System for and method of providing a user interface for a computer-based software application

• US 7,478,332 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2007
• Issued: 01/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tungsten Automation Corp.
• Original Assignee: 170 Systems Incorporated (Kofax Ltd.)
• Inventors: Orenchuk, Erich E., Buttner, Karl, Shukla, Rakesh
• Primary Examiner(s): SAX, STEVEN PAUL
• Application Number:
  US11/805,857
• Publication Number:
  US 20080005678A1
• Time in Patent Office: 600 Days
• Field of Search: 715817-820, 715/712, 715730-732, 715741-743, 715744-747, 715748-749, 715/760, 715762-763, 715/859, 715/863, 715/802, 715/805, 707/1, 707/10, 705/1, 705/80, 717/108, 717/100, 719328-332
• US Class Current: 715/748
• 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: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A system for providing a graphical interface to a user includes a server platform and an operating system and application software running thereon. The system further includes a client device capable of running a standard web browser that accesses the software application on the server platform for displaying information to the user in a display area on the client device. The standard web browser displays the information without requiring additional software to be installed or downloaded or run on the client device, and without requiring a scripting language to be enabled in the web browser on the client device. The application software facilitates manipulation by the user of unstructured data in the display area for detailed inspection, and also facilitates the user selectively causing to display annotations within the display area. The application software facilitates the user inserting one or more annotations within the display area, thereby causing an action to occur in either this system or an external system.

Claims

1. A system for providing a graphical interface to a user, comprising:

a server platform and an operating system and application software running thereon; and

,

a client device capable of running a standard web browser that accesses the software application on the server platform for displaying information to the user in a browser window arranged within a display area on the client device, without requiring additional software to be installed or downloaded or run on the client device and without requiring a scripting language to be enabled in the web browser on the client device, or web browser plug-ins, extensions, enabled scripting language, enabled applet support or other enabled adjunct code support;

wherein the application simultaneously provides structured information within the browser window, and business document images within a limited portion of the browser window, and the application conditionally provides context-dependent information within the display area, the context-dependent information originating from an source external to the system;

wherein the application software

(i) facilitates manipulation by the user of unstructured business document image in the limited portion of the browser window, wherein the manipulation includes one or more operations suitable for conducting a detailed inspection of the business document image data;

(iii) facilitates the user selectively causing to display annotations within the limited portion of the browser window;

wherein the application facilitates the user inserting one or more annotations within or upon the business document image, and inserting the one or more annotations causes an action to occur in either this system or an external system;

wherein the application software facilitates the user performing context-dependent actions related to a transaction associated with at least one of the structured information and the business documents, wherein the application prompts the user for context-dependent information related to the actions, wherein validates information provided by the user with respect to data provided by another system external to the computer platform, and the context-dependent actions triggers operations in one or more other systems external to the computer platform.