Patent ID: 7925689

Claim:
A method for viewing a digital image over a computer network, comprising: storing a digital image having a plurality of image tiles having a plurality of screen resolutions on a server computer, and providing data to enable use of an Internet browser on a client computer to navigate a visual display of the digital image, comprising: receiving a request from the client computer to view a specified portion of the digital image at a specified screen resolution; identifying a first image tile and a second image tile that correspond to the specified portion of the digital image at the specified screen resolution, the first and the second image tiles forming the specified portion of the digital image; receiving an indication that the first image tile is stored in a local cache of the client computer; identifying a byte range within at least one file corresponding to the second image tile based at least in part on the identified second image tile; fetching the second image tile from the at least one file based at least in part on the byte range within the at least one file; and communicating the fetched second image tile, but not the first image tile, to the client computer for storage in the local cache of the client computer so that the client computer can display the specified portion of the digital image at the specified screen resolution by displaying at least the first and second image tiles.