Context-free document portions with alternate formats

• US 20050149861A1
• Filed: 12/20/2004
• Published: 07/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Jones, Brian, Rothschiller, Chad, Bishop, Andrew, Villaron, Shawn Alan, Little, Robert, Walker, Charles S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,464,330 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/209
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/131 Fragmentation of text files, e.g. creating reusable text-blocks; Linking to fragments, e.g. using XInclude; Namespaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/543 User-generated data transfer, e.g. clipboards, dynamic data exchange [DDE], object linking and embedding [OLE]

Abstract

Self-describing portions of text or data are provided for associating with or inserting in a computer-generated document. Portions of a document, such as individual paragraphs or groups of paragraphs or fragments of text, are provided self-describing properties, such as file format type associated with the portion, style, font, list type, and the like. If such a portion of a document is subsequently linked to or copied or moved to a second document or to a different location in a first document, the self-describing properties provided for the portion travel with the portion to the second document or to the different location in the first document. An application receiving the content portion may consume and display the portion according to the properties provided for the portion.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium on which is stored instructions which when executed by a computer perform a method of integrating a content portion in a receiving document based on self-describing properties associated with the content portion, comprising:

receiving a content portion having a self-describing property identifying a file format with which the content portion is formatted;

receiving the content portion at a receiving application for integrating the content portion with a computer-generated document;

at the receiving application, parsing the self-describing property identifying the file format with which the content portion is formatted;

processing the content portion according to the file format with which the content portion is formatted; and

integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, whereby receiving the content portion having a self-describing property identifying a file format with which the content portion is formatted includes receiving at the receiving application an indication of a selection for integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, whereby parsing the self-describing property identifying the file format with which the content portion is formatted includes determining a file format with which the content portion is formatted and determining any processing requirements for integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 3, whereby determining any processing requirements for integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document includes determining whether the content portion must be transformed into a different file format prior to integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 4, whereby processing the content portion according to the file format with which the content portion is formatted includes transforming the content portion into different file format prior to integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 3, whereby determining any processing requirements for integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document includes determining whether the receiving application requires additional functionality for integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, whereby processing the content portion according to the file format with which the content portion is formatted includes:

accessing additional functionality by the receiving application; and

processing the content portion with the additional functionality.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, whereby integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document includes copying the content portion into the computer-generated document after processing the content portion according to the file format with which the content portion is formatted.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, further comprising storing the computer-generated document and the content portion in an electronic file container;

and providing a relationship representation showing how the content portion is related to the computer-generated document.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, whereby providing a relationship representation showing how the content portion is related to the computer-generated document includes showing a location in the computer-generated document at which the content portion is to be integrated with the computer-generated document.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, whereby integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document includes:

linking the content portion to a given location in the computer-generated document; and

calling the content portion for presenting the content portion at the given location after processing the content portion according to the file format with which the content portion is formatted.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, prior to receiving a content portion having a self-describing property identifying a file format with which the content portion is formatted, further comprising:

generating a content portion for use by a receiving application; and

applying a self-describing property to the content portion for identifying to the receiving application a file format with which the content portion is formatted;

13. A method of integrating a content portion in a receiving document based on self-describing properties associated with the content portion, comprising:

receiving a content portion having a self-describing property identifying a file format with which the content portion is formatted;

receiving the content portion at a receiving application for integrating the content portion with a computer-generated document;

at the receiving application, parsing the self-describing property identifying the file format with which the content portion is formatted to determine the file format with which the content portion is formatted and to determine a relationship between the content portion and the computer-generated document;

storing the computer-generated document and the content portion in an electronic file container; and

providing a relationship representation showing how the content portion is related to the computer-generated document.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

processing the content portion according to the file format with which the content portion is formatted; and

integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document.

15. The method of claim 14, whereby integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document includes:

linking the content portion to a given location in the computer-generated document; and

calling the content portion for presenting the content portion at the given location after processing the content portion according to the file format with which the content portion is formatted.

16. A computer-readable medium on which is stored instructions which when executed by a computer perform a method of integrating a content portion in a receiving document based on self-describing properties associated with the content portion, comprising:

receiving a content portion having a self-describing property identifying a file format with which the content portion is formatted;

receiving the content portion at a receiving application for integrating the content portion with a computer-generated document;

at the receiving application, parsing the self-describing property identifying the file format with which the content portion is formatted;

processing the content portion according to the file format with which the content portion is formatted; and

integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, whereby receiving the content portion having a self-describing property identifying a file format with which the content portion is formatted includes receiving at the receiving application an indication of a selection for integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, whereby parsing the self-describing property identifying the file format with which the content portion is formatted includes determining a file format with which the content portion is formatted and determining any processing requirements for integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, whereby determining any processing requirements for integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document includes determining whether the content portion must be transformed into a different file format prior to integrating the content portion with the computer-generated document.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, further comprising storing the computer-generated document and the content portion in an electronic file container;

and providing a relationship representation showing how the content portion is related to the computer-generated document.