US 7,171,619 B1Granted

Methods and apparatus for accessing document content

AssigneeSun Microsystems, Inc.

InventorJoseph Bianco

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Abstract

Mechanisms and techniques provide a system for accessing documents using a graphical user interface. The system can be employed in a web browser like software application. In operation, the system accesses document properties for a document. The document properties can indicate a size of the document, an age of the document, and a time associated with the document. The system can render a document selection display that provides a document identifier associated with the document. The document identifier can be render within a correlation framework that provides a visual correlation between values of document properties such as the size of the document, the age of the document, and a retrieval time associated with the document. The system can receive a user document selection associated with the document identifier indicating that a user desires to obtain the document associated with the document identifier. The system can then retrieving and display the document associated with the document identifier on the graphical user interface.

Claims23

Dependent claims

A method for accessing documents using a graphical user interface, the method comprising the steps of:

accessing document properties for a document, the document properties indicating a size of the document, an age of the document, and a retrieval time required to obtain the document;
rendering a document selection display that provides a document identifier associated with the document, the document identifier indicating, on the document selection display, a correlation between the size of the document, the age of the document, and the retrieval time associated with the document, said rendering comprising displaying a correlation framework as a multi-dimensional grid having a respective axis corresponding to each of size, age, and retrieval time of documents, the correlation framework including indices that provide a visual correlation between the sizes of documents, ages of documents, and retrieval times associated with documents, wherein the steps of accessing and rendering are performed for a plurality of documents using a single correlation framework, such that document identifiers displayed in the single correlation framework for respective documents in the plurality of documents provide an indication of document property relationships between the plurality of documents;
displaying the document identifier within the correlation framework at a location that indicates the size of the document, the age of the document, and the retrieval time associated with the document in relation to the axes of the correlation framework to provide an indication of document property relationships for the document associated with the document identifier and wherein the document identifiers appear as plotted data points within said multidimensional grid;
receiving a user document selection associated with the document identifier;
displaying a document link display within the document selection display, the document link display including a document link associated with the document for which the document identifier is displayed on the correlation framework;
wherein the step of receiving a user document selection associated with the document identifier comprises a step of receiving a user selection of the document link in the document link display associated with the document for which the document identifier is displayed on the correlation framework;
and
in response to receiving the user document selection, displaying at least a portion of the document properties associated with the document corresponding to the user document selection;
and
retrieving the document associated with the document identifier.

7 more elements

A computer system comprising:

an input output interface;
a communications interface;
a display;
a memory;
a processor;
and
an interconnection mechanism coupling the input output interface, the communications interface, the display, the memory and the processor;
wherein the memory is encoded with a document viewer application that when performed on the processor, produces a document viewer process that causes the computer system to display a graphical user interface on the display allowing a user to access documents by performing the operations of:
accessing document properties for a document, the document properties indicating at least one of a size of the document, an age of the document, and a retrieval time required to obtain the document;
rendering a document selection display on the graphical user interface that provides a document identifier associated with the document, the document identifier indicating, on the document selection display, a correlation between the size of the document, the age of the document, and the retrieval time associated with the document, the rendering including displaying, on the graphical user interface on the display, a correlation framework as a multi-dimensional grid including indices that provide a visual correlation between of the sizes of documents, ages of documents, and retrieval times associated with documents wherein the document viewer process performs the steps of accessing and rendering for a plurality of documents using a single correlation framework displayed on the graphical user interface on the display of the computer system, such that document identifiers displayed in the single correlation framework for respective documents in the plurality of documents provide an indication of document property relationships between the plurality of documents;
and
displaying, on the graphical user interface on the display, the document identifier within the correlation framework at a location that indicates the size of the document, the age of the document, and the retrieval time associated with the document in relation to the axes of the correlation framework to provide an indication of document property relationships for the document associated with the document identifier and wherein the document identifiers appear as plotted data points within said multi-dimensional grid;
receiving a user document selection associated with the document identifier via the input output interface;
displaying a document link display within the document selection display, the document link display including a document link associated with the document for which the document identifier is displayed on the correlation framework;
wherein the step of receiving a user document selection associated with the document identifier comprises a step of receiving a user selection of the document link in the document link display associated with the document for which the document identifier is displayed on the correlation framework;
and
in response to receiving the user document selection, displaying at least a portion of the document properties associated with the document corresponding to the user document selection;
and
retrieving the document associated with the document identifier via the communications interface.

