Patent Publication Number: US-6701352-B1

Title: Method and apparatus for importing information from a network resource

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to computer systems, and more particularly relates to automatically selecting and importing information from a network resource, and formatting the information for use by a local processing resource. 
     1. Description of Related Art 
     The globally accessible computer network known as the Internet is a vast resource of information, much of which is available at no direct cost. A local computer can connect to a distant server, request a file or an image from the server, and receive the requested information immediately without a direct charge for the value of the information. 
     One popular technology enjoying wide use with the Internet is known as the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web enables a computer to locate a remote server using a server name in an agreed-upon format that is indexed at a central Domain Name Server (DNS); the computer can then establish a connection to the server and retrieve information using a communication protocol called the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) uniquely identifies each page of information stored on the remote server. A URL is a form of network address that identifies the location of information stored in a network. The local computer requests information by providing a request containing a URL of the desired information to the remote server. The pages of information are files prepared in the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). 
     As use of the World Wide Web has soared, many different sources of free information have become available. The information is free in the sense that the server that provides the information makes no direct charge to an end user who requests or receives the information. 
     One type of free information service is a directory service. A directory service is a remote server coupled to a database containing names, addresses, telephone numbers and other information about businesses and individuals derived from public telephone directories and other sources. Exemplary directory servers include the “four11” telephone directory server identified by the URL http://www.four11.com/, http://www.Bigbook.com/, http://yp.gte.net/, http://www.Bigyellow.com/. Some systems offer free access to database of individual address information, effectively operating as free “white pages” services. Other systems provide free access to databases of business address information, effectively operating as globally accessible, free “Yellow Pages” directories. 
     Using any Web browser program, a user can connect to these systems, provide a query, and receive information, such as a set of names, addresses, and telephone numbers. The user&#39;s local computer can make an HTTP connection using a browser to the remote server of a directory service. The user commands the browser to retrieve a home page of the remote server. The user enters a query in the home page to request a set of information from the database and returns the query with the home page to the server. The server parses the query, interrogates the database according to the query, receives a set of records from the database, formats the records by placing them in a template document prepared in the HTML language, and delivers the completed HTML document containing the records to the local computer. 
     After the information is received in an HTML document displayed by the browser, the set of names can be displayed one HTML page at a time using the browser, cut from each HTML document, pasted into a file prepared with a text editor or word processor program, and manually edited into a mailing list. 
     Alternatively, the set of names can be cut from the HTML document, stored in a text file using a word processor, edited to add field delimiters between values of each record, and provided as input to a mailing list management program. Each of these steps is manually performed, separately. The mailing list management program reads the text file, separates records and values by identifying the field delimiters, and places the values in a pre-defined mailing list database. The mailing list management program can then generate mailing labels, form letters, reports, and other documents using the mailing list database. 
     While directory services provide information that can be used to manually build a mailing list from free information available over a network, the approaches described above have several significant disadvantages. For example, manually building a mailing list using cut-and-paste editing operations with a word processor is tedious, time-consuming, and error-prone. It is desirable to provide an automatic way for a user to define desired free information, retrieve the free information from a remote server over a network, and format the information into a form usable by a local processing resource. 
     Also, directory services have the disadvantage that considerable time is required to format information received from the directory service. Further, additional time is needed to instruct a local processing resource how to receive the formatted information. Therefore, it is also desirable to provide an automatic way to carry out these steps and provide the resulting list to a local processing resource for subsequent use. 
     Further, as the number of Web servers has increased, it has become more difficult for a person exposed to several different Web servers or URLs to keep track of the names of each Web server and its URL for later use. Many URLs are quite long and need to be spelled with 100% accuracy to be useful. They include unusual typed characters such as colons, backslashes and “@” characters. These characters and other parts of the URL must be remembered and reproduced correctly, or the URL cannot be used successfully to retrieve a Web page. 
     For all these reasons, there is a need for methods, apparatus and products that can request and retrieve information from a remote source; format the information for local use; and pass the formatted information for local use. There is also a need for such methods, apparatus and products that can retrieve such information in an automatic way, and automatically format the information for use by a local processing resource. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention provides a method, apparatus, and computer program product for importing information from a network resource. In one embodiment, a method according to the invention comprises the steps of storing selection criteria in a memory coupled to a local processing resource; requesting the information from the remote resource according to the selection criteria; receiving the information from the remote resource over the network; and providing the information to the local processing resource in a format usable by the local processing resource. One feature of this embodiment is connecting to the remote resource using an application program driven by the local processing resource. In one aspect, the application program is a browser, and the browser is driven using a bridge. In another aspect, the browser is driven by the local processing resource using OLE Automation. 
     Another feature of the invention is storing, in the memory, a list of remote information sources located on the network, and a profile describing a format of information at one of the remote information sources. In one aspect, the information at the remote information source is converted from one format to a second format usable by the local processing resource according to the profile. In another aspect, an import function of the local processing resource is invoked, and using the import function, the information is stored in the second format in a database coupled to the local processing resource. In yet another aspect, the profile is retrieved from a central data storage location on the network. 
     Another feature of the invention is providing the information by executing a browser, and commanding the browser using the local processing resource to connect to the remote information source over the network. 
     Still another feature of the invention is storing a query in a Web page in a storage device coupled to a browser. In one aspect, requesting the information involves submitting the Web page to a Web server using the browser. In another aspect, receiving the information includes receiving an output Web page into the Web browser over the network. In yet another aspect, providing the information involves writing a raw mailing list derived from the output Web page on the storage device, formatting the raw mailing list into a formatted list based upon a format of a database coupled to a mailing list manager, and importing the formatted list into the database of the mailing list manager using an import function of the mailing list manager. 
     The invention also encompasses a computer apparatus and a computer program product having the foregoing features and aspects. 
    
