Abstract: The present invention is directed to a system and method for providing interface layout information related to one or more interface objects. As the designer places various design guides on the design canvas to assist in spacing and laying out interface objects, the ADE maintains a list of distances between each guide. When the user selects a desired screen area within the design canvas, the ADE displays selected distances for one or more of the design guides associated with the selected screen area.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product for providing automatic expanding and collapsing of a portion of visual content on a screen including expanding the portion of visual content, and providing a visual cue alerting a user that the portion is automatically expanded from a collapsed state.

Abstract: Customizing an electronic meeting broadcast is described in which the meeting canvas is customized to the capabilities of the device of the participating user. The meeting server manages the electronic meeting including each of the participants' connections into the electronic collaboration space. As a part of the connection mechanism, the meeting server or a proxy/gateway connected to the meeting server has information on the capabilities of individual devices accessing the electronic meeting. Based on these capabilities and/or selections made by the meeting participant, the meeting server or proxy/gateway connected to the meeting server selectively identifies zero or more meeting objects from a collection of meeting objects supporting the meeting canvas of an electronic meeting and transmits only those meeting objects to the participant's device.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for defining a document construct in a text-readable document converted from a graphic-represented document. In operation, the graphic-represented document is rendered in memory of a computer operating the system and method. A plurality of horizontal and vertical lines are established across the whitespace in the graphic-represented document, such that the lines do not touch any graphics on the graphic-represented document. Regions within the document that are defined by the intersections of the horizontal and vertical lines are then analyzed for patterns or other indicia of a document construct. When such a construct is determined, construct indicators are inserted within the data describing the graphic-represented document as it is converted into the text-readable document.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product for collapsing visual content on a screen including receiving input initiating a collapse function, and collapsing a section of visual content, the section of visual content outside of a selected portion of the visual content, the collapsing in response to said input.

Abstract: A system and method include receiving multiple modified versions of a parent document, wherein the parent document and each of the modified versions contain code to display or define underlying information therein. The system and method also include comparing each of the multiple modified versions to the parent document to determine changes made to resulting information of the parent document by modified versions, and displaying to a user the changes made to the resulting information in an end-user type display.

Abstract: A special paste feature presents a variety of options to a user for choosing the appearance of the pasted object or objects. When the user selects to specially paste the object, an interface is presented for the user to select from a variety of styles and format codes or predefined groups thereof to keep in the pasted object. Once the user selects the level of structure and formatting that he or she desires to import into the target document, the object will be copied into the target document or application using only the structure and formatting selected to remain by the user.

Abstract: Legacy documents may be imported into online electronic document systems in a form in which the document is broken up into a collection discrete sub-documents. Styles are read from the legacy document and analyzed according to one or a number of factors, such as number of instances, combinations with other styles, and the like. Based on the analysis of the various styles, a set of styles is presented to a user to select style-based breakpoints to use in dividing the legacy document. As the system converts the legacy document from its source format into a designated target format, document managing functionality applies the selected breakpoints in the target formatted document according to the designated breakpoints. The system then generates a style sheet for the converted document including the style information for that document.

Abstract: A system and method for integrating telephone audio into an electronic meeting archive is described. A plurality of telephony signaling messages are received and converted into an electronic meeting application format. The meeting or conferencing system generates metadata from any one or more of the telephony signaling messages, electronic information presented during an electronic meeting, or the like, where the metadata is associated with a particular meeting event time. The metadata, stored in a meeting metadata file, is synchronized with the telephone audio and the electronic information that was stored in the electronic meeting archive using a meeting start time and the meeting event times. The telephone audio may then be replayed responsive to and synchronized with the information obtained from the metadata.

Abstract: Representative embodiments are disclosed of a real-time priority-based communication system and method for communicating media streams made up of multiple media message sub-streams, the communication system comprising a chunk configurator for dividing media message sub-streams into chunks, a state machine configured to translate between information regarding the media message sub-streams and the chunks and state associations to the information, the state associations written into a header for each of the chunks, a queue for holding the chunks waiting to be transmitted, and a processor for executing a scheduling algorithm, wherein the scheduling algorithm determines ones of the chunks in the queue to transmit next.

Abstract: A system and method is described for manipulating a plurality of discrete objects in a graphics application, the method comprising generating a set of coordinates for each discrete object, each discrete object bound by at least a horizontal boundary guide and a vertical boundary guide, selecting the boundary guide bounding one of the plurality of discrete objects intended for manipulation, rendering a feedback guide responsive to the selecting, dragging the feedback guide to a final location, and resizing the one of the plurality of discrete objects intended for manipulation and others of the plurality of discrete objects that have the boundary guide sharing an axis with the selected feedback slice guide responsive to the final location.

Abstract: Effective bandwidth of a communication link is determined in a heterogeneous, packet switched network between a source and a destination, where effective bandwidth is defined as the actual available bandwidth between the server and the client, minus the overhead of the various network protocols used to transmit the data. The method includes maintaining a database of bandwidth parameters indexed by destination address, and using the database when setting a communication channel.

