Abstract: While viewing an electronically displayed document, a user creates a bookmark by selecting a desired part of a document to be marked. In response, a visual indicator is displayed and a bookmark object is created preferably separate from the document. The bookmark object comprises information linking the bookmark object to the desired part of the document as well as user-modifiable properties. If another part of the document is subsequently displayed, at least a portion of the visual indicator is still displayed. Later selection of the portion of the visual indicator causes the desired portion of the document to be re-displayed. Because the object is separate from the document, it may be viewed and sorted by its properties apart from its display with the document. A placemark is created whenever the display of a current document is discontinued. In response to a discontinuation signal, a placemark object comprising information linking the placemark object to a last-viewed part of the document is created.

Abstract: A system receives a selection of content within the digital composition, and derives conceptual information associated with the content. The conceptual information is used to identify the graphical element associated with the selection of content. The system obtains the graphical element associated with the content, and displays the graphical element within the digital composition.

Abstract: An Order icon is displayed on a user terminal and image data sets to be printed are registered by drag-and-drop operations for the image data sets onto the Order icon. By opening the Order icon, thumbnail images of the registered image data sets are displayed, and print sizes and quantities are input to generate order information. The order information is transferred to an order reception server together with the image data sets, and further transferred to a DPE store where the image data sets are printed.

Abstract: A system and method is disclosed that provides for displaying on the screen of a handheld electronic device, an extended menu or a short menu, which is a subset of the corresponding extended menu. The system and method include a list of email messages associated with an email box being displayed on a screen. If at least one email message is designated through use of the auxiliary user input device and no menu is displayed, the user may initiate an ambiguous request. Various short menus are provided with their respective menu items being dependent and adjustable based upon the position of a cursor on the display page, the currently opened application, and/or the previous selections. Further, a selection from the short menu is capable of displaying the extended menu corresponding thereto.

Abstract: A system and method for capturing, displaying, and navigating text annotations in a non-modifiable document is disclosed. Once it is determined that a text annotation is to be created, the system determines the file position of the selected object. The file position of the selected object is stored along with the created text annotation in another file or a non-read only portion of a file storing the document. Using the file position, the text annotation may be properly identified with the selected object without modifying the non-modifiable document. Once a text annotation is displayed a user may easily navigate among the captured annotations.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a system for automatically capturing images based on the actions of an author in completing steps in an overall task performed on a user interface. To capture the images the author activates a recording component. The recording component records images corresponding to the author's actions on the user interface. The recording component can pass the recorded images to an editing component where an author can generate text corresponding to the images to describe the actions. The images can also be published embedded in the text, if desired.

Abstract: A method and apparatus displays time-based performance information for network objects to facilitate identification of a root cause of one or more triggers.

Abstract: An information interface and method for finding, collecting and acting upon information which has been arranged in hierarchical form. In its best mode of implementation, the interface has a display area with four components: a content area for showing units of information at a particular level in a hierarchy, a context area for showing the information node which is parent to the displayed level of units, an identity area for showing the sequence of such parents in the user's navigation history through the information relative to the currently displayed level, and a desire area for the user to collect and act upon desired units of information. The method of the invention provides two functions: one for clarification, for navigating the hierarchy of information, moving forward and backward through the nodes and branches; and a second for memorization, for collecting desired units of information and then acting upon them.

Abstract: A hook-up assistant (HUA) capable of assisting people in hooking up with other people, in various business and social settings, and of achieving decision-making, planning, and commitment activities asynchronously, thereby advantageously off-loading an event requester's tedious tasks of communicating with multiple potential participants and resource/service providers for an intended event/activity. The HUA effectively eliminates “phone tag” problems and beyond, by enabling a user to simply “make a wish,” e.g., “make an event happen.” The HUA takes appropriate actions to “make the wish a reality,” i.e., contacting all parties involved, determining mutually agreeable dates, times, arranging necessary devices, resources, and services, securing reservations, purchasing admission tickets, etc., to ensure all parties involved can actually participate in the event at the planned time and place.

Abstract: A system and method for web browsing contemporaneously displays multiple web pages, advertisements, or other applications, preferably within a single window, for a user to view. In a preferred embodiment, a current web page, a past web page, a future web page, and/or an advertisement or other application are contemporaneously displayed in a single window. In this embodiment, the present invention tracks a past web page and renders it in a first panel, renders the current web page in a second panel, and identifies a hyperlink in the current web page to retrieve and render the future web page in a third panel. In other embodiments, a host provides a list of web pages that are to be displayed in the panels. In other embodiments, a user selects a list of web pages that are to be displayed in the panels. In other embodiments, hyperlinks are filtered and/or prioritized to determine which web pages are to be displayed in the panels.

Abstract: A letter string editing unit of a communication device receives an edit instruction for a letter string, and edits a letter string in accordance with the instruction. A decide input reception unit receives a decide instruction for the letter string together with operation strength. When the decide instruction is received, a sending unit sends a sender side message specifying the edited letter string and strength information associated with the operation strength to another communication device. A reception unit receives a receiver side message specifying a letter string to be displayed and strength information from another communication device. A font acquiring unit acquires information of a font having a size pre-associated with the specified strength information. A display image generation unit generates a display image by depicting the specified letter string in accordance with the acquired font information. A display unit displays the generated display image.

