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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. A method for creating a Web page component, comprising:
opening a remote connection to a server provided with a plurality of basic
animation sequences represented by corresponding files in a markup
language held on the server, the sequences having variable attributes
represented by placeholder tags in the markup language files;
choosing, via the connection, at least one of the basic animation sequences
to be used in the Web page component;
changing one or more of the variable attributes of the chosen animation
sequence by inputting, over the remote connection to the server, values to
be assigned to the corresponding placeholder tags; and
posting the Web page component including the animation sequence with the
changed attributes to a Web page.
2. method according to claim 1, wherein opening the remote connection
comprises opening a connection over the Internet.
3. A method according to claim 1, wherein choosing the at least one
animation sequence comprises choosing an animation sequence which
substantially covers an entire Web page.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein changing one or more of the
attributes of the animation sequence comprises inserting data into the
animation sequence.
5. A method according to claim 4, wherein inserting data into the animation
sequence comprises inserting images.
6. A method according to claim 4, wherein inserting data into the animation
sequence comprises inserting hypertext links.
7. A method according to claim 1, wherein changing one or more of the
attributes of the animation sequence comprises changing a color setting in
the animation sequence.
8. A method according to claim 1, wherein changing one or more of the
attributes of the animation sequence comprises changing a character which
appears in the animation sequence.
9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the animation sequence comprises
a plurality of frames in a predetermined order and wherein changing one or
more of the attributes comprises manipulating the frames in the sequence.
10. A method according to claim 9, wherein manipulating the frames in the
sequence comprises deleting one or more frames from the animation
sequence.
11. A method according to claim 9, wherein manipulating the frames in the
sequence comprises repeating one or more frames in the animation sequence.
12. A method according to claim 1, wherein changing one or more of the
attributes of the animation sequence comprises assigning to at least one
of the one or more attributes a plurality of values which are respectively
chosen responsive to a condition evaluated when the Web page component is
viewed.
13. A method according to claim 1, wherein changing one or more of the
attributes of the animation sequence comprises adding conditional flow
directives to the animation sequence.
14. A method according to claim 1, wherein posting the Web page component
comprises posting a link to the animation sequence.
15. A method according to claim 13, wherein posting the Web page component
comprises posting a list of the changes performed on the animation
sequence.
16. A method according to claim 1, wherein posting the Web page component
comprises posting a Web page component which does not require any
proprietary software in order to be viewed by a viewer.
17. A method according to claim 1, wherein changing the one or more
attributes does not require use of any proprietary software.
18. A method for creating a Web page component, comprising:
providing a plurality of basic animation sequences represented by
corresponding files in a markup language held on a server, the sequences
having variable attributes represented by placeholder tags in the markup
language files;
receiving from a remote processor a selection of at least one of the basic
animation sequences to be used in the Web page component;
changing one or more of the attributes of the chosen animation sequence
responsive to an input from the remote processor to the server of values
to be assigned to the corresponding placeholder tags; and
posting the Web page component including the animation sequence with the
changed attributes to a Web page.
19. A method according to claim 18, wherein providing the plurality of
basic animation sequences comprises receiving an animation template
uploaded to the server by a user.
20. A method according to claim 18, wherein changing one or more of the
attributes comprise s inserting data into the sequence.
21. A method according to claim 18, wherein changing one or more of the
attributes of the animation sequence comprises changing a color setting in
the animation sequence.
22. A method according to claim 18, wherein the animation sequence
comprises a plurality of frames in a predetermined order and wherein
changing one or more of the attributes comprises manipulating the frames
in the sequence.
23. A method according to claim 18, wherein changing one or more of the
attributes of the animation sequence comprises assigning to at least one
of the one or more attributes a plurality of values which are respectively
chosen responsive to a condition evaluated when the Web page component is
viewed.
24. A method according to claim 18, wherein changing one or more of the
attributes comprises adding conditional flow directives to the animation
sequence.
25. A method according to claim 18, wherein posting the Web page component
comprises posting a link to the animation sequence.
26. A method according to claim 25, wherein posting the Web page component
comprises posting a list of the changes performed on the animation
sequence.
27. A method according to claim 18, wherein posting the Web page component
comprises posting a Web page component which does not require any
proprietary software in order to be viewed by a viewer.
28. A method according to claim 18, wherein changing the one or more
parameters does not require installing any proprietary software on the
processor.
