Document Preview Panel for External Content Linking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern data processing systems face challenges in providing previews of external content linked within documents without leaving the native application, and in efficiently presenting search results, as existing solutions often require users to switch between applications or obscure the original document content.
Innovation Solution
A method that uses a non-native application to generate previews of external content linked within a document, allowing users to interact with the preview without leaving the native application, and presents search results in an abbreviated list with interactive previews adjacent to the results, enabling users to browse and interact with content without switching applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a non-native application launches to view external content, then the content can be viewed, but the user must switch applications and lose focus on the original document
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds the preview capability within the native application interface. A preview panel is nested inside the email application window, allowing external content (HTML, PDF, images) to be displayed within the confines of the original application context. This nesting eliminates the need to launch separate applications while maintaining full content viewing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a preview generator as an intermediary component that bridges the native application and external content sources. This mediator retrieves and renders external content formats within the native application's preview panel, enabling seamless content viewing without requiring users to switch to specialized applications.
2Area of stationary object
If the preview panel overlaps the original document, then more content is visible, but the original document content becomes obscured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic positioning and sizing of the preview panel. The preview panel can be resized, moved, and repositioned within the application window based on user needs and available space. This dynamic behavior allows the system to optimize the balance between preview visibility and original document accessibility in real-time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the application window into distinct functional regions: the main document viewing area and the preview panel area. This segmentation allows both the original document and preview content to be simultaneously visible in their respective zones, reducing the need for overlapping and minimizing obstruction of critical document information.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system detects data types and presents appropriate UI elements, then user interaction is enhanced, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal preview panel that can handle multiple data types (HTML, PDF, images, videos) through a single interface component. The preview generator detects the data type and automatically selects the appropriate rendering method, providing versatile interaction capabilities without requiring separate specialized components for each content type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of content format detection and automatically adjusts the rendering approach based on the detected type. When HTML is detected, it renders as web content; when PDF is detected, it uses PDF rendering engine; when images are detected, it displays them directly. This parameter-based approach enables adaptable interaction while maintaining a unified, relatively simple system architecture.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods, systems and machine readable tangible storage media that can provide one or more previews of content of a file or other object are described. In one embodiment, a preview of content of external data that is referenced by a link within a document is presented while the document is presented (e.g. displayed) by a first application, and the preview can be displayed in a bubble that is adjacent to and points to the link; the content of the external data is not accessible to the first application in one embodiment and the preview is presented by a non-native application or service which cannot create or edit the content of the external data. Other embodiments are also described.