Method and systems of providing information to computer users

Abstract

Methods and systems of providing information to computer users are described. In one embodiment, a user interface is provided having a display area that permits a user to accomplish various tasks. Individual tasks can be associated with individual different functionalities which can enable the user to accomplish tasks in different user contexts, e.g. word processing-tasks, email tasks web browsing tasks and the like. The different tasks can advantageously pertain to different content types or document types. When a user is working within a particular context, they can view quick links that are associated with one or more of the different contexts without having to change their particular context. By clicking on a quick link, the user then can automatically navigate to the context associated with the quick link so that they can then accomplish context-specific tasks. Advantageously, the various functionalities or contexts can be provided by a single application program that also manages the user's navigation activities to and between the different functionalities. In various embodiments, a user can select from among a number of different algorithms that are deployable across different content types and which affect which quick links are displayed.