    
     The foregoing and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The objects, features and advantages of the system of the present invention will be apparent from the following description in which: 
     FIG. 1A illustrates a computer of a type suitable for carrying out the invention. 
     FIG. 1B is a block diagram of the computer of FIG.  1 A. 
     FIG. 2A is a block diagram of a software architecture of one embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 2B is an exemplary screen display produced by one embodiment of the invention when displaying a main window. 
     FIG. 2C is an exemplary Import From Internet dialog box displayed by one embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 2D is an exemplary Selection Criteria dialog box displayed by one embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a software architecture of an alternate embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 4A is a flowchart of a method according to one embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 4B is a flowchart of a first portion of a method according to an alternate embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 4C is a flowchart of a second portion of the method of FIG.  4 B. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A method, apparatus and computer program product for automatically importing information from a network is described. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention. 
     The detailed descriptions that follow may be presented in terms of program procedures, routines or processes executed on a computer or network of computers. These procedural descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. 
     A procedure, routine, or process is generally conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. These steps require physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. Principally for reasons of common usage, at times it is convenient to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. It should be noted, however, that all of these and similar terms are associated with physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to such quantities. 
     Further, the manipulations performed are often referred to in terms, such as adding or comparing, which are commonly associated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No such capability of a human operator is necessary, or desirable in most cases, in any of the operations described herein that form part of the present invention; the operations are machine operations. Useful machines for performing the operation of the present invention include general-purpose digital computers or similar devices. 
     The present invention also relates to apparatus for performing these operations. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purpose or it may comprise a general-purpose computer as selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. The procedures presented herein are not inherently related to a particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose machines may be used with programs written in accordance with the teachings described in this document, or it may prove more convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the described method steps. The required structure for a variety of these machines will appear from the description given. 
     FIG. 1A illustrates a computer of a type suitable for carrying out the invention. Viewed externally in FIG. 1A, a computer  2  has a central processing unit  100  having disk drives  110 A and  110 B. Disk drive indications  110 A and  110 B are merely symbolic of a number of disk drives that might be accommodated by the computer  2 . Typically, these would include a floppy disk drive such as  110 A, a hard disk drive (not shown externally) and a CD ROM drive indicated by slot  110 B. The number and type of drives varies, typically, with different computer configurations. The computer  2  has a display  120  upon which information is displayed. A keyboard  130  and a mouse  140  are typically also available as input devices. Preferably, the computer  2  illustrated in FIG. 1A is a personal computer. 
     FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram of the internal hardware of the computer  2  of FIG. 1A. A bus  150  serves as the main information highway interconnecting the other components of the computer. CPU  155  is the central processing unit of the system, performing calculations and logic operations required to execute programs. Read only memory ( 160 ) and random access memory ( 165 ) constitute the main memory of the computer. Disk controller  170  interfaces one or more disk drives to the system bus  150 . These disk drives may be floppy disk drives, such as  173 , internal or external hard drives, such as  172 , or CD ROM or Digital Video Disk (DVD) drives such as  171 . A display interface  125  interfaces a display  120  and permits information from the bus to be viewed on the display. A printer interface  152  interfaces the bus  150  to a printer  154  and permits information from the bus to be printed on the printer. 
     The modem  190  is connected to a telephone network  191  in the usual manner. Communications with a network  195  or with other external devices can occur over communications port  185 . 
     In one embodiment, the data network  195  is coupled to a globally accessible computer network such as the Internet  50 . Alternatively, the network  195  is a local area network. For example, using a modem bank  190  and telecommunications software, the computer can call a ISP and establish a dial-up connection to the Internet  50 . A remote Web server  60  is connected to the network. The remote server  60  contains source documents, such as pages formatted in the HTML language, or websites referenced in a source document. In conjunction with a mailing list manager program, a computer  2  in this arrangement can be used for generating and managing mailing lists and related documents. For example, the computer  2  may run the Pitney Bowes SmartMailer program. Using the SmartMailer program or another mailing list manager, a user defines a database of addresses to be stored on the hard disk  172 . The user enters data representing addresses into the database. The user also prepares one or more form documents or templates, such as brochures or form letters, using word processing functions of the mailing list manager. The user queries the database using selection criteria that specify a range of addresses within the database, such as businesses involved in a particular field or market. Using pre-defined instructions, the user can instruct the mailing list manager to create a copy of a form document for each of the selected addressees and to insert the addressee&#39;s address into the form document. The user can then instruct the mailing list manager to print each customized document, and an envelope addressed to the addressee, on the printer  154 . The form documents and selection criteria are stored on the hard disk  172  for subsequent use. The mailing list manager also can print mailing labels, envelopes and the like according to various selection criteria. 