29. Apparatus for creating a Web page component, comprising:
a server which displays a plurality of basic animation sequences
represented by corresponding files in a markup language held on the
server, the sequences having variable attributes represented by
placeholder tags in the markup language files, and which allows a user of
a remote processor to select at least one basic animation sequence and
change one or more of the variable attributes of the sequence by inputting
values to be assigned to the corresponding placeholder tags; and
a communication interface which receives a connection from the remote
processor to the server, whereby the user thereof selects the sequence and
inputs the values to be assigned to the placeholder tags.
30. Apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the at least one basic
animation sequence covers an entire Web page.
31. Apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the one or more attributes
comprise colors associated with the sequence.
32. Apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the server allows addition of
data into the sequence by the user.
33. Apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the animation sequence
includes a plurality of frames, and the server allows the user to
manipulate the frames.
34. Apparatus according to claim 33, wherein the server allows the user to
delete frames.
35. Apparatus according to claim 33, wherein the server allows the user to
duplicate frames.
36. Apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the server assigns a plurality
of values to the one or more attributes together with a scheme which
determines which of the values is to be used each time the Web page
component is displayed.
37. Apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the server adds a conditional
flow directive to the sequence responsive to a command from the user.
38. Apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the server allows the user to
select and change the sequence using substantially only non-proprietary
software.
39. A software package for creating Web page components, comprising an
executable file on a machine readable medium which is run by a server
having a communication interface adapted to receive a connection from a
remote processor, such that running the file causes the server to display
on a Web page a selected basic animation sequence from among a plurality
of basic animation sequences represented by corresponding files in a
markup language held on the server and having variable attributes
represented by placeholder tags in the markup language files, responsive
to selection of the sequence by a user of the remote processor via the
connection, and causes the server to allow the user to change one or more
of the variable attributes of the selected sequence by inputting values to
the server via the connection to be assigned to the corresponding
placeholder tags.
40. A software package according to claim 39, wherein the variable
attributes comprise one or more attributes selected from a group of
attributes that includes colors, characters, pictures, texts, links, and
sound files.
41. A software package according to claim 39, and comprising a plurality of
data files which include data representative of the basic animation
sequences.
42. A software package according to claim 41, wherein the executable file
performs changes to the animation sequence by changing a copy of a
respective one of the data files.
43. A software package according to claim 41, wherein the executable file
performs changes to the animation sequence by associating a list of
changes with a pointer to a respective one of the data files. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to preparation of Web home pages
and components to be used thereon, and specifically to simplified on-line
preparation of such home pages and components.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In recent years, the use of the World Wide Web (WWW) has been rapidly
growing. In use of the Web, a client computer user connects to a Web site
on a server and requests that the server download and display Web pages on
the client computer. In response to the request, the server sends to the
client computer graphic files, usually in Hypertext Mark-up Language
(HTML), which include media elements (pictures, animations, texts, sound),
scripts of instructions to be performed by an Internet browser program
running on the computer, and in some cases executable software code, e.g.,
Java code.
The number of companies, organizations and individuals who have Web home
pages is rapidly growing. Companies feel the need to prepare interesting
Web sites and Web advertisements in order to attract customers and
maintain their standing in the market. Furthermore, many individuals
prepare Web pages to convey information in graphical and/or animation
formats to their friends and family.
Existing tools for preparing Web pages, such as Dreamweaver, produced by
Macromedia, are relatively complex. A small company, organization or home
user does not need such tools and in many cases does not know how to take
advantage of their sophisticated features. There are on-line services for
preparing Web pages, such as the GeoBuilder program offered by Geocities.
Other Web sites include programs that aid users in adding features to
their Web pages. However, these sites offer the user only limited
flexibility, and do not generally support sophisticated features such as
Java-based animation.
On-line greeting card companies allow users to select a greeting card and
add and/or change text inscriptions associated with the card. Some of
these greeting cards include animation sequences, but the animation
sequences are generally fixed and cannot be substantially altered by the
user.
The above-mentioned Geocities Web site allows a user to prepare a Web page
component which includes animation. However, in order to prepare such Web
page components and in order to view such components, normal HTML and Java
tools are not sufficient, and the user must download a proprietary
software client.
