US20080065986A1 - Structured document browser - Google Patents

Abstract

A structured document browser includes a constant user interface for displaying and viewing sections of a document that is organized according to a pre-defined structure. The structured document browser displays documents that have been marked with embedded codes that specify the structure of the document. The tags are mapped to correspond to a set of icons. When the icon is selected while browsing a document, the browser will display the section of the structure corresponding to the icon selected, while preserving the constant user interface.

Description

• A portion of the disclosure of this document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by any one of the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all rights to copyright protection whatsoever.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
• This invention relates to computer applications for viewing documents, and in particular, to a computer program for viewing documents having a predefined structure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• Current computing environments typically include a graphical user interface-(GUI). IBM personal computers and IBM compatibles run either OS/2 or Windows. The Macintosh has always had GUI capabilities as part of its operating system. Even higher end computers, including those that run Unix or VAX/VMS operating systems, are available with components that provide a GUI environment.
• GUI's are generated using a set of software tools that put graphical objects on the computer display. One of these graphical objects is a screen pointer that the user controls with a mouse or a trackball. The user moves the mouse to position the pointer on the screen over selected objects on the screen. The user can select an object by using a selecting device which is typically a mouse switch. By selecting an object, the user instructs the operating system or an application to execute the function associated with the object. The GUI objects can include the graphical representation of buttons, menus or any other graphic object.
• GUI's are the foundation of hypertext and hypermedia applications. Such applications allow computer users to create interfaces in which graphical objects are configured to correspond, or to link to objects of information. For example, a user may create an interface having the graphical representation of a button to display a motion video by selecting the button with a screen pointer. Similarly, the button can be configured to make a sound, display an image or display a separate text file.
• Today's increasing interest in the Internet is due in part to the improvements in hypermedia applications. The World Wide Web is growing dramatically due to the evolution of standard markup languages that allow users to mark documents with links to other documents, and of presenters or viewers that interpret the markup language in the documents allowing the users to view the links.
• One of the first markup tools was the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). SGML was developed by the International Standards Organization and has been adopted by the Department of Defense and other government agencies as a way of standardizing documentation. SGML is machine-based in a manner similar to a computer language. An SGML Document Type Definition (DTD) may be defined according to the specifications of SGML for a given document structure. The DTD defines elements to be embedded in a document. The documents are then viewed using a viewer or browser that interprets the elements in the document according to the data structure defined in the DTD.
• The HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is an instance of a DTD defined by SGML. HTML elements or codes are embedded into documents for use with HTML browsers. Browsers display the documents according to stylesheets associated with the embedded codes. The stylesheets contain rules or instructions that dictate the appearance of a document as presented by a browser. Stylesheets may also contain references to other documents in different computers. These references may be used in conjunction with context-sensitive regions of the documents such that a user retrieves the document reference by selecting the region. In this manner, an author links one document to others in a meaningful way such that a viewer may provide a user with access to information in documents that are linked together in a web-like fashion.
• One common characteristic of many browsers is that the links to information are presented solely within documents. The links may take the user to other documents or to locations within the same document, but typically, the elements that provide the link control are within the documents.
• Having the control to the information links within the documents themselves is adequate where the documents are short and where the purpose is to obtain information in brief, concise statements. But where a document is long, it becomes difficult to browse the document since the only potential access to other destinations are in whatever part of the document is currently being displayed.
