Abstract:
Scrolling through lengthy Web pages or other documents in search of particular data types or files is simplified. In a system for scrolling a displayed document using a scroll bar for indicating the position of the displayed data in the direction being scrolled, there is provided an implementation for determining the type of the displayed data being scrolled at a position, in combination with an implementation responsive to this determination for indicating within said scroll bar the type of data being scrolled at said position. A color indicator has been found to provide very effective indication.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to computer controlled display systems, and particularly to user interfaces in such systems for scrolling displayed documents containing data of different information types so as to facilitate a user accessing information of different types from the documents.  
         BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART  
         [0002]    For many years the data processing industries have been devoting great resources to making computer supported user interactive display technology systems and methods to provide interactive users with an interface environment that is easy to use. This has been a major task since the great expansion of computer users over the past decade has expanded computer use to less and less skilled and sophisticated users. This effort has been further driven by the rise of the Internet or World Wide Web (Web). The latter two terms are meant to be interchangeable are used as such throughout this application. In effect, there has been a technological revolution driven by the convergence of the data processing industry with the consumer electronics industry. This advance has been even further accelerated by the extensive consumer and business involvement in the Internet over the past five years. As a result of these changes, it seems as if virtually all aspects of human endeavor in the industrialized world requires human-computer interfaces. There is a need to make computer directed activities accessible to a substantial portion of the industrial world&#39;s population, which, up to a few years ago was computer-illiterate or, at best, computer indifferent. The population will, to a large part, have to become involved with computer interfaces and computer interfaces must, thus, continue to be simplified and made more user friendly.  
           [0003]    This problem of simplification is particularly pronounced in the Web or Internet. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), which has been the documentation language of the Internet or Web for years, offers direct links between pages and other documentation on the Web and a variety of related data sources that were, at first, text and then images, and now include media, i.e. “hypermedia”, which involves audio, video and all types of visual files. It was possible for the Web browser to spend literally hours going through document after document in search of hypermedia files of accompanying media events in often less than productive excursions through the Web. The obvious advantage of the Web is that a user has extensive access to such media events that he may access and use in his own presentations. The problem remains in locating them. A significant source of this problem is in the Web page, the basic document page of the Web. In the case of Web pages, we do not have the situation of a relatively small group of professional designers working out the human factors, rather, in the era of the Web, anyone and everyone can design a Web page. As a result, pages are frequently designed by developers without imaging or graphics layout skills. Media files may frequently be hard to recognize and locate in such pages. When we refer to Web pages, we are actually referring to Web documents that are often dozens of pages in length and often eclectically developed and organized. Most do not have adequate indices. Thus, the user has to scroll through a lengthy Web document that frequently contains ancillary distractions, such as advertising, to try to find the particular data of interest.  
         SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION  
         [0004]    The present invention provides a solution that simplifies scrolling through lengthy Web or other documents in search of particular data types or files. In a system for scrolling a displayed document using a scroll bar for indicating the position of the displayed data in the direction being scrolled, there is provided means for determining the type of the displayed data being scrolled at said position, in combination with means responsive to said determining means for indicating within said scroll bar the type of data being scrolled at said position. A color indicator has been found to provide very effective indication.  
           [0005]    While this invention may be used quite effectively on the Web for the above-described problems, it may also be a tool in locating predetermined types of data in scrolling through long word processed documents, such as legal briefs or technical and commercial reports.  
           [0006]    In the HTML documents of the Web or in E-Mail, the invention is particularly useful in locating non-ascii text files, such as GIF or MIME data files, within the ascii text of the document. The scroll bar indicators of the present invention may even be used to focus the user&#39;s to embedded hyperlinks in such HTML documents.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    The present invention will be better understood and its numerous objects and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following drawings, in conjunction with the accompanying specification, in which:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data processing system including a central processing unit and network connections via a communications adapter that is capable of implementing a user interactive workstation such as a Web receiving station on which received data may be converted into displayed Web pages;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a generalized diagrammatic view of a Web portion upon which the present invention may be implemented;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a Web page displayed and scrolled at a receiving display station with a typical GIF image data file being indicated by a scroll bar indicator;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of a received E-mail document displayed and scrolled at a receiving display station with a MIME image data file being indicated by a scroll bar indicator;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is an illustrative flowchart describing the setting up of the elements needed for the program for implementing scroll bar indicators to point to different data types in received Web documents; and  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an illustrative run of the program set up in FIG. 5. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0014]    Referring to FIG. 1, a typical data processing terminal is shown that may function as a standalone computer controlled display unit for processing displayed documents or as a Web display station used for receiving Web pages. Such display units or Web stations may be used in the practice of the present invention for scrolling documents and indicating the data types being scrolled through indicators in the scroll bar.  
