Information map

• US 5,878,421 A
• Filed: 07/17/1995
• Issued: 03/02/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Shewchuk, John P., Millet, Stephen J., Meyer, Robert F., Smith, Walter W., Ferrel, Patrick J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lintz, Paul R.
• Application Number:
  US08/503,139
• Time in Patent Office: 1,324 Days
• Field of Search: 395/611, 395/615, 395/762, 395/774, 395/604, 707/2, 707/1, 707/104, 707/3, 707/101, 707/100
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/748 Hypervideo linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object in the context of video distribution systems H04N21/858
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

One of the controls on a page can call an information map at the time that the page which contains the control is being rendered. The information map interface provides access to the structure of both the title and the content within the title. The control can then display this structural information in any form it desires since it renders itself on the page at the customer computer. Navigation through the title is based on the customer'"'"'s interactions with the information map control, i.e., clicking on a navigation link causes the title to navigate to that location. The information map determines which piece of the title and content structure to show, and the visual form in which it is shown. Information maps may have other applications including the efficient creation and modification of timelines and geographic maps in multimedia encyclopedias (e.g., Microsoft Encarta), as well as virtual reality programs.

Claims

1. A method of generating a navigable outline for a title structure comprising a plurality of related nodes, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) accessing the title structure;

(b) finding a node in the title structure;

(c) creating a navigation link to separate content associated with the node, wherein an initial node is at a selected starting level in the title structure; and

(d) recursively descending the title structure for steps (b) and (c), wherein the recursive descent stops at a selected maximum depth.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising the additional step of creating the title structure.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the title structure includes section and content value nodes.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising the additional step of activating the navigation link so as to navigate the title structure.

5. In the method of claim 4, wherein the activating step comprises clicking a mouse button while a pointer is on the navigation link.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the creating step includes displaying a description of the node.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the title structure is indicative of a publication.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the title structure is indicative of a multimedia encyclopedia.

9. In an electronic publication system including a designer, a storage and a viewer, a method comprising the steps of:

creating a title layout including at least one page object;

creating a content object having a plurality of content values;

releasing the title layout and the content object as a title to the storage;

retrieving the title layout and the content object from the storage;

composing an outline of navigational links to the content values on the displayable page representation of the page object, the outline representative of the title layout and the content values and configurable in starting and ending levels; and

moving through the title to content values by activation of one of the navigational links.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the composing step includes displaying the outline of navigational links.

11. A method of displaying navigable links indicative of a title structure comprising sections with the sections containing stories and the stories having one or more content values, the method comprising the steps of:

a) accessing the title structure;

b) determining a selected depth for display of the navigable links;

c) if the selected depth includes displaying section names, then

c.1) displaying one of the section names and

c.2) creating a navigation link indicative of the one section name wherein selection of the navigation link indicative of the one section name moves a viewing window to the content value of the section;

d) if the selected depth includes displaying the content values of the stories, then

d.1) locating a story in the title structure;

d.2) creating a navigation link indicative of the story, wherein selection of the navigation link indicative of the story moves said viewing window to the content values of the story.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein a type of content value is a heading.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein steps c) and d) are performed recursively until at least one of the selected depth or the end of the title structure is reached.