United States Patent (19)
`Nielsen
`
`USOO.5937417A
`Patent Number:
`11
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`5,937,417
`Aug. 10, 1999
`
`54) TOOLTIPS ON WEBPAGES
`75 Inventor: Jakob Nielsen, Atherton, Calif.
`73 Assignee: Sun Microsystems, Inc., Palo Alto,
`Calif.
`
`McKinstry, Christopher, “tooltips (in client Side image
`maps)', Web Page (cmckinG.clickable.com), Nov. 2, 1995.
`McKinstry; “tooltips (in client side image maps)'. http://
`www.acl.lanl.gov/HTML WG/html-wg-95q.4.messages/
`0462.html; (p. 1), Nov. 1995.
`
`Primary Examiner Mark K. Zimmerman
`ASSistant Examiner Motilewa A. Good-Johnson
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Graham & James LLP
`57
`ABSTRACT
`
`21 Appl. No.: 08/643,893
`22 Filed:
`May 7, 1996
`(51) Int. Cl. ................................................ cos 1soo
`52 U.S. Cl. .......................... 707/513; 707/501; 345/337;
`345/338
`58 Field of Search ..................................... 395/337,338, A method and apparatus that allows a Web page designer to
`395/762, 774; 345/337, 338; 707/501, 513
`Specify tooltips for his Web page. Tooltips are text areas that
`display automatically when the user places the cursor over
`predetermined text on a display device. The invention also
`enables Web browser Software to display the tooltips speci
`fied by the designer. The HTML format extension allows a
`Web page designer to specify the text over which the user
`must place the cursor to activate tooltips. The HTML
`extension also allows the designer to Specify the tooltip text
`that will be displayed when the cursor reaches the specified
`text. Using the present invention, the designer only needs to
`Specify tooltips for any given information once per page,
`even though the displayed information may appear multiple
`times on the Web page.
`
`56)
`
`References Cited
`
`
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`5,018,082 5/1991 Obata et al. ............................ 395,337
`5.434,965 7/1995 Matheny et al. .
`... 395/338
`5,572,643 11/1996 Judson .................................... 707/531
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Harvey, David A., “Working on the Web: HTML authoring
`tools., Computer Shopper, pp. 1-8, Nov. 1995.
`Gonzalex, Sean, “NCSA Mosaic (National Center for Super
`computing Applications Internet Browser, version 2.0),
`PC Magazine, pp. 191-192, Feb. 7, 1995.
`
`6 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
`
`STATUS
`
`ACCOUNT SUMMARY
`
`Name: Dr. Jakob Nielsen
`Userid: jn
`
`Point Balance: 184243 as of 03/11196
`
`Points Earned Due to Flight Mileage
`
`Carrier
`
`Flight
`From
`Flight
`To
`Flight
`Bonus
`Total
`Date
`Number City
`City
`Miles
`Miles
`Miles
`ter. - London Heathrow - - " " -
`302 \- a
`15-FEB-96
`O931
`LHR
`SFO 5368
`6710
`12078
`UA
`O1-FEB-96
`0835
`SFO
`HKG 6914
`8643
`15557
`UA
`16-DEC-95 0073
`EWR SFO 2565
`2565
`5130
`UA
`09-DEC-95
`0.036
`SFO
`BOS 2704
`2704
`5408
`UA
`UA 21-NOV-95 0806
`HKG
`SFO 6914
`8643
`15557
`UA 15-NOV-95 0835
`SFO
`HKG 6914
`8643
`15557
`U+
`15-NOV-95 2936
`LAS
`SFO 414
`621
`1035
`U+
`12-NOV-95 2.188
`SFO
`LAS
`414
`414
`828
`UA
`10-NOV-95 0931
`LHR
`SFO 5368
`6710
`12078
`
`304
`
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`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 10, 1999
`
`Sheet 1 of 9
`
`5,937,417
`
`100
`V
`
`110
`
`102
`
`
`
`104
`
`CPU
`
`2
`10
`
`130
`
`BrOWSer
`
`104'
`
`HTML
`(including
`TOOLTP
`tag(s))
`
`135
`
`105
`
`O6
`
`CPU
`
`HTML
`(including
`TOOLTP
`tag(s))
`
`120
`
`140
`
`145
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Fig. 1
`
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 10, 1999
`
`Sheet 3 of 9
`
`5,937,417
`
`9. 'SDI
`
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 10, 1999
`
`Sheet 6 of 9
`
`5,937,417
`
`602
`
`604
`
`Browser requests
`page from server
`
`BrOWSer receives
`HTML for page
`from server
`
`606
`
`DOes HTML
`Contain any non
`
`608
`
`610
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`612
`
`
`
`Loop for each non
`empty Tooltip tag in the
`HTML
`
`Store in memory:
`-region of screen
`where displayed
`info is located
`-tooltip text
`
`ls an
`EVERYWHERE
`attribute present in
`the tag?
