Imran Qureshi

A system and method for optimizing the performance of a graphics intensive software program for graphics acceleration hardware. This system and method encompasses a procedure that validates the different functions of a 3D acceleration capable video card, decides whether to use the acceleration hardware and optimizes the software application to selectively use the functions that work on the specific video acceleration card. Functions checked include sub-pixel positioning, opacity, color… Show more

A system and method for optimizing the performance of a graphics intensive software program for graphics acceleration hardware. This system and method encompasses a procedure that validates the different functions of a 3D acceleration capable video card, decides whether to use the acceleration hardware and optimizes the software application to selectively use the functions that work on the specific video acceleration card. Functions checked include sub-pixel positioning, opacity, color replacement and fog. If these tests are successful, then the graphics acceleration is used by the software application. However, if the tests are not successful the decision is made not to use graphics accelerator. Those with ordinary skill in the art will realize that it is not necessary to perform all of the tests in a specific order. Additionally, other types of tests could be performed to ensure software application and video card compatibility before the software application is uses graphics acceleration to render 3D graphics. Show less

Spell checking of a document in a network browser based application is performed automatically. Spell checking may be performed in a content page in response to user editing of the document text. Text entered into a document through a browser application interface is divided into nodes. The nodes may be associated with a section, line or word of text. Each node may be assigned one or more parameters which may indicate whether the node has been spell checked or not. Selected nodes are sent to a… Show more

Spell checking of a document in a network browser based application is performed automatically. Spell checking may be performed in a content page in response to user editing of the document text. Text entered into a document through a browser application interface is divided into nodes. The nodes may be associated with a section, line or word of text. Each node may be assigned one or more parameters which may indicate whether the node has been spell checked or not. Selected nodes are sent to a spell check service for spell checking. Correction information is received in response to the spell check request. Once a client device receives the correction information, words within the text range of the document that match identified misspelled words are processed. In one embodiment, matching words are highlighted with a visual indicator to indicate that they may be incorrectly spelled. Show less

A delivery confirmation is provided to the sender of an e-mail message. When the e-mail message is composed, a link, such as a hyperlink, is inserted into the e-mail message, such as in the body or header. The link can include information such as a message identifier and identifiers of the sender and the recipient, which are provided as a query string of the link, while a host field of the link includes the address of an e-mail/web server. When the recipient receives the e-mail message and… Show more

A delivery confirmation is provided to the sender of an e-mail message. When the e-mail message is composed, a link, such as a hyperlink, is inserted into the e-mail message, such as in the body or header. The link can include information such as a message identifier and identifiers of the sender and the recipient, which are provided as a query string of the link, while a host field of the link includes the address of an e-mail/web server. When the recipient receives the e-mail message and opens it, the link is displayed along with text that instructs the user to use the link to confirm delivery. The confirmation can include displaying indicia for the e-mail message in a folder view on an interface of the sender, or sending a confirmation e-mail message to the sender, for instance. Voting by e-mail can also be provided. Show less

A system and method for graphically showing the animation order of animated elements in a presentation program or other software. The invention consists of a User Interface (UI) widget which shows the order of the animation in the presentation. This UI employs an animation On Object User Interface (OOUI), or animation tag, that is preferably a rectangular control that encloses a number, and labels the order in which objects are animated. Each animation OOUI or animation tag is associated with… Show more

A system and method for graphically showing the animation order of animated elements in a presentation program or other software. The invention consists of a User Interface (UI) widget which shows the order of the animation in the presentation. This UI employs an animation On Object User Interface (OOUI), or animation tag, that is preferably a rectangular control that encloses a number, and labels the order in which objects are animated. Each animation OOUI or animation tag is associated with an object on a display during creation and editing. The animation OOUI or tag is preferably placed in close proximity to the object it is associated with, rather than in a separate window or dialog box, and is hence termed `On Object`. The animation tag is active and responds to computer input device selection actions. Each animation OOUI is typically associated with an animation list. Show less

A method for saving search query information on a server coupled to the Internet as a search folder. The method may include the steps of: identifying a user communicating with the server; storing the search query associated with the user in a data store on the server responsive to a user instruction to store the search query; and submitting the query to an Internet search engine for execution based on a triggering event. A data structure for storing the search folder is also described.