Abstract: The invention provides a method, computer program product and device for generating a dream-like multimedia presentation, which can be displayed on a mobile terminal, or other digital device, based at least in part on contextual information relating to the mobile terminal and the mobile terminal user. The presentation provides the user with a snapshot of information that appears to be more important to the user at a given period of time, as well as information that may have been forgotten by the user over time, and does so in a manner that is somehow reflective of the user's presumed mood.

Abstract: A gaming device that enables a player to choose or alter certain symbols displayed on the reels of the gaming device. The player can change or select the changeable symbol at any time as long as the reels are not in motion. The gaming device maintains the change until the player changes the symbol again. The gaming device preferably supplies a touch screen along with a video monitor in which the reels and associated stops are simulated. The touch screen enables the player to simply touch the symbol that the player wishes to change. Pressing a single symbol may change the selected symbol or others linked to the symbol. A stop on the reels having a selectable symbol can provide the player with any number of possible symbols from which to choose. The changeable symbols preferably have a direct effect upon whether the player obtains a gaming device award.

Abstract: Systems and methods for obtaining and maintaining operable and updated versions of software on a client, which may be a set-top box or a personal computer. A server automatically downloads software updates over a satellite link to a client after such upgrades become available at the server without requiring interaction with a user. Similarly, corrupted software is automatically replaced by the client first automatically detecting if a corrupted state exists in local software or data using a checksum technique. If such corruption is found, the client automatically connects over the Internet to a server that contains a replacement for the corrupted program or data. The client then automatically receives a download of the program or data from the server.

Abstract: In a computer system having a display device with a display surface, a portion of the display surface is reserved for an exclusive use by a program, to allow contents rendered by the program to be persistently visible. In one embodiment, the reservation is accomplished through reducing the width and height of a shared portion of the display surface managed by a window manager, corresponding to a graphics resolution. In another embodiment, the reservation is accomplished by having the window manager work with a pixel resolution smaller than the operative pixel resolution of the display device driver. In one embodiment, the reservation is made only while the computer system is “on-line”. In one embodiment, the exclusive use is to render advertisements in the reserved portion by an advertising rendering program. The advertisements are HTML pages received from an advertisement web server through the Internet. The HTML pages are rendered in the reserved portion through a direct draw component.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for choosing a position on a display having a cursor. In one aspect, an exemplary method, which can be computer-implemented, includes the steps of automatically moving the cursor in a predetermined during-selection mode in response to a first user-initiated action, and, responsive to a second user-initiated action when the cursor is at a first location, ceasing the moving of the cursor in the predetermined during-selection mode, and causing a choosing action to be performed at the first location, such that the first location is chosen as the position.

Abstract: A system and method is provided to display a common display page on a variety of display devices using the item's tab order property to determine the display order. Controls that are displayed on a display device typically have a tab order. When a window that has controls is displayed, the cursor is typically placed at the control with the lowest (i.e., first) tab order. When the user presses the tab key, the cursor moves to the control corresponding to the next lowest tab order. This allows the designer to design a single window (or panel) that is displayed differently on constrained devices. However, even though the window is displayed differently, using tab order mapping maintains a consistent visible proximity between controls despite the type of display device being used by the user.

Abstract: In a synchronized contents information generating apparatus, a keyword extractor extracts a characteristic keyword from document information whose document is an electronic document, and an audio analyzer measures a keyword appearance distribution in the order in which the extracted each keyword appears based on audio/video information that is audio and video, recorded by a video camera unit, of how a meeting using the document goes on. A synchronized contents information generator generates synchronized contents information used to display the document information in synchronization with the audio/video information based on the keyword appearance distribution.

Abstract: A tool-tip presentation system for multimedia files. The tool-tip presentation system can be configured to respond to proximity events associated with a selected entry in a list of multimedia files such as screen captured images or complete audio files. Based upon the selected entry, a corresponding multimedia sample such as a thumbnail image of a screen captured image or an audio sample of the audio file can be retrieved and presented as a tool-tip. In particular, the tool-tip can be displayed in a position which is proximate to the selected entry. In this way, one who interacts with the list of multimedia files need not load each complete multimedia file in the list in order to determine the contents of the multimedia file. Rather, the multimedia sample in the tool-tip can suffice.

Abstract: A control panel unit for a computing device includes buttons having characteristics that define individual button states. Upon actuation of a button, the viewable states of the buttons may change. A portion of the button may be illuminated to represent the state and/or include an icon depicting an application controlled by the button. The control panel unit may include a display for displaying plural soft labels corresponding to the buttons and representing the current context that will be initiated when the corresponding button is actuated. The soft labels may identify users or applications available to one user. Upon actuation of an application, the soft labels can change to represent various actions or functions available in the application. In the user interface, each user may be assigned a specific color scheme. The color schemes allow a person to visually determine who is logged into the system and/or which individual has new information.