Abstract: The user is enabled to move smoothly between viewing an entire document in a word by word display, through views that display only elements of increasing landmark value, to an overview of the document in a single display window. A document is parsed into a hierarchy, of which each node at every level (from chapter to sentence, clause or long word) has a display state (invisible, tokenized or open) for the way it is shown as part of an expandable view of the document. The contents opted for display within a tokenized view may be prioritized according to a system of landmark values. The view is modified by user input using an explicit data structure of nodes and states within the device controlling the display, or by structuring in another system the underlying logic of the arrangement of code that is acted upon by a web browser.

Abstract: A set of versions of a file, with one chosen as baseline version, is displayed as a single flow of material where all agree with the baseline and in separate difference columns where they do not. A current version may be edited either directly or by adoption of material from different versions, which may be toggled in and out of visibility. Sequential undo (step-wise or by a slider) can be localized to chosen subsets of the current version, and any chosen subset can be restored as a unit to an earlier state.

Abstract: A user connected to a first service mounted on a remote server is enabled to connect to a second service, on the same or another server, without new steps required for log-in, and optionally including the passing of parameters from the first to the second service that enable the second service to open in a manner appropriate to the state of the user's interaction with the first service at the moment of requesting the connection. In the case of the second service being provided from a second server, authentication is provided by means of an authentication broker, which provides a token that the operating system of the user's computer is induced (via its normal response to received messages) to embed in a request for service to the second server, which verifies the token by an exchange with the broker. In either case, once the connection with the second server is achieved, later repeated access may be enabled without the user having to go through the procedure required to enable such access from scratch.

Abstract: A set of versions of a file, with one chosen as baseline version, is displayed as a single flow of material where all agree with the baseline and in separate difference columns where they do not. A current version may be edited either directly or by adoption of material from different versions, which may be toggled in and out of visibility. Sequential undo (step-wise or by a slider) can be localized to chosen subsets of the current version, and any chosen subset can be restored as a unit to an earlier state.

Abstract: A current registered member of a web site is enabled to send a message to a person not currently a member, containing a link to a newly created membership page for that person, to which access may be confirmed by only the entry of a password, rather than a multi-step registration process, or may be extended by the use of a cookies or the mailing of repeated single-use keys. The new membership includes the ordinary privileges of a non-paying member of the site, together with access to site aspects specific to the inviter and the creation of the invitation, such as but not limited to folders created by the inviter, documents or other files uploaded by the inviter, blogs or postings by the inviter, alerts as to future events initiated by the inviter, information about purchasable items recommended by the inviter, free access to documents or other viewable entities for which the inviter has purchased access, or a family tree presented from the viewpoint of the invitee.

Abstract: Comparison of versions of a document reveals both their descent tree and the details of their differences. The descent tree directs the attention of a collaborative author to particular versions and permits leaving the rest in an archive, while appropriate display of the detailed differences simplifies the multi-source editing process. In our preferred embodiment, this is delivered as a web-based service.

Abstract: The user is enabled to move smoothly between viewing an entire document in a word by word display, through views that display only elements of increasing landmark value, to an overview of the document in a single display window. A document is parsed into a hierarchy, of which each node at every level (from chapter to sentence, clause or long word) has a display state (invisible, tokenized or open) for the way it is shown as part of an expandable view of the document. The contents opted for display within a tokenized view may be prioiritized according to a system of landmark values. The view is modified by user input using an explicit data structure of nodes and states within the device controlling the display, or by structuring in another system the underlying logic of the arrangement of code that is acted upon by a web browser. The section hierarchy may be explicitly coded in the document format, or reconstructed from typographical evidence.