FR2980288A1 - Method for archiving annotation data of web document by e.g. personal computer, involves determining order index for each annotation added on web document following relation of order between added annotations - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves receiving annotation data (21) from an electronic annotation device (26) via a communication unit (22C), where the data includes annotations added on a web document (17) via the electronic annotation device, by a user. The annotation data received in a memory (22B) is archived by an archiving unit (22D). An order index is determined for each annotation added on the web document following a relation of order between the added annotations, where the annotation data comprises order indices associated with the respective added annotations. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) a method for rendering a representation of annotated web document (2) a computer program product comprising software instructions for implementing a method for archiving annotation data of web document by an electronic archiving device (3) a computer program product comprising software instructions for implementing a method for rendering a representation of annotated Web document (4) an electronic device for archiving annotation data of web document (5) an electronic device for rendering a representation of annotated web document.

Description

Methods for archiving annotation data of a web document and rendering a representation of an annotated web document, computer programs and associated electronic devices The present invention relates to a method for archiving annotation data of a Web document, the method being implemented by an electronic archiving device comprising a processing unit, means of communication with an electronic annotation device of the Web document, a memory and archiving means in the annotation data memory said method comprising the following steps: - the reception, via the communication means, of the annotation data from the electronic annotation device, the annotation data including the annotations added, by at least one user, on the web document via the electronic annotation device, and - archiving, by the archiving means, the annotation data received in the memory. The present invention also relates to a method for rendering a representation of an annotated web document, the annotated web document being a web document on which annotations have been added, the method being implemented by an electronic rendering device comprising data visualization means, a navigation application on the Internet network and an annotation application, said method comprising the following steps: - the reception of annotation data previously archived, the annotation data including the annotations added to said Web document, and the display of the representation of the annotated document comprising all the archived annotations for said document. The present invention also relates to a computer program product comprising the software instructions which, when they are implemented by a processing unit integrated with an electronic archiving device comprising means of communication with an electronic annotation device, a memory capable of storing the received annotation data and archiving means in the memory of the annotation data received, implements the steps of such an archiving method, relative to a Web document. The present invention also relates to a computer program product comprising the software instructions which, when implemented by a processing unit integrated with an electronic device comprising data display means and a navigation application on the Internet network. , implements the steps, incumbent on the application of annotation, of such a rendering method, with respect to a Web document. The present invention also relates to an electronic device for archiving annotation data of a Web document, comprising: - a processing unit - means of communication with an electronic annotation device of the Web document, - a memory capable of storing the annotation data received from the electronic annotation device, the annotation data including the annotations added by at least one user to the web document via the electronic annotation device, and - archiving means in the memory of the annotation data received. The present invention also relates to an electronic device for rendering a representation of an annotated web document by an electronic annotation device, the annotated web document being a web document on which annotations have been added, the electronic rendering device comprising: - a processing unit, - data display means, - a navigation application on the Internet, and - an annotation application comprising means for receiving annotation data previously archived, the data of annotation with annotations added to the said web document. Methods and electronic devices of the aforementioned type are known. Such an archiving method makes it possible to record in a memory annotations added by a first user to a Web document by means of an annotation device of a Web document, with a view to their subsequent rendering to a second document. user. Such a rendering method enables the second user, with the aid of such an electronic rendering device, to display the annotations added by the first user to this Web document by means of the electronic annotation device, for example a computer or a mobile phone and then stored in the memory using such an electronic filing device. An annotation is a graphic element associated with a document and includes non-native content of the document filled in by a user. Such annotations allow users to exchange information, suggestions, impressions, and so on. Web document via the web document itself, rather than through a messaging system, for example. These annotations take for example the form of a note, a link or an image pointing to an element of the Web document to which it refers.

The annotation of the web document includes the display, by the navigation application, of a toolbar adapted to the creation and positioning of annotations on the document processed by the navigation application and viewed. The added annotations and the toolbar are superimposed on the representation of the web document generated by the navigation application.

The archiving method includes receiving the annotation data from the annotation electronic device, the annotation data including the annotations added by at least one user to the web document, and archiving for the set of users who added annotations, annotation data received in memory.

The rendering method comprises displaying, via the annotation application, a list of annotated web documents for a given set of users, in order to render a representation of an annotated web document selected from this list. The rendered annotations are superimposed on the representation of the web document generated by the navigation application.

However, the use of such electronic devices implementing such an archiving method and such a restitution process can only restore a reduced amount of information on annotations added to the annotated web document rendered. The object of the invention is to propose an archiving method and a rendering method, via the implementation of the associated electronic annotation and rendering devices, making it possible to restore a greater amount of information relating to the added annotations. on the restored annotated Web document, while facilitating the use of the electronic rendering device implementing said rendering process. For this purpose, the subject of the invention is an archiving method of the aforementioned type, characterized in that the archiving step further comprises determining, for each annotation added to said Web document, an index of order according to an order relationship between the added annotations, and the annotation data further include the order indices associated with the respective added annotations. The subject of the invention is also a method of restitution of the aforementioned type, characterized in that the received annotation data furthermore comprise order indices determined according to an order relation between the annotations added on said Web document and associated to the respective added annotations, and in that the step of displaying the representation of the annotated document comprises displaying, by a reading module of the annotation application, automatically and successively in ascending order of the indices order, all archived annotations for said web document. According to other embodiments, the rendering method comprises one or more of the following characteristics, taken separately or according to all the technically possible combinations: the automatic and successive display of all the annotations archived for said document is triggered by an initial action of the user on the reading module in the absence of subsequent action of the user on said reading module, - the archived annotations are displayed successively and grouped, the display of the archived annotation associated with the previous order index being maintained when displaying the archived annotation associated with the next order index, - the archived annotations are displayed separately for each respective order index, the archived annotation associated with the previous order index being hidden when displaying the archived annotation associated with the following order index ant, - each archived annotation is identified by a pair of identification data including the order index and an identifier of the user, and the order index and the identifier are displayed in an information area of the toolbar when displaying the corresponding archived annotation, - each archived annotation is identified by a pair of identification data including the order index and an identifier of the user, and the order index and identifier are displayed in a pop-up window when the corresponding archived annotation is displayed, the pop-up being arranged in the vicinity of the displayed annotation, - at least two archived annotations are displayed on layers distinct, each layer having a distinct transparency index, - each archived annotation is displayed on a respective layer, each layer having a respective transparency index, the transparency index being a function of the order index and / or of an identifier of the user, and the step of displaying a representation of the annotated document comprises the horizontal and / or vertical scrolling of the representation of the annotated document , the scrolling being performed automatically by the reader module according to the position of the annotation displayed, so that the annotations displayed are successively visible on the screen. According to another embodiment, the archiving method and the rendering method comprise the following characteristic: the order index associated with each archived annotation is the annotation date. The subject of the invention is also a computer program product comprising the software instructions which, when implemented by a processing unit integrated with an electronic archiving device, comprise means of communication with an electronic device. annotation, a memory capable of storing the received annotation data and archiving means in the memory of the annotation data received, implements the steps of the archiving method as defined above, relative to a document Web. The invention also relates to a computer program product comprising software instructions which, when implemented by a processing unit integrated with an electronic device comprising data display means and a navigation application on the computer. Internet network, implements the steps of the annotation application of the rendering method as defined above, with respect to a Web document. The invention also relates to an electronic archiving device of the aforementioned type, characterized in that it further comprises means for determining, for each annotation added to said Web document, a sequence index following a relationship. of order between the annotations added, and means for inserting into the annotation data of the order indices associated with the respective added annotations for archiving them by means of the archiving means.

