Method and apparatus for enabling content portion selection services for visitors to web pages

• US 9,292,617 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rohit Chandra
• Original Assignee: Rohit Chandra
• Inventors: Chandra, Rohit
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): LUDWIG, MATTHEW J
• Application Number:
  US13/831,331
• Publication Number:
  US 20140281887A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,104 Days
• Field of Search: 715/230, 715/231, 715/233, 715/234, 715/206
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation

Abstract

A method and user interface object for invoking a content selection service to operate with a web page are disclosed. Consistent with one embodiment of the invention, a content selection web portal associated with a content selection service provides a web page for selecting one or more user interface objects to be added to a content provider'"'"'s web page. Each user interface object is displayed with its associated snippet of code, making it simple for a web author to copy and paste the code into his or her own web page. Once embedded in a web page, the code snippet displays a user interface object (e.g., button) on the web page, and when pressed or selected, invokes a content selection service. Alternatively, the content selection service may be automatically invoked without requiring the selection of a button.

Claims

1. A computer-program product enabling content selection, the computer-program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions executed by a processor on a content server, the content server to perform the steps of:

receiving a request for an internet document from a client web browser;

serving the internet document from the content server to the client web browser, wherein the internet document includes a code snippet for invoking a content selection service to operate with the internet document, the content selection service hosted at a content selection server which is different than the content server hosting the internet document and the code causing a user interface object for invoking the content selection service to be displayed by the client web browser in connection with the internet document;

responsive to a user selecting the user interface object in the client web browser, the client web browser communicating a request to the content selection server to invoke the content selection service;

responsive to the request to invoke the content selection service, the content selection server enabling the content selection service for the internet document;

responsive to the content selection service being enabled for the internet document, displaying in the client web browser tools for selecting objects of the internet document, said tools represented in a content selection panel in the client web browser and said tools configured to provide the user with a selection of one or more controls enabling one or more features and functions of the content selection service; and

responsive to the user selecting an object in the internet document, communicating the selected object or a representation thereof to the content selection server for storage in such a manner as to be associated with the user who selected the object.

2. The computer-program of claim 1, wherein the code snippet that invokes the web-based content selection service does so without requiring a user to establish a new user account in order to utilize the web-based user content selection service.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the web-based user content selection service, enables sharing of the portion of the internet document, or one or more representations thereof.

4. A server, with at least one processor, comprising:

a web content server module for serving an internet document to a client web browser, wherein the internet document includes a code snippet to invoke a content selection service to operate with the internet document, the content selection service hosted at a web server which is different than the content server hosting the internet document and the code causing a user interface object for invoking the content selection service to be displayed by the client web browser in connection with the internet document;

responsive to a user selecting the user interface object in the client web browser, the client web browser communicating a request to the content selection server to invoke the content selection service;

responsive to the request to invoke the content selection service, the content selection server enabling the content selection service for the internet document;

responsive to the content selection service being enabled for the internet document, displaying in the client web browser tools for selecting text, images, and objects of the internet document, said tools represented in a content selection panel in the client web browser and said tools configured to provide the user with a selection of one or more controls enabling one or more features and functions of the content selection service; and

responsive to the user selecting an object in the internet document, communicating the selected object or a representation thereof to the content selection server for storage in such a manner as to be associated with the user who selected the object.

5. The server of claim 4, wherein the web-based user content selection service is customizable to provide a web-based user content selection service feature requested by an enterprise.

6. The server of claim 4, wherein the web-based user content selection service stores another user'"'"'s content portions via an applications programming interface.

7. The server of claim 4, wherein the internet document comprises a user interface object, and wherein the user interface object comprises a graphic, a text, a hyperlink, a widget or a multimedia object, and when selected, the user interface object causes the client web browser to invoke the web-based user content selection service.

8. The server of claim 4, wherein the web-based user content selection service enables sharing of the one or more content portions, or one or more representations, thereof.

9. The server of claim 4, wherein the code snippet to invoke a web-based user content selection service comprises one or more configuration settings that determine one or more settings of the web-based user content selection service.

10. The server of claim 4, wherein the code snippet to invoke the web-based user content selection service does so without requiring a user to establish a new user account in order to utilize the web-based user content selection service.

11. The server of claim 4, wherein the code snippet to invoke the web-based user content selection service does so without installing a custom software component on a client.

12. The server of claim 4, wherein the code snippet to invoke the web-based user content selection service is provided by a web-based user content selection service.

13. The server of claim 12:

wherein the code snippet to invoke the web-based user content selection service is provided via a web page, and

wherein the code snippet to invoke the web-based user content selection service is customized via a parameter selected via the web page.

14. A computer-implemented method for enabling content selection, comprising executing on a processor the steps of:

at a content server, receiving a request for an internet document from a client web browser;

serving the internet document from the content server to the client web browser, wherein the internet document includes code for invoking a content selection service to operate with the internet document, the content selection service hosted at a content selection server which is different than the content server hosting the internet document and the code causing a user interface object for invoking the content selection service to be displayed by the client web browser in connection with the internet document;

responsive to a user selecting the user interface object in the client web browser, the client web browser communicating a request to the content selection server to invoke the content selection service;

responsive to the request to invoke the content selection service, the content selection server enabling the content selection service for the internet document;

responsive to the content selection service being enabled for the internet document, displaying in the client web browser, one or more tools, for selecting objects of the internet document, said tools represented in a content selection panel in the client web browser and said tools configured to provide the user with a selection of one or more controls enabling one or more features and functions of the content selection service; and

responsive to the user selecting an object in the internet document, communicating the selected object or a representation thereof to the content selection server for storage in such a manner as to be associated with the user who selected the object.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein a bookmarklet launches the content selection service on the client web browser.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the server storing the user'"'"'s selection, and the server hosting the internet document are controlled by the same enterprise.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein a content selection service does not require the user to establish a new user account in order to utilize the content selection service.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein the content selection service enables the user to share one or more representations of the portion of the content of the internet document.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 14:

wherein a code that invokes the content selection service is generated and provided via a web page, and

wherein the code can be customized via parameters selected also using a web page.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein a code that invokes the content selection service comprises one or more configuration settings that determine one or more settings of the content selection service.