Systems and methods for generating and providing previews of electronic files such as Web files

Abstract

A system for previewing contents of Web files is provided. The system includes a computing platform for executing a previewing application being designed and configured for: (a) retrieving at least a portion of the contents and / or source code of a Web file; and (b) generating a preview of the contents of said Web file, said preview presenting at least a portion of the content of said Web file.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 203,645 filed Aug. 22, 2002, which is a National Stage of International Patent Application No. PCT / IL01 / 00172 having International filing date of Feb. 22, 2001, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 246,600 filed Nov. 8, 2000 and 60 / 184,331 filed Feb. 23, 2000.FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a searchable database and to systems for generating and utilizing same. [0003] With the advent of the World Wide Web, individuals have at their disposal vast amounts of information on a variety of topics. As such, at present, the World Wide Web represents the largest single searchable database. [0004] However, since such data is dispersed among a staggering number of Web sites, searching for such information can be a daunting task. To facilitate Web searching, a number of search tools, termed search engines, have been ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0062] According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the image is scaleable without substantial loss of quality.

[0078] According to yet an additional aspect of the present invention there is provided a system enabling a user to surf the World Wide Web, the system comprising: (a) a database server including previews of Web pages each of the previews presenting at least a portion of a content of a Web page; and (b) at least one user client being in communication with the database, the at least one user client being capable of accessing and displaying each of the previews thereby enabling a user of the at least one user client to surf the World Wide Web.

Problems solved by technology

However, since such data is dispersed among a staggering number of Web sites, searching for such information can be a daunting task.

Because of the vast amount of information and of the dispersed nature thereof, search results are oftentimes either not specific enough or not accurate.

For example, keyword searches may yield irrelevant or no results if the defined keyword is too specific, or they can yield numerous results if the keywords used are too generic.

In the latter case, such downloading and sorting can be a frustrating and time consuming endeavor especially in cases where the information sought after is not uncovered.

Oftentimes, even in searches which seemingly provide good results, download of multiple Web files is required since the information available in the summary of each result is not sufficient for determining the relevance of the Web file to the query made.

In addition, in the case of Web page searches, a user often accesses irrelevant or slightly relevant Web pages resulting from a search query in efforts to possibly uncover more relevant links within these pages, a practice which further prolongs a search and adds to the frustration of the user.

Another common problem encountered by users searching through the Web arises from the existence of several different hypertext links which point to the same Web page or site.

Such duplicate links oftentimes contribute to redundancy in search results.

Yet another common problem encountered by users searching the Web arises from “broken” hyperlinks which appear in a search results list.

Such hyperlinks, which cannot be used to link to the site they represent because that site is down, or no longer available increase the frustration experienced by users.

Surfing the World Wide Web is oftentimes is often a tedious task as connectivity to some addressed servers may prove time inefficient or non-available, depending on, user load, maximal bandwidth, presently available bandwidth and other factors.

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