• Moreover, organizations often work with standardized documents. These documents typically have a carefully defined purpose and are usually characterized by a standard structure. These documents may be long and the main purpose for viewing the documents is often to access information found in a specific section of the well-known structure of the document.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• In view of the above, a structured document browser is provided with a user interface that remains uniform and familiar as the user browses documents according to their structure instead of their contents. The browser uses codes embedded in the document to identify sections of the structure of the document. The user interface includes graphical user interface objects, such as buttons, that are configured to display a standard section of the document structure when selected by the user.
• The structured document browser may also include menus that allow a user to select a document from among different documents, or a document structure type from among different structure types.
• It is another object of the invention to provide a method for browsing a document by using a screen pointer to select a graphical user interface object and displaying a section of the document that corresponds to the graphical user interface object.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the structured document browser showing how it communicates with other components of the computer.
• FIG. 2 illustrates a sample structure for a document.
• FIG. 3 illustrates a portion of a document having the structure shown inFIG. 2 after it has been marked with SGML tags.
• FIG. 4 illustrates an SGML document type definition (DTD) created for use by a structured document browser for a document having the structure shown inFIG. 2.
• FIG. 5 is a representation of an example of a user interface of the structured document browser forFIG. 1.
• FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the process of retrieving a structured document and illustrates playing the section of a document in response to the selection of a button.
• FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a bks data structure.
• FIG. 8 is a diagram that shows the interaction between a button, a map file and bit map file.
• FIGS. 9A & 9B illustrate the operation of the browser ofFIG. 1.
• FIG. 10 illustrates one example of an alternative implementation of the user interface.
• FIG. 11 illustrates a second alternative implementation of the user interface.
• FIG. 12 illustrates a third alternative implementation of the user interface.
• FIG. 13 illustrates a fourth alternative implementation of the user interface.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
• In the description that follows, reference is made to the drawings where like elements are identified by like numerals throughout.
• A presently preferred embodiment of this invention includes an application program called browser.exe that has been developed using the ‘c’ programming language in the Windows environment. The browser.exe executable file is programmed to make function calls to three dynamic link libraries named sit.dll, cgrmzv.dll and ct13d.dll. These libraries are components of Dynatext Version 2.0, a user interface development system from Electronic Book Technologies, Inc. These Dynatext libraries provide functions that implement the SGML related functions and the graphic input/output functions. Further information regarding the Dynatext program may be obtained by contacting Electronic Book Technologies, Inc. at One Richmond Square, Providence, R.I. 02906.
• The browser.exe program uses data structures in several support files that are in the same directory tree as browser.exe. These support files will be described in more detail in the description that follows.
• A listing of the present version of browser.exe is attached as Appendix I of this specification. The listing is an octal representation of browser.exe. The presently preferred embodiment may be carried out by converting the octal to a binary executable file using methods that are well known in the art. After conversion, the browser.exe file may be executed from a directory that includes the dynamic link libraries and the support files described in this disclosure.
• It is to be understood however, that an embodiment of the present invention may be developed for any computing environment using any suitable development system.
• The browser application in a presently preferred embodiment is referred to in the following detailed description as thebrowser80 as shown inFIG. 1.FIG. 1 is a block diagram describing at a high level thebrowser80 in the computing environment. The components of thebrowser80 in its operating environment include thebrowser80 itself, anoperating system104 with GUI capabilities,storage media108, akeyboard110, a pointing device100, a selecting device102 and amonitor112. Theoperating system104 further includes an I/O system114 and aGUI system116.
• The double headedarrows118 denote the communication between the respective components. The communication at118 may entail communication over a network where appropriate.
• Thehardware devices108,110,100,102,112 may be implemented by choosing from among many alternatives for each device. A pointing device100 may be implemented using a mouse, a trackball or any other device that controls the position of a screen pointer. A selecting device102 is typically implemented with mouse buttons or buttons that operate in conjunction with a trackball. In general, any device that may be used to effect the selection of an object at the location of the screen pointer may be used as a selecting device102. A selecting device102 may even include a key on thekeyboard110. Thestorage media108 is understood to include random access memory (RAM), the temporary storage out of which programs are executed as well as the mass storage devices in which programs are stored. Thehardware devices108,110,100,102,112 are understood to include the software drivers necessary for their operation in the computing environment.
