Bookmarking and placemarking a displayed document in a computer system

• US 7,594,187 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2004
• Issued: 09/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Cluts, Jonathan C., Rubin, Darryl E., Woolf, Susan D., Beezer, John L., Baird, Andrew C.
• Primary Examiner(s): SAX, STEVEN PAUL
• Application Number:
  US10/871,092
• Publication Number:
  US 20040236774A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,919 Days
• Field of Search: 715/802, 715/805, 715/772, 715/801, 715/804, 715853-855, 715806-807
• US Class Current: 715/805
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes

Abstract

While viewing an electronically displayed document, a user creates a bookmark by selecting a desired part of a document to be marked. In response, a visual indicator is displayed and a bookmark object is created preferably separate from the document. The bookmark object comprises information linking the bookmark object to the desired part of the document as well as user-modifiable properties. If another part of the document is subsequently displayed, at least a portion of the visual indicator is still displayed. Later selection of the portion of the visual indicator causes the desired portion of the document to be re-displayed. Because the object is separate from the document, it may be viewed and sorted by its properties apart from its display with the document. A placemark is created whenever the display of a current document is discontinued. In response to a discontinuation signal, a placemark object comprising information linking the placemark object to a last-viewed part of the document is created. Subsequent selection of the document for re-display causes the last-viewed part of the document to be displayed.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon at least one bookmark object and a display component, which when executed by a machine displays a visual indicator at least partially outside of a document in response to a user selecting a desired part of the document, the at least one bookmark object comprising:

a first data storage comprising information linking the bookmark object to a document,

a second data storage comprising information identifying a user-selected part of the document being marked by the bookmark object, and

a third data storage comprising information regarding user-modifiable properties of a visual indicator corresponding to the bookmark object; and

said display component causing a display device to display the visual indicator at least partially outside of the document in association with the user-selected part of the document.

2. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the user-defined part of the document being marked comprises a desired part of the document.

3. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first data storage comprises a hyperlink.

4. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the information regarding user-modifiable properties comprises information defining at least one of:

a color of the visual indicator, a shape of the visual indicator, a font of the visual indicator, a title of the visual indicator and textual content of the visual indicator or links to other locations.

5. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the document is stored on the computer-readable storage medium.

6. A computer comprising the computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 and another computer-readable storage medium, wherein the document is stored on the other computer-readable storage medium.

7. A computer comprising the computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 and coupled to a remote computer-readable storage medium, wherein the document is stored on the remote computer-readable storage medium.

8. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a bookmark object for an associated visual indicator created in response to selection of a desired part of a document, the visual indicator to be displayed partially outside of the document, the bookmark object when executed by a computer performs steps of:

for the desired part of the document, generating an instance of the bookmark object comprising first, second, and third data storage;

storing into the first data storage information linking the bookmark object to the document;

storing into the second data storage information identifying the desired part of the document being marked by the bookmark object; and

storing into the third data storage information regarding user-modifiable properties effecting display of the visual indicator corresponding to the bookmark object.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the user-defined part of the document being marked comprises a desired part of the document.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the first data storage comprises a hyperlink.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the information regarding user-modifiable properties comprises information defining at least one of:

a color of the visual indicator, a shape of the visual indicator, a font of the visual indicator, a title of the visual indicator and textual content of the visual indicator or links to other locations.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the document is stored on the computer-readable storage medium.

13. A computer comprising the computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 and another computer-readable storage medium, wherein the document is stored on the other computer-readable storage medium.

14. A computer comprising the computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 and coupled to a remote computer-readable storage medium, wherein the document is stored on the remote computer-readable storage medium.