`
`
`
`N Ge)
`
`Fig. 6(a)
`Preprocessing by
`Browser
`
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 10, 1999
`
`Sheet 7 of 9
`
`5,937,417
`
`614
`
`
`
`ls a
`BELOW
`attribute present in the
`tag?
`
`
`
`Startpoint is at
`top of page
`
`Startpoint is where
`where current
`displayed info is
`located
`
`
`
`
`
`619
`
`ls an
`ALLOFF
`attribute present in the
`page?
`
`Endpoint is at
`bottom of
`page
`
`
`
`Endpoint is where
`where tooltip tag
`With ALLOFF
`attribute is located
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Fig. 6(b)
`Preprocessing by
`Browser
`
`
`
`622
`
`
`
`
`
`618
`
`
`
`
`
`623
`
`
`
`624
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Loop from
`startpoint to
`endpoint
`
`Another
`instance of
`displayed info
`found?
`
`Store in memory:
`-region of screen
`where displayed
`info is located
`-tooltip text
`
`End of loop from
`startpoint to
`endpoint
`
`628
`
`End of loop for
`each Tooltip tag
`
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 10, 1999
`
`Sheet 8 of 9
`
`5,937,417
`
`702
`
`704
`
`
`
`706
`
`Display Web page in
`aCCordance With HTML
`
`Tooltip tags
`present in HTML?
`
`Set spot time to
`Current time and
`Store Current
`COOrdinates of CurSOr
`(X1, Y1) in memory
`
`708
`
`709
`
`710
`
`
`
`Loop
`
`X1, X2 = Current
`cursor position
`
`
`
`ls display currently
`scrolling?
`
`Y
`
`spot time
`F Current
`time
`
`712
`
`
`
`714.
`
`Has display just
`finished scrolling?
`
`Recalculate regions for
`each instance of
`displayed info, replace
`old region(s) in
`memory
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`716
`
`
`
`
`
`718
`
`spot time
`= Current
`time
`
`ls Cursor position
`within any tooltip
`region?
`
`abs(X1-X2) >1
`O
`abs(Y1-Y2) >1
`(i.e., is cursor
`moving)?
`
`spot time = current
`time
`
`End display of tooltip
`text (if any)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Has predetermined
`period of time passed
`ince CurSOr moved?
`
`
`
`Display tooltip text
`(Display of tooltip ends
`When user moves
`CuSO O USermoVeS
`to a different Web
`page)
`
`Browser
`Displays a
`Page
`Fig. 7
`
`End loop
`
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 10, 1999
`
`Sheet 9 of 9
`
`5,937,417
`
`Region
`
`
`
`Tooltip
`Text
`
`1
`
`X,Y Coordinates of
`"LHR" On line 302
`
`London HeathroW
`
`802
`
`X,Y COOrdinates of
`"LHR" On line 304
`
`London HeathroW
`
`804
`
`Fig. 8
`
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`

`1
`TOOLTIPS ON WEBPAGES
`
`5,937,417
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`This application relates to the World Wide Web and, in
`particular, to a Software tool for improving the readability of
`documents on the Web.
`The past Several years have seen an explosive growth of
`the internet, and specifically, in the growth of the World
`Wide Web (hereafter “the Web”). The Web is built around a
`network of "server” computers which exchange requests and
`data from each other using the hypertext transfer protocol
`("http'). A human designer designs the layout of a Web page
`and Specifies the layout of the page using HTML
`(“Hypertext Markup Language”). Several versions of
`15
`HTML are currently in existence. Examples include HTML
`versions 2.0 and 3.0, as specified by the WWW Consortium
`of MIT.
