System and method for annotating an electronic document independently of its content
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method of annotating pages of an electronic document independently of the contents of the electronic document, the computer-implemented method comprising the steps of:
- displaying a page of the electronic document on a computer display device using a document browser that permits a user to move forward and backward among a plurality of document pages;
detecting a selection of an annotation mode that permits the user to annotate the currently displayed document page, wherein at least an ink annotation mode, a highlight annotation mode, and an eraser annotation mode are provided as options from which the annotation mode is selected;
receiving annotation stroke input from a user input device indicating movement associated with the user input device for a continuous distance about a stroke location on the currently displayed document page;
storing annotation stroke data based on the received annotation stroke input, said annotation stroke data comprising data corresponding to the stroke location and the movement associated with the user input device, wherein the annotation stroke data is stored in an annotation file associated with the user, the annotation file stored separately from the electronic document;
storing annotations made in the highlight annotation mode as a bitmap image; and
blending pixels in the annotation file with pixels in the electronic document to cause the computer display device to display the electronic document with annotations.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system, method, and apparatus for annotating an electronic document independently of its content is provided. According to one variation, a tablet and stylus-based computer is programmed with a document browser that permits a user to annotate documents viewed through the browser. The annotations are stored separately from the viewed document pages but are correlated with the pages such that when a previously annotated page is revisited, annotations relating to that page are retrieved and displayed on top of the page as an “ink” layer. Three different annotation modes are possible: ink, highlight, and erase. Each mode can be selected through a user interface supplied through the browser or through controls embedded in a document.
276 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of annotating pages of an electronic document independently of the contents of the electronic document, the computer-implemented method comprising the steps of:
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displaying a page of the electronic document on a computer display device using a document browser that permits a user to move forward and backward among a plurality of document pages; detecting a selection of an annotation mode that permits the user to annotate the currently displayed document page, wherein at least an ink annotation mode, a highlight annotation mode, and an eraser annotation mode are provided as options from which the annotation mode is selected; receiving annotation stroke input from a user input device indicating movement associated with the user input device for a continuous distance about a stroke location on the currently displayed document page; storing annotation stroke data based on the received annotation stroke input, said annotation stroke data comprising data corresponding to the stroke location and the movement associated with the user input device, wherein the annotation stroke data is stored in an annotation file associated with the user, the annotation file stored separately from the electronic document; storing annotations made in the highlight annotation mode as a bitmap image; and blending pixels in the annotation file with pixels in the electronic document to cause the computer display device to display the electronic document with annotations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
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display a page of an electronic document on a display device using a document browser that permits a user to move forward and backward among a plurality of document pages; detect a selection of an annotation mode that permits the user to annotate a currently displayed document page, wherein at least an ink annotation mode, a highlight annotation mode, and an eraser annotation mode are provided as options from which the annotation mode is selected; receive annotation stroke input from a user input device, the annotation stroke input indicating movement associated with the user input device for a continuous distance about a stroke location on the currently displayed document page; store annotation stroke data based on the received annotation stroke input, said annotation stroke data comprising data corresponding to the stroke location and the movement associated with the user input device, wherein the annotation stroke data is stored in an annotation file associated with the user, the annotation file stored separately from the electronic document; storing annotations made in the highlight annotation mode as a bitmap image; and blending pixels in the annotation file with pixels in the electronic document to cause the computer display device to display the electronic document with annotations, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is not a signal. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer system for annotating pages of an electronic document independently of the contents of the electronic document, the computer system comprising:
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a display device; a user input device; and a computing device in communication with the display device and the user input device, the computing device comprising a processor and a memory storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to; display a page of the electronic document on the display device using a document browser that permits a user to move forward and backward among a plurality of document pages; detect a selection of an annotation mode that permits the user to annotate a currently displayed document page, wherein at least an ink annotation mode, a highlight annotation mode, and an eraser annotation mode are provided as options from which the annotation mode is selected; receive annotation stroke input from the user input device, the annotation stroke input indicating movement associated with the user input device for a continuous distance about a stroke location on the currently displayed document page; store annotation stroke data based on the received annotation stroke input, said annotation stroke data comprising data corresponding to the stroke location and the movement associated with the user input device, wherein the annotation stroke data is stored in an annotation file associated with the user, the annotation file stored separately from the electronic document; store annotations made in the highlight annotation mode as a bitmap image; and blend pixels in the annotation file with pixels in the electronic document to cause the computer display device to display the electronic document with annotations. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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Specification