Web page components may be programmed to respond differently to different
users and/or at different times. For example, an Internet banner prepared
by Doubleclick for inclusion in a Web page selects different
advertisements to display according to input received from or about a user
viewing the Web page, indicative of the user's interests or demographic
factors. As another example, the IBM Patent Server Web page, allows a user
to subscribe to a patent service and receive the service between certain
selected hours on the user's local time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of some aspects of the present invention to provide
improved methods and apparatus for simplified generation of Web page
components which include animation.
It is another object of some aspects of the present invention to provide
improved methods and apparatus for simplified generation of Web page
components which respond differently at different times.
It is still another object of some aspects of the present invention to
provide improved methods and apparatus for simplified generation of Web
page components which respond differently to different users.
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, a server provides a Web
site to which a user connects in order to create one or more
individualized Web page components. To create such components, the user
selects from a plurality of basic animation sequences one or more
animation sequence to be displayed on the Web page. Preferably, the user
is able to change at least some of the attributes of the selected
animation sequence, such as the colors, texts, fonts, characters, borders,
sounds, embedded pictures and models. A Web page including the one or more
selected animation sequences is then posted at a Web address chosen by or
allocated to the user.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the user
manipulates the animation sequence by removing and/or repeating scenes or
frames of the sequence. Alternatively or additionally, the user adds
conditional flow directives to the sequence.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the user assigns
conditional values to the attributes of the animation sequence. For
example, the user may create a Web page component based on an animation
sequence which includes a character (i.e., an animated figure) and may
change the character to a conditional character. When a visitor views the
Web page, the character actually displayed in place of the conditional
character is chosen according to data pertaining to the visitor received
by the server on which the Web page is maintained.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the Web site
enables the user to create a dynamic Web page component which reacts
differently, i.e., which presents a different display to visitors
connecting thereto, according to a predetermined scheme. Preferably, the
user selects a plurality of Web page components and for each Web page
component states a condition that must be fulfilled in order for the
particular Web page component to be displayed. Preferably, the Web page
components are assigned priorities which determine, for example, which
component is displayed when more than one condition is fulfilled, or which
component is displayed as a default when none of the conditions is
fulfilled. Preferably, the predetermined scheme depends on information
pertaining to the visitor, information pertaining to other visitors, or to
other unrelated information received by the server on which the Web page
component is maintained.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the created Web
page component includes a default component and other components which are
directed to specific users who identify themselves as belonging to a list
of visitors defined by the user. Thus, the user is able to use the
components to post messages on the Web page to specific visitors on the
list.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the Web site allows
the user to create a dynamic Web page component, which is displayed
differently to visitors at different times. Preferably, the Web site
responds according to the time of day at the geographic location of the
visitor. Alternatively, the Web site responds according to the time of day
at the geographic location of the user who created the page. Further
alternatively or additionally, the Web site responds according to the day
of week, date, month, season and/or year. For example, a user may create a
family photo album with a background in accordance with the time or season
at which the visitor visits the site.
In other preferred embodiments of the present invention, the dynamic Web
page component responds differently according to the total number of
visits to the Web page on which it resides, or according to the number of
visits by a specific visitor.
Preferably, the user is able to access the Web site without use of a
special software client. Further preferably, the created Web page
component which includes the animation sequence does not require the use
of any special software client for viewing. Rather, the component is based
on standard HTML and Java programs.
There is therefore provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of
the present invention, a method for creating a Web page component,
including:
opening a remote connection to a server provided with a plurality of basic
animation sequences having variable attributes associated therewith;
choosing, via the connection, at least one of the basic animation sequences
to be used in the Web page component;
changing one or more of the variable attributes of the chosen animation
sequence; and
posting the Web page component including the animation sequence with the
changed attributes to a Web page.
Preferably, opening the remote connection includes opening a connection
over the Internet.
In a preferred embodiment, choosing the at least one animation sequence
includes choosing an animation sequence which substantially covers an
entire Web page.
Preferably, changing one or more of the attributes of the animation
sequence includes inserting data into the animation sequence. Preferably
inserting data into the animation sequence includes inserting images or,
alternatively or additionally, inserting hypertext links.
Preferably, changing one or more of the attributes of the animation
sequence includes changing a color setting in the animation sequence
and/or changing a character which appears in the animation sequence.
