Patent ID: 7284192

Claim:
A method for annotating a markup language document with a visual representation of a digital ink annotation and storing said digital ink annotation, comprising the steps of: acquiring digital ink by capturing input from a user who is annotating a markup language document; rendering the digital ink and the markup language document in a browser window, wherein said rendered digital ink forms a digital ink annotation of said markup language document; finding a longest allowable point-to-point segment by applying a test criterion to two non-adjoining digital ink points in a line of the digital ink annotation to compress a number of digital ink points comprising the digital ink annotation, wherein, if the test criterion is satisfied, the digital ink points between the two non-adjoining digital ink points are deleted and replaced with a straight-line segment between the two non-adjoining digital ink points; searching for at least one element or a portion of at least one element which is unique on the markup language document in at least one characteristic to associate at least one element in the markup language document with the digital ink annotation; and storing the digital ink annotation wherein the associated at least one element acts as an anchor in the markup language document for the digital ink annotation.