`A user views a Web page using one of a number of
`commercially available “browser' programs. The browser
`Submits an appropriate http request to establish a commu
`nications link with a Web server of the network. A typical
`http request references a Web page by its unique Uniform
`Resource Locator (“URL”). A URL identifies the Web server
`hosting that Web page, So that an http request for access to
`the Web page can be routed to the appropriate Web server for
`handling. Web pages can also be linked graphically to each
`other.
`Information presentations on Web pages are often abbre
`Viated or shortened in order to Save Space and to produce
`better layouts. Typical examples of abbreviated or shortened
`information include icons in the toolbars of applications
`running under a window System or the use of codes in
`Statistical tables. Web pages in particular often include
`abbreviated forms of information because it is desirable to
`Squeeze as much information as possible into a window
`without requiring the user to Scroll the window.
`If the user understands the code or abbreviation used in a
`Web page, then the information may be understood without
`any problems. Difficulties may arise, however, if the user
`does not understand the short form of the information.
`Designers of Web pages are used to being able to design
`pages by Simple text editing and the use of human-readable
`HTML tags. What is needed is a convenient way for
`designers of Web pages to add additional information to
`their Webpages without having to understand the complex
`programming tools required to construct graphical user
`interfaces.
`
`25
`
`40
`
`45
`
`35
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention overcomes the problems and dis
`advantages of the prior art by adding an extension to HTML
`that allows a Web page designer to specify tooltips for the
`Web page. TooltipS are text areas that display automatically
`when the user places the cursor over predetermined text on
`a display device. The invention also enables Web browser
`Software to display the tooltips Specified by the designer.
`The HTML format extension allows a Web page designer to
`Specify the text over which the user must place the cursor to
`activate tooltips. The HTML extension also allows the
`designer to specify the tooltip text that will be displayed
`when the cursor reaches the Specified text. Using the present
`invention, the designer only needs to Specify a tooltip for
`any given information once per page, even though the
`information may appear multiple times on the Web page.
`In accordance with the purpose of the invention, as
`embodied and broadly described herein the invention is a
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`2
`method of processing HTML that describes a web page,
`comprising the Steps performed by a data processing System,
`of receiving HTML describing the web page; reviewing the
`HTML to locate a tooltip tag in the HTML, the tooltip tag
`identifying displayed info and associated tooltip informa
`tion; Storing in a memory of the data processing System the
`region of a display device at which the displayed info will
`be displayed; Storing in the memory the tooltip information;
`and displaying the Web page in accordance with the HTML.
`In further accordance with the purpose of this invention,
`as embodied and broadly described herein the invention is a
`method of Specifying tooltips on a web page, comprising the
`Steps of determining a location on the web page for the
`information for which the tooltip is to be displayed; Storing
`in a memory of a data processing System a tooltip tag having
`the format <TOOLTIPTXT=tooltip information> displayed
`info </TOOLTIP>, where the tooltip tag is stored in the
`memory in a location associated with the location of the
`displayed info on the web page.
`Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth
`in part in the description which follows and in part will be
`obvious from the description or may be learned by practice
`of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention
`will be realized and attained by means of the elements and
`combinations particularly pointed out in the appended
`claims.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in
`and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate Several
`embodiments of the invention and, together with the
`description, Serve to explain the principles of the invention.
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer System in
`accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present
`invention.
`FIGS. 2(a) through 20d) show respective formats of
`HyperTextMarkup Language (HTML) tooltip tags in accor
`dance with the embodiment of FIG. 1.
`FIG. 3 shows an example of a Web Page displayed on a
`display device of FIG. 1.
`FIG. 4 shows an example of a Web Page with a tooltip
`displayed thereon in accordance with the present invention.
`FIGS. 5(a) through 5(c) show respective examples of
`HTML tooltip tags in accordance with the formats of FIG.
`2.
`FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) are flow charts showing steps per
`formed by browser Software prior to displaying the Web
`Page of FIG. 3.
`FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing steps performed by the
`browser Software to display the Web Page of FIG. 4.
`FIG. 8 shows an example of contents of a data structure
`stored in a memory of FIG. 1.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred
`embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illus
`trated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible,
`the Same reference numbers will be used throughout the
`drawings to refer to the Same or like parts.
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system 100 in
`accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present
`invention. Computer system 100 includes a first computer
`110 and a second computer 120. First computer 110 and
`
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`15
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`3
`second computer 120 are connected together via line 106,
`which can be, for example, a LAN, WAN and an internet
`connection. Line 106 can also represent a wireless
`connection, Such as a cellular network connection.