In a preferred embodiment, the animation sequence includes a plurality of
frames in a predetermined order and changing one or more of the attributes
includes manipulating the frames in the sequence. Preferably, manipulating
the frames in the sequence includes deleting one or more frames from the
animation sequence or, alternatively or additionally, repeating one or
more frames in the animation sequence.
In another preferred embodiment, changing one or more of the attributes of
the animation sequence includes assigning to at least one of the one or
more attributes a plurality of values which are respectively chosen
responsive to a condition evaluated when the Web page component is viewed.
Preferably, changing one or more of the attributes of the animation
sequence includes adding conditional flow directives to the animation
sequence.
Preferably, posting the Web page component includes posting a link to the
animation sequence, wherein posting the Web page component includes
posting a list of the changes performed on the animation sequence.
Further preferably, posting the Web page component includes posting a Web
page component which does not require any proprietary software in order to
be viewed by a viewer, and changing the one or more attributes does not
require use of any proprietary software.
There is also provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, a method for creating a Web page component, including:
providing a plurality of basic animation sequences on a server, the
sequences having variable attributes associated therewith;
receiving from a remote processor a selection of at least one of the basic
animation sequences to be used in the Web page component;
changing one or more of the attributes of the chosen animation sequence
responsive to a command received from the remote processor; and
posting the Web page component including the animation sequence with the
changed attributes to a Web page.
In a preferred embodiment, providing the plurality of basic animation
sequences includes receiving an animation template uploaded to the server
by a user.
Preferably, changing one or more of the attributes includes inserting data
into the sequence. Alternatively or additionally, changing one or more of
the attributes of the animation sequence includes changing a color setting
in the animation sequence.
In a preferred embodiment, the animation sequence includes a plurality of
frames in a predetermined order and wherein changing one or more of the
attributes includes manipulating the frames in the sequence.
In another preferred embodiment, changing one or more of the attributes of
the animation sequence includes assigning to at least one of the one or
more attributes a plurality of values which are respectively chosen
responsive to a condition evaluated when the Web page component is viewed.
Preferably, changing one or more of the attributes includes adding
conditional flow directives to the animation sequence.
Preferably, posting the Web page component includes posting a link to the
animation sequence. Most preferably, posting the Web page component
includes posting a list of the changes performed on the animation
sequence.
Further preferably, posting the Web page component includes posting a Web
page component which does not require any proprietary software in order to
be viewed by a viewer, and changing the one or more parameters does not
require installing any proprietary software on the processor.
There is further provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, a method for creating a dynamic Web page component on a
server which presents a plurality of different Web page component displays
at different visits to a page containing the component by visitors
connecting to the server, including:
generating representations of the plurality of different displays;
receiving from a remote processor a dynamic scheme for presenting the
displays differently at different visits to the page containing the
component by the visitors; and
presenting the displays to the visitors responsive to the dynamic scheme.
Preferably, generating the representations includes generating a script
which creates the display.
Alternatively or additionally, generating the representations includes
receiving a link to a Web page which contains the display, wherein
generating the representations preferably includes generating a list of
changes to the Web page component referenced by the link.
Preferably, generating the representations includes creating at least one
of the representations interactively responsive to commands from a user of
the remote processor.
Alternatively or additionally, generating the representations includes
importing at least one of the representations from the remote processor.
Preferably, receiving the scheme from the remote processor includes
receiving a scheme over the Internet.
In a preferred embodiment, receiving the scheme includes receiving a scheme
including a condition associated with each of the plurality of displays.
Preferably, receiving the scheme includes setting an order of precedence
for the plurality of displays, and further includes setting a default
display. Preferably, receiving the scheme includes receiving a scheme
which depends on the time at which the dynamic page component is viewed
and/or on the number of times the dynamic page component was viewed and/or
on data related to one of the visitors who view the dynamic page
component.
There is additionally provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment
of the present invention, apparatus for creating a Web page component,
including:
a server which displays a plurality of basic animation sequences, and
allows a user of a remote processor to select at least one basic animation
sequence and change one or more attributes of the sequence; and
a communication interface which receives a connection from the remote
processor to the server, whereby the user thereof selects the sequence.
In a preferred embodiment, the at least one basic animation sequence covers
an entire Web page.
Preferably, the one or more attributes include colors associated with the
sequence.
Further preferably, the server allows addition of data into the sequence by
the user.
In a preferred embodiment, the animation sequence includes a plurality of
frames, and the server allows the user to manipulate the frames.