The subject of the invention is also an electronic rendering device of the aforementioned type, characterized in that the received annotation data furthermore comprise order indices determined according to an order relationship between the annotations added to said Web document and associated with the respective added annotations, and in that the annotation application further comprises a module for reading the archived annotations, the reading module comprising means for triggering the display, automatically and successively in ascending order. order indices, of the set of archived annotations for said web document. These features and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the description which follows, given solely by way of example, and with reference to the appended drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a system comprising electronic devices suitable for implementing the methods according to the invention, - Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a source representation of a web document according to a first aspect of the invention, - Figure 3 is a schematic representation of a target representation of the same document as FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the methods according to the invention; FIGS. 5 to 7 are schematic representations of a target representation of a Web document. via the navigation application during the display, in an automatic and successive manner according to an increasing order of order indices associated with archived annotations, of the set According to a first embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, FIGS. 8 to 10 are views similar to those of FIGS. 5 to 7 according to a second embodiment of the first aspect of the invention. invention, and - Figure 11 is a view similar to that of Figure 2 according to a second aspect of the invention. With reference to FIG. 1, the global system 10 comprises an electronic device 12 adapted to interact with the Internet network 14 in order to establish a communication with at least one Web server 16, an annotation management server 18, and another electronic device 19. In known manner, the Web server 16 is adapted to store Web documents 17. The web server 16 is also adapted to process a request it receives from the electronic device 12 or 19. In a conventional manner , the processing of the request by the server 16 has the effect of sending by it a document it contains to the electronic device from which the request. The annotation management server 18 comprises an electronic annotation data archiving device 21 of the Web document 17. The electronic archiving device 20 comprises a processing unit 22A, a memory 22B capable of storing an application annotation 23 and the annotation data 21, the annotation data 21 having annotations added by at least one user to the web document 17, and being adapted to be generated by the annotation application 23 when its operation, as we will see later. The electronic archiving device 20 comprises means 22C for communication with an electronic annotation device 26 of the Web document 17, means 22D for archiving in the memory 22B annotation data 21 received.

The electronic archiving device 20 comprises means 22E for determining, for each annotation added to said Web document 17, an order index following an order relation between the added annotations, and means 22F for insertion into the annotation data 21 of the order indices associated with the respective added annotations for archiving them by means of the archiving means 22D. The annotation data 21 then comprise the order indices associated with the respective added annotations. The order index associated with each added annotation is, for example, the date of their reception by the annotation management server 18, also called the annotation date. The order relation is, for example, the chronological order, that is, the order from the oldest event to the most recent event. Alternatively, the order relationship is the order from the most recent event to the oldest event.

In a variant, the order index associated with each annotation added is primarily a function of an identifier of the user, the order relation being a hierarchical relation, and secondly the annotation date. The electronic device 12 is formed for example of a personal computer, a mobile phone or a touch screen tablet. The electronic apparatus 12 comprises the electronic annotation device 26 of the Web document 17 and an electronic device 28 for rendering a representation of an annotated web document. The electronic apparatus 12 comprises user-generated information acquisition means 32, visualization means 34, telecommunication means 36, and a central processing unit 38 adapted to execute applications necessary for the operation of the electronic apparatus 12 The other electronic device 19 is similar to the electronic device 12, and also comprises the electronic annotation device 26 and the electronic reproduction device 28. The other electronic device 19 comprises the input means 32, the means of visualization 34, the telecommunication means 36, and the central unit 38.

The display means 34 comprise, in a known manner, a screen 44 and means for processing the graphic information, for example a graphics processor 46 and an associated graphic memory 48. In known manner, the input means 32 comprise a keyboard 40 from which the user can instruct the execution of software, functionalities of these software, add text to a document, etc. The gripping means 32 also comprise means of interaction with information displayed on the display means 34, such as for example a mouse 42 handled by a user. In the case considered, the mouse 42 has a button operable by pressing the user on the button (one click), the button can then be released or maintained by the user.

The graphics processor 46 is adapted to process the graphic information stored in the graphics memory 48 and to display on the screen 44 this information or a representation thereof. Advantageously, the input means 32 and the display means 34 may have a common shape, in the case of a touch screen for example.

The telecommunication means 36 comprise a network interface enabling the electronic device 12 to communicate with other devices connected to the network 14, for example the Web server 16, the annotation management server 18 or the electronic device 19. The central processing unit 38 comprises a processor 50 and one or more memories 52. The processor 50 is adapted to execute applications contained in memory 52, in particular an operating system allowing the conventional operation of an electronic device. The memory 52 comprises different areas of memory, allocated statically or dynamically, which contain applications intended to be executed by the computing device 12. The memory 52 is able to store the annotation application 23, an application 54 for sending data. request and a navigation application 56. The purpose of the request sending application 54 is to instruct the electronic device 12 to send a request to a remote device via its communication means 36. When the request sending application 54 is executed by the device 12, a connection to the network is made via a communication protocol, for example the HTTP protocol (HyperText Transfer Protocol), and a request, for example an HTTP request, is sent through the network 14 to a remote device connected to the network 14. In known manner, when the remote device is a server and the request is an HTTP request contained the URL (Universal Resource Locator) of a resource stored on the remote device, for example a Web document 17, visible in FIGS. 2 and 3, the server returns the requested resource to the electronic device 12.

The purpose of the navigation application 56 is to enable the user to access a content, for example the Web document 17, to display it on the display means 34 and to interact with this content, in particular via an interface In the known manner, the navigation application 56 comprises at least one module 58 for managing a network access graphical interface 59 and a management module 60 for rendering management. These modules correspond to software subsets of the navigation application 56 that implement the functions that compose them. The interface management module 58 has the function of controlling elements of the graphical interface 59 of the navigation application 56 and of providing the connection to the network to request and receive a particular web page. The annotation application 23 includes an annotation module 61 able to add annotations to the Web document 17, a module 62 for archiving the annotations added to the Web document 17 at different annotation dates by at least one user. , and a module 63 for exchanging annotations added with other users, as shown in FIG. 1 when the annotation application 23 is stored in the memory 52 of the electronic apparatus. According to a first aspect of the invention, the annotation application 23 further comprises a module 64 for reading the archived annotations. The annotation module 61 allows the user to select an annotation element (for example, a text box, an image, a freehand drawing), to modify certain attributes (for example the color or the size) to obtain a personalized annotation and then to position the annotation on the web document 17. The archiving module 62 is able to generate the annotation data 21 associated with said Web document 17, the annotation data 21 comprising the annotations added to said web document 17. The archiving module 62 is able to transmit via the communication means 36 the annotation data 21 generated to the annotation management server 18. The annotation management server 18 is then able to store, using the archiving device 20, the annotation data 21 in its storage means 22A in correspondence with the URL identifying the Web document 17. The annotation management server 18 is in furthermore suitable for storing for these new annotation data 21, the order index and the identifier of the user. The exchange module 63 is able to transmit via the communication means 36 to another user a URL address associated with the annotated Web document. The URL associated with the annotated Web document is transmitted as a hypertext link in an email, also known as an email (e-mail), or as a hyperlink in a message on a social network on the Internet, such as Facebook © or Twitter ©. The read module 64 comprises means 65A for triggering the display, automatically and successively in ascending order of the order indices, of all the archived annotations for the web document 17. The triggering means 65A are specific to be controlled by an initial action of the user in the absence of subsequent action of the user. The read module 64 further comprises means 65B for stopping said automatic display of all the archived annotations for the Web document 17. In addition, the display is made periodically, the time between the display times two archived annotations associated with successive order indices being equal to a refresh period. The value of the refresh period is, for example, equal to one second.

