Abstract: A text message abstraction system and method allowing for the selection of important pieces of information based upon a number of criteria and for the removal of unnecessary components of a message. The abstraction system of the present invention is provided with an input message, a command set and a maximum message length and attempts to generate a message conveying all of the important information contained within the text message but within the maximum message length constraint.

Abstract: In order to establish a protected channel between a user and a software program running on a computer system, a graphic display unique to the user is displayed along with the normal information entry graphics. A foreign program which might duplicate the overall appearance of the entry graphics cannot display the unique visual display which would appear on the legitimate entry screen of a particular user. Thus, a user looking at his entry screen can tell by the visual display whether the entry screen has been generated by a legitimate program or by a foreign impostor program. Further, since it might be possible for an unauthorized person to surreptitiously observe the unique display pattern on the entry screen of an authorized user, to increase security, a program constructed according to the principles of the invention, changes the visual display as information is entered based on the partially entered information.

Abstract: A computer user interface includes a system and methods to provide a control hierarchy, control marking, a hybrid grammar, and resized and/or repositioned dialog boxes. Control hierarchy divides controls, assigns each control a label, displays the labels according to a design hierarchy, and operates on the controls according to a functional hierarchy. Control marking distinguishes controls, via addition of graphic elements or changes in labels--referred to as glyphs. Hybrid grammar simultaneously allows a user to specify operations and data objects in a noun verb relationship or verb noun relationship. Finally, resized and/or repositioned dialog boxes enable a user to select a control that requires selection of data objects that are possibly obscured by the dialog box.

Abstract: A video signal distribution hub for a video conferencing network in which workstations generate RF video signals. The hub includes a plurality of workstation ports, a plurality of hub ports, a first circuit module and a second circuit module. The first circuit module generates an output signal for each of the workstation ports by combining all of the video signals received over the input lines of all of the workstation ports and all of the hub ports to generate a combined signal. The video signal sent to the workstation port is derived from the combined signal. The second circuit module includes an RF amplifier for each of the hub ports. For each of the hub ports, the second circuit module combines the video signals received over the input lines of all of the workstation ports with the video signals received over the input lines of all of the other hub ports to generate a composite signal that is supplied to the input of the RF amplifier for that hub port.

Abstract: An interface for enabling an application program to connect to a selected one or more of a plurality of external data sources/sinks, the application program running on a computer having active memory, the interface including a plurality of driver means, each of said drivers corresponding to a different subgroup of the plurality of external data sources/sinks; a name manager for identifying the drivers to the application; a selector for selecting one of the identified external data sources/sinks; a loader for loading the drivers corresponding to the selected external data source/sink into active memory; and an identifier for identifying a first plurality of entry points to a first plurality of function calls that said application can make to the loaded drivers, the plurality of function calls including function calls for establishing and/or terminating connectivity to the loaded drivers.

Abstract: A presentation manager including a module for representing a graphical object on a page, the graphical object having a size and a placement on said page; a module for representing a container object that is associated with the page, the container object having a set of specified characteristics; a module for dragging the graphical object to another location on the page; and a module for linking the graphical object to the container object when the graphical object is dragged into the container object, wherein the linking module creates an active link to the container object when the graphical object is dragged into the container object, wherein the active link imposes the set of specified characteristics on the graphical object.

Abstract: A realtime engine for interfacing one or more data feeds with an applications. Each of the data feeds delivers realtime data for each member of an associated group of items available through the data feed. The interface includes logic for caching the most recent data values received from a selected one of the data feeds for at least some members of the associated group of items for the selected data feed. The interface also includes logic for sending at least some of the cached data values to the application in response to a request for updates.

Abstract: A computer programmed to represent a spreadsheet that can be displayed to a user, the spreadsheet including an array of cells for storing user entered data, the programmed computer including programmed logic for designating a group of one or more cells within the spreadsheet, the group of one or more cells containing a first set of user entered data; programmed logic for creating an alternative for the group of one or more cells, said alternative containing a second set of user entered data that is different from the first set of user entered data; and programmed logic for enabling the user to select between the group of one or more cells and the alternative as the source of the data that is used in a corresponding group of cells within the spreadsheet.