     The present invention is related to the use of computer  2  to import information from a network. According to one embodiment, importing information from a network is performed by computer  2  in response to CPU  155  executing sequences of instructions contained in memory  160 ,  165 . Such instructions may be read into the memory from another computer-readable medium, such as data storage devices  171 ,  172 ,  173 . Alternatively, the instructions are downloaded from the Web server  60  through the Internet  50  and the modem  190  or the communications port  185 . The downloaded instructions are stored in one of the data storage devices  171 ,  172 ,  173  and are then loaded into the memory  160 ,  165 . Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in the memory causes CPU  155  to perform the process steps that will be described hereafter. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. 
     A URL is a network address or a reference to a remote World Wide Web server  60  or website. URLs generally are formatted according to the following template: 
     &lt;protocol id&gt;:// {&lt;server&gt;} &lt;second level domain&gt;&lt;top level domain&gt; {&lt;directory&gt;} {&lt;file&gt;} 
     The &lt;protocol id&gt; identifies the transmission protocol to be used. For example, in the case of the Web it is &lt;http&gt;, and in the case of an anonymous file transfer protocol transaction it is &lt;ftp&gt;. The &lt;server&gt; element is an optional server name such as &lt;www.&gt;. The &lt;server&gt; element may also identify a directory on a storage device of the Web server  60  that contains HTML documents. The &lt;second level domain&gt; element is the name of the server domain as found in the DNS table, such as &lt;pitneybowes&gt;. The &lt;top level domain&gt; element identifies the type of the second level domain, and must be an item selected from a finite set of globally recognized top level domains, such as “com,” “org,” “mil,” “edu,” “gov,” and others. The &lt;directory&gt; element is an optional name of a directory within the &lt;server&gt;, such as &lt;DocumentRoot/&gt;. The &lt;file&gt; element is an optional name of a file, document or image to be retrieved, such as &lt;Index.html&gt;. Thus, a URL serves as one type of a network address to locate a document anywhere in a network. 
     FIG. 2A is a block diagram of a software architecture with which an embodiment of the present invention can be implemented. 
     An operating system (OS)  200  is installed in the central processing unit  100  of computer  2 , such as on the hard drive  172 . In conventional manner, the OS  200  is loaded by the CPU  155  into the main memory when the computer is powered up. The OS  200  controls and supervises the operation of one or more local processing resources. In one embodiment, the local processing resources are application software programs, and the OS  200  facilitates interaction of the application programs with functions of the OS  200  and of the hardware elements of the computer  2 . 
     In the embodiment of FIG. 2A, the application programs are a communications program  202 , a World Wide Web browser  204 , and a mailing list manager  206 . Each of the application programs runs on the system, for example, by residing in the main memory ( 160 ,  165 ) or in the data storage devices  171 ,  172 ,  173 , for execution by the CPU  155 . 
     The communications program  202  enables the OS  200  and other application programs to connect to the data network  195  or the telephone network  191 . For example, under control of the OS  200  or an application program, the communications program  202  commands the modem  190  to take a telephone line connected to the modem  190  off-hook, wait for dial tone, and place a telephone call to an ISP. The communications program  202  establishes a connection with the ISP. When an application program writes data to the communications port  185  or to the modem  190 , the communications program  202  converts the data to a form usable by the modem or the port. Exemplary commercially available communications programs are ProCOMM, and the TCIP dialer programs generally. When Microsoft Windows95 is used as the OS  200 , the communications program  202  is integrated with the OS  200 . 
     The browser  204  reads a document prepared in HTML that is stored on the hard disk  172  or the Web server  60 , interprets the HTML tags contained in the document, and displays graphics, text, and other elements encoded in the document on the display  120 . 
     The mailing list manager  206  is an application program that creates and maintains a mailing list database  260 , and prepares a mailing list  262  based upon the mailing list database  260 . The mailing list manager  206  reads and writes the mailing list database  260 , and writes the mailing list  262 , through a generic file input/output system integrated into the OS  200 . The mailing list manager  206  can add, delete, or modify records in the mailing list database  260 , query the mailing list database  260  and select records from it based upon a user-provided query in a structured query language, and prepare reports or mailing lists. An exemplary commercially available computer program that can be used as the mailing list manager  206  is the Pitney Bowes SmartMailer product. 
     The browser  204  may obtain a document from the Web server  60  by establishing an HTTP connection through the communications program  202  to the Web server  60 . The Web server  60  runs a Web server program that uses the HTTP protocol to respond to the browser  204 . The Web server  60  has a storage device  66  that stores documents such as HTML format documents or Web pages. To obtain a document from the Web server  60 , the browser  204  issues a request in the HTTP protocol, such as an HTTP GET command, with the name of the desired document as an argument to the command. In response, the Web server  60  searches the storage device  66  for the requested document. If it is found, the Web server loads the document and delivers it over the HTTP connection to the browser  204 . The HTTP connection is then disconnected. 
     The Web server  60  is coupled through a firewall  62  to a database  64 . The database  64  contains data or HTML documents for delivery to browsers that contact the Web server  60 . The firewall  62  prevents unauthorized requests for documents from reaching and possibly corrupting the database  64 . 
