Method and system for automatically configuring software

• US 7,962,896 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2005
• Issued: 06/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pateneo Inc.
• Original Assignee: Eazypaper Inc.
• Inventors: Hu, Michael Noel
• Primary Examiner(s): Dam, Tuan Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUI, HANH THI MINH
• Application Number:
  US11/262,649
• Publication Number:
  US 20070100969A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,052 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/121
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files

Abstract

A method and system for automatically configuring software distributed through a network. A server of the software vendor gathers certain information such as the user'"'"'s name during a software download or purchase process, and generates a custom webpage containing software configuration information and/or a user id. The software being distributed includes an automatic configuration program. When the software is launched, the automatic configuration program finds the custom webpage and scrapes the necessary configuration information from it. The automatic configuration program then automatically configures the downloaded software using the configuration information. The automatic configuration program may also obtain additional configuration information from the server using the id contained in the custom webpage.

Claims

1. A method for distributing an automatically configurable software program to a user, comprising:

transmitting the configurable software program to the user'"'"'s computer;

obtaining software configuration information from the user via a browser on the user'"'"'s computer, the configuration information being unique to the user and being associated with the configurable software program;

generating a custom webpage containing the configuration information obtained from the user and transmitting the generated custom webpage to the user'"'"'s computer; and

providing an automatic configuration program as a part of the configurable software program transmitted to the user'"'"'s computer, the automatic configuration program being capable of running on the user'"'"'s computer, iterating through open windows on the user'"'"'s computer to find the generated custom webpage, obtaining the configuration information from the generated custom webpage, and configuring the configurable software program using the configuration information obtained from the generated custom webpage.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated custom webpage further contains additional configuration information generated by the server.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration information is contained in a title of the generated custom webpage.

4. A method for distributing an automatically configurable software program to a user, comprising:

transmitting the configurable software program to the user'"'"'s computer;

obtaining software configuration information from the user via a browser on the user'"'"'s computer, the configuration information being unique to the user and being associated with the configurable software program;

generating a custom webpage containing identification information unique to the user and transmitting the generated custom webpage to the user'"'"'s computer;

providing an automatic configuration program as a part of the configurable software program transmitted to the user'"'"'s computer, the automatic configuration program being capable of running on the user'"'"'s computer, iterating through open windows on the user'"'"'s computer to find the generated custom webpage, obtaining the identification information from the generated custom webpage, and sending a configuration request with the identification information; and

in response to receiving a configuration request, transmitting configuration information to the user'"'"'s computer,

wherein the automatic configuration program is further capable of configuring the configurable software program using the configuration information received by the user'"'"'s computer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the identification information is contained in a title of the generated custom webpage.