         [0015]    A central processing unit (CPU)  10 , such as one of the PC microprocessors or workstations, e.g. RISC System/6000™ (RS/6000) series available from International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), is provided and interconnected to various other components by system bus  12 . An operating system  41  runs on CPU  10 , provides control and is used to coordinate the function of the various components of FIG. 1. Operating system  41  may be one of the commercially available operating systems such as the AIX 6000™ operating system available from IBM; Microsoft&#39;s Windows98™ or WindowsNT™, as well as UNIX and IBM&#39;s AIX operating systems. Application programs  40 , controlled by the system, are moved into and out of the main memory Random Access Memory (RAM)  14 . These programs include the programs of the present invention for providing an indicator within the scroll bar to indicate the type of data being scrolled. These programs will be subsequently described in combination with any conventional Web browser, such as the Netscape Navigator 3.0™ or Microsoft&#39;s Internet Explorer™. A Read Only Memory (ROM)  16  is connected to CPU  10  via bus  12  and includes the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) that controls the basic computer functions. RAM  14 , I/O adapter  18  and communications adapter  34  are also interconnected to system bus  12 . I/O adapter  18  may be a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) adapter that communicates with the disk storage device  20 . Communications adapter  34  interconnects bus  12  with an outside network enabling the data processing system to communicate with other such systems over a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN), which includes, of course, the Web or Internet. I/O devices are also connected to system bus  12  via user interface adapter  22  and display adapter  36 . Keyboard  24  and mouse  26  are all interconnected to bus  12  through user interface adapter  22 .  
         [0016]    It is through such input devices that the user may interactively relate to Web pages. Display adapter  36  includes a frame buffer  39 , which is a storage device that holds a representation of each pixel on the display screen  38 . Images may be stored in frame buffer  39  for display on monitor  38  through various components, such as a digital to analog converter (not shown) and the like. By using the aforementioned I/O devices, a user is capable of inputting information to the system through the keyboard  24  or mouse  26  and receiving output information from the system via display  38 .  
         [0017]    Before going further into the details of specific embodiments, it will be helpful to understand, from a more general perspective, the various elements and methods which may be related to the present invention. Since the major aspect of the present invention is directed to Web pages transmitted over global networks, such as the Web or Internet, an understanding of networks and their operating principles would be helpful. We will not go into great detail in describing the networks to which the present invention is applicable. For details on Web nodes, objects and links, reference is made to the text,  Mastering the Internet,  G. H. Cady et al., published by Sybex Inc., Alameda, Calif., 1996; or the text, Internet: The Complete Reference, Millennium Edition, Margaret Young et al., Osborne/McGraw-Hill, Berkeley, Calif., 1999. Any data communication system that interconnects or links computer controlled systems with various sites defines a communications network. Of course, the Internet or Web is a global network of a heterogeneous mix of computer technologies and operating systems. Higher level objects are linked to the lower level objects in the hierarchy through a variety of network server computers.  
         [0018]    Web documents are conventionally implemented in HTML language, which is described in detail in the text entitled  Just Java,  van der Linden, 1997, SunSoft Press, particularly at Chapter 7, pp. 249-268, dealing with the handling of Web pages; and also in the above-referenced  Mastering the Internet,  particularly pp. 637-642, on HTML in the formation of Web pages.  
         [0019]    In addition, aspects of this invention will involve Web browsers. A general and comprehensive description of browsers may be found in the above-mentioned  Mastering the Internet  text at pp. 291-313. More detailed browser descriptions may be found in the above-mentioned  Internet: The Complete Reference, Millennium Edition  text: Chapter 19, pp. 419-454, on the Netscape Navigator; Chapter 20, pp. 455-494, on the Microsoft Internet Explorer; and Chapter 21, pp. 495-512, covering Lynx, Opera and other browsers.  
         [0020]    A generalized diagram of a portion of the Web, which the display  57  controlled by computer  56  used for Web page receiving during searching or browsing, is connected as shown in FIG. 2. Computer  56  display terminal  57  may be implemented by the computer system set up in FIG. 1 and connection  58  (FIG. 2) is the network connection shown in FIG. 1. For purposes of the present embodiment, computer  56  display  57  serves as a Web display station and has received displayed Web page  48  which is one of a sequence of Web pages.  
         [0021]    Reference may be made to the above-mentioned  Mastering the Internet,  pp. 136-147, for typical connections between local display stations to the Web via network servers, any of which may be used to implement the system on which this invention is used. The system embodiment of FIG. 2 has a host dial-up connection. Such host dial-up connections have been in use for over 30 years through network access servers  53  which are linked  51  to the Web  50 . The servers  53  may be maintained by a service provider to the client&#39;s display terminal  56 ,  57 . The host&#39;s server  53  is accessed by the receiving or requesting terminal  56 ,  57  through a normal dial-up telephone linkage  58  via modem  54 , telephone line  55  and modem  52 . The HTML file representative of the Web page  48  has been downloaded to display terminal  57  through Web access server  53  via the telephone line linkages from server  53 , which may have accessed them from the Internet  50  via linkage  51 . The Web browser program  47  operates within the display terminals  57  to control the communication with the Web access server  53  to thereby download and display the accessed Web pages  56  on display terminal  57 . The Web documents are accessed from Web site resources  49  and  59 .  
