Method and system for providing restricted actions for recognized semantic categories

• US 7,788,602 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2001
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wang, Ziyi, Reynar, Jeff, Ammerlaan, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Bonshock; Dennis
• Application Number:
  US09/906,552
• Publication Number:
  US 20020087591A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,333 Days
• Field of Search: 345/411, 345/968, 707/1, 715/811, 715/968, 715/825, 715/739, 715/826
• US Class Current: 715/825
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

Strings are recognized and annotated, or labeled, with a type label by a recognizer plug-in. Application program modules may use the type label and other metadata to provide users with a choice of electronic commerce actions. In addition, the user may be provided with a download Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and download action plug-ins for that type label. An ActionGUID may be used to specify the class ids (CLSIDs) of the action plug-ins that may provide actions for a particular semantic category type label. Each DLL has a class id (CLSID), which is a GUID. The ActionGUID is a GUID that is specified by the recognizer plug-in and which corresponds to the CLSID(s) of the only action plug-ins that should be permitted to provide actions for the semantic category type label provided by the recognizer plug-in.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, implemented in an electronic system for creating and editing an electronic document, for providing a plurality of actions in association with a string in the electronic document, the method comprising:

receiving an automatically selected string in the electronic document;

recognizing the string as belonging to at least one semantic category;

when the string belongs to more than one semantic category, labeling the recognized string with a plurality of type labels associated with the plurality of semantic categories, wherein labeling the recognized string with the type label associated with the plurality of semantic categories comprises receiving a selection, from a menu, the selection labeling the recognized string with a type label from the plurality of type labels when the recognized string is associated with a plurality of semantic categories;

determining an action ID associated with the type label of the at least one semantic category associated with the type label selected from the menu;

determining whether a plurality of action plug-ins associated with the at least one semantic category are available in the electronic system using the type label and metadata associated with the electronic document;

when the plurality of action plug-ins are associated with the at least one semantic category, then for each of the plurality of action plug-ins, determining whether a class ID matches the action ID and then displaying unique elements associated with the at least one semantic category for the matching action plug-in in a semantic category menu, wherein displaying the unique elements associated with the at least one semantic category for the matching action plug-in in the semantic category menu comprises;

displaying the recognized string and one or more types of semantic categories associated with the recognized string,

displaying a list of unique actions available for each of the at least one semantic category type,

displaying an action to navigate a user'"'"'s web browser to download new actions, in response to a determining that a download uniform resource locator (URL) is available, and

displaying an action to delete at least one type of semantic category; and

embedding the plurality of semantic categories in the electronic document, wherein each of the plurality of embedded semantic categories comprises the automatically selected string in the electronic document, the label associated with the recognized string, and the unique action associated with the at least one semantic category for the matching action plug-in.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining that the action has been selected and performing the action defined by the action plug-in on the electronic document.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the semantic category menu is displayed in response to a user selecting the at least one semantic category.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

if the plurality of action plug-ins are not associated with the at least one semantic category, then providing a hypertext link to download action plug-ins associated with the at least one semantic category.

5. A system operable for creating and editing an electronic document, the system comprising:

a memory storage; and

a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to;

receiving an automatically selected string in the electronic document;

recognizing the string as belonging to at least one semantic category;

when the string belongs to more than one semantic category, labeling the recognized string with a plurality of type labels associated with the plurality of semantic categories, wherein labeling the recognized string with the type label associated with the plurality of semantic categories comprises receiving a selection, from a menu, the selection labeling the recognized string with a type label from the plurality of type labels when the recognized string is associated with a plurality of semantic categories;

determining an action ID associated with the type label of the at least one semantic category associated with the type label selected from the menu;

determining whether a plurality of action plug-ins associated with the at least one semantic category are available in the electronic system using the type label and metadata associated with the electronic document;

when the plurality of action plug-ins are associated with the at least one semantic category, then for each of the plurality of action plug-ins, determining whether a class ID matches the action ID and then displaying unique elements associated with the at least one semantic category for the matching action plug-in in a semantic category menu, wherein displaying the unique elements associated with the at least one semantic category for the matching action plug-in in the semantic category menu comprises;

displaying the recognized string and one or more types of semantic categories associated with the recognized string,

displaying a list of unique actions available for each of the at least one semantic category type,

displaying an action to navigate a user'"'"'s web browser to download new actions, in response to a determining that a download uniform resource locator (URL) is available, and

displaying an action to delete at least one type of semantic category; and

embedding the plurality of semantic categories in the electronic document,

wherein each of the plurality of embedded semantic categories comprises the automatically selected string in the electronic document, the label associated with the recognized string, and the unique action associated with the at least one semantic category for the matching action plug-in.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the processing unit is further operable to determine that the action has been selected and perform the action defined by the action plug-in on the electronic document.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein the semantic category menu is displayed in response to a user selected semantic category.

8. The system of claim 5 wherein if the plurality of action plug-ins are not associated with the at least one semantic category, the processing unit is further operable to then provide a hypertext link to download action plug-ins associated with the at least one semantic category.

9. The system of claim 5 wherein the processing unit is further operable to determine a class ID for the action plug-in associated with the at least one semantic category.

10. The system of claim 5 wherein the processing unit operable to determine the action ID associated with the type label of the at least one semantic category comprises the processing unit operable to receive the action ID from a recognizer plug-in associated with the at least one semantic category.

11. The system of claim 5 wherein the processing unit operable to determine the action ID associated with the type label of the at least one semantic category comprises the processing unit operable to search a database for the action ID associated with the at least one semantic category.