In the embodiment described, the order index is the annotation date, and the display is performed automatically and successively according to the annotation dates. The display according to the annotation dates is independent of the time difference between two annotation dates. In addition, the read module 64 comprises means 65C for generating respective display layers for at least two distinct archived annotations, each layer having a distinct transparency index, for displaying on different layers of the at least two archived annotations. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the layer generation means 65C are means for generating a respective display layer for each archived annotation, each layer having a respective transparency index, the transparency index. depending on the order index and / or an identifier of the user. In addition, the reading module 64 comprises means 65D for scrolling horizontally and / or vertically in the representation of the annotated document, the scrolling being performed automatically according to the position of the annotation displayed, so that the annotations displayed are successively visible on the screen 44. The electronic annotation device 26 comprises the display means 34, the processing unit 38, the navigation application 56, the annotation 61 and archiving modules 62 of the annotation application.

The electronic reproduction device 28 comprises the display means 34, the processing unit 38, the navigation application 56, means, not shown, for receiving annotation data and the reading module 64 of the application annotation. Those skilled in the art will understand that the electronic annotation device 26 and the electronic rendering device 28 comprise the annotation application 23, the display means 34, the processing unit 38 and the navigation application 56 of FIG. shared between them for the implementation of the annotation of the Web document 17 and the return of the annotated Web document which are suitable for being performed at different times. In known manner, and with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the elements of the graphic interface 59 comprise scrolling buttons 66 between the displayed documents, a navigation bar 68, a display frame 69 inside which the Web document 17 is capable of being displayed, a drop-down menu bar 70 and a bookmark bar 71. The user then interacts with these elements via the input means 32. The function of the rendering module 60 is as follows to control all the functionalities associated with the processing of documents and to display them on the display means 34. In a known manner, this management module 60 has the function of generating a representation of the document, of adding graphic elements to the displayed document, to execute the multimedia content of the document, to execute the "scripts" therein and to interact with the actions of the user. During operation of the navigation application 56, the reception of elements associated with a web page that the user wishes to consult triggers their processing by the central processing unit 38 and sending them to the rendering management module 60. This then realizes the construction of a representation of the document which is then saved in the memory 46 of the display means 34, and then displayed on the screen 44. This module 60 rendering management corresponds to the heart of the application of navigation 56 and relies on the use of standard languages and technologies recommended by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). These technologies include, for example, HyperText Markup Language (HTML), CSS (Cascading Style Sheet), and Javascript, which is an object-handling language provided by an application, such as annotation application 23. Thus an application driven by the management module of a navigation application is adaptable to different navigation applications. In known manner, the Web document 17 is constructed from a markup language, for example HTML. Other languages and technologies commonly used for the construction of such a document are Extensible Markup Language (XML), JavaScript, CSS, etc ... The markup language allows a developer, a creator content, etc. to build a document by adding semantically tagged elements. The tags are then processed by the rendering module 60 which generates a logical representation of the document from them with which the modules of the application interact. In a device according to the invention, the rendering management module 60 implements logical representations of the Document Object Model (DOM) type. A DOM representation of a document defines the logical structure of the document in tree form. Each node of the tree corresponds to an element of the structured document, for example an image, a block of text, a link, etc. Each node includes so-called "child" nodes located one rank below in the tree. Each of the threads of this node corresponds to a logical portion of the document of granularity greater than this node, that is to say of greater detail. Thus, the first rank node of the DOM representation corresponds to the entire document, its threads correspond to the main logical portions of the document, their son to logical portions of these main logical portions, and so on. In the following, the data "processed" by the rendering management module 60 corresponds to the DOM representation of the document from which is created a representation displayed on the display means 44. The so-called "source" data of the module 60 correspond to the data - for example the HTML code - of the document necessary for the module 60 to perform the DOM representation. The navigation application 56 furthermore comprises several functionalities illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. In known manner, one of these functionalities enables the user to enter in the browser via a navigation bar 68 the URL address of the browser. a resource he wants to access. The navigation application 56 is also adapted to allow the user to generate bookmarks 72, also called bookmarks (English bookmark), allowing him to quickly access a given resource. Typically, these bookmarks 72 are replaceable by "scripted" bookmarks 74, also known as "scripted" bookmarks (of the English bookmarklet). This bookmark generation functionality is driven by the interface management module 58, and is, for example, implemented by means of a dedicated shortcut button 75 in the form of tabs in the mark bar. -pages 71 and / or in a drop-down menu 76 accessible via the drop-down menu bar 70. In known manner, when the user wishes to create a bookmark 72 associated with a specific resource, he "clicks" via the mouse 42 on the 75 shortcut button. The interface management module 58 orders the central processing unit 38 to execute a command which results in the creation of a bookmark 72 accessible later via a tab in the bookmark bar. and / or via a tab in the drop-down menu 76. When the user wishes to access a resource with which a bookmark 72 is associated, he clicks with the mouse on the corresponding tab in the drop-down menu 76. The browser executes then a command resulting in the sending of a request by the computing device 12 to a remote server on which is stored the resource corresponding to the bookmark 72. The function of a scripted bookmark 74 is to allow, besides access to a remote resource, the execution of a script, for example a Javascript, which is contained in the scripted bookmark. Thus, a feature richer than the simple access to the resource can be associated with a bookmark 72 via a scripted bookmark 74 which replaces it in the drop-down menu 76. In known manner, these scripted bookmarks 74 allow the modification of the displayed document, consultation of a search engine, execution of a particular request, etc. In the embodiment considered, the annotation application 23 is adapted to be implemented by the electronic device 12 relative to a web document after being, for example, previously "injected" into the document. The injection is carried out as follows: a specific scripted bookmark 74 designated below by the name "annotated scripted bookmark" creates a <script> element in the document by means of the standard JavaScript function document .createElement (`script), then assigns the source of this script to a Javascript file located on the annotation management server 18 by modifying the src attribute of the <script> element previously created. Finally, the <script> element is added to the document through the standard JavaScript function document.body.appendChild (S), where S is the previously created <script> element, which triggers the injection, then the execution of the Javascript file pointed to by S. In computer science, we designate by injection of an application to a document, the addition of the code and the functions which constitute the application, to the document.