`First computer 110 includes a CPU 102; a memory 104;
`input/output lines 105; an input device 150, such as a
`keyboard or mouse, and a display device 160, Such as a
`display terminal. Memory 104 of first computer 110 includes
`browser software 130 and Hypertext Markup Language
`(HTML) 135. A person of ordinary skill in the art will
`understand that memory 104 also contains additional
`information, Such as application programs, operating
`Systems, data, etc., which are not shown in the figure for the
`Sake of clarity.
`Second computer 110 includes a CPU 102 and a memory
`104". Memory 104 of second computer 120 includes server
`software 140 and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
`145. HTML 135 in the memory of first computer 110 was
`downloaded over line 106 from HTML 145 of Second
`computer 120. A person of ordinary skill in the art will
`understand that memory 104" also contains additional
`information, Such as application programs, operating
`Systems, data, etc., which are not shown in the figure for the
`sake of clarity. Server 140 and HTML 145 can also be
`located in memory 104 of first computer 110.
`It will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the
`art that computer system 100 can also include numerous
`elements not shown in the Figure for the Sake of clarity, Such
`as disk drives, keyboards, display devices, network
`connections, additional memory, additional CPUs, LANs,
`input/output lines, etc. A preferred embodiment of the inven
`tion runs under the Solaris operating System, Version 2.5.
`Solaris is a registered trademark of Sun MicroSystems, Inc.
`The present invention allows for the use of tooltips in Web
`Pages. Thus, any information displayed on display device
`160 by browser 130 can have a tooltip associated therewith.
`When the user places the cursor on a predetermined location
`on display device 160 for a predetermined period of time,
`tooltip text is displayed, providing further explanation of the
`information at the predetermined location. In a preferred
`embodiment, Web Pages Specified using the present inven
`tion can still be displayed using Web browsers that have not
`been enhanced to recognize tooltips because these browsers
`will Simply ignore the tooltips tag.
`FIG. 2 shows an example of formats of tooltip tags in
`HyperTextMarkup Language (HTML) in accordance with a
`preferred embodiment of the present invention. The format
`of conventional HTML is described in, for example, Morris,
`“HTML for Fun and Profit,” SunSoft Press 1995, which is
`herein incorporated by reference. FIG. 2 shows three alter
`nate HTML formats for a tooltip tag. A first format 210
`includes a first text string 212 Surrounded by brackets (“-”
`and “s”). The characters “TOOLTIPTXT =” are followed by
`tooltip information, Specifying characters that are displayed
`on a Web Page as a tooltip. In a preferred embodiment
`having Sufficiently fast access time, the tool information can
`also be a reference to a file name, such as “HREF=http://
`Server.com/filename', but doing So is only recommended
`when it would take within 1.0 second after the user places
`60
`the cursor over the anchor text for the tooltip to appear. A
`tooltip also could be an icon or other illustration, indicated
`by <TOOLTIP IMG SRC=foo.gif>.
`Next, a Second text string 214 (displayed info) identifies
`information that is displayed on a Web Page. The displayed
`info can identify any information that has a visual appear
`ance on display device 160, including images, literal char
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`65
`
`5,937,417
`
`25
`
`35
`
`40
`
`4
`acter Strings and, animations (given a System of Sufficient
`response time). Thus, for example, tooltips can be used to
`explain an icon if the displayed information identifies a file
`containing the graphical information of an icon. Next, a third
`text string 216 Surrounded by brackets (“Z” and “Y”) con
`sists of the string “/TOOLTIP” to indicate the end of the
`tooltip tag.
`Second format 220 includes a first text string 222 Sur
`rounded by brackets (“-” and “Y”). The first text string
`includes the characters “TOOLTIP TXT =” followed by
`characters that are displayed on a Web Page as a tooltip,
`followed by the string “EVERYWHERE". Next are second
`and third text strings 224, 226 similar to those of the first
`format 210. A tooltip tag having an EVERYWHERE
`attribute applies to all occurrences of the displayed info on
`the Web page. Thus, the page author need only author a
`Single tooltip tag even if it is to be used to explain multiple
`occurrences of displayed information.