16 more elements

A computer system comprising:

an input output interface;
a communications interface;
a display;
a memory;
a processor;
and
an interconnection mechanism coupling the input output interface, the communications interface, the display, the memory and the processor;
wherein the memory is encoded with a document viewer application that when performed on the processor, produces a document viewer process that provides a means for the computer system to display a graphical user interface on the display allowing a user to access documents, such means including:
means for accessing document properties for a document, the document properties indicating a size of the document, an age of the document, and a retrieval time for obtaining the document;
means for rendering a document selection display on the graphical user interface that provides a document identifier associated with the document, the document identifier indicating, on the document selection display, a correlation between the size of the document, the age of the document, and the retrieval time associated with the document, the means for rendering including means for displaying a correlation framework as a multidimensional grid including indices that provide a correlation between the sizes of documents, ages of documents, and retrieval times associated with documents, wherein the means for accessing and means for rendering are performed for a plurality of documents using a single correlation framework, such that document identifiers displayed in the single correlation framework for respective documents in the plurality of documents provide an indication of document property relationships between the plurality of documents;
means for displaying the document identifier within the correlation framework at a location that indicates the size of the document, the age of the document, and the retrieval time associated with the document in relation to the axes of the correlation framework to provide an indication of document property relationships for the document associated with the document identifier and wherein the document identifier appears as a plotted point within said multi-dimensional grid;
means for receiving a user document selection associated with the document identifier via the input output interface;
means for displaying a document link display within the document selection display, the document link display including a document link associated with the document for which the document identifier is displayed on the correlation framework;
wherein the means for receiving a user document selection associated with the document identifier comprises a step of receiving a user selection of the document link in the document link display associated with the document for which the document identifier is displayed on the correlation framework;
and
in response to receiving the user document selection, means for displaying at least a portion of the document properties associated with the document corresponding to the user document selection;
and
means for retrieving the document associated with the document identifier via the communications interface.

15 more elements

A computer program product having a computer-readable medium including computer program logic encoded thereon that, when performed on a computer system having a coupling of a memory, a processor, and a display provides a method for accessing document content using a graphical user interface on the display of the computer system by performing the operations of:

accessing document properties for a document, the document properties indicating a size of the document, an age of the document, and a retrieval time for obtaining the document;
rendering a document selection display that provides a document identifier associated with the document, the document identifier indicating, on the document selection display, a correlation between the size of the document, the age of the document, and the retrieval time associated with the document, the rendering including displaying a correlation framework as a multidimensional grid including axes that provide a correlation between the sizes of documents, ages of documents, and retrieval times associated with documents, wherein the steps of accessing and rendering are performed for a plurality of documents using a single correlation framework, such that document identifiers displayed in the single correlation framework for respective documents in the plurality of documents provide an indication of document property relationships between the plurality of documents;
displaying the document identifier within the correlation framework at a location that indicates the size of the document, the age of the document, and the retrieval time associated with the document in relation to the axes of the correlation framework to provide an indication of document property relationships for the document associated with the document identifier and wherein the document identifier appears as a plotted point within said multi-dimensional grid;
receiving a user document selection associated with the document identifier;
displaying a document link display within the document selection display, the document link display including a document link associated with the document for which the document identifier is displayed on the correlation framework;
wherein the step of receiving a user document selection associated with the document identifier comprises a step of receiving a user selection of the document link in the document link display associated with the document for which the document identifier is displayed on the correlation framework;
and
in response to receiving the user document selection, displaying at least a portion of the document properties associated with the document corresponding to the user document selection;
and
retrieving the document associated with the document identifier.

7 more elements

A method for correlating document information using a graphical user interface, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a correlation framework as a multidimensional grid including indices that provide a correlation between document properties wherein the document properties include sizes of documents, ages of documents, and retrieval times for obtaining the documents;
displaying a document identifier as plotted data points within the correlation framework at a location on the correlation framework that provides an indication of values associated with document properties of the document associated with the document identifier, thus providing an indication of document property values for document properties of the document associated with the document identifier, wherein the steps of displaying a correlation framework and displaying a document identifier are performed for a plurality of documents using a single correlation framework, such that document identifiers displayed in the single correlation framework for respective documents in the plurality of documents provide an indication of document property relationships between the plurality of documents;
receiving a selection of the document identifier from within the correlation framework;
displaying a document link display within the document selection display, the document link display including a document link associated with the document for which the document identifier is displayed on the correlation framework;
wherein the step of receiving a user document selection associated with the document identifier comprises a step of receiving a user selection of the document link in the document link display associated with the document for which the document identifier is displayed on the correlation framework;
and
in response to receiving the user document selection, displaying at least a portion of the document properties associated with the document corresponding to the user document selection;
and
accessing the document associated with the document identifier in response to receiving the selection of the document identifier associated with the document.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.