Method and system for modifying host application functionality based upon downloaded content

• US 7,814,171 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2007
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Blegen, Darrell L., Hazeur, Derek, Rubin, Hugh
• Primary Examiner(s): Srivastava, Vivek
• Assistant Examiner(s): Swearingen, Jeffrey R
• Application Number:
  US11/934,679
• Publication Number:
  US 20080059901A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking

Abstract

An application hosting a browser modifies its own functionality in some manner based on whether particular content (e.g., an identifier) is present in a document for rendering by the browser. In one embodiment, a financial statement page for rendering via the hosted browser is scanned to determine if an identifier corresponding to a download button is present. If present, the host application provides an alternate download button that does not scroll off the screen as the page is scrolled. The present invention also suppresses a dialog box (e.g., the open/save dialog box) when a request for a certain file type is made by a hosted browser. For example, a request for download of financial information suppresses the open/save dialog box, and automatically opens the downloaded file.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method comprising:

an application accessing and hosting a browser control, which is independent of the application, and that is capable of accessing documents remotely stored from the application;

the application using the browser control to access a remotely stored document and to render content from the remotely stored document to a user, wherein the content rendered includes a particular display element;

the application accessing and searching the remotely stored document for one or more identifiers and wherein the searching for the one or more identifiers includes searching for a particular identifier associated with a the particular display element of the remotely stored document;

the application automatically altering a default functionality of the application in response to identifying the particular identifier, and wherein altering the default functionality of the application includes displaying a selectable icon corresponding to the particular display element associated with the particular identifier, when the particular identifier is identified, and wherein the selectable icon is a new and alternative display element which is distinguished from the particular display element associated with the particular identifier and which is displayed independently of page scrolling of the content from the remotely stored document, and such that the selectable icon remains in a same display position on a display interface even when the content from the remotely stored document is scrolled on the display interface.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the particular identifier includes the particular download button and wherein the selectable icon comprises an alternative and selectable download button.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the alternative and selectable download button is only displayed when it is determined that the content associated with the particular download button is available for downloading.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein altering the default functionality includes changing a display color utilized by the application.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein altering the default functionality includes changing a default application language.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein altering the default functionality includes suppressing a dialog box associated with saving content.

7. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein suppressing a dialog box includes suppressing a dialog box for saving the content until at least a time after the content has first been processed by the application.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the particular identifier comprises the absence of predetermined content.

9. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the particular identifier comprises a program language tag.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein searching the document comprises a text search of the document.

11. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the document comprises a markup language document.

12. A method, as recited in claim 1, wherein altering the functionality of the application includes the application writing at least one setting to a system registry to cause suppression of a dialog box.

13. A method, as recited in claim 1, wherein altering the functionality of the application includes the application displaying additional information in a display region of the host program that is distinct from a display region of the hosted browser control.

14. A method, as recited in claim 1, wherein altering the functionality of the application includes the application providing an icon on a browser bar.

15. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the method further includes searching for a plurality of different identifiers and wherein altering the default functionality of the application includes altering the default functionality of the application in a first way when a first identifier is found, in a second way when a second identifier is found, and in a third way when both the first and second identifiers are found.

16. A computer-readable storage device storing computer-executable instructions for implementing the method recited in claim 1.

17. A computer system comprising a processor and one or more computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, implement the method recited in claim 1.