Method and system for controlling the operation of hyperlinks

• US 7,568,149 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2002
• Issued: 07/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Labs Incorporated (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Labs Incorporated (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Knott, Benjamin A., Edwards, Gregory W.
• Primary Examiner(s): RIES, LAURIE ANNE
• Application Number:
  US10/134,103
• Publication Number:
  US 20030204815A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,647 Days
• Field of Search: 715/501.1, 715/513, 715/526, 715/901, 715/205, 715/234, 715/273
• US Class Current: 715/205
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation

Abstract

A method and system for allowing users to control the operation of hyperlinks includes a graphical user interface that displays Internet and intranet hyperlinks from web sites. The graphical user interface includes a selectable button that accepts user settings. The user settings allow the users to determine the operation of the hyperlinks so that the hyperlinks either open in a new browser window or in an existing browser window when selected by the user. An interface engine generates the selectable button on the graphical user interface, examines the selectable button for any user settings, and controls the operation of the hyperlinks based upon the user settings.

Claims

1. A system for allowing a user to control the operation of one or more hyperlinks, the system comprising:

a browser operable to read HTML;

a graphical user interface associated with the browser, the graphical user interface operable to display an HTML file having a plurality of modules;

a plurality of selectable buttons, each associated with one of the modules of the HTML file, each selectable button operable to accept one or more user settings regarding the operation of hyperlinks within the respective module and to provide a visual indication of the user settings, wherein the plurality of selectable buttons and the user settings regarding the operation of hyperlinks within the respective modules are simultaneously displayed on a web page;

a display associated with the browser, the display operable to display the graphical user interface and the selectable buttons; and

an interface engine associated with the selectable buttons and graphical user interface, the interface engine operable, for each selectable button, to generate the selectable button, examine the selectable button to determine if the user has provided any user settings, and control the operation of the hyperlinks within the module associated with the selectable button based upon the user settings.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the HTML file is a single HTML document having a plurality of modules.

3. A method for allowing a user to control the operation of one or more hyperlinks, the method comprising:

displaying via a graphical user interface a web page including a plurality of modules;

inserting a selectable button in each module of the web page;

at each selectable button, accepting and displaying one or more user settings regarding the operation of hyperlinks within the module associated with that selectable button, wherein the selectable buttons and the user settings regarding the operation of hyperlinks within each of the plurality of modules are simultaneously displayed on the web page; and

for each selectable button, controlling how one or more hyperlinks within the module associated with that selectable button operate based upon the user settings associated with that module.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein accepting one or more user settings associated with each module comprises examining the selectable button associated with that module to determine if the user has supplied any user settings.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the user settings associated with each module comprise information regarding whether the user wants a hyperlink within that module to launch in a new browser window or in an existing browser window.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein controlling how one or more of the hyperlinks within each module operate comprises determining if the user has supplied any user settings via the selectable button associated with that module.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein controlling how one or more of the hyperlinks within each module operate comprises determining if a hyperlink launches in a new browser window or an existing browser window based on the user settings for that module.

8. The method of claim 3 wherein controlling how one or more of the hyperlinks within each module operate comprises launching a hyperlink in a new browser window when the user selects the hyperlink based on the user settings for that module.

9. The method of claim 3 wherein controlling how one or more of the hyperlinks within each module operate comprises launching a hyperlink in an existing browser window when the user selects the hyperlink based on the user settings for that module.

10. The method of claim 3 further comprising visually indicating one or more of the user settings.

11. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

distinguishing between the modules and associated selectable buttons; and

controlling the operation of one or more hyperlinks within one of the modules in accordance with the user settings associated with the associated selectable button and independent of the operation of the other modules.

12. The method of claim 3 wherein controlling how one or more of the hyperlinks within each module operate comprises setting a default when the user fails to provides the user settings for that module.

13. The method of claim 3 further comprising applying the user settings selected via one of the selectable buttons to all of the hyperlinks within the graphical user interface.

14. The method of claim 3 wherein controlling how one or more of the hyperlinks within each module operate comprises carrying forward the user settings for that module from an existing browser window to a new browser window.

15. The method of claim 3 wherein displaying a web page including a plurality of modules comprises displaying a single web document including a plurality of modules.