Preferably, the server allows the user to delete frames and/or to
duplicate frames.
In another preferred embodiment, the server assigns a plurality of values
to the one or more attributes together with a scheme which determines
which of the values is to be used each time the Web page component is
displayed.
Preferably, the server adds a conditional flow directive to the sequence
responsive to a command from the user.
Preferably, the server allows the user to select and change the sequence
using substantially only non-proprietary software.
There is moreover provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of
the present invention, apparatus for creating a dynamic Web page
component, including:
a server which generates a plurality of representations of different
displays; and
a communication interface which receives a connection from a remote
processor to the server and allows the user of the remote processor to
determine a dynamic scheme for presenting the displays differently at
different visits to a Web page that includes the component.
Preferably, the plurality of representations include scripts which generate
the display.
Further preferably, at least one of the representations includes a link to
a Web page on an external server, wherein the representation most
preferably includes a list of changes to the Web page component on the
external server.
Preferably, the server generates the representations responsive to commands
from the remote processor.
In a preferred embodiment, the dynamic scheme includes a respective
condition for selecting each of the different displays. Preferably, the
dynamic scheme includes a an order of precedence of the different
displays. Alternatively or additionally the dynamic scheme depends on the
time of a visit to the page that includes the component and/or on the
identity of a visitor viewing the page.
There is also provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, a software package for creating Web page components,
including an executable file which is run by a server to display on a Web
page a selected basic animation sequence from among a plurality of basic
animation sequences having variable attributes associated therewith,
responsive to selection of the sequence by a remote user, and which allows
the remote user to change one or more of the variable attributes of the
selected sequence.
Preferably, the variable attributes include one or more attributes selected
from a group of attributes that includes colors, characters, pictures,
texts, links, and sound files.
Further preferably, the software package includes a plurality of data files
which include data representative of the basic animation sequences,
wherein the executable file performs changes to the animation sequence by
changing a copy of a respective one of the data files. In a preferred
embodiment, the executable file performs changes to the animation sequence
by associating a list of changes with a pointer to a respective one of the
data files.
There is additionally provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment
of the present invention, a Web site, including:
a display of a plurality of basic animation sequences having variable
attributes associated therewith; and
an interface for receiving a selection of one of the animation sequences
and for performing changes to the selected animation sequence.
There is further provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, a software package for creating Web page components,
including an executable file which is run by a server to display an
interface, which receives from a user data representative of each of a
plurality of different displays of a Web page component, and which
receives from the user a scheme for determining which of the different
displays is to be displayed upon each visit to a Web page including the
component by visitors connecting to the page.
There is also provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, a Web site, including an interface for receiving data
representative of each of a plurality of different displays of a Web page
component, and for receiving a scheme for determining which of the
different displays is to be displayed upon each visit to a Web page
including the component by visitors connecting to the page.
There is additionally provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment
of the present invention, a method for creating an animation template for
generating a computer animation, including:
downloading a basic animation template from a server via a network, the
basic template including one or more placeholders corresponding to
respective fields in a database, such that an animation is generated
responsive to the template including objects stored in the database;
modifying the basic template to generate a new animation template including
the placeholders so as to produce a computer animation having a
substantially different graphic appearance from that of the basic
template; and
uploading the new template to the server, so that the new template is
accessible to a client of the server.
Preferably, the client selects the new template and changes one or more
attributes thereof to produce an animation sequence to be posted to a Web
page.
There is furthermore provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of
the present invention, a software package for creating an animation
template, including an executable file which is run by a client computer
to download a basic animation template from a server via a network, the
basic template including one or more placeholders corresponding to
respective fields in a database, such that an animation is generated
responsive to the template including objects stored in the database, and
to modify the basic template to generate a new animation template
including the placeholders so as to produce a computer animation having a
substantially different graphic appearance from that of the basic
template.
Preferably, the new template is uploaded to the server, where it is
accessible to other clients who select the new template and change one or
more attributes thereof to produce an animation sequence to be posted to a
Web page.
The present invention will be more fully understood from the following
detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, taken together
with the drawings in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a system for creation of a Web page,
in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a flow chart that schematically illustrates a method for
preparing a Web-page component, in accordance with a preferred embodiment
of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an animation editing window, in accordance
with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a Web page component description, in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a sequence editor interface, in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a condition editor interface, in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the p | | |
