Patent ID: 8341176

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of automatically selecting items displayed within in a graphical user interface comprising a first window and a second window, the first window displaying a plurality of items including a first item and a second item, the method comprising: rendering a transparent panel over the first window, wherein the transparent panel is invisible to the user and configured to capture input indicating selections of the first item and the second item displayed under the transparent panel so that hyperlinks associated with the first item and the second item in the first window are not invoked when selected through the transparent panel; receiving input indicating a user's selection of the first item, wherein the first item corresponds to a first object in a set of structured data; receiving input indicating the user's selection of the second item, wherein the second item corresponds to a second object in the set of structured data; determining automatically, with a processor of a computer system, additional other objects within the set of structured data, wherein the additional other objects are structurally similar to first and second objects, wherein the additional other objects correspond to additional other automatically selected items in the plurality of items displayed within the graphical user interface; and indicating in the second window the selection of the first, the second, and the additional other selected items.