Abstract: Effective bandwidth of a communication link is determined in a heterogeneous, packet switched network between a source and a destination, where effective bandwidth is defined as the actual available bandwidth between the server and the client, minus the overhead of the various network protocols used to transmit the data. The method includes measuring transmission times between the source and a destination for a plurality data segments having different characteristics, such as different sized files or subfiles of data; processing the transmission times to cancel effects of transmission latencies other than the different characteristics of the data segments; and indicating a bandwidth based on said processing. The processing is done in parallel with the return of user resources to the destination, and using a bandwidth detection engine associated with a proxy server.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a method and apparatus for manipulating screen objects utilizing multiband regions of influence. Positioning a reference point of an object within a particular band invokes a particular functionality or operation related to that band. In one embodiment, three types of functionality are provided. Moving a reference datum (for example, a line representing an edge or a user defined reference point) of an object A into a first band of an object B places object A under the influence of object B's gravity, causing object A to be pulled into precise alignment with object B. Moving the reference point of object A from the first band into a second band turns off object B's gravity, allowing object A to be freely moved to any arbitrary position near the object B. Moving the reference point of the object A to a position outside all bands causes object B's gravity function to be turned back on.

Abstract: A two dimensional drawing environment which includes one or more perspective grids is disclosed. The preferred embodiment method for providing a perspective view of an object in the two dimensional drawing environment, comprises the steps of creating a two dimensional perspective grid drawing environment; drawing an object in the two dimensional drawing environment; selecting a grid in the two dimensional drawing environment; and applying the drawn object to the selected grid thereby automatically providing a perspective view of the object.

Abstract: The inventive editor allows web authors to edit HTML visually while preserving the HTML source document. The editor preserves the structure and format of the HTML, and permits simultaneous modeless visual and source document editing. When an edit is made with the invention, only the HTML source around that edit is updated, rather than rewriting the whole HTML source document. Furthermore, when an edit is made, the new HTML source code is outputted in a format that is specified by the user. In order to preserve the format of the document, format information is stored in the parsed tree. The format of the node is preserved when its source is regenerated; edits to the node will reformat it according to user preferences. In order to preserve the structure of the document, invalid HTML structures are maintained and not corrected.

Abstract: The inventive mechanisms convert a path, which represents a graphical object, into a plurality of line segments. Thus, the path can be reshaped without respect to existing Bezier control points. The first mechanism allows a user to ‘pull’ a segment of a path. A user selects a specific place on the path, pulls the selected place along with a portion of the path on either side of the place to a desired location. The second mechanism allows a user to ‘push’ a segment of a path, by using an arbitrary shape and sculpting the path. The arbitrary shape is used in a manner similar in which a sculptor would use a putty knife and sculpts away part of the path, by pushing that shape into the path. The path is being repelled from the shape, as the shape is being pushed. The third mechanism allows a user to reshape an area or region of the path. The user selects a specific point in space and modify any parts of the path that lie within that region of space.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a system for delivering an interactive multimedia work from a storage device, for example a hard disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, a network server, etc. to a playback device, for example a personal computer, in a manner that provides improved performance regardless of the playback sequence selected by a user. In one embodiment of the present invention, for each segment of an interactive multimedia work, a probability factor is assigned to each possible alternative succeeding segment. In addition a retrieval and delivery time cost factor is also assigned to each possible succeeding segment. In one embodiment of the invention, the time cost factor for each resource is assigned a fixed value. In another embodiment, the time cost factor is recalculated periodically to reflect changes in location and status of resources. The probability and time cost factor for each possible succeeding segment are combined to produce a relative priority ranking.

Abstract: The present invention comprises a method and apparatus for manipulating screen objects utilizing multiband regions of influence. Positioning a reference point of an object within a particular band invokes a particular functionality or operation related to that band. In one embodiment, three types of functionality are provided. Moving a reference datum (for example, a line representing an edge or a user defined reference point) of an object A into a first band of an object B places object A under the influence of object B's gravity, causing object A to be pulled into precise alignment with object B. Moving the reference point of object A from the first band into a second band turns off object B's gravity, allowing object A to be freely moved to any arbitrary position near the object B. Moving the reference point of the object A to a position outside all bands causes object B's gravity function to be turned back on.

Abstract: A graphical rendering system and method is disclosed which stores generated and calculated path parameters along the entire user drawn path. These stored parameters are then editable or otherwise filtered at any point so as to create for the user different effects without the necessity of redrawing any portion of the path. Color changes or blends can be created along the length of the path or at any specific segment such as overdraws where the color is darker due to the overdraw. The system and method allow for changing of pen type and for giving different weights to certain of the stored parameters depending upon the currently selected pen type, color choice, light source shading, or desired rendered media.