US 8,286,199 B1Granted

Automated method for creating a graphical user interface for a document management system that is visually integrated with an application having limited native GUI-integration capabilities

AssigneeSmartVault Corporation

InventorsEric J. Pulaski, Roger O. Knapp, Mark A. Foster, Manikprabhu M. Rajendra

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Abstract

An add-on application, running on a computer, allows a user to store, in a repository, information such as (for example) document images, and to associate particular information with specified states of a host application such as the QUICKBOOKS® accounting software. When the add-on application determines, for example, that a bill is being displayed (or is about to be displayed) on the screen by the host application, the add-on application automatically obtains, and displays on the screen, information associated with the bill, such as a list or count of one or more electronic documents that are associated with the bill. In our particular embodiment, the auxiliary window is a toolbar or sidebar window located within the host application window itself. The foregoing is achieved utilizing standard host-application SDK and operating-platform API functionality, thus reducing the risk of degrading the host application's performance.

Claims3

Dependent claims

A method, executed by an add-on application supported by an operating platform running on a computer, said method comprising:

(a) registering one or more aspects of the add-on application with a host application that is also supported by the operating platform;
(b) injecting an auxiliary window into a host application window, generated by the operating platform at the request of the host application, using one or more function calls of an application programming interface (API) of the operating platform;
(c) determining, through interaction with the operating platform, that the host application is displaying a specified data record;
(d) simulating a user action in the host application that causes the host application to pass, to the add-on application, an identifier of the specified data record;
(e) obtaining information about one or more supplemental records that (i) are associated with the identifier, and (ii) are stored in a repository;
and
(f) displaying, in an auxiliary window, information about at least one of said supplemental records.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.