Sharing data within an instant messaging session is described. A user participating in an instant messaging session may request a data access key. The key, which provides access to data associated with the user, may then be transmitted via the instant messaging session to one or more other participants in the instant messaging session. The other instant messaging session participants can then use the key to access, via the instant messaging session, the data associated with the user. Users may… Show more

Sharing data within an instant messaging session is described. A user participating in an instant messaging session may request a data access key. The key, which provides access to data associated with the user, may then be transmitted via the instant messaging session to one or more other participants in the instant messaging session. The other instant messaging session participants can then use the key to access, via the instant messaging session, the data associated with the user. Users may be granted various levels of access to another user's data. Show less

An application providing a common interface allowing access and login to a electronic mail system and instant messaging system. The application allows responding to an email using an instant message, replying to an instant message using an email, sending and receiving both email and instant messages from one application, sending email attachments instantly, and displaying presence information for the user, user email contacts and user messenger contacts. Alerts are provided for both emails and… Show more

An application providing a common interface allowing access and login to a electronic mail system and instant messaging system. The application allows responding to an email using an instant message, replying to an instant message using an email, sending and receiving both email and instant messages from one application, sending email attachments instantly, and displaying presence information for the user, user email contacts and user messenger contacts. Alerts are provided for both emails and instant messages received. The inbox views can automatically be refreshed when a user receives new email. An interface is provided to convert multiple email contacts into messenger contacts. The system can be used with both local messenger clients and browser based IM clients. Show less

A system and method for delivering a presentation electronically. The invention takes advantage of the multiple monitor capabilities of a computer operating system to display a "control panel" on the computer monitor or laptop screen that typically only the presenter will view. The presenter can use this control panel to view and control the presentation while the audience only sees a full screen slideshow. Providing this "presenter" view and control makes computer-based presenting much easier.… Show more

A system and method for delivering a presentation electronically. The invention takes advantage of the multiple monitor capabilities of a computer operating system to display a "control panel" on the computer monitor or laptop screen that typically only the presenter will view. The presenter can use this control panel to view and control the presentation while the audience only sees a full screen slideshow. Providing this "presenter" view and control makes computer-based presenting much easier. The presenter can control the specific aspects of the slideshow from the private monitor using control buttons or keyboard shortcuts. Show less

A method and system for automatically sizing and positioning a graphical display of HTML objects to fit the dimensions and video display resolution of a display window in a program such as a browser. A first facility translates slides in a slide show presentation program into a corresponding series of scalable Slide HTML pages. A scalable Slide HTML page has a SlideObj container that contains all of the objects in that page. Divisions in the scalable Slide HTML pages are created with nested DIV… Show more

A method and system for automatically sizing and positioning a graphical display of HTML objects to fit the dimensions and video display resolution of a display window in a program such as a browser. A first facility translates slides in a slide show presentation program into a corresponding series of scalable Slide HTML pages. A scalable Slide HTML page has a SlideObj container that contains all of the objects in that page. Divisions in the scalable Slide HTML pages are created with nested DIV tags so that percentages related to default dimensions in the SlideObj container may be used to define the dimensions of a display space for a scalable Slide HTML page. Also, nested DIV tags are used to define percentage based positions, hyperlink areas and font sizes for HTML objects in the display space of the scalable Slide HTML page. The HTML objects include text, images, and image maps associated with hyperlinks. A scalar is calculated to retain the original aspect ratio when fitting a display space and HTML objects included in the scalable Slide HTML page to different display window dimensions and video display resolutions. This scalar is also used to calculate the font size of the text objects and the hyperlink area for the hyperlinks (imagemaps). User interface controls are provided to select options for automatically fitting the HTML objects in the scalable Slide HTML page to the size of the display window. Show less

A computer-based system and method of updating and viewing an electronic slide show presentation is disclosed. The method includes storing a local version of the slide presentation file and an indication of the most recent update to the slide presentation. When a user launches the local slide presentation, the date of the most recent update to the slide presentation is retrieved, and used to determine whether a new update is advisable. A dialog window queries the user as to whether to perform… Show more

A computer-based system and method of updating and viewing an electronic slide show presentation is disclosed. The method includes storing a local version of the slide presentation file and an indication of the most recent update to the slide presentation. When a user launches the local slide presentation, the date of the most recent update to the slide presentation is retrieved, and used to determine whether a new update is advisable. A dialog window queries the user as to whether to perform an update of the slide presentation. If the user responds affirmatively, the slide presentation program automatically retrieves a version of the slide presentation from a remote computer on a network. After updating the local version of the an slide presentation file, an electronic slide show is automatically launched utilizing the remote version retrieved from the network Show less

A computer-based system and method of updating and viewing an electronic slide show presentation is disclosed. The method includes storing a local version of the slide presentation file and an indication of the most recent update to the slide presentation. When a user launches the local slide presentation, the date of the most recent update to the slide presentation is retrieved, and used to determine whether a new update is advisable. A dialog window queries the user as to whether to perform… Show more

A computer-based system and method of updating and viewing an electronic slide show presentation is disclosed. The method includes storing a local version of the slide presentation file and an indication of the most recent update to the slide presentation. When a user launches the local slide presentation, the date of the most recent update to the slide presentation is retrieved, and used to determine whether a new update is advisable. A dialog window queries the user as to whether to perform an update of the slide presentation. If the user responds affirmatively, the slide presentation program automatically retrieves a version of the slide presentation from a remote computer on a network. After updating the local version of the an slide presentation file, an electronic slide show is automatically launched utilizing the remote version retrieved from the network. Show less

