Extensible object previewer in a shell browser
First Claim
1. A graphical user interface embodied on one or more computer-readable media and executable on a computer, said graphical user interface comprising:
- a first screen area for displaying a set of items in a shell browser which supports multiple item types;
a second screen area for displaying a first preview of a selected item of the set of items, wherein the first preview is generated using a current preview application; and
a user interface element for selecting a preview application other than the current preview application, from a plurality of available preview applications, to generate, in the second screen area, second preview of the selected item, different from the first preview.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for extending the functionality of an object previewed in a shell browser to improve the user experience. The shell browser provides an extensibility mechanism so that third party developers can extend the functionality of the default previewer for particular file types. A graphical user interface includes a control which enables a user to select a previewer for displayed files from a plurality of available previewers. Alternatively, the shell browser can automatically select a previewer from a plurality of available previewers. A data structure contains information indicative of the availability of multiple previewers in a shell browser.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A graphical user interface embodied on one or more computer-readable media and executable on a computer, said graphical user interface comprising:
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a first screen area for displaying a set of items in a shell browser which supports multiple item types; a second screen area for displaying a first preview of a selected item of the set of items, wherein the first preview is generated using a current preview application; and a user interface element for selecting a preview application other than the current preview application, from a plurality of available preview applications, to generate, in the second screen area, second preview of the selected item, different from the first preview. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer-implemented method for selecting a previewer in a shell browser which supports multiple item types, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of preview applications in the shell browser for a particular item type; selecting one of the plurality of preview applications for the particular item type; and associating the selected preview application with the particular item type, wherein the selected preview application defines how a preview of an item corresponding to the particular item type is generated in the shell browser. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer-implemented method for enabling the use of third party preview applications in a shell browser that supports multiple item types, the method comprising:
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providing an operating system with a shell browser having a default preview application for the multiple item types; and providing an extensibility mechanism that enables a third party to develop an alternative preview application for at least one of the multiple item types, wherein the alternative preview application defines how a preview of an item corresponding to the at least one of the multiple tern types is generated in the shell browser. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. One or more computer-readable media having stored thereon a data structure, said data structure comprising:
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a first field containing information indicative of a default preview application in an operating system'"'"'s shell browser that supports multiple item types; a second field containing information indicative of a first alternative preview application for a first item type and a second alternative preview application for a second item type; a third field containing information indicative of whether to invoke the default preview application or the first alternative preview application when one or more items of the first item type are displayed in the shell browser; and a fourth field containing information indicative of whether to invoke the default preview application or the second alternative preview application when one or more items of a second item type are displayed in the shell browser. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the following steps:
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displaying a list of electronic files in a shell browser; receiving a user selection of a first file of said electronic files, said selected first file being of a first type; in response to the user selection, using a first preview application of a plurality of different preview applications to generate a first preview of the selected first file, wherein the first preview application is associated with the first type and wherein the preview is displayed in the shell browser while the shell browser is displaying the list of electronic files; receiving a user selection of a second file of said electronic files, said selected second file being of a second type; and in response to receiving the user selection of the second file, generating a second preview of the second file using a second preview application associated with the second type, wherein the second preview application is different from the first preview application. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing the following steps:
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displaying a list of items in a first portion of a shell browser; receiving a first user selection of an item in the list of items; in response to the user selection, invoking a first preview application to generate a first preview of the selected item in a second portion of the shell browser while displaying the list of items in the first portion; receiving user input corresponding to a selection of a second preview application different from the first preview application; and in response to the user input, invoking the second preview application to generate a second preview of the selected item in the second portion of the shell browser while displaying the list of items in the first portion, wherein the second preview includes more functionality than the first preview. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification