Filtered Stylesheets for Email Rendering Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for sending web pages via email struggle with the large size of style sheets, which can lead to excessive network bandwidth usage, failed deliveries due to size limits, and slow user interface response times, especially since not all email clients support external style sheets.
Innovation Solution
A method is implemented to filter and reduce the style sheet by identifying and excluding unneeded rules, generating a reduced set of style rules compatible with email messages, and embedding these in the email message, allowing the recipient to render the web page without an external style sheet.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the complete style sheet is included in the email message, then the web page can be rendered with full styling support, but the size of the email message increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary style rules from the complete style sheet that are actually referenced by the web page content. By identifying and removing unused style rules, the style sheet size is reduced while maintaining rendering accuracy for the specific page being emailed.
Solution Approach 2:
The style sheet is segmented into referenced and unreferenced rules. Only the relevant segment (referenced rules) is included in the email message, while the complete style sheet would include all segments. This segmentation approach optimizes the balance between completeness and size.
2Quantity of substance
If external style sheets are used, then the style sheet size is reduced for each web page, but email clients cannot support external style sheets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the web page content with the necessary style rules into a single email message. This combination ensures that the email client receives both the content and its styling information together, eliminating the need for external style sheet support while maintaining a manageable size through selective inclusion of only referenced rules.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the complete style sheet is sent with every email, then rendering is consistent across different emails, but network bandwidth is wasted by transmitting redundant style information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the style rules that are actually needed for each specific web page content. By analyzing which style rules are referenced by the page elements, it transmits only those necessary rules via email, eliminating redundant style information while maintaining rendering consistency for that specific page.
4Quantity of substance
If style rules are filtered based on document content, then the style sheet size is reduced, but additional processing time is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs style rule filtering as a preliminary action when generating the email message, before the recipient receives it. By pre-identifying and extracting only the referenced style rules during the email generation process, the system reduces the style sheet size that needs to be transmitted, and this one-time processing effort avoids the need for recipients to perform filtering operations.
Data Source
AI summary
In one set of embodiments, a web document is associated with a style sheet that can include style rules, which provide details about how the document is to be presented and formatted by, for example, a web browser. A reduced set of style rules is determined based upon contents of the web document and style sheet. Reducing the size of the style sheet is desirable, e.g., to increase communication and processing efficiency when the style sheet is sent with the document in an e-mail message. The reduced set of style rules can include rules that are referenced by user interface components present in the document, and can exclude rules that are not referenced by the document, or are incompatible with or not applicable to e-mail. The reduced set of style rules can be embedded in an e-mail message or other communication in place of the original style sheet.