         [0022]    With this setup, the present invention, which will be subsequently described in greater detail with respect to FIGS. 3 through 6, may be carried out using Web browser program  47  in the case of scrolling through a Web page. In FIG. 3, there is shown a Web page  64  that originated from Web site  65  on the subject of Antarctic Research  66 . Assume that the Web document is made up of a sequence of such Web pages. The page contains a video  69  of a moving ice tracking device which is provided by a GIF file while the rest of the portion of the page  64  shown is HTML text (ascii)  60 . When the Web browser associated with the receiving station determines that the page being scrolled reaches video  69 , the browser then determines if the non-ascii file  69  is a GIF file. The browser may then look up a color for GIF files in an appropriate table and may find, for example, red. Then, during the scrolling of Web page  64  for the extent that GIF image  69  is on the display screen, red indicator bar  67  will appear within scroll bar  61 .  
         [0023]    Similarly, FIG. 4 is an illustration of an animated MIME image  63  within an e-mail  60  that is received over the Web. E-mail document  60  has been reduced in extensiveness for purposes of illustration. Of course, the E-mail may be a much more extensive document of many pages with different attachments. A MIME attachment is described in the above-mentioned text,  Internet: The Complete Reference, Millennium Edition,  Margaret Young et al., at page 810. It is described as a Multimedia Internet Mail Extension that may be used in either Web documents or E-mail. Dependent upon the user&#39;s needs, the browser controlling the scrolling of FIG. 4 may be set up to distinguish between ascii text  62  and non-ascii data. Since the MIME is non-ascii, then when the non-ascii portion is reached in the scrolling, i.e. image  63 , indicator  67  is turned on in scroll bar  61 . Alternately, the various non-ascii files within a MIME may be recognized by their file extensions. Whether a non-ascii file is part of a MIME, as in FIG. 4, or alone, as in FIG. 3, the browser will read the file extension and thereby determine the file type. On the Web, files transmitted are identified by file extensions. For example: dolphins.bmp, dolphins.mov, dolphins.jpg or dolphins.gif, where the extensions define the file types. The above-mentioned text,  Mastering the Internet,  at pp. 300-313, discusses the various file extensions handled by Web browsers and the types and nature of the files they designate.  
         [0024]    While the present invention is most advantageously used in identifying data types in Web documents and E-mail, it may be used in standalone document processing systems. For example, in a lengthy legal brief, changes made throughout the document may be entered in italics. Thus, the system of scrolling through the document for subsequent proofing and editing may be set up so that whenever the italics type of data is reached, the indicator appears in the scroll bar.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the development of a process according to the present invention for providing a scroll bar indicator identifying selected types of data. The illustration will be at a Web receiving station where there is provided a Web browser for accessing pages from the Web and for loading and displaying such pages at a receiving display station, step  71 . The browser is provided with the capability to scroll the received pages via a scroll bar, step  72 . During the translation of the Web page from the received Web page in HTML to the natural language of the displayed document, the browser is provided with the capability of defining non-ascii file types by identifying their respective file extensions, step  73 . A color ID Table is provided for designating a different color for each file type, step  74 . The browser is provided with the capability of looking up the respective colors for the file types in the scrolled Web page and placing the looked up colors in the scroll bar sections coincident with the identified file type being currently displayed, step  75 . The browser then returns to other normal browser functions when the scrolled data returns to the ascii type, step  76 .  
         [0026]    The running of the process set up in FIG. 5 will now be described with respect to the flowchart of FIG. 6. The flowchart represents some steps in a routine that will illustrate the operation of the invention as set forth in the above process. An initial determination is made, step  81 , as to whether the user has requested a Web page. If No, the process is returned to step  81  and the selection of such a page is awaited. If Yes, then the browser obtains and loads the requested Web page. A determination is made as to whether the scrolling has commenced, step  83 . If No, the process is returned to step  83  and the commencement of scrolling is awaited. If Yes, then a further determination is made as to whether the current data being scrolled past is ascii text, step  84 . If Yes, it is routinely displayed, step  85 . If No, then the file type is determined, step  86 , the color of the determined file type is looked up, step  87 , and the appropriate color is displayed in the scroll bar coincident with the file type being scrolled, step  88 . At this point and/or after step  85 , a determination is made as to whether we are at the end of the page being scrolled, step  89 . If Yes, the particular page is exited, step  90 . If No, the process is returned to step  83  where the scrolling is continued.  
         [0027]    One of the preferred implementations of the present invention is in application program  40 , i.e. a browser program made up of programming steps or instructions resident in RAM  14 , FIG. 1, of a Web receiving station during various Web operations. Until required by the computer system, the program instructions may be stored in another readable medium, e.g. in disk drive  20  or in a removable memory, such as an optical disk for use in a CD ROM computer input or in a floppy disk for use in a floppy disk drive computer input. Further, the program instructions may be stored in the memory of another computer prior to use in the system of the present invention and transmitted over a LAN or a WAN, such as the Web itself, when required by the user of the present invention. One skilled in the art should appreciate that the processes controlling the present invention are capable of being distributed in the form of computer readable media of a variety of forms.  
         [0028]    Although certain preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be understood that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope and intent of the appended claims.