• Thebrowser80 includes at least acontroller82 and asystem interface84. Thesystem interface84 is responsible for processing the communication between thebrowser80 and theoperating system104, the I/O system114 and theGUI system116. Thecontroller82 receives and interprets requests from thesystem interface84 to perform a browser function. For example, thesystem interface84 receives signals from the I/O system114 that the pointing device100 and the selecting device102 were used to press a button or icon, to request a display of a section of a document. Thecontroller82 receives the information from thesystem interface84 to determine which document section to display.
• In a presently preferred embodiment, thesystem interface84 includes the functions provided by the Dynatext development system and any operating system or I/O system functions. Thecontroller82 in a preferred embodiment is the executable program browser.exe. It is to be understood that the diagram inFIG. 1 is by way of illustration and is not intended to limit the software structure chosen to carry out the invention.
• Thebrowser80 operates with documents that have been prepared as described below. Because thebrowser80 is designed to navigate documents according to their structure, the utility of thebrowser80 is maximized when an organization establishes a standard structure for its key documents. A software engineering group, for example, may find it desirable to maintain a uniform structure for the software requirement specifications that the group develops. A different structure is desirable for the group's design specifications, and yet a different structure works for the group's test documentation. The group's goal for such documentation is to maintain uniformity.
• Referring toFIG. 2, a marketing group might maintain product descriptions for its company's product line in documents having thepredefined document structure10. This structure is predefined to haveheadings12 that provide overview information, sales information, product availability information, ordering information, billing information, troubleshooting information and product support information. The structure also hassub-headings14 within each heading where relevant. Theoverview section16 hassub-headings14 for sections devoted to a product description, aliases, product features and instructions on how to use the product.
• A specific document of the predefined structure inFIG. 2 is marked with codes for viewing with thebrowser80. In a preferred embodiment, codes are used to mark the document as shown inFIG. 3. The codes shown inFIG. 3 have angle brackets around them. In a preferred embodiment, the codes are SGML elements. These codes may be replaced by elements of other markup tools in alternative embodiments. In the markeddocument20, theapplication identification code22 indicates that the document has been marked for use by thebrowser80. The overall document structure is identified with aproduct name code24. Each standard structure component is then marked with an appropriate code or element.
• The sections in a document are preferably marked according to a convention. First, the beginning of a section is marked by a code or element. For example, the <OVER>element26 identifies the beginning of the section of the document that provides an overview of the product. The <OVER>element26 is followed by the heading and text that constitute the Overview section of the document. A begin section name element28 indicates that the information that follows the element28 specifies the name that will appear in all documents of the same structure for that section. In the markeddocument20 inFIG. 3, the name of the overview section is “Overview”30. Immediately after the name, an endsection name element32 indicates the end of that section name such that the text between the begin section name element28 and the endsection name element32 is the text30 that will appear in the heading. Similarly, anend section element34 indicates the end of the section. In this case, the element </OVER>34 marks the end of the overview section. The convention of marking the beginning and the end of parts of the document is used to mark other sections (as shown at36,38,39 and42) that form the standard document structure.
• Beginsub-section elements38 and endsub-section elements42 mark the sub-sections of the document, using the same convention, with the stipulation that theend elements39 are in an order that keeps the sub-sections nested within the sections. Documents may have sub-sections within sub-sections.
• In a preferred embodiment, the structure of documents is defined by a document type definition (DTD). TheDTD40 inFIG. 4 illustrates how a document structure is represented in SGML. Codes such as those referenced at24,25,26 and38, that are used to indicate a section or structure part of the document as shown inFIG. 3, are defined by setting an element name, as shown at42 and44 inFIG. 4; setting a heading name, as shown at47 and49; and listing sub-parts as shown at46. For example, the code for theproduct name24 inFIG. 3 is defined in theDTD40 as theelement name42 for the high level document structure composed of the list ofsections46. The list ofsections46 comprises the codes defining the sections of the document. The codes used inFIG. 3 for the begin section codes25 are defined in theDTD40 ofFIG. 4 aselement names44 for the respective section level data structures. The respective name codes, such as the beginsection name element27 inFIG. 3, is shown as part of a section, as shown at45 inFIG. 4. The name element45 is also defined at51. If a section has sub-parts, or sub-sections, the codes for the sub-sections within the section are listed in the definition of the section code as shown at48. Each sub-section code is then defined individually as shown at43. More details on the syntax and constructs of SGML may be obtained by referring to the ISO Standard for SGML ISO 8879; 1986/A1: 1988(E).