     Bridge software  210  runs in connection with the OS  200  and acts as a link between the application programs. The bridge software  210  enables one application program to communicate with another application program through an agreed-upon, shared inter-application communication scheme. In one embodiment, the bridge software  210  provides a distributed object communication facility. An application program can write data to an object, and invoke a transport routine to cause the bridge software  210  to transport the object to another application program. The receiving application program extracts a message and data from the object and acts upon them. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the OS  200  is the Microsoft Windows95 operating system, and the bridge software  210  is the Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) Automation facility integrated into the Microsoft Windows95 operating system. Using OLE Automation, one application program written for use with OLE Automation can control or drive the operation of another application program that is also written for use with OLE Automation. Using OLE Automation, a first application program is called a server component, and is controlled by a second application program called an automation client or automation controller. An automation controller is driven by a scripting language, or forms a part of an application program. Automation is carried out using a dynamic object method invocation facility of OLE known as dispatchable interfaces. Using dynamic dispatching under OLE, an automation client can invoke a method or manipulate a property of a server component by a late binding mechanism. At run time, the automation client obtains a dispatch identifier from a type library associated with the server component. The dispatch identifier is passed to an “invoke” method of OLE Automation that resolves which method of the server component to call at run time. The type library is created at run time by an object definition language (ODL) file that describes interfaces of the server component. The ODL file is prepared by the programmer who writes the server component. 
     OLE and OLE Automation are described in detail in R. Orfali et al.,  The Essential Distributed Objects Survival Guide ; (New York: John Wiley &amp; Sons, Inc., 1996), at pp. 283-296 and pp. 425-532. 
     Alternatively, the bridge software  210  can be an Object Request Broker (ORB) that complies with the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), or the bridge software  210  can be the OpenDoc system as defined by Apple Computer, Inc. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, the mailing list manager  206  has an Internet import module (IIM)  208 , as shown in FIG.  2 A. In a preferred embodiment, the IIM  208  forms an integral part of the mailing list manager  206 . As shown in FIG. 2B, when the mailing list manager  206  with the IIM  208  is in operation on computer  2 , the IIM  208  generates a screen display comprising a main window  270  on the display  120 . The main window  270  has a command pane  271  that displays commands labeled File  272 , Edit  274 , View  276 , Tools  278 , and Help  280 . The operating system  200  displays a cursor  282  over the main window  270 ; a user controls the cursor  282  by moving the mouse  140 . When the user positions the cursor  282  over the File command  272  and presses a button on the mouse  140 , the IIM  208  displays a File pull-down menu  273 . The File pull-down menu  273  has functions including an Open function  272   a , a Close function  272   b , a Save function  272   c , and an Import From Internet function  272   d . The Open function  272   a , Close function  272   b , and Save function  272   c  are examples of functions that can be provided by the IIM  208 ; however, they are not required, and other functions may be provided. 
     When the user positions the cursor  282  over the Import From Internet function  272   d  and presses a button on the mouse  140 , as shown in FIG. 2C, the IIM  208  displays an Import From Internet dialog box  282 . The dialog box  282  has a network resource list  284  that lists one or more network resources  282   a ,  284   b . For example, a first network resource  282   a  is named Four11 and has a network address  286   a  of “www.four11.com.” Thus, in this embodiment, the network addresses are URLs. The dialog box  282  has a scroll bar  287 ; by positioning the cursor  282  on the scroll bar  287 , a user can cause the network resource list  284  to display more network resources. 
     The Import From Internet dialog box  282  has a Select function button  288 , a Profile function button  290 , and a Cancel function button  292 . Each of the function buttons  288 ,  290 ,  292  is associated with program code in the IIM  208  that carries out processing steps in response to activation of the associated function button. 
     When the user positions the cursor on the Cancel function button  292  and clicks the mouse  140 , the IIM  208  closes the dialog box  282 , closes the pull-down menu shown in FIG. 2B, and discontinues further processing. 
     To cause the IIM to connect to a network resource and automatically import information from it, the user positions the cursor on the Select function button  292  and clicks the mouse  140 . In response, the IIM  208  closes the dialog box  282 , and reads a Site Profile file  220  associated with the selected network resource. The Site Profile file  220  is a table that has a row for each network resource, and is indexed by an integer value that uniquely identifies the network resource. Each record of the Site Profile file  220  has information that is used by the IIM  208  to connect to a network resource, import information from the network resource, and format the imported information for use by the mailing list manager  206 . 
     The Site Profile file  220  is coupled to a Site Index file  230 . The Site Index file  230  is an index to the Site Profile file  220 . Each record in the Site Index file  230  is a pair of values. One element in the pair is a unique index number that uniquely identifies each record in the Site Profile file  220 . The other element in the pair is a pointer to the location in the Site Profile file  220  of the record identified by the index number. In this manner, the Site Profile file  220  can be a file of sequential records that is maintained in a non-ordered manner, and the index file can be a random-access file that is sorted as necessary, and enables rapid access to records in the Site Profile file  220 . In an alternate embodiment, the Site Profile file  220  is self-indexing. 
     In the preferred embodiment, each record in the Site Profile file  220  stores information in the fields shown in Table 1. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
            