In practice, the application 23 implements code including functions and scripts in HTML, CSS and Javascript, as will be seen later.

When injecting the application 23 into the document, these functions and these scripts are added to those composing the document itself. The application 23 thus achieves an extension of the document. This annotation application 23 has the function of allowing a user to add and view annotations 78 on a Web document 17. These annotations 78 may have been generated by him or by another user on another representation of the document. This representation may, for example, have itself been generated from another computer device 19. More particularly, the annotation application 23 is adapted to render an annotation added to a representation 80 (that is, to rendering the document generated by the rendering management module 60 from the DOM representation of the document with which the rendering management module 60 interacts) said "source" of a Web document 17 on a representation 82 called "target" of the same document . Two representations of the same document can vary substantially from each other due to the differences between the viewing means used, the sizes of the viewing windows, the sizes of the fonts used, the zoom levels used, and so on. The annotation application 23 is also adapted to communicate with the annotation management server 18 via the communication means 36 of the computer 12 in order to obtain the information it needs to function, as will be seen from FIG. the following. The annotation application 23 includes a feature for creating annotation on a representation of a web document 17 and a function for rendering an annotation associated with a document. The annotation creation feature allows a user to create a personalized annotation 78, for example an image, a block of text, free text, etc. and associate it with a graphic element that includes the document. For this purpose, the annotation application 23 allows the user to select the type of the annotation 78 that he wishes to add, the content of the annotation, a so-called "source" element of the representation to which the annotation is associated, the position of the annotation relative to this source element, etc. These functions are implemented via a toolbar 84 generated on the display means 34 by the rendering management module 60 during the execution of the annotation application 23 on the electronic device 12 with which the user can interact with.

The toolbar 84 forms a human-machine interface between the user and the various modules of the annotation application 23 in order to allow the user to add an annotation to the web document 17, via the selection of an annotation element (for example, a text box, an image, a freehand drawing), the modification of certain attributes (for example the color or the size) to obtain a personalized annotation, then the positioning of the element on the web document 17, or to exchange annotations added with other users, or to display archived annotations automatically and successively. The toolbar 84 has three mode tabs 86, 88, 90 corresponding respectively to three distinct modes of interaction between the user and the annotation application 23, namely a first mode tab 86 symbolized by a pencil and for selecting an annotation addition mode, visible in FIGS. 2 and 3, a second mode tab 88 symbolized by a clock and making it possible to select a display mode of the archived annotations, visible in the figures 5-11, and a third mode tab 90 symbolized by two people connected by an arrow and allowing to select a mode, not shown, exchange annotations added with other users. The toolbar 84 has an upper bar 92 and a central zone 94 in which the displayed elements vary according to the interaction mode selected by the user, as well as a button 96 for closing the annotation application. , symbolized by a cross surrounded by a circle.

The three mode tabs 86, 88, 90, the upper bar 92, the central zone 94 and the close button 96 are predefined selectable zones, also called predefined active zones. In other words, a click with the mouse 42, or a tactile touch in the case of a touch screen, on the corresponding selectable zone generates an associated action of the corresponding application, such as the annotation application. 23 in the case of the selectable areas of the toolbar 84. In the annotation mode, visible in FIGS. 2 and 3, the toolbar 84 includes a tab 98 for canceling the last input made, and four upper tabs respectively 100, 101, 102, 103 arranged in the upper bar 92 and associated with distinct modes of annotation input, respectively free text input with the help of the movable cursor with the mouse 42. Each of these input modes can be selected by clicking on the associated zone by positioning the cursor on the zone using the mouse 42 and clicking on the mouse button once the cursor is located on the zone. The selection of one of the zones 100, 101, 102, 103 results in the display of a toolbar 84 specific to the selected zone.

In the archived annotations display mode, visible in FIGS. 5 to 11, the toolbar 84 comprises a drop-down menu bar 104, two boxes 106A, 106B for selecting a display mode of the archived annotations, namely a first box 106A marked by the word "Group" and making it possible to select a first display mode, said group display mode, and a second box 106B marked by the word "Individual" and making it possible to select a second mode display, said individual display mode, as will be explained later. In the display mode, the toolbar 84 also has a trigger / stop button 108 and an information area 110. In the display mode, the top bar 92 is not selectable and present. the mention "History".

The box selected from the two boxes 106A, 106B has a greyed appearance to indicate the display mode chosen by the user. The trip / stop button 108 is selectable and switchable between two control states, namely a first control state of the trip means 65A and a second control state of the stop means 65B. The selection of the trigger / stop button 108 by a click with the mouse 42, or by a tactile touch in the case of a touch screen, causes the switching of a control state to the other order status. The information area 110 is not selectable, and has a lower portion 112A, an upper portion 112B and a movable slider 114 in the upper portion 112B. The lower part 112A makes it possible to display the user's identifier on the left and the order index on the right when displaying, automatically and successively in increasing order, the order indices. , of all the annotations archived for the web document 17 identified in the drop-down menu bar 104.

The movable slider 114 is adapted to move horizontally from left to right within the upper portion 112B to provide an indication of the progress of reading all annotations during the automatic display. and successive of said annotations. In the embodiment considered, the toolbar 84 is able to maintain its position relative to the display frame 69 during the horizontal and / or vertical scrolling of the Web document 17 inside the display card 69. while being movable relative to the display frame 69 on specific action of the user. In other words, the toolbar 84 remains in its initial position on the display means 34 when the user scrolls the web document 17 in the vertical and / or horizontal direction. The toolbar 84 is movable by clicking with the mouse 42, on an area of the toolbar 84 (other than the zones associated with the functions described above), then by performing a dragging operation. -detend with the mouse to the chosen place. This makes it possible to add an annotation anywhere in the Web document 17. In the embodiment considered, the annotation application 23 only interacts with the rendering module 60 to generate or restore data. annotations 78 on the documents: it only deals with the data contained in the own registers of the rendering management module 60 and with the own functions of the rendering management module 60, without having recourse to other data or functions of the navigation application 56 external to the rendering management module 60. The annotation application 23 thus uses HTML, CSS and Javascript technologies. HTML and CSS are used to implement the visualization of the annotation application, and Javascript is used to implement the communication with the annotation management server 18 as well as the logic of the application, ie the how the application 23 responds to the actions of the user. In another embodiment, the annotation application 23 makes use of other data or functions of the navigation application 56 outside of the rendering module 60, while being executed in the "context" of the application. navigation application 56. When a user clicks on a predefined area with his mouse 42, or with one of his fingers in the case of a touch screen, the click of the mouse as well that the position (x, y) on the display screen are identified and interpreted by a control software 100 of the annotation application 23, through the functions of the rendering management module 60. type of the annotation created, the annotation application 23 defines an anchor 119 associated with the annotation 78. For example, the anchor 119 of an image is the center of the image unless this image represents an arrow, in which case the anchor point defined will be the end of the arrow. In addition, the anchor point of a free text is defined as the first point of the first line made by the user via the input means. For each annotation, the coordinates (X, Y) of its anchor point are determined relative to the upper left corner of the page. By executing the standard JavaScript DOM document.elementFromPoint () routine, the application 23 extracts the parameter values from the so-called source element 123 (that is, from the corresponding node of the DOM representation to from which is generated the source representation 80) of the source representation 80 which comprises the coordinate point (X, Y) to which the annotation 78 is then associated.

These parameters - which include inter alia the coordinate shift between the anchor point 119 of the annotation 78 and the element 123 - have distinct degrees of importance. The so-called essential parameters include the type of the element (image, text, etc.). Parameters said to be of high importance include an identification data ID, source data of the source element 123 - for example its URL - and the textual HTML content of the element - when the source element 123 is a paragraph by example-.

The so-called minor parameters include the coordinates of the source element 123 relating to the upper left corner of the page. The values of these parameters are stored, as well as credentials of the document to which the annotation is attached. All of this information defines the annotation data 21.

The annotation data 21 generated by the annotation application 23 during the creation of an annotation 78 is then communicated to the annotation management server 18 which stores them. This annotation data 21 is then necessary for the annotation application 23 for the rendering of annotations 78 associated with a document displayed on a device 12 according to the invention. For this purpose, the application executes the Javascript routine DOM document.getElementsByTagName () from the value of the type of the source element, which returns an array of candidate elements 121 having as type the type of the source element 123 to which Annotation 78 is associated. This table is then stored in memory.

From this table, a sub-array of candidate elements 121 is generated by the application 23 from the candidate elements 121 of which at least one of the values of the parameters of high importance is equal to that of the corresponding parameter of the The source element 123. In practice, the comparison of the properties of the elements is carried out from a condensate ("hash") of the properties. For reasons of calculation cost, this condensate only includes a part of the value of these properties, for example the initial or final 32 characters of these properties. If only one candidate element 121 corresponds, it is selected as the target element 126 of the corresponding annotation.

If more than two elements match, the coordinates of the candidate elements 121 are compared. The one whose coordinates in the target representation 82 are closest to the coordinates of the source element 123 in the source representation 80 is selected. If no element corresponds, the previous comparison is reiterated from the table of all the candidate elements 121.

If the annotation application 23 still does not identify a target element 126, the coordinates of the anchor point 119 of the annotation 78 in the source representation 80 are used to reposition the annotation 78 on the target representation 82 In practice, once a target element 126 has been identified, the annotation application 23 obtains its coordinates and positions the annotation 78 relative to this target element 126 by matching this relative position with the position of the annotation 78 relative to the source element 123. The application 23 then modifies the DOM representation generated by the rendering management module 60 which then realizes the display of the annotation 78 directly on the target representation 82 of the document that it generates on the means visualization 34.

The application 23 thus proceeds by anchoring a newly created annotation 78 to an element of the document in question. In the device 12 according to the invention, the annotation application 23 does not need to be installed prior to its use. When the user of the annotation application 23 wishes to add an annotation 78 to a Web document 17, he implements the application 23 via a scripted bookmark 74 of his navigation application 56. The application 23 is then downloaded by the annotation management server 18 to the computing device 12 and then injected into the document. In one embodiment, the scripted bookmark 74 is automatically generated by the annotation management server 18 when the user registers there to be able to use the application 23. The scripted bookmark 74 is inserted in a web page presented to the user annotation management server 18 as a URL having a text or image attribute inviting the user to memorize this URL as a bookmark.

Such a method of deploying the application 23 on an electronic device is suitable for all devices whose navigation application (s) 56 have a rendering management module 60. By standard technologies - HTML, CSS, Javascript etc. - that the application 23 operates to operate and because it is injected into the web document, it also requires no modification of the navigation application 56 to operate, and does not rely on any proprietary technology application navigation 56 given.

The annotation application 23 is therefore adapted to allow the user to add and view annotations on the web document 17 via all the navigation applications, in particular the navigation applications implemented on the mobile phones.

Furthermore, the storage of the application 23 on the annotation management server 18 facilitates its updating, for example during a modification of the annotation process that it implements. Indeed, only the update of the application 23 located on the annotation management server 18 is then necessary.

With reference to FIG. 4, the implementation of the archiving and rendering methods in an implementation mode of the invention will now be described in detail. During a step 210, the user enters in the navigation bar 68 the URL "URLdoc1" (FIG. 2) of a Web document 17 that he wishes to consult using the keyboard 32. The navigation application 56 command to the processing unit 38 the execution of the application 54 of the request. The request application 54 generates a request sent via the communication means 36 to the web server 16 on which the document is stored. At the end of this step 210, the web server 16 receives the request sent by the computing device 12. In a step 220, the Web server 16 returns the content of the Web document 17. At the end of this step 220 , the computing device 12 receives the contents of the document by its communication means 36. The document is then transmitted to the rendering management module 60 of the navigation application 56. In a step 230, the rendering management module 60 constructs a source DOM representation 80 of the document thus transmitted and realizes the display of the DOM 80 representation on the screen 44. During a step 240, the user interacts with the bookmark system 72 of the browser. The latter activates the scripted bookmark "Annotate" 74. During a step 250, the request associated with the scripted bookmark 74 is sent by the application 54 for sending the request via the communication means 36 at destination. of the annotation management server 18. At the end of this step 250, the annotation management server 18 receives the request that is intended for it.

During a step 260, the annotation management server 18 dedicated to the application 23 deploys the annotation application 23 on the computing device 12, the previous receipt of the request by the annotation management server 18 having triggered the sending of the annotation application 23 to the computing device 12. At the end of this step 260, the application 23 received is installed in the memory 52, then executed, the toolbar 84 is then displayed over the web document 17 to be annotated and inside the display frame 69. During a step 270, the user selects the type of the annotation 78 that he wants to add among several types using toolbar 84, to create the annotated web document. These types correspond to an image, such as a hoe, also called a smiley, or an arrow, a text field, free text, and so on. During a step 280, when the user has ordered, via the exchange mode of the toolbar 84, the transmission to another user of the URL address associated with the annotated Web document , via the communication means 36, the archiving module 62 transmits, via the communication means 36, the annotation data 21 generated to the annotation management server 18. The archiving device 20 of the management server 20 annotation then receives, via the communication means 22C, the annotation data 21 from the electronic annotation device 26, the annotation data 21 having the annotations added, by at least one user, on the Web document 17 to Using the annotation application 23. In a step 285, the archiving device 20 then stores, via the archiving means 22D, the annotation data 21 in its corresponding storage means 22B. with the URL identifying the document Web 17. The determination means 22E determines, for each annotation added to said Web document 17, the order index following the order relation between the added annotations, and the insertion means 22F insert into the data of annotation 21 the order indices associated with the respective added annotations. The annotation data 21 then furthermore comprise the order indices associated with the respective added annotations. In other words, the archiving device 20 further stores for these annotation data 21, the order index, as well as the identifier of the user in addition. Each archived annotation is then identified by a pair of identification data including the order index and the identifier of the user.

The exchange module 63 transmits via the communication means 36 to the other user the URL address associated with the annotated Web document.