`Third format 230 includes a first text string 232 Sur
`rounded by brackets (“-” and “Y”). The first text string
`includes the characters “TOOLTIP TXT =”, followed by
`characters that are displayed on a Web Page as a tooltip,
`followed by the string “EVERYWHERE BELOW. Next
`are second and third text strings 234, 236 similar to those of
`the first format 210. A tooltip tag having an EVERYWHERE
`BELOW attribute applies to all occurrences of the displayed
`info on the Web page located below the tooltip tag on the
`page. Thus, the page author can “turn on a tooltip for all
`locations below the tooltip tag and the tooltip can be used to
`explain multiple occurrences of a specific code below a
`certain point on the page.
`Fourth format 240 includes a <TOOLTIPALLOFF> tag
`that turns off all “EVERYWHERE” tooltips in the rest of the
`file. If no ALLOFF tag appears, the EVERYWHERE tag
`remains in force for the rest of the page.
`FIG. 3 shows an example of a Web page displayed on
`display device 160 of FIG. 1. The page includes lines 302
`and 304. Line 302 reads as follows:
`UA Feb. 15, 1996 0931 LHR SFO 5368 6710 12078
`Although it is clear from the column heading that “LHR”
`represents a “From City,” it is not necessarily clear what
`“LHR Stands for.
`FIG. 4 shows an example of a Web Page with a tooltip
`displayed thereon in accordance with a preferred embodi
`ment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 4, the
`user has placed the cursor over the text “LHR' on line 302
`and has let the cursor remain Stationary for a predetermined
`period of time, Such as three Seconds. After the cursor has
`remained in place over the displayed information “LHR' for
`the predetermined period of time, the tooltip text “London
`Heathrow’ is displayed, indicating that “LHR’ is an abbre
`viation for “London Heathrow.” In a preferred embodiment,
`any piece of information displayed on display device 160
`can have an associated tooltip.
`For example, the HTML to display line 302 looks like
`this:
`<TOOLTIP TXT-"Universal Airlines'
`EVERYWHERE > UA&/TOOLTIPs
`Feb. 15, 1996 0931 <TOOLTIP
`TXT-“London Heathrow
`EVERYWHERE > LHR </TOOLTIPs
`<TOOLTIP TXT-"San Francisco’
`EVERYWHERE > SFO &/TOOLTIPs
`5368 6710 12078
`
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`25
`
`S
`FIGS. 5(a) through 5(c) show respective examples of
`HTML tooltip tags that could have been used to specify the
`tooltip of FIG. 4. The tooltip tags of FIG. 5 could be used in
`the HTML to display the tooltip for “LHR” of line 302. The
`tooltip tag 501 of FIG. 5(a) causes the tooltip text “London
`Heathrow” to be associated only with the occurrence of
`“LHR” in line 302 (assuming that the tooltip tag is part of
`the HTML specifying line 302). The tooltip tag 502 of FIG.
`5(b) causes the tooltip text “London Heathrow” to be
`associated with the occurrences of “LHR' in both lines 302
`and 304 (see FIG. 8). The tooltip tag 503 of FIG. 5(c) causes
`the tooltip text “London Heathrow” to be associated with the
`occurrence of “LHR” in both lines 302 and 304 (see FIG. 8)
`(assuming that the tooltip tag is part of the HTML for line
`302). If the tooltip tag 503 of FIG. 5(c) occurs below the
`HTML for line 302, then the tooltip text is associated only
`with the occurrence of “LHR” in line 304).
`FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) are flow charts showing steps per
`formed by browser software 130 preferably prior to display
`ing the Web page of FIG. 3. It will be understood by persons
`of ordinary skill in the art that the steps of flow charts in this
`document are performed by CPU 102 executing the instruc
`tions of browser 130 in accordance with HTML 135.
`Initially, in step 602, the browser requests HTML145 for a
`page from server 140. In step 604, the server sends the
`requested HTML, which is stored as HTML 135 in memory
`104. In step 606, the browser determines whether HTML
`135 contains any non-empty tooltip tags. If So, certain
`initialization Steps need to be performed.
`Step 608 represents the top of a loop performed for each
`non-empty tooltip tag in HTML 135. An empty tooltip tag is
`a tooltip tag missing either the tooltip text or the displayed
`info. In Step 610, the browser determines where the dis
`played info is displayed on display device 160 and stores in
`memory the region of the display device on which the
`displayed info is displayed. The browser also stores the
`tooltip text in association with the region information.