               
                   
               
               
                 SITE PROFILE FILE FORMAT 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 FIELD 
                 CONTENTS 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Site Identifier 
                 Integer index value 
               
               
                 Name 
                 Common name of network resource name 
               
               
                 Home Address 
                 Network address or URL of the home page of the 
               
               
                   
                 network resource 
               
               
                 Search Addr1 
                 URL of the first page in the network resource that 
               
               
                   
                 permits a user to enter a search query 
               
               
                 Search Addr2 
                 URL of a second page in the network resource that 
               
               
                   
                 permits a user to enter a search query (if any) 
               
               
                 Searchable Fields 
                 Pointer to a list of fields in the page at Search Addr1 
               
               
                   
                 that can be searched upon 
               
               
                 Booleans 
                 Whether boolean search queries are permitted 
               
               
                 Returned Fields 
                 Pointer to a list of fields that are returned in response 
               
               
                   
                 to a search query 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Record Template Pointer to a template describing the data format of the fields that are returned in response to a search query 
     HTML Template Pointer to an HTML template describing the format of an 
     HTML page that is returned by the network resource in response to a search query 
     MaxRecordsInteger value of the maximum number of records returned by the network resource in response to a search query 
     Cookie Flag Boolean flag indicating whether the network resource needs to set cookies to respond to a search query 
     Timeout Value Integer value representing a number of seconds that the IIM  208  should wait to connect to the network resource; failure of the network resource to respond in that time is defined as a timeout 
     Retries Integer value representing the maximum number of times the IIM  208  should attempt connection to the network resource before giving up 
     Also in the preferred embodiment, the Site Profile file  220  and its associated Site Index file  230  are periodically updated from a central data storage location. The central data storage site is a Web server known as Site Profile Update Server connected to the Internet  50 . The Site Profile Update Server stores a current copy of the Site Profile file  220  and the Site Index file  230 , containing records for each known network resource. The IIM  208  has a File Update module associated with and accessed by an Update Profiles command in the File pull-down menu  273 . When the user selects the Update Profiles command, the File Update module of the IIM  208  commands the modem  190  or the communications port  185  to contact the Site Profile Update Server and establish an HTTP session with it. Preferably, the session is conducted in a secure manner to prevent unauthorized access to the Site Profile Update Server. For example, the HTTP session is conducted using Netscape Navigator as the browser  204 , and the Site Profile Update Server communicates with the browser  204  using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. In a secure way, the browser  204  sends a password to the Site Profile Update Server. In response, the Site Profile Update Server transfers a copy of the then-current version of the Site Profile file  220  and the Site Index file  230 . As the current version of each file is received, the File Update module of IIM  208  instructs the OS  200  to write the current version over the copy of the file stored on the storage devices  171 ,  172 ,  173 . In this way, current versions of site profiles are downloaded to replace existing copies of the profiles. 
     After reading the Site Profile file  220  associated with the selected network resource, the IIM  208  requests the user to enter search criteria identifying the information to be imported from the selected network resource. The type of search criteria entered by the user is dependent upon information in the Site Profile file for the selected network resource, such as the fields that can be searched, or whether Boolean queries are allowed. 
     In one embodiment, the IIM  208  displays a search criteria dialog box  300  having the format shown in FIG.  2 D. The search criteria dialog box  300  displays fields that can be searched in the selected network resource and ways to select values of the fields. By checking boxes and entering values in the search criteria dialog box  300 , the user can build a query that will be applied to the network resource to create a set of information to be imported. 
