Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-03
2001-02-13
Hong, Stephen S. (Department: 2776)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189018
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to universal resource locator links, and more particularly, to methods and apparatuses for generating universal resource locator links through a computer graphical user interface linking editor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to the increased popularity of the internet (also known as the world wide web), using the internet has nearly become a necessity for many segments of the population. Accordingly, developers of internet computer software have been racing to make their products less complicated and easier to use. By way of example, many new internet products implement easy-to-use graphical user interfaces that simplify a user's task of navigating around networks like the world wide web and local area networks (LANs). In response to the internet's increased popularity, a larger number of individuals and businesses now have “web sites” posted on internet servers. As is well known in the art, internet servers are large scale computers connected to the world wide web and regularly maintained by service providers.
While establishing an internet presence for many businesses was important, most business typically contracted with experts to create their web sites and maintain them. Experts were generally used because most internet users did not understand, nor had the time to learn HTML programming. As is well known, HTML is a programming language that is generally used to create web sites that have text, graphics and pictures. Thus, to program in HTML, a person would need to understand numerous special codes and characters used for illustrating text, graphics, tables, pictures, and links within a web site file.
To meet consumer demand, many software developers introduced software packages that allowed people having little or no knowledge of HTML programming to create web sites. These packages generally implement graphical user interfaces that allowed users to type in text, create graphics and create links without generating the HTML code from scratch. Therefore, these packages implement software algorithms for converting the graphical user interface commands into appropriate HTML code. Of course, the HTML code was still being generated by the software algorithms without the knowledge of the user.
FIG. 1
is an exemplary block diagram of a web site having a number of related files that make up a web site. As shown, there is a “Home Web Site Page” which may be the initial page in a web site. Further, as is well known in the art, the various HTML files may be linked to one another through the use of universal resource locator (URL) links. In addition to linking to a particular file in general, users may also link to selected portions of an HTML file by linking to an “anchor,” that was previously defined within the HTML file. By way of example, file2.html, file3.html and file6.html all have previously defined anchors that may be used by any of the web site files (or internet files) to quickly reference specific parts of an HTML file containing anchors. In this example, file1.html is shown being linked to anchors A, B, C and D, and all other files in the web site are shown linked back to file1.html, which is the Home Web Site Page.
Although having links between files and anchors is an efficient way to interconnect web site files and anchors, most well known web site creating packages make generating links laborious and clumsy. By way of example, each time a link is needed, users are generally required to call up a modal dialog from a menu bar (e.g., typically includes a list of functional pull-down menus) which subsequently displays to user a multiplicity of selection options. In some cases, the selection options are so complex that a user is required to perform numerous mechanical mouse clicks before a single link is created. As can be appreciated, the task of creating links for an entire web site can be very time consuming and confusing. In addition, due to the nature of modal dialogs, the user is generally required to complete the entire link configuration before the user is allowed to continue working on the web site files.
Another time consuming task is the typing in of URL's. As is well known to those skilled in web site building, many of the URL's used during the creation of a web site are quite long. In some cases, URL's may be a paragraph long. Certainly, the task of constantly re-typing the same URL for different locations of a file, or to link a web site's files together can be a very daunting and time consuming task. As an example,
FIG. 1
shows all of the files in the web site having a link (i.e., Go Home) that takes a user that is navigating in each in the web site files back to the Home Web Site Page. Consequently, the web site creator is generally required to create a link at the bottom of each file using a conventional modal dialog, which unfortunately requires the user to constantly call up the modal dialog from the menu bar and re-type the identical URL.
In view of the foregoing, there is a needed for improved methods and apparatuses for generating universal resource locator links through a computer graphical user interface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Broadly speaking, the present invention provides methods and apparatuses for efficiently generating universal resource locator links through a graphical user interface. It should be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, a system, a device, a method, or a computer readable medium. Several inventive embodiments of the present invention are described below.
In one embodiment, a method for generating universal resource locator links in a graphical user interface based HTML file is disclosed. The method includes the operations of selecting one of a picture object and text contained within the graphical user interface based HTML file. Once one of the picture object and text are selected, a short-cut universal resource locator icon is selected. Upon selecting the short-cut universal resource locator icon, a nested menu is displayed. Preferably, the nested menu contains a list of most recently used universal resource locators, and a list of open HTML files. The list of most recently used universal resource locators includes at least one universal resource locator, and the list of open HTML files that include at least one HTML file. Next, one of the universal resource locators is selected from the list of most recently used universal resource locators and the open HTML file from the list of open HTML files. Once selected, a link is generated from the selected one of the picture object and text contained within the graphical user interface based HTML file to one of the selected universal resource locators from the list of most recently used universal resource locators and the open HTML file from the list of open HTML files.
In another embodiment, a method for generating a cascaded graphical user interface menu is disclosed. The cascaded graphical user interface menu is preferably used for creating universal resource locator links. The method includes retrieving a list of most recently used universal resource locators from memory. Then, retrieving a list of active HTML files from memory. Next, a first menu data structure is created and entries are added to the first menu data structure for each universal resource locator in the list of most recently used universal resource locators. The method further adds entries to the first menu data structure for any open HTML files, and then displays the cascaded graphical user interface menu that is partitioned into a first portion and a second portion.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5204947 (1993-04-01), Berstein et al.
patent: 5708787 (1998-01-01), Nakano et al.
patent: 5724
Newman Steve
Schillace Sam
Apple Computer Inc.
Beyer Weaver & Thomas LLP
Hong Stephen S.
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