`In step 612, if the tooltip tag has an EVERYWHERE
`attribute, then it may be necessary to Store information
`concerning other occurrences of the displayed info on the
`40
`page. Otherwise, control passes to step 628. If an EVERY
`WHERE attribute is present, in step 614, the browser
`determines whether there is a BELOW attribute present. If
`not, a startpoint is set to be the top of the page. If a BELOW
`attribute is present, the Startpoint is Set to where the dis
`45
`played text is located on the page.
`In step 619, if an ALLOFF tag is present, an endpoint is
`Set to the location on the page of the ALLOFF tag in Step
`620. If no ALLOFF tag is present, the endpoint is set to the
`end of the page in Step 621.
`Step 622 represents the beginning of a loop performed
`from the Startpoint of the page to the endpoint of the page.
`In Step 623, if another occurrence of the displayed text is
`located, then the browser Stores in memory the region of the
`display device on which the displayed info is displayed in
`step 624. The browser also stores the tooltip text in asso
`ciation with the region information. Steps 626 and 628
`represent the end of their respective loops.
`The test to determine whether another occurrence of the
`displayed info is as follows:
`The core String is the String of characters between the
`initial <TOOLTIP> tag with any HTML tags removed. Also
`any whitespace characters in the beginning or the end of the
`String are removed.
`Full word matching is defined as follows:
`The first character of a String being matched must meet at
`least one of the following conditions:
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`1) It must be the first character on a line or the first
`character in the file.
`2) The character immediately before the character must be
`the end of an HTML tag (typically a “s”).
`3) The character immediately before the character must be
`a whitespace character or a punctuation character.
`The last character of a String being matched must meet at
`least one of the following conditions:
`1) It must be the last character on a line or the last
`character in the file.
`2) The character immediately after the character must be
`the beginning of an HTML tag (typically a “-”.
`3) The character immediately after the character must be
`a whitespace character or a punctuation character.
`“Whitespace” characters are defined depending on the
`language and character Set Supported by the browser but
`typically include SPACE, NULL, and TAB.
`"Punctuation' characters are defined depending on the
`language and character Set Supported by the browser but
`typically include.::/\?!"I}()+-* +&%S#.
`FIG. 8 shows an example of the contents of the data
`structure in memory 104 resulting from the steps of FIG. 6.
`In the data structure, a first entry 802 stores the region on
`display device 160 where “LHR" is displayed in line 302.
`Associated therewith is the tooltip text “London Heathrow'.
`A Second entry Stores the region on display device 160
`where “LHR’ is displayed in line 304. Associated therewith
`is the tooltip text “London Heathrow'. Thus, whenever the
`user places the cursor in the region of field 802 or field 804
`and leaves the cursor in the region for a predetermined
`length of time, the tooltip text “London Heathrow” prefer
`ably will be displayed in proximity to the displayed info. It
`will be understood that there may be other entries in the data
`Structure representing other regions and tooltip texts not
`shown in the example.
`FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing steps performed by
`browser 130 to display the Web page of FIG. 4 in accordance
`with the data structure of FIG. 8. In step 702, the page of
`FIG. 3 is shown on display device 160 in accordance with
`HTML 135, in a manner known to persons of ordinary skill
`in the art. The steps of FIG. 6 are also performed at this time.
`It will be understood that there are other steps (not shown)
`that are performed by browser 130 to display a web page and
`to accept input from the user. Many of these Steps are not
`described herein to enhance the clarity of the example.
`In step 704, if there are tooltip tags present in HTML 135,
`the remaining Steps of FIG. 7 are performed. Initially, in Step
`706 the current time is saved as “spot time” and current
`coordinates of the cursor are saved as X1 and Y1. Step 708
`represents the beginning of a loop. In step 709, the current
`cursor location is saved as X2 and Y2.
`In the described embodiment, tooltip text is not displayed
`while the page is being Scrolled. Although the cursor may
`pass briefly over displayed text during Scrolling, it is not
`desirable to display tooltip text for the brief time that the
`cursor is so located. Thus, in step 710, if the display is
`currently Scrolling, spot time is Set to current time and
`control passes to step 724. In step 712, if the display has just
`finished Scrolling, control passes to Step 714, where the
`region fields of entries 802, 804, etc in memory are recal
`culated to reflect the new Screen location of the displayed
`info. Otherwise, control passes to step 716.