     For example, the search criteria dialog box  300  has a check box  302   a  associated with a NAME, FIRST field  302   b . The field  302   b  also is associated with an Equal check box  302   c , a Less Than check box  302   d , a Greater Than check box  302   e , and a text field  302   f . The user can instruct the IIM  208  to import records having NAME, FIRST values equal to “MICHAEL” by clicking on the check boxes  302   a  and  302   c  and typing “MICHAEL” in the text field  302   f . In the example of FIG. 2D, the user has clicked on the ZIP check box  302   a  and the check box  304   d , and entered “ 95999 ” in the ZIP text field  302   f . These entries instruct the IIM  208  to request the network resource to import records having ZIP values less than “95999.” 
     The search criteria dialog box  300  also has a MORE check box  306 . When a user clicks on the MORE check box  306 , the IIM  208  will save the selection criteria that has been entered, and display a blank selection criteria dialog box  300 . Selection criteria entered in subsequent selection criteria dialog boxes are appended to previously entered selection criteria. In this way, a user can build a complex query. 
     The number, name, layout, and arrangement of the fields, check boxes, and text fields in the search criteria dialog box  300  are defined by the Site Profile file  220 . 
     In an alternative embodiment, the IIM  208  displays a dialog box that enables the user to enter a query in the Structured Query Language (SQL). This embodiment is used when the network resource is a web server  60  that has a database  64  that can accept and respond to SQL queries. 
     The Search Criteria dialog box  300  has an Import function button  308 , a Clear function button  310 , and a Cancel function button  312 . If a user clicks on the Clear function button  310 , the IIM  208  discards any selection criteria that have been entered in the dialog box  300  and displays an empty, fresh dialog box  300 . If a user clicks on the Cancel function button  312 , the IIM  208  closes the dialog box  300  and discontinues further processing. 
     When the user clicks on the Import button  308 , the IIM reviews and tests the selection criteria that have been entered to determine whether they are valid and complete. If not, the IIM displays an appropriate error message and prompts the user to enter correct data. 
     When all the selection criteria are valid and complete, the IIM  208  connects to the network resource, submits the selection criteria, imports a set of information described by the selection criteria from the network resource, and stores the set of information in a format that is usable by a local processing resource such as the mailing list manager  206 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, the IIM  208  attempts to establish an HTTP connection, through the Internet  50 , to a Web server  60  identified by the URL value contained in the Home Address field of the Site Profile file  220 . Using OLE Automation, the IIM  208  in the role of controller commands the browser  204  in the role of server to issue the HTTP GET command to the Web server  60 , with the selected URL as an argument. If the Web server  60  fails to respond within the Timeout period, or if the browser  204  reports an error to the IIM  208 , the IIM raises an error condition and processing is discontinued. 
     If the HTTP GET command is successful, the home page or initial page of the website identified by the URL is retrieved to a cache memory of the computer  2  and displayed on the display  120 . The IIM  208  assembles the search criteria into a query having a format that is understood by the Web server  60 , according to information in the Site Profile file  220 . The IIM  208  then requests a search page from the Web server  60 . The search page is an HTML document of the Web server  60  that is identified in the Site Profile file  220  as the page at which a search query is entered. 
     Search pages for retrieving information from a Web server are known in general. When a user connects the search page of a Web server using a browser and without using the invention disclosed herein, the user may enter text or numeric values in search fields of the search page. The user then presses a button labeled “Submit”, or the equivalent, in the search page. This causes the browser to return a copy of the search page to the Web server including the text or numeric values entered by the user. The Web server reads the text or numeric values and retrieves or prepares another Web page according to the values that were entered. In some systems, the Web server queries a database based upon the values that were entered, and prepares a Web page containing values retrieved from the database in response to the query. The Web page is then sent to the browser for display. 
     According to the invention, when the search page is returned to the browser  204  by the Web server  60  of a directory service, the IIM  208  makes a copy of the search page in main memory, and fills the copy of the search page with values of the search criteria. The IIM  208  then commands the browser  204  to send the filled-in copy of the search page back to the server  60 . When the server  60  receives the filled-in copy of the search page, the server  60  reads the values of the search criteria and prepares a query to the database  64 . The server  60  submits the query to the database  64  across the firewall  62 . The database responds by providing a set of information matching the query to the server  60 . The server  60  formats the set of information for delivery to the browser  204 . In one embodiment, the server  60  reads an HTML template from the storage device  66 , makes a copy of the template, and writes the set of information into the copy of the template. Thus, the filled-in copy of the template is an output page from the server  60 . The output page is delivered through the Internet  50  to the browser  204 . In this way, the server  60  processes and responds to the search request received from the IIM  208  in a manner similar to that generally used for requests from browsers that do not form part of the invention. The server  60  does not “know” that the IIM  208  is issuing the search request. Advantageously, the invention does not require modification of an existing server of a directory service. 