16. Software for allowing a user to control the operation of one or more hyperlinks, the software embodied in a computer-readable medium and operable to:

display via a graphical user interface a web page including a plurality of modules;

insert a selectable button in each module of the web page;

at each selectable button, accept and display one or more user settings regarding the operation of hyperlinks within the module associated with that selectable button; and

for each selectable button, control how one or more hyperlinks within the module associated with that selectable button operate based upon the user settings associated with that module.

17. The software of claim 16 wherein accepting one or more user settings associated with each module comprises examining the selectable button associated with that module to determine if the user has supplied any user settings.

18. The software of claim 16 wherein controlling how one or more of the hyperlinks with each module operate comprises determining if the user has supplied any user settings for that module.

19. The software of claim 16 wherein controlling how one or more of the hyperlinks within each module operate comprises determining if a hyperlink launches in a new browser window or an existing browser window based on the user settings for that module.

20. The software of claim 16 wherein controlling how one or more of the hyperlinks within each module operate comprises launching a hyperlink in a new browser window when the user selects the hyperlink based on the user settings for that module.

21. The software of claim 16 wherein controlling how one or more of the hyperlinks within each module operate comprises launching a hyperlink in an existing browser window when the user selects the hyperlink based on the user settings for that module.

22. The software of claim 16 further operable to apply the user settings selected via one of the selectable buttons to all of the hyperlinks within the graphical user interface.

23. The software of claim 16 wherein displaying a web page including a plurality of modules comprises displaying a single web document including a plurality of modules.

24. A system for controlling the operation of hyperlinks, the system comprising:

a graphical user interface operable to display an HTML file having a plurality of modules;

a plurality of selectable buttons, each associated with one of the modules of the HTML file, each selectable button operable to accept and display one or more user settings regarding the operation of hyperlinks within the respective module, wherein the plurality of selectable buttons and the user settings regarding the operation of hyperlinks within the respective modules are included in the displayed HTML file; and

an interface engine associated with the selectable buttons and graphical user interface, the interface engine operable, for each selectable button, to generate the selectable button and control the operation of the hyperlinks within the module associated with the selectable button based upon the user settings.

25. The system of claim 24 further comprising a browser operable to read HTML.

26. The system of claim 24 further comprising a display operable to display the graphical user interface and the selectable button.

27. The system of claim 24 wherein the user settings for each module comprise information regarding whether the user wants a hyperlink within that module to launch in a new browser window or in an existing browser window.

28. The system of claim 24 wherein the user settings for each module determine if selecting a hyperlink within that module launches the hyperlink in a new browser window or in an existing browser window.

29. The system of claim 24 wherein the placement of each selectable button is flexible in relation to the graphical user interface.

30. The system of claim 24 wherein the interface engine is further operable to examine each selectable button to determine if the user has provided any user settings for the module associated with that selectable button.

31. The system of claim 24 wherein the interface engine is operable to launch a new browser window when the user selects a hyperlink within one of the modules based on the user settings for that module.

32. The system of claim 24 wherein the interface engine is operable to launch a hyperlink in an existing browser window when the user selects a hyperlink within one of the modules based on the user settings for that module.

33. The system of claim 24 wherein the interface engine is further operable to:

distinguish between the modules and associated selectable buttons; and

control the operation of one or more hyperlinks within one of the modules in accordance with the user settings associated with the associated selectable button and independent of the operation of the other modules.

34. The system of claim 24 wherein each selectable button is further operable to provide a visual indication of one or more of the user settings selected via that selectable button.

35. The system of claim 24 wherein the interface engine is further operable to set each selectable button to a default when the user does not provide any user settings via that selectable button.

36. The system of claim 24 wherein the interface engine is further operable to apply the user settings for a particular module from an existing browser window to a new browser window.

37. The system of claim 24 wherein the HTML file is a single HTML document having a plurality of modules.

38. A system for controlling the operation of hyperlinks, the system comprising:

a graphical user interface operable to display an HTML file having a plurality of modules;

a plurality of selectable buttons, each associated with one of the modules of the HTML file, each selectable button providing an interface for setting one or more user settings regarding the operation of hyperlinks within the respective module, wherein the current user setting for each module is displayed within the respective selectable button; and

an interface engine associated with the selectable buttons and graphical user interface, the interface engine operable, for each selectable button, to generate the selectable button and control the operation of the hyperlinks within the module associated with the selectable button based upon the user settings.