A computer-based system and method of updating and viewing an electronic slide show presentation is disclosed. The method includes storing a local version of the slide presentation file and an indication of the most recent update to the slide presentation. When a user launches the local slide presentation, the date of the most recent update to the slide presentation is retrieved, and used to determine whether a new update is advisable. A dialog window queries the user as to whether to perform… Show more

A computer-based system and method of updating and viewing an electronic slide show presentation is disclosed. The method includes storing a local version of the slide presentation file and an indication of the most recent update to the slide presentation. When a user launches the local slide presentation, the date of the most recent update to the slide presentation is retrieved, and used to determine whether a new update is advisable. A dialog window queries the user as to whether to perform an update of the slide presentation. If the user responds affirmatively, the slide presentation program automatically retrieves a version of the slide presentation from a remote computer on a network. After updating the local version of the an slide presentation file, an electronic slide show is automatically launched utilizing the remote version retrieved from the network. Show less

A presentation transport system is provided that transfers a slide presentation from a source computer to a destination computer in such a manner as to ensure that the presentation will look and operate in the manner in which it was intended on the destination computer. In order to provide this functionality, the presentation transport system packs up the presentation on the source computer, including the link sources for the presentation, stores the presentation and the link sources onto a… Show more

A presentation transport system is provided that transfers a slide presentation from a source computer to a destination computer in such a manner as to ensure that the presentation will look and operate in the manner in which it was intended on the destination computer. In order to provide this functionality, the presentation transport system packs up the presentation on the source computer, including the link sources for the presentation, stores the presentation and the link sources onto a transfer medium, and unpacks the presentation and the link sources after it has been transferred to the destination computer. During this process, the links contained in the presentation are maintained so that when the presentation is displayed on the destination computer, the links are operational. Additionally, the fonts used by the presentation are transferred by the presentation transport system so as to ensure that when the presentation is displayed, the correct fonts are used. Further, the presentation transport system allows the user to package a viewer with the presentation so as to ensure that there is a means for displaying the presentation after it has been transferred to the destination computer. Show less

A shared registration DLL and configuration data files that are used by setup programs and their corresponding application programs to register configuration information in a registry and to un-register configuration information from a registry. The shared registration DLL simplifies writing and synchronizing configuration information registration routines in a setup program and in its corresponding application program. The shared registration DLL allows for specifying relative file system… Show more

A shared registration DLL and configuration data files that are used by setup programs and their corresponding application programs to register configuration information in a registry and to un-register configuration information from a registry. The shared registration DLL simplifies writing and synchronizing configuration information registration routines in a setup program and in its corresponding application program. The shared registration DLL allows for specifying relative file system pathnames to the application and to application files, rather than requiring file system pathnames to be fully specified. The shared registration DLL allows for configuration information registered previously by an older version of an application to be stored in the registry when a newer version of the application is installed, and to be restored when the newer version is removed from the computer system. The shared registration DLL and configuration data files allow for incremental addition of configuration information to the registry when new components for a previously installed application are added to the computer system. Show less

A computer-based system and method of recording and playing back audio narration to accompany an electronic slide show presentation is disclosed. The method includes a slide show recording session, during which a series of slides are sequentially displayed. During the recording session, a segment of audio input corresponding to the display of each slide within a slide presentation is recorded and digitized. Each digitized audio segment is stored and associated with its corresponding slide… Show more

A computer-based system and method of recording and playing back audio narration to accompany an electronic slide show presentation is disclosed. The method includes a slide show recording session, during which a series of slides are sequentially displayed. During the recording session, a segment of audio input corresponding to the display of each slide within a slide presentation is recorded and digitized. Each digitized audio segment is stored and associated with its corresponding slide. Audio data may be embedded within a slide, or alternatively stored in a file and linked to a slide. During a subsequent performance of the slide show, when each slide is displayed, its corresponding audio segment is retrieved and played back. The method also stores timings corresponding to each slide during the slide show recording session, and optionally uses these timings to advance slides during the subsequent slide show presentation. Show less

A multiple tier system is provided for classifying the safety level of an electronic message. The multiple tier system can include safety classification levels of safe, medium safe, and unsafe. Display settings associated with each safety level govern how messages are initially displayed to a user. A user interface distinguishes messages using a safety information interface. The safety information interface provides information about the message and allows a user to provide input regarding the… Show more

A multiple tier system is provided for classifying the safety level of an electronic message. The multiple tier system can include safety classification levels of safe, medium safe, and unsafe. Display settings associated with each safety level govern how messages are initially displayed to a user. A user interface distinguishes messages using a safety information interface. The safety information interface provides information about the message and allows a user to provide input regarding the desirability of the message. Upon receiving user input, the safety level of the message may be changed and other processing related to the message can be performed. The system also provides a mechanism for detecting and unsubscribing from a mailing list. Show less