     When the output page is received at the browser  204 , the IIM  208  reads the output page. Referring to the HTML Template value for the network resource in the Site Profile file  220 , the IIM  208  locates the set of information in the output page. The set of information is written to a Raw List file  240 . Thus, using the HTML Template value, the IIM  208  essentially strips out unnecessary HTML information from the output page, leaving only the raw data derived from the database  64  in the Raw List  240 . 
     Using the Record Template value for the selected network resource, the IIM  208  reads each record from the Raw List file  240 , applies conversion criteria read from the Record Template, and writes one or more records or fields in a Formatted List file  250 . In this way, the IIM  208  converts the information imported from the database  64  into a format that is usable by the mailing list manager  206 . 
     For example, the database  64  stores the middle initial of an individual&#39;s name concatenated with the first name of the individual, whereas the mailing list manager  206  stores the middle initial and first name in separate fields. In this example, the Record Template would describe the format of each record in the database  64  as delivered in the output page. The IIM  208  would read each first name value from the Raw List file  40 , identify the middle initial value, and write the first name and middle initial separated by a delimiter character in the Formatted List file  250 . In the preferred embodiment, the mailing list manager  206  has an integral Import Wizard facility. The Import Wizard is program code that can receive from a user a description of values and records in an input file, read the input file, convert records in the input file into a format usable by the mailing list manager  206 , and write values from the records to the mailing list database  260 . One known program usable as a mailing list manager that has an Import Wizard is the Pitney Bowes SmartMailer product. 
     After writing the Formatted List file  250 , the IIM  208  passes the Record Template value and the name of the Formatted List file  250  to the Import Wizard of the mailing list manager  206 , and commands the mailing list manager  206  to import the Formatted List file  250 . In response, the Import Wizard reads the Record Template value, reads each record of the Formatted List file  250 , and writes values from the records into the mailing list database  260 . 
     Thereafter, the mailing list manager  206  is used in conventional manner to prepare mailing lists from the imported information, according to desired selection criteria, and to store the lists on one of the storage devices  171 ,  172 ,  173 . Mailing labels or the mailing lists are printed on the printer  154 . Customized documents for printing and mailing are generated using the mailing list manager  206  with the imported information. The mailing list manager  206  may be used to modify the imported information or to select a range of records from the imported information. In this way, free information is imported from a network resource for use by a local processing resource, for example, in creating, managing and using mailing lists derived from the free information. 
     An alternate embodiment is shown in FIG.  3 . In this embodiment, HTTP communication functions and HTML interpretation functions of the browser  204  are provided in an HTTP/HTML module  209  that is integrated into the mailing list manager  206 . Functions and processes performed by the browser  204  in the preceding discussion are performed by the HTTP/HTML module  209  in the embodiment of FIG.  3 . The embodiment of FIG. 3 is advantageous in that it does not require the end user to use, obtain, or install a browser program. In addition, it enables the IIM  208  to be prepared with less reliance on the bridge software  210 ; communication between IIM  208  and the module  209  can be hard coded into the IIM  208  and the module  209 . 
     In another alternative of the embodiment of FIG. 2A, when the IIM  208  issues commands to the browser  204 , the IIM  208  instructs the browser  204  not to display Web pages received from the Web server  60  on the display  120 . In this way, from the user&#39;s perspective, actions of the browser occur in the background so that the main window  700  of the IIM  208  is not disturbed. In yet another alternate embodiment, the IIM  208  is a browser plug-in that is stored in association with the browser  204 . In this embodiment, when a user loads and executes the mailing list manager  206 , the mailing list manager  206  loads the browser  204 . In turn, when the browser  204  loads, it loads the IIM  208 , attaches the IIM  208  to itself, and executes the IIM  208  in the manner generally known in the art for installing and executing browser plug-ins. The advantage lies in improved speed performance over OLE automation techniques. 