• In a preferred embodiment, a document having a basic word processing format may be converted to a markeddocument20, also known as an SGML instance, using an SGML utility. For example, a utility called DYNATAG from Electronic Book Technologies, Inc., uses documents having the structure described inFIG. 2 to create aDTD40, illustrated inFIG. 4, as well as anSGML instance20, illustrated inFIG. 3. Other SGML utilities may be used to create DTD's and SGML instances. The discussion of theDTD40 is presented to illustrate how alternative embodiments might implement a program that interprets SGML DTD's to operate with the browser.
• An infinite number of DTD's may be used, including common DTD's such as the HTML DTD. In addition, other embodiments of this invention may not use SGML as a markup language. Any other suitable markup language, including a proprietary markup language, may be used as well, provided that the appropriate software components are available to translate the code. Other embodiments of this invention may be designed to support the use of more than one markup language.
• Once a document has been marked and converted into a format that is appropriate for thebrowser80, thebrowser80 may be started on a computer. Referring back toFIG. 1, the user invokes thebrowser80 by using the pointing device100 and the selecting device102 to select thebrowser80 in a manner dictated by the GUI of theoperating system104. In the preferred embodiment, theoperating system104 is the Windows Operating System (Version 3.1 and later for purposes of this example), the pointing device100 is a mouse, and the selecting device102 includes a pair of mouse buttons (left and right buttons). TheWindows user interface106, as it appears on themonitor112, includes amenu bar68,icons66 representing application programs ready for initialization and ascreen pointer62 controlled by the user with the mouse pointing device100.
• To initialize thebrowser80 in the Windows environment, the mouse100 may be used to place thescreen pointer62 over thebrowser icon64 in theoperating system interface106 and the left mouse button may be double-clicked.
• Once thebrowser80 has been initialized, the graphical user interface changes from theWindows user interface106 inFIG. 1 to that of the browser user interface as shown at50 inFIG. 5.
• Referring toFIG. 5, theuser interface50 of thebrowser80 gives the user the capability of selecting a particular document and then selecting different sections of the document for display. The objects used to browse through the documents remain on theuser interface50 regardless of where in a document a user is browsing. The user interface remains familiar to the user and responsive to the document structure.
• Theuser interface50 of thebrowser80 includes adocument menu52, adocument type menu54, a first row ofselectors56, a second row ofselectors58 and adisplay window60.
• The user selects a document for browsing by using thedocument menu52. Thedocument menu52 is implemented with standard graphical user interface menu objects such that the user selects adocument menu arrow70 to display the full menu of the documents available. The user then selects the document desired from the menu using the selecting device102 in combination with thescreen pointer62.
• Theuser interface50 of thebrowser80 is configured in a manner that allows the document types, or standard structures of different types, to be listed in adocument type menu54. The document type is selected by the user in the same manner that the user selects a document. The name of the document type is the name or alias of directories designated by the browser to have documents of a consistent structure. When a different document type is selected, the names listed in the document menu are changed according to the names of the available documents having the new document type.
• Theselectors56,58 are examples of document navigation tools that may be used for browsing documents in a presently preferred embodiment. More specifically,selectors56,58 are display regions in the user interface that are configured to perform pre-defined operations when the user places thescreen pointer62 over one of theselectors56,58 and then selects it with the selecting device102. In the presently preferred embodiment, the display regions are depicted as icons that make them look like buttons with graphic images on them. The image may be designed to convey a sense of the operation to be performed if the icon is selected.
• The first row ofselectors56 is configured to correspond to the first level of sections in a document. For example, thefirst selector68 in thefirst row56 is configured to correspond to theOverview section16 in the document shown inFIG. 2.