Abstract: Spreadsheet apparatus enables reformatting and renaming of items forming the spreadsheet. A series of items forms a dimension along an axis of the spreadsheet. A label icon or labelling entity is user nameable to describe the series of items of an axis. Repositioning of the label icons repositions respective series of items and thus redefines/rearranges the axes of the spreadsheet. Sub-axes to an axis are similarly formed by series of items associated with a respective label icon. Order of label icons in predefined areas of a working screen view determine hierarchy of main axis and sub-axes for the label icons. There is a different predefined area for the possible vertical axes, possible horizontal axes, and the possible orthogonal axes of the spreadsheet. A cell module holds spreadsheet data in a matrix of memory cells. A symbol table translates between current specified names of items in the spreadsheet and indexes to cells of the cell module.

Abstract: An information management system for use with a computer having a display screen, the system including means for organizing information into an ordered sequence of worksheets in a workspace, each worksheet of the sequence of worksheets comprising an array of cells; and means for enabling a user to navigate through the sequence of worksheets on a worksheet to worksheet basis so as to display a selected one of the worksheets on the display screen. The system also includes means for selecting a plurality of worksheets from the ordered sequence of worksheets; and means for displaying on the display screen a perspective presentation of the selected worksheets.

Abstract: A text search and retrieval system which builds an index representing every word in stored files created by a variety of applications, searches for requested words using the index and ranks the files based on the relative strength of match with the search request. From a display of the ranked filenames, the user can select a file, whereupon the file is tested to determine which one of a plurality of file viewers to deploy. The corresponding viewer is automatically loaded and used to display consecutive screens of information from the selected file. Further searching within the file is accomplished within the context of the viewer by matching character strings of a new search request with words in the items of the file produced by the viewer. To work on a file in view, the user can invoke the software application which created the file by loading the application corresponding to the viewer along with the desired file, without abandoning the search system.

Abstract: A system for linking elements representing stored information in a data base comprising a link structure formed in a section of the data base independent of the elements, a pointer in the link structure indicating the location of a first element, and a second pointer in the link structure indicating the location of a second element. The data base contains items comprising textual data and a plurality of categories into which the items may be categorized such that each item may be linked to more than one category. The invention automatically assigns an element in a data base to a parent category if it has been assigned to a child category of the parent. The invention will allow a user to modify data in a data base in a view mode, and will resolve ambiguities by guessing as to the most likely interpretation intended by the user. The invention will allow a user to change the number or organization of categories in the data base while the user is in a view mode.

Abstract: The present invention provides apparatus and methods for determining the boundaries of arbitrarily shaped regions on a computer display system having a central processing unit (CPU). The CPU is coupled to a display having a plurality of selectively enabled and disabled display elements arranged in a matrix, whereby each display element is identified by a unique X,Y address. A memory coupled to the CPU includes a plurality of memory cells, wherein the cells correspond to a display element on the display. An initial X,Y address is selected on the display by a user employing a cursor control to identify an area on the display where the boundaries of a region are to be determined. The initial X,Y address selected by the user is defined as a seed cell.

Abstract: A write-protect clip can be permanently installed on a floppy disc and thereafter can be moved to an opened position which exposes the write-protect notch of the floppy disc or to a closed position which covers the notch. The clip, which is a unitary element made from a sheet of metal, includes first and second walls which slidably engage the outer surface of the envelope of the floppy disc, a back wall which connects the first and second walls, and a serpentine spring tongue which extends between the first and second walls and which is joined to one of the walls at a sharply bent region. When the clip is installed on a floppy disc, the tongue enters the envelope via the notch to prevent the clip from being inadvertently detached from the floppy disc and to enhance frictional engagement between the clip and the envelope, thereby helping to retain the clip in either the opened or the closed position.