The URL associated with the annotated web document is transmitted as a hypertext link in an email or message on a social network, such as Facebook © or Twitter ©. In a step 290, the other user using the other electronic device 20, comprising the electronic rendering device 28, receives the hypertext link corresponding to the URL address associated with the annotated web document, and selects it. The selection of the hypertext link launches the execution of the navigation application 56, if it was not previously executed, and commands via the navigation application 56 to the processing unit 38 the execution of the query application 54. The query application 54 then generates a request sent via the communication means 36 to the annotation management server 18, this request comprising the URL address associated with the annotated Web document. The annotation management server 18, after having received the request comprising the URL address associated with the annotated web document, transmits to the rendering device 28 the annotation data associated with the document that was previously stored during the step 285. The central unit 38 of the rendering device processes the annotation data 21 received and the annotation application 23 determines whether annotations 78 associated with the document are to be rendered on a new target DOM representation 82 of the document as a function of the annotation data 21 received. In a step 300, the rendering device annotation application 23 identifies each of the target elements 126 of the target representation 82 associated with annotations 78, as described above. This identification is done through standard JavaScript functions such as document.elementFromPoint () and the standard attributes of HTML elements such as HTMLElementObject.tagName, HTMLElementObject.innerHTML, HTMLElementObject.id, imageObject.src, where HTMLElementObject represents a target element and imageObject a target element that is an image. During a step 310, the annotation application 23 of the rendering device renders the annotations 78 via the rendering management module 60 of the navigation application 56 on the target representation 82 generated by the module 60 from the source DOM representation 80. This rendering is done through standard JavaScript functions such as document.getElementsByTagName () and the standard attributes of HTML elements such as HTMLElementObject.innerHTML, HTMLElementObject.id, imageObject.src, where HTMLElementObject represents a target element and imageObject a target element that is an image.

According to the first aspect of the invention, during step 310, when the user selects the trigger / stop button 108, the display of a representation of the annotated document comprises the display, by the module of reading from the annotation application automatically and successively in ascending order of the order indices, all the annotations archived for said document. In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 to 7, the order index is the annotation date, and the display is made in ascending order of the annotation dates, that is to say according to a chronological order of added annotations. The automatic and successive display of all the archived annotations for said document is triggered by an initial action of the user on the read module 64 in the absence of subsequent action by the user on said module. Reading 64. More precisely, the user selection of the trigger / stop button 108 controls the triggering means 65A in order to launch the automatic and successive display of the archived annotations for the Web document 17. A new selection of the button trigger / stop 108 during this automatic display and successive archived annotations command the stop means 65B to stop said automatic display and successive. The automatic display of all the archived annotations is interrupted at the end of the display of the archived annotation associated with the largest order index. In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 to 7, the automatic display of all the archived annotations is interrupted at the end of the display of the last archived annotation, that is to say of the annotation archived with the most recent annotation date in the described embodiment.

As a variant, after the display of the last archived annotation, the automatic display of all the archived annotations is restarted automatically so as to display again the archived annotation associated with the index of the order smaller. The display is automatically restarted to display again the first archived annotation for example, that is to say the archived annotation with the oldest annotation date. This makes it possible to replay the automatic display of all the archived annotations without any intervention of the user. In the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 7, the archived annotations 78A, 78B, 78C, respectively, in ascending order of their order index, are displayed successively and in groups, the display of the annotation archived associated with the previous order index being maintained when displaying the archived annotation associated with the next order index.

FIG. 5 represents the display of the first annotation 78A of all the archived annotations. In Fig. 6, the second annotation 78B is displayed automatically and following the display of the first annotation 78A, while the first annotation 78A is still displayed. In Fig. 7, the third and last annotation 78C is displayed automatically and following the display of the second annotation 78B, while the first and second annotations 78A, 78B are still displayed. The successive display of the first, second and third annotations 78A, 78B, 78C, as represented in FIGS. 5 to 7, is performed automatically by the read module 64 following a single initial action by the user, namely the user selecting the trip / stop button 108 to control the trigger means 65A to initiate said automatic display. In addition, the order index, such as the annotation date, and the identifier are displayed in the lower part 112A of the information zone 110 of the toolbar, when the display is displayed. archived annotation. In addition, the order index, such as the annotation date, and the identifier are displayed in a pop-up window W1, W2 when displaying the archived annotation 78A, 78B corresponding, the popup window W1 , W2 being arranged in the vicinity of the displayed annotation 78A, 78B, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. In the embodiment of Figures 5 to 7, the display of the order index and the identifier in the pop-up window W1, W2 is triggered when positioning a pointer associated with the mouse 42 above the corresponding annotation 78A, 78B.

As a variant, the display of the order index and of the identifier in the popup window W1, W2 is triggered automatically synchronously with the automatic display of the annotations 78A, 78B, 78C. In addition, at least two archived annotations 78A, 78B, 78C are displayed on separate layers generated by the generation means 65C, each layer having a distinct transparency index. This provides the user with an additional visual indication to distinguish at least two separate archived annotations 78A, 78B, 78C. In the embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 7, each archived annotation 78A, 78B, 78C is displayed on a respective layer, each layer having a respective transparency index, the transparency index being a function of the order index. , such as the date of annotation. This makes it possible to provide the user with an additional visual indication of the order index of the various archived annotations 78A, 78B, 78C in addition to the order index displayed in the lower part 112A of the information zone 110. Alternatively, the transparency index is a function of the user's identifier.

In another variant, the transparency index is a function of the annotation date and the identifier of the user. In addition, the display of a representation 80, 82 of the annotated document comprises the horizontal and / or vertical scrolling of the representation of the annotated document, the scrolling being carried out automatically by the scrolling means 65D as a function of the position of the document. the annotation displayed, so that the annotations displayed are successively visible on the screen 44. During a step 320, the user may or may not proceed to the creation of an annotation 78. If this is the case, the user defines via the application 23 or annotation 78 it adds to the target representation 82 of the document as described above.

The annotation data 21 generated by the creation of one or more annotation (s) 78 are stored in memory 52. At the end of step 320, the annotations 78 are displayed on a new target representation 82 generated by the module 60 rendering management. During a step 330, the archiving module 62 of the annotation application 23 transmits, via the communication means 36, the annotation data 21 generated during the step 319 to the management server. annotation 18. The latter then stores them in its storage means in correspondence with the URL identifying the document by also indicating for these new annotations data generated, the date of their reception by their server, as well as the pseudonym of user for subsequent sending to a computer device 12 or 19 according to the invention from which a user will wish to consult the annotations 78 added to the Web document. At the end of step 330, in the event of exchange with another user of the annotations created in step 319 and archived in step 330, the method returns to step 290. Otherwise, the process returns to step 210.