• Each selector is configured so that when the user places thescreen pointer62 over the selector and then selects it with the selecting device102, the system interface84 (described above with reference toFIG. 1) receives data indicating which selector was selected. Thesystem interface84 may then determine the document section associated with the selector and send the request to display that section to the controller82 (described above with reference toFIG. 1). Alternatively, thesystem interface84 may send to thecontroller82 the identification of the chosen selector and let thecontroller82 determine what section to display. Thecontroller82 will cause the document to be searched for the document section that matches the selector chosen. When the chosen section is found thebrowser80 displays in thedisplay window60 the section of the document structure that corresponds to the selector.
• Once the desired section is in thedisplay window60, the user may navigate within the section by selecting one of the second row ofselectors58. Each time a selector from the first row ofselectors56 is selected, the second row ofselectors58 is configured to correspond to thesub-sections14 within thesection12 being displayed (as shown inFIG. 2). A document structure having sub-sections within its sub-sections may also be accommodated so that three rows of selectors might be present in the user interface. The number of sub-sections within sections of a document may be further accommodated with rows of selectors as desired, or as limited by system constraints, such as the size of thedisplay window60.
• The user may also navigate within the section by controlling the displaywindow scroll bar96 with thescreen pointer62 and the selecting device102.
• To describe the manner in which theselectors56,58 in thebrowser user interface50 are configured, the initialization of the browser will be described in conjunction with exemplary files or data structures that are utilized during browsing operations. It is to be understood that this is only one implementation of the preferred embodiment, and that the files may be replaced, or integrated, or revised to form different data structures without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the Dynatext development tools may be replaced by other functionally equivalent tools.
• In the presently preferred embodiment, documents are converted into “books” which are actually directory trees that reside in a directory called the “\xyz\books” directory. The terms “book,” “collection” and “library” are defined and used according to the specifications of the Dynatext development system.
• In order to create the Dynatext books; the documents that have been coded as illustrated inFIG. 3 are supplied as input to a utility called DYNATAG which is a component of the Dynatext system. DYNATAG creates a DTD (as shown inFIG. 4) and an SGML instance (as shown inFIG. 3) of the document. The SGML instance and the DTD are used as input files to MKBOOK, another Dynatext utility. The MKBOOK utility creates a binary instance of the document, a directory tree, or a “book,” and some of the support files used by thebrowser80. For example, the document for Widget having the structure for products descriptions defined inFIG. 2 is processed with MKBOOK to create the book “\xyz\books\widget,” a sub-directory of “\xyz\books.”
• Thebrowser80 uses a number of data files to define how a document is found and displayed in the browser. These files and their names in the preferred embodiment are 1) the browser executable (browser.exe); 2) an initialization file (browser.ini); 3) a set of dynamic link libraries (sit.dll, cgmzv.dll, & ct13d.dll); 4) a bks file which is an ASCII file that contains information about a book, a library or collection of documents, and names in the browser menus (named *.bks where the * represents the name of a document); 5) a bitmap containing up to 100 regions for icons (named *.bmp or default.bmp) and 6) an ASCII file that provides the linking of the document element names to the icons in the bmp file and for pop-up text in the executable (named *.map or default.map).
• The execution of thebrowser80 will be described with reference toFIG. 6 which is a flowchart describing the steps taken to browse a document. When the user starts the structured document browser in the manner described above in reference toFIG. 1, the operating system launches the browser.exe executable file as shown atblock120. This file is located in a directory called the “\xyz” directory. When browser.exe is launched it first looks for the three required dynamic link libraries (DLL's) in the same directory as shown atblock122. The DLL's, supplied by Electronic Book Technologies, contain functions related to the user interface, SGML processing and access to the books.
• If the DLL's are available, the browser then checks for the browser.ini file as shown in124. If the browser.ini file is present, thebrowser80 reads its contents, as shown atblock126.
• As the sample file in Table 1 shows, the browser.ini file contains objects, or data structures that include the [Files] object, the [DTEXT] object, and the [MAP] object. The [FILES] object defines an annotation file. The annotation file is a repository for feedback from users of the browser regarding the documents being reviewed. The [DTEXT] object contains file names that the executable will use to find the location of the data directory, security key, and public and private directories. The [MAP] object provides the file name of the initial map file that is to be loaded (typically, the name is “default.map”). The map file, as discussed in detail below, contains the associations between the document elements and the icons.