     In still another alternate embodiment, the IIM  208  is an applet written in the Java language. In still a further alternate embodiment, the IIM  208  is an Active-X control. In each of these embodiments, when a user loads and executes the mailing list manager  206 , the mailing list manager  206  loads the browser  204 . In turn, when the browser  204  loads, it loads the IIM  208 , attaches the IIM  208  to itself, and executes the IIM  208  in the generally manner known in the art for installing and executing applets and Active-X controls. The use of JAVA allows constant version control through updates, while Active-X allows improved speed over OLE automation. 
     The invention also encompasses certain methods. In one embodiment, a method of importing information from a network resource has the steps shown in FIG.  4 A. In step  350 , a user of the method creates a set of selection criteria for the information to be imported. In step  352 , a connection is established to a resource that is remote, such as a network resource. The network resource stores a set of information from which a subset is to be imported. In step  354 , information from the network resource is requested according to the selection criteria. In step  356 , the information is locally received. 
     In step  358 , the received information is converted to a form that is usable by a local processing resource. In step  360 , the converted information is delivered to the local processing resource for use by it. In step  362 , the process is complete. 
     An alternate embodiment of a method for automatically importing information from a network resource has the steps shown in FIG.  4 B and FIG.  4 C. In this embodiment, in step  402 , a mailing list manager is run or executed. In step  404 , a user of the process selects an information import function of the mailing list manager. In step  406 , a list of known network resources or information sites is read. The user of the process is prompted to select one of the network resources in step  408 . In step  410 , the process tests whether the user has selected one of the network resources, and if not, enters a loop until a selection is made. 
     When the user selects a site, the identification of the site is received in step  412 . A site profile for the selected site is read in step  414 . In step  416 , the user is prompted to enter a set of search criteria that describe the information to be imported from the selected site. In step  418 , a browser capable of contacting and receiving information from the selected site is invoked or run. The site name and location, and the search criteria, are provided to the browser in step  420 . 
     In step  422 , the process tests whether a response has been received from the site by the browser. If not, control is passed to step  424 , in which the process tests whether a predetermined timeout factor has elapsed. If not, control returns to step  422  to again test whether a response is received. If a timeout has occurred, then in step  426  the process reports an error and prepares to discontinue processing. The process then ends in step  428 . When a response is received from the site, the test of step  422  is affirmative, and control is passed to step  430 , in which a raw mailing list is received from the site. 
     In step  432 , the raw mailing list is converted to a format that is usable by a local processing resource. In one embodiment, the local processing resource is a mailing list manager, and step  432  includes substep  440  through substep  446 . In step  440 , the profile of the selected site is read to identify the expected format of the raw mailing list. In step  442 , using the information read from the site profile, unnecessary information such as graphics and header text is stripped out of the raw mailing list. In step  444 , delimiters that identify data values in the raw mailing list are inserted into the list. The re-formatted list is written to an output file in step  446 . 
     In step  434 , an import wizard function of the mailing list manager is invoked. Using the import wizard, the mailing list manager reads the output file that was written in step  446 , identifies discrete data values from the records of the output file, and writes the data values to a database that is coupled to and maintained by the mailing list manager. The process concludes in step  438 . 
     The invention also encompasses a computer program product configured to carry out the processing steps described herein. The computer program product is embodied in a memory medium such as a floppy disk, CD ROM, hard disk, magnetic tape, or Digital Video Disk compatible with the drives  171 ,  172 ,  173  of FIG.  1 B. The memory media contain program information for controlling the computer shown in FIG.  1 A and FIG. 1B to enable the computer to perform functions and processes according to the invention. The memory media also contain program information for establishing in the main memory of the computer the software architecture of the invention shown in FIG.  2 A and FIG. 3, and the alternative software architecture embodiments discussed herein. 
     While certain embodiments have been described above in terms of URLs, the invention is not limited to the use of URLs. A URL is one example of a network address, and the term “network address” is intended to refer broadly to any type of hypertext link or other reference in a source document to another network location or document. In addition, the invention is intended to be applicable broadly to systems that can access documents through a network, of which the World Wide Web is one example. 
     In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.