Thus, the archiving method and the restitution method according to the invention make it possible to archive and restore an order relationship between the annotations added to the Web document. This allows the user viewing the return of the annotated web document to know when and / or by which user the annotations on the web document have been added. In addition, the automatic display of annotations added in increasing order of the order indices greatly facilitates the use of the electronic rendering device, since the user wishing to view the return of the annotated annotated web document must only click once on the trigger / stop button 108, and need not select each new annotation added. It is thus conceivable that the archiving method and the rendering method, via the implementation of the associated electronic annotation and rendering devices, make it possible to restore a greater amount of information relating to the annotations added to the annotated Web document. restored, while facilitating the use of the electronic restitution device implementing said restitution method. FIGS. 8 to 10 illustrate a second embodiment of the first aspect of the invention for which the elements similar to the first embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, described above, are identified by identical references, and are therefore not not described again. According to the second embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, the archived annotations, respectively 78A, 78B, 78C according to the increasing order of their order index, are displayed separately for each respective pair of identification data, the displayed archived annotations associated with the previous order indices being hidden when displaying the archived annotation associated with the next order index. FIG. 8 represents the display of the first annotation 78A of all the archived annotations. In Fig. 9, the second annotation 78B is displayed automatically and following the display of the first annotation 78A, while the first annotation 78A is masked. In Fig. 10, the third and last annotation 78C is displayed automatically and following the display of the second annotation 78B, while the first and second annotations 78A, 78B are masked. The successive display of the first, second and third annotations 78A, 78B, 78C, as represented in FIGS. 8 to 10, is performed automatically by the read module 64 following a single initial action by the user, namely the user selecting the trip / stop button 108 to control the trigger means 65A to initiate said automatic display. The operation of this second embodiment is for the rest identical to that of the first embodiment, and is not described again. The advantages of this second embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment, and are not described again.

According to a second aspect of the invention independent of the first aspect of the invention described above, the subject of the invention is a method of archiving the annotation data 21 of the Web document 17, the method being implemented by the device electronic archiving device 20 comprising the processing unit 22A, the communication means 22C with the electronic annotation device 26 of the Web document 17, the memory 22B and the storage means 22D in the memory 22B of the annotation data 21. The archiving method according to the second aspect of the invention comprises the following steps, visible in FIG. 4: the reception 280, via the communication means 22C, of the annotation data 21 from the electronic device of FIG. annotation 26, the annotation data 21 including the annotations added by at least one user to the web document 17 via the electronic annotation device 26, and - the archive 285, by the means of a rchivage 22D, annotation data 21 received in the memory 22B. The archiving step 285 further comprises determining, for each annotation added on said Web document 17, an identifier of the user having added the annotation, and the annotation data 21 furthermore comprise the identifiers of the annotation 21. associated with the respective added annotations.

In addition, in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4, the archiving step 285 comprises the determination, for each annotation added to said Web document 17, of an order index following an order relationship between the annotations added, and the annotation data 21 further includes the order indices associated with the respective added annotations.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the subject of the invention is also a method of restoring the representation 82 of the annotated Web document, the annotated Web document being the Web document 17 on which the annotations have been added, the method being set implemented by the electronic reproduction device 28 comprising the data display means 34, the Internet navigation application 56 and the annotation application 23. The rendering method according to the second aspect of the invention comprises the following steps, visible in FIG. 4: the reception of annotation data 21 previously archived, the annotation data including the annotations added for the annotated Web document, and the display of the representation 82 of the annotated document. containing all the archived annotations for that document.

The rendering method further comprises, prior to the receiving step, the following steps: - sending a request comprising a given identifier to the annotation management server 18, via the navigation application 56 and the query application 54, the processing of the information received from the annotation management server 18 in response to said request comprising the given identifier, the received information containing the URL addresses corresponding to the set of associated annotated Web documents. to the given identifier, and - the selection by the user of an annotated web document among all the annotated web documents associated with the given identifier. In addition, the annotation data 21 received furthermore comprise the order indices determined according to the order relation between the annotations added to said Web document 17 and associated with the respective added annotations, and the step of displaying the representation of the annotated document 310 comprises the display, by the reading module 64 of the annotation application 23, automatically and successively in ascending order of the order indices, of all the annotations archived for said Web document 17. According to the second aspect of the invention, the subject of the invention is also a computer program product comprising the software instructions which, when implemented by the processing unit 22A integrated in the electronic device. 20 with the communication means 22C with the electronic annotation device 26, the memory 22B able to store the annotation data 21 received and the means s 22D of archiving in the memory 22B received annotation data 21, implements the steps of the archiving method according to the second aspect of the invention as defined above, relative to the Web document 17. According to the second aspect of the invention, the invention also relates to a computer program product comprising the software instructions which, when implemented by the processing unit 38 integrated in the electronic device 28 comprising the means 34 of visualization of data and the application 56 of navigation on the Internet network, implements the steps, incumbent on the application of annotation 23, the restitution method according to the second aspect of the invention as defined above, In accordance with the second aspect of the invention, the invention also relates to an electronic annotation data archiving device 21 of the Web document 17, comprising: processing 22A - the communication means 22C with the electronic annotation device 26 of the Web document 17, - the memory 22B able to store the annotation data 21 received from the electronic annotation device 26, the annotation data 21 comprising the annotations added, by at least one user, to the Web document 17 via the electronic annotation device 26, and - the means 22D for storing in the memory 22B annotation data 21 received.

The electronic archiving device 20 further comprises means, not shown, for determining, for each annotation added to said Web document 17, an identifier of the user having added the annotation, the annotation data 21 received of the electronic annotation device (s) 26 further comprising user identifiers associated with the respective added annotations for archiving them with the aid of the archiving means 22D. In addition, the electronic archiving device 20 comprises the means 22E for determining, for each annotation added to said Web document 17, the order index according to the order relation between the added annotations, and the means 22F of the insertion into the annotation data 21 of the order indices associated with the respective added annotations for archiving them with the aid of the archiving means 22D. According to the second aspect of the invention, the invention also relates to an electronic device 28 for rendering the representation 82 of a Web document annotated by the electronic annotation device 26, the annotated Web document being the Web document 17 on which annotations have been added, the electronic rendering device 28 comprising: - the processing unit 38, - the data display means 34, - the application 56 of navigation on the Internet network, - the application 23 annotation comprising annotated data reception means 21 previously archived, the annotation data 21 having annotations added to said web document 17. The annotation application 23 further comprises: - control means of sending a request comprising a given identifier to the annotation management server 18, via the navigation application 56 and the request application 54, - means ns of processing the information received from the annotation management server 18 in response to said request comprising the given identifier, the received information containing the URL addresses corresponding to the set of annotated Web documents associated with the given identifier, and - means for selecting by the user of an annotated web document from among all the annotated web documents associated with the given identifier. In addition, the annotation data 21 received furthermore comprise order indices determined according to an order relation between the annotations added to said web document 17 and associated with the respective added annotations, and the annotation application 23 comprises the module 64 for reading the archived annotations, the read module 64 comprising the means 65A for triggering the display, automatically and successively in ascending order of the order indices, of all the annotations archived for said Web document 17. According to the second aspect of the invention and in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the annotation application 23 comprises a module 400 for determining and accessing all the associated annotated Web documents. to a given identifier. In other words, the determination and access module 400 is able to determine and access all the web documents annotated by a user. The determination and access module 400 comprises means 402 for controlling the transmission of a request comprising said given identifier to the annotation management server 18, via the navigation application 56 and the application of query 54. The determination and access module 400 comprises means 404 for processing the information received from the annotation management server 18 in response to said request comprising the given identifier, the received information containing the URLs corresponding to the request. set of annotated web documents associated with the given identifier. The set of annotated Web documents associated with the given identifier corresponds to the annotated web documents comprising at least one annotation added by the user corresponding to the given identifier. The determination and access module 400 comprises means 406 for accessing each of the annotated Web documents associated with the given identifier, the access means 406 being suitable for enabling the user to select a Web document. annotated among the set of annotated web documents associated with the given identifier and displaying a representation of the selected annotated web document.