  TABLE 1
  Sample browser.ini File

  	[Files]
  	AnnotationFile=\xyz\annot.txt
  	[DTEXT]
  	DATA_DIR=\xyz\data
  	DTEXT_AUTH=@\xyz\data\security
  	PUBLIC_DIR=\xyz\tmp\public
  	PRIVATE_DIR=\xyz\tmp\private
  	[MAP]
  	Icons=default.bmp

• Referring back toFIG. 6, once the browser.ini file is processed at126, the browser checks for a file called default.bks atblock128. The default.bks file is an ASCII file which provides the browser with the information required to display a standard initial document, such as a document that displays a message of the day.
• If a default.bks file is not found, the browser initializes without a book as shown at130. Otherwise, the contents of default.bks are loaded as shown at132 and the user interface is presented on the display to the user as shown at134.
• The bks files will be described by reference toFIG. 7. The bks files are ASCII files that contain information about how the book should be loaded into the menus in the browser and which map file to use. The bks file always begins with the [Book] object140 inFIG. 7. The next line identifies the “collection.” In a preferred embodiment, a collection, also called a library, refers to the directory containing the books to which thebrowser80 has access. InFIG. 7, the collection is located in the “\xyz” directory.
• The next line in a bks file as shown inFIG. 7 identifies thecollection title144 which defines a document type for thedocument type menu54. Thecollection title144 is an alias for the group of books that will be listed under a heading in thedocument type menu54 called “Products.”
• The name of thebook146 is on the next line of the bks file. The book name is actually the name of the directory tree that must be present under the collection path specified in line two142 of the bks file. The book title at148 specifies an alias for the book. The book title contains the name the user will see on the document menu52 (atFIG. 5). Themap file name150 is optional. It designates the map file that associates the tag names with the icons in the .bmp file. If specified, the browser will use thefile name152 to access the map file. Otherwise, the browser will assume a file name based on a pre-defined naming convention.
• Referring back toFIG. 6, a user requests adocument160 by using thedocument menu52 or thedocument type menu54 in the user interface50 (shown inFIG. 5). When the menu is selected (before a document is selected), the bks file is read in and the menu lists document and document type names according to the contents of the bks file. When a user requests to receive a document as shown at160, the browser retrieves the document itself as shown at162 and the map file associated with that document as shown at164.
• The browser then verifies that the elements in the map file match the SGML DTD and the structure codes in the document as shown at166. If there are no discrepancies, thebrowser80 reads the bmp file as shown at168 which is specified in the map file. Also, inblock168, thebrowser80 locates fly-by text for description of icons. The bmp file allows the browser to display the icons as shown at170 for theselectors56,58 (inFIG. 5). The browser also displays the text in the chosen document as shown at170.
• Once the selectors on the user interface match the structure requirements of the document, the user may select a section of the document to view by pressing a selector button that corresponds to that section as shown at172. The correspondence between theselectors56,58 and the document structure is established in the map file and in the bmp file. This correspondence will be described with reference toFIG. 8.
• FIG. 8 shows a portion of themap file200 for the document having the structure inFIG. 2, abmp file210 and the location on the user interface in which the selectors are placed220. The first object in the map file is the [MAP] object180 which identifies the data structure. The next line in the map file is theicon line182 which is a filename that is used by thebrowser80 to obtain the bmp file for the structure corresponding to the map file.
• The next line in the map file shown inFIG. 8 contains the [SECTIONS]object184. The [SECTIONS] object184 marks the beginning of a set of definitions ofdata structures186 that help tie the selector icons to the sections in the document. The order of these data structures indicates the order in which the sections appear in the document.
• The first item under [sections] is “RBW-DOC, PROD.NAME, OVER=1:Overview”188. The RBW-DOC, PROD.NAME190 label indicates that the section identified in this line is in the first or highest level section. TheOVER label192 in the line matches the <OVER>tag26 used to identify the overview section in the marked structure document shown inFIG. 3. The expression OVER=1192 specifies which icon in the bmp file corresponds to the section identified. The text following the colon at194 is used in fly-by help or bubble help messages. For example, when thescreen pointer62 is positioned over anicon222 as shown inFIG. 8, aHelp message196 is displayed to indicate the function of the button. The expression OVER=1192 and the fly-by-help text194 are read by thebrowser80 duringblock168 inFIG. 6.
• An example of the bmp file is shown inFIG. 8 at210. The icons are stored in the bmp file as a single rectangular bitmap. Each icon is 16 pixels wide by 15 pixels high. In the presently preferred embodiment, the icons make the selectors appear to be buttons. The icon index starts at 1 and proceeds from left to right. So the icon index might appear as follows:

  1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
  11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
  21	22	<etc>

