Method and apparatus for providing toolbar service

A computer program product in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium for providing a toolbar service, the product comprising:

• a program code for generating, by a service providing server, a file which can be edited by a user and is used to define an interface displayed in a toolbar, the file including a theme file and a setting file,
• the theme file including theme information, the theme information defining,
• a motif of the toolbar, the motif of the toolbar being associated at least one attribute of a service providing server, and
• at least one attribute for at least one toolbar item, the toolbar item being associated with at least one service that is provided by the service providing server,
• the setting file defining a function for the at least one item to be included in the toolbar based on the theme information, the function being used to provide the at least one service;
• a program code for receiving a request for download of a toolbar application from the user;
• a program code for transmitting the toolbar application including the file to the user, and
• the toolbar application configured to update the theme file and the setting file according to a request for editing the toolbar, the request for editing the toolbar includes a request to add at least one of (i) another service to be provided by the service providing server and (ii) a service to be provided by another service providing server,
• the toolbar application configured to parse the updated theme file and the updated setting file to dynamically generate the interface of the toolbar, and
• the toolbar application configured to cause the user client to display the generated interface of the toolbar including the updated theme file and the updated setting file.

A computer program product in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium for displaying a toolbar, the product comprising:

• a program code for maintaining, by a user client, a file which can be edited by a user and is used to define an interface displayed in a toolbar, the file including a theme file and a setting file,
• the theme file including theme information, the theme information defining,
• a motif of the toolbar, the motif of the toolbar being associated at least one attribute of a service providing server, and
• at least one attribute for at least one toolbar item, the toolbar item being associated with at least one service that is provided by the service providing server,
• the setting file defining a function for the at least one item to be included in the toolbar based on the theme information, the function being used to provide the at least one service;
• a program code for parsing the file to output item information included in the setting file when a request for editing the toolbar is received, the request for editing the toolbar including a request to add at least one of (i) another service to be provided by the service providing server and (ii) a service to be provided by another service providing server;
• a program code for updating the theme file and the setting file according to the request for editing the toolbar;
• a program code for parsing the updated theme file and the updated setting file to dynamically generate the interface of the tool bar;
• and
• a program code for displaying the generated interface of the toolbar including the updated theme file and the updated setting file.

An apparatus to provide a toolbar service in a system connected to a user client via a network, the apparatus comprising:

• a processor configured to execute a file generator, a file extractor, and a user client communication unit,
• wherein the file generator is configured to generate a file which can be edited by a user and is used to define an interface displayed in a toolbar, the file includes a theme file and a setting file,
• the theme file includes theme information, the theme information defining,
• a motif of the toolbar, the motif of the toolbar being associated at least one attribute of a service providing server, and
• at least one attribute for at least one toolbar item, the toolbar item being associated with at least one service that is provided by the service providing server,
• the setting file defining a function for the at least one item to be included in the toolbar based on the theme information, the function being used to provide the at least one service,
• the file extractor is configured to extract the file when a request for download of a toolbar application is received from the user client,
• the user client communication unit is configured to transmit the toolbar application including the file to the user client;
• the toolbar application installed in the user client is configured to,
• update the theme file and the setting file according to a request for editing the toolbar by allowing the user to activate a dialog from the toolbar, the request for editing the toolbar includes a request to add at least one of (i) another service to be provided by the service providing server and (ii) a service to be provided by another service providing server, and
• parse the updated theme file and the updated setting file based on the request for editing the toolbar to dynamically generate the interface of the toolbar;
• and
• cause the user client to display the generated interface of the toolbar including the updated theme file and the updated setting file.