`In step 716, if the current cursor position (X2, Y2) is
`within a tooltip region, as defined by the region field of FIG.
`8, then control passes to step 718. Otherwise spot time is
`Set to current time and control passes to Step 724. In Step
`718, if the cursor is moving, spot time is set to current time,
`
`Ebay Exhibit 1006, Page 13 of 15
`Ebay, Inc. v. Lexos Media IP, LLC
`IPR2024-00336
`
`

`

`7
`any current display of tooltip text is ended (step 720) and
`control passes to step 724. Otherwise, if the cursor is not
`moving, control passes to Step 721. In Step 721, if a
`predetermined time has passed since the cursor Stopped
`moving (determined by current time spot time), then
`control passes to Step 722. Otherwise, control passes to Step
`724.
`In Step 722, the cursor has been resting on a tooltip region
`for a predetermined period of time. The tooltip text associ
`ated with the current cursor location (X2, Y2) preferably is
`displayed in proximity to the displayed info on display
`device 160. For example, in FIG. 4, the tooltip text “London
`Heathrow” preferably is displayed in proximity to the dis
`played info “LHR'. As discussed above, the tooltip text is
`displayed until the cursor is moved or until the user moves
`to a different web page.
`Displaying the tooltip is done by looking up the point
`denoted by (X2, Y2) in the tooltip data structure for the
`current page and finding the tooltip text for the Screen region
`that (X2, Y2) falls within. The text preferably is displayed in
`a yellow rectangle that is positioned one line above the top
`of this Screen region and centered around X2. If placing the
`rectangle about the region would make it extend beyond the
`top of the browser window than the rectangle is lowered by
`as many pixels as it would have extended beyond the top of
`the browser window. If centering the rectangle around X2
`would cause it to extend to the left or the right of the browser
`window, then the rectangle is moved right or left,
`respectively, by as many pixels as it would have extended.
`If the text in the tooltip is So long that the rectangle would
`be wider than the width of the browser window then the text
`is word-wrapped to fit within a rectangle the width of the
`browser window.
`Although not shown in FIG. 4, if the tooltip tag of FIGS.
`5(b) and 5(c), which include the EVERYWHERE attribute,
`was included in HTML 135, placing the cursor on “LHR” of
`line 304 would also cause the browser to display the tooltip
`text “London Heathrow” near the displayed info “LHR' of
`line 304. It is also possible to place tooltip tags within other
`tooltip tags.
`In Summary, the present invention allows the designer of
`a web page to include tooltips within the web page. The
`EVERYWHERE attribute and the BELOW attribute allow
`the designer of a Web page use only one tooltip tag to
`Specify tooltip text associated with a plurality of occurrences
`of a displayed text String, using only one tooltip tag. Thus,
`a plurality of occurrences of displayed information can have
`the same tooltip text associated there with as the result of a
`single tooltip tag inserted within the HTML describing the
`page. The ALLOFF attribute allows the designer to “turn
`off tooltips in the middle of a page.
`Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the
`art from consideration of the Specification and practice of the
`invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the Specifica
`tion and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a
`true Scope of the invention being indicated by the following
`claims and equivalents.
`What is claimed is:
`1. A method of Specifying tooltips for text on a web page,
`comprising the Steps of:
`determining a location on the web page for the informa
`tion for which the tooltip is to be displayed;
`Storing in a memory of a data processing System a tooltip
`tag having the format:
`<TOOLTIP TXT = tool tip information>text.</
`TOOLTIP
`where the tooltip tag is Stored in the memory in a location
`asSociated with the location of the text on the web page and
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`includes an EVERYWHERE attribute, indicating that the
`tooltip should be displayed for every occurrence of the
`displayed info on the web page.
`2. A method of Specifying tooltips for text on a web page,
`comprising the Steps of:
`determining a location on the web page for the informa
`tion for which the tooltip is to be displayed;
`Storing in a memory of a data processing System a tooltip
`tag having the format:
`<TOOLTIP TXT = tool tip information>text.</
`TOOLTIP
`where the tooltip tag is Stored in the memory in a location
`asSociated with the location of the text on the web page and
`includes an EVERYWHERE BELOW attribute, indicating
`that the tooltip should be displayed for every occurrence of
`the displayed in