• An example of how the map file relates to the bmp file is given inFIG. 8. Assume the user moves thescreen pointer62 to the troubleshooting icon, which is the sixth selector or222 in the top row ofselectors56 and then selects it. Thesixth button222 corresponds to thesixth icon224 in the bmp file. Thebrowser80 refers to the map file at the line RBW-DOC, PROD.NAME, TROUBL=6:Troubleshooting226 to determine which element name must be searched. The line at226 defines the TROUBL element as the element that must be searched when the sixth button in thefirst row222 is selected.
• While every book could have a separate map file and bmp file, these files relate to all books in a library. In other words, all books in the product library should have the same document structure (i.e., document type definition). Thus, a prd.map provides the mappings for all books in the products (i.e., prd) library and, a prd.bmp provides the icons for all books in the products (i.e., prd) library. The icons should relate to the hierarchical structure of the document structure as specified in the document type definition.
• FIGS. 9A & 9B demonstrate the operation of thebrowser80 by illustrating the way in which theuser interface50 changes in response to the pressing of a button.FIG. 9A shows theuser interface50 in an initial state with theOverview section16 of the widget products document fromFIG. 2 in thedisplay window60. Theselectors58 of the second row are represented by icons that correspond to thesub-sections246 of the description section.
• The user of thebrowser80 may wish to view information that is known to exist in thetroubleshooting section18 of the widget product description. As shown inFIG. 2, thetroubleshooting section18 is towards the end of the document. Standard documents may be as short as one printed page or long enough to fill several binders. Thebrowser80 simplifies the retrieval of information by allowing access to a pre-defined section of a document by pushing a button. Thescreen pointer62 may be moved from aninitial position240 to the position over the icon for thetroubleshooting button222. The user then selects thetroubleshooting button222 by enabling the selecting device102. Thebrowser80, using the process illustrated inFIG. 8, then searches through the binary instance of the document for the troubleshooting section. Thebrowser80 displays the foundsection242 in thedisplay window60 as shown inFIG. 9B. In addition to displaying the foundsection242, thebrowser80 updates the second row ofselectors58 to correspond to thesub-sections248 in the foundsection242.
• Theuser interface50 of thebrowser80 may be enhanced by adding objects to give the user more tools with which to view the documents. Theuser interface50, shown inFIG. 9A, includes a next section button92, a previous section button94, a go forwardbutton72, a go backwardbutton74 andstring search tools78,86,88,89. These objects may be programmed into thebrowser80 along with the software components that provide the indicated functions.
• When the next section button92 is selected with the combined action of thescreen pointer62 and the selecting device102, a user views the next section in the document. For example, the next section after theOverview section16 inFIG. 9A is the Sales section (SeeFIG. 2). Selecting the next section button92 inFIG. 9A causes thebrowser80 to display the Sales section. The previous section button94 operates in the same manner as the next section button92 except that the previous section is shown.
• The go forwardbutton72 and gobackward button74 may be used to scroll text in thedisplay window60.
• Theuser interface50 as shown inFIG. 9A may also includestring search tools78,86,88. The stringsearch entry box78 may be used to input a text string that the user wishes to locate in the document. The next found and previous foundbuttons86,88 may be used to display the locations in the document in which the string was found. The clear search button89 clears the text in thesearch entry box78.
• The feedback entry function gives the user the ability to provide feedback on a document for those who may browse the document at a later time. As shown inFIG. 9B, by selecting a feedback file in a menu, or by selecting atools button90, atext box260 opens up to allow the user to enter a note. Thetext box260 may be a compilation of messages to which users append notes, or the contents of thetext box260 may be saved into a separate repository of data periodically. In a preferred embodiment, the compilation of messages may be saved to a SGML-based file for support as a document that may be viewed by implementation of thebrowser80. In addition, thetextbox260 may be replaced by a view of the messages in thedisplay window60.
• It is to be understood that the appearance of theuser interface50 shown inFIGS. 9A & 9B is one example of the user interface in the present invention. The appearance and the choice of graphic objects may be varied to suit the needs of the intended users.
• Referring toFIG. 10, one example of how theuser interface50 may be altered replaces thebuttons56,58 with other objects. The buttons are merely display regions of the user interface configured to perform a function when selected with thescreen pointer62 and the selecting device102. In the presently preferred embodiment ofFIG. 9A, the selectors are represented by button icons. As shown inFIG. 10, these icons may be replaced with words orphrases268 that are descriptive of the section that they are configured to display.
• Another variation, shown inFIG. 11, uses a distributed user interface in which thebuttons288 are located in their own window that is detached from thedisplay window60.FIG. 11 illustrates theseparate windows50,288 as they might appear on amonitor screen274.
• In another variation shown inFIG. 12, keys on thekeyboard110 may be configured as functional equivalents of thescreen pointer62 to selectdocument section selectors56,58.FIG. 12 illustrates amonitor screen274 connected to akeyboard110 viaconnection275. In one approach to using the keyboard, theselectors56,58 may be mapped tofunction keys270 on thekeyboard110. In another approach which may be combined with the first approach, thebrowser80 may first, highlight a selector in response to certain keys such as aTAB key266, or anarrow key264, and then select the highlightedselector280 in response to another key such as theENTER key272.
• Theuser interface50 may also be implemented in an environment that lacks a GUI, such as a character-based system interface. In an example of such an implementation shown inFIG. 13, theselectors56,58 are words or phrases that have features such as a character-based border identifying them as selectors. The user then selects a selector using the keys on the keyboard as described above.
• In another example of a character-baseduser interface50, theselectors56,58 are not used at all and the entire screen is the display window.Function keys270 on thekeyboard110 are implemented in place of the selectors. Thefunction keys270 may be mapped according to the labels indicated at290.
• It is to be understood that this specification is provided by way of illustration and that it is only the claims and their equivalents that define the invention.

