Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

David K Peck

Matthew Rubin Lerner

Jesse Gardner Kocher

Stephen Michael Danton

Oliver Hurst-Hiller

Randy S Kimmerly

Christopher L Anderson

Laurent Mollicone

Scott M Roberts

Yuri Rychikhin

Jordan Sehn

Tad D Price

Eliot S Greenfield

Michael S Morearty

Scott Roberts

Visual landmarks are used to organize diagrams. Elements of a diagram can be arranged in accordance with configurable defined properties of visual landmarks to provide some degree of layout structure within the diagram. Users can customize visual landmarks to cause the visual landmarks to exhibit desired behavior.

Using visual landmarks to organize diagrams

Declaratively implementing a command. A method includes declaring an input gesture in a declarative programming language. Declaring an input gesture includes declaring one or more user performed actions. A command name is declared in a declarative programming language. A workflow is declared in a declarative programming language. Declaring a workflow includes declaring schedulable activities that are to be performed without specific specifications of the low level algorithms that are used to accomplish the activities. In an alternative example, workflows may be declared by declaring a wrapper to wrap imperative programming commands. The declared input gestures are bound with the declared workflow through the declared command name.

Declarative commands using workflows

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for using visual landmarks to organize diagrams. Embodiments of the invention facilitate using visual landmarks to organize elements within a diagram. Elements of a diagram can be arranged in accordance with configurable defined properties of visual landmarks to provide some degree of layout structure within the diagram. Accordingly, embodiments of the invention provide a user experience that provides some structure but retains the flexibility of free form editing. Users can customize visual landmarks to cause the visual landmarks to exhibit desired behavior.

Declartive commands using workflows

Computer users may integrate any annotation, including ink, highlighter, text-based notes and audio, directly into a Web-based document (WBD) displayed by a Web browser. This integration enables others to view the personalized annotated WBD, which retains its original active links and properties, over the Internet without the need for specialized software. Annotations are integrated into WBDs by freezing the WBD, overlaying an image file containing the annotations onto the WBD, and enabling browser events to pass through the image layer. Annotations may also be integrated into WBDs by using component object technology. By collecting and organizing annotated WBDs, users can be provided with an intuitive Web-based interface for accessing, viewing and searching the annotated WBDs. Users may annotate blank WBDs, effectively converting their Web browsers into online notebooks/scrapbooks. Users may also be provided with many interface techniques, such as dog-ears and its associated navigation tools, splitting pages, turning pages, selecting and copying various portions of a WBD (including shaking out a copy), and marking menus suited for right-handed or left-handed users.

System and method for annotating web-based document

A method for editing Web-based documents and a software package for implementing the method is provided. The method can include receiving from a user an indication of a selected portion of a Web-based document to be edited and of a desired editing function to be performed on the selected portion and inserting immediately prior to the selected portion a first editing tag corresponding to the desired editing function. Also, the method may include detecting object tag elements within the selected portion, inserting immediately prior to each object tag element within the selected portion a second editing tag corresponding to the desired editing function and inserting the second tag at the end of the selected portion, and inserting immediately after each object tag element within the selected portion the first editing tag, wherein the first and second editing tags are distinguishable from the object tag elements.

System and method for in-line editing of web-based documents

The present invention allows computer users to integrate any annotation, including ink, highlighter, text-based notes and audio, directly into a Web-based document (WBD) displayed by a Web browser. This integration enables others to view the personalized annotated WBD, which retains its original active links and properties, over the Internet without the need for specialized software. Annotations are integrated into WBDs by freezing the WBD, overlaying an image file containing the annotations onto the WBD, and enabling browser events to pass through the image layer. Annotations may also be integrated into WBDs by using component object technology. The present invention collects and organizes annotated WBDs, and provides users with an intuitive Web-based interface for accessing, viewing and searching the annotated WBDs. Users may annotate blank WBDs, effectively converting their Web browsers into online notebooks/ scrapbooks. The present invention also provides users with many novel interface techniques, such as dog-ears and its associated navigation tools, splitting pages, turning pages, selecting and copying various portions of a WBD (including shaking out a copy), and marking menus suited for right-handed or left-handed users.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

David K Peck