Patent ID: 8902219

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for maintaining a connection to embedded content using a graphical element comprising: enabling a user to add via user input an annotation object to an embedded three-dimensional graphical model within a two-dimensional viewport space, wherein the embedded three-dimensional model includes a first plurality of graphical elements including a first graphical element and the annotation object includes a second plurality of graphical elements including a second graphical element; detecting the user input corresponding to the embedded three-dimensional graphical model within the two-dimensional viewport space based on the enabling; determining a first position of the second graphical element of the annotation object in the two-dimensional viewport space based on the detected user input; determining a second position of the first graphical element of the embedded three-dimensional graphical model in the three-dimensional space based on the determined first position; dynamically linking the first position of the second graphical element of the annotation object in the two-dimensional viewport space to the second position of the first graphical element of the embedded three-dimensional graphical model in the three-dimensional space based on the detected user input; storing connection information in association with the annotation object in memory based on the linking, the connection information corresponding to the linked first position of the second graphical element of the embedded three-dimensional graphical model within the two-dimensional viewport space; and rendering the annotation object with the embedded three-dimensional graphical model within the two-dimensional viewport space based on the stored connection information, wherein positions of the second plurality of graphical elements of the annotation object are dynamically changed within the two-dimensional viewport space as the annotation object is rendered with the embedded three-dimensional graphical model so as to reflect any changes that are made by the user to positions of the first plurality of graphical elements of the embedded three-dimensional graphical model within three-dimensional space, wherein the enabling, the dynamically linking, the storing, and the rendering are performed by one or more computing devices.