Claims (18)

1. A method for displaying web information in a browser, the method comprising:

displaying a plurality of icons in an icon area, the plurality of icons automatically configured to correspond to respective portions of web information regardless of what portion of the web information is being displayed;

displaying a search string entry box regardless of what portion of the web information is being displayed;

receiving a selection of one of the plurality of icons;

displaying, in a display window and outside of the icon area, the portion of the web information that corresponds to the one of the plurality of icons; and

displaying a fly-by-help message indicating a function of an icon of the plurality of icons after a screen pointer is positioned over the icon.

2. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising:

displaying at least one additional icon in response to receiving the selection of the one of the plurality of icons.

3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the at least one additional icon is associated with a sub-section of the portion of the web information.

4. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising:

displaying a text box to allow a user to enter a note that provides feedback regarding the portion of the web information.

5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of icons are displayed in a row above the display window.

6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of icons are chosen from a larger set of icons.

7. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:

operational instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a processor to display a plurality of icons in an icon area, the plurality of icons automatically configured to correspond to respective portions of web information regardless of what portion of the web information is being displayed;

operational instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to display a search string entry box regardless of what portion of the web information is being displayed;

operational instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to receive a selection of one of the plurality of icons;

operational instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to display, in a display window and outside of the icon area, the portion of the web information that corresponds to the one of the plurality of icons; and

operational instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to display a fly-by-help message indicating a function of an icon of the plurality of icons after a screen pointer is positioned over the icon.

8. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 7 further comprising:

operational instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to display at least one additional icon in response to receiving the selection of the one of the plurality of icons.

9. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 8, wherein the at least one additional icon is associated with a sub-section of the portion of the web information.

10. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 7 further comprising:

operational instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to display a text box to allow a user to enter a note that provides feedback regarding the portion of the web information.

11. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 7, wherein the plurality of icons are displayed in a row above the display window.

12. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 7, wherein the plurality of icons are chosen from a larger set of icons.

13. A system for displaying web information in a browser, the system comprising:

a processor; and

memory, in communication with the processor, that stores:

operational instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to display a plurality of icons in an icon area, the plurality of icons automatically configured to correspond to respective portions of web information regardless of what portion of the web information is being displayed;

operational instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to display a search string entry box regardless of what portion of the web information is being displayed;

operational instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive a selection of one of the plurality of icons;

operational instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to display, in a display window and outside of the icon area, the portion of the web information that corresponds to the one of the plurality of icons; and

operational instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to display a fly-by-help message indicating a function of an icon of the plurality of icons after a screen pointer is positioned over the icon.

14. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the memory further stores:

operational instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to display at least one additional icon in response to receiving the selection of the one of the plurality of icons.

15. The system ofclaim 14, wherein the at least one additional icon is associated with a sub-section of the portion of the web information.

16. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the memory further stores:

operational instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to display a text box to allow a user to enter a note that provides feedback regarding the portion of the web information.

17. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the plurality of icons are displayed in a row above the display window.

18. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the plurality of icons are chosen from a larger set of icons.

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