs, the content provided by a server is selectively determined in a prioritized manner, as a function of the available display area.

Claims

1. A method for controlling content displayed as a single Web page on a device, where the device is incapable of displaying all available content, comprising the steps of:

(a) automatically determining an available display area for displaying the single Web page on the device;

(b) automatically determining a combination of different portions of the available content that can be fully displayed in the single Web page in the available display area without requiring scrolling in more than one direction and without requiring a modification of the different portions of the content that results in the different portions comprising the combination being perceived in less than their entirety on the single Web page; and

(c) displaying only the combination of different portions of the content that were automatically determined to enable a user to discern all of the information that the combination of different portions of the content provides as fully displayed in the available display area, since the combination of different portions of the content does not employ a hyperlink to display the information it conveys, without requiring scrolling in more than one direction, and without requiring a modification of the combination of different portions of the content that results in the different portions of content comprising the combination being perceived in less than their entirety.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of dividing the Web page into discrete content modules that are selectively displayable.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the portion of the content that can be fully displayed in the available display area without requiring scrolling in more than one direction comprises the step of prioritizing different portions of the content based on an order of importance, said different portions of the content corresponding to specific areas of the Web page that are selectively displayed as a function of the available display area.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of prioritizing comprises the step of ranking the different portions of the content according to their importance in conveying information on the Web page.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of automatically determining the combination of different portions of the content that can be fully displayed in the available display area without requiring scrolling in more than one direction, comprises the steps of:

(a) detecting a respective share of the available display area required by each portion of the content; and

(b) automatically determining a combination of different portions of the content that are displayable in the display area, based upon the respective share of the display area required by each different portion of the content.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of automatically determining the combination of different portions of the content comprises at least one of the steps of:

(a) automatically changing a dimension of a portion of the content to fit the dimensions of the available display area;

(b) automatically scaling a portion of the content to fit the available display area;

(c) automatically changing an orientation of a portion of the content to fit the available display area;

(d) automatically converting a portion of the content into a moving image within the available display area; and

(e) automatically subdividing a portion of the content into sub-portions that are displayed sequentially within the available display area.