In the archived annotations display mode, the toolbar 84 includes a drop-down menu 410 accessible via the drop-down menu bar 104 and a scroll cursor 412 of said drop-down menu, as shown in FIG. 11. The drop-down menu 410 is able to display a set of links 414 to all the annotated web documents associated with the given identifier. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 11, the display is limited to a predetermined number N of links to annotated web documents, for example the N links to the N annotated web documents presenting the most recent annotation dates. This limitation of the number of links displayed makes it easier for the user to consult the web documents he has annotated. The links 414 are selectable and allow the user to select an annotated web document from the set of annotated web documents associated with the given identifier. Those skilled in the art will understand that the same Web document 17 may give rise to several separate annotated Web documents, each annotated web document containing its own annotations added by one or more users. The invention according to this second aspect thus allows the user to easily access all the web documents he has annotated. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the annotation application 23 includes both the read module 64 and the access determination module 400. In a variant, the annotation application 23 comprises the determination and access module 400 in the absence of the read module 64, this second aspect of the invention being independent of the first aspect of the invention. In a variant, the rendering method comprises a step of determining and accessing all the annotated Web documents associated with a given identifier, using the determination and access module 400, in the absence of the displaying, automatically and successively in ascending order of the order indices, all the annotations archived for said document.

Claims (1)

CLAIMS1.- A method for archiving annotation data (21) of a Web document (17), the method being implemented by an electronic archiving device (20) comprising a processing unit (22A), means (22C) communicating with an electronic annotation device (26) of the Web document (17), a memory (22B) and means (22D) for storing in the memory (22B) the annotation data (21 ) said method comprising the steps of: - receiving (280), via the communication means (22C), the annotation data (21) from the annotation electronic device (26), the annotation data (21); ) comprising the annotations added by at least one user to the web document (17) via the electronic annotation device (26), - the archiving (285), by the archiving means (22D), the data annotation (21) received in the memory (22B), characterized in that the archiving step (285) further comprises the for each annotation added to said web document (17), an order index following an order relation between the added annotations, and the annotation data (21) furthermore comprise the associated order indices. to the respective added annotations. 2. A method for rendering a representation (82) of an annotated web document, the annotated web document being a Web document (17) on which annotations have been added, the method being implemented by an electronic device of playback (28) comprising data display means (34), an Internet browser application (56) and an annotation application (23), said method comprising the steps of: - receiving (290) of annotation data (21) previously archived, the annotation data (21) including the annotations added to said web document (17), - the display (310) of the representation (82) of the annotated document comprising the set archived annotations for said document, characterized in that the annotation data (21) received further comprises order indices determined according to a sequence relationship between the annotations added on said Web document (17) and assoc respective annotations, and in that the step of displaying the annotated document representation (310) comprises displaying, by a read module (64), the annotation application (23), automatic and successive in order of order indexes, of the set of archived annotations for said web document (17). 3.- restitution method according to claim 2, wherein the automatic and successive display of all archived annotations for said document is triggered by an initial action of the user on the read module (64) in the absence of subsequent action by the user on said read module (64). 4. A restitution method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the archived annotations are displayed in a successive and grouped manner, the display of the archived annotation associated with the previous order index being maintained during the display. the archived annotation associated with the next order index. 5. A rendering method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the archived annotations are displayed separately for each respective order index, the archived annotation associated with the previous order index being hidden when displaying the archived annotation associated with the next order index. The rendering method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein each archived annotation is identified by a pair of identification data including the order index and an identifier of the user, and wherein the order index and the identifier are displayed in an information area (110) of the toolbar (84) when displaying the corresponding archived annotation. 7. A method of restitution according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein each archived annotation is identified by a pair of identification data comprising the order index and an identifier of the user, and wherein the order index and the identifier are displayed in a pop-up window (W1, W2) when the corresponding archived annotation is displayed, the pop-up window (W1, W2) being arranged in the vicinity of the displayed annotation . 8. A method of restitution according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein at least two archived annotations are displayed on separate layers, each layer having a distinct transparency index. 9. A rendering method according to claim 8, wherein each archived annotation is displayed on a respective layer, each layer having a respective transparency index, the transparency index being a function of the order index and / or an identifier of the user. 10.- A method of restitution according to any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein the step of displaying a representation (82) of the annotated document comprises the horizontal scroll and / or vertical representation (82) of the annotated document, the scrolling being performed automatically by the read module (64) depending on the position of the annotation displayed, so that the annotations displayed are successively visible on the screen (44). 11. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the order index associated with each archived annotation is the annotation date. 12. A computer program product comprising the software instructions which, when implemented by a processing unit (22A) integrated with an electronic storage device (20) having communication means (22C) with a electronic annotation device (26), a memory (22B) capable of storing the annotation data (21) received and means (22D) for archiving in the memory (22B) of the annotation data (21) received , implements the steps of the method according to claim 1 or 11, relating to a Web document (17). 13. A computer program product comprising the software instructions which, when implemented by a processing unit (38) integrated with an electronic device (28), comprising data display means (34) and an application (56) of navigation on the Internet network, implements the steps, incumbent upon the application of annotation (23), the method according to any one of claims 2 to 11, relating to a Web document (17). 14.- electronic device (20) for archiving annotation data (21) of a Web document (17), comprising: - a processing unit (22A) - means (22C) for communicating with an electronic device annotation (26) of the web document (17), - a memory (22B) capable of storing the annotation data (21) received from the annotation electronic device (26), the annotation data (21) comprising the annotations added by at least one user to the web document (17) via the electronic annotation device (26), - means (22D) for archiving in the memory (22B) of the annotation data (21). ) received, characterized in that it further comprises means (22E) for determining, for each annotation added to said Web document (17), an order index following an order relation between the added annotations, and means (22F) for inserting in the annotation data (21) order indices associated with the annotations added respectively. tives for archiving using archiving facilities (22D). 15.- electronic device (28) for rendering a representation (82) of a web document annotated by an electronic annotation device (26), the Webannoted document being a Web document (17) on which annotations have been added, the electronic rendering device (28) comprising: - a processing unit (38), - means (34) for displaying data, - an application (56) for navigation on the Internet network, - an application (23) annotation data receiving means (21) previously archived, the annotation data (21) including the annotations added to said web document (17), characterized in that the annotation data ( 21) furthermore have order indices determined according to a sequence relation between the annotations added to said web document (17) and associated with the respective added annotations, and that the annotation application (23) comprises out re a module (64) for reading the archived annotations, the reading module (64) comprising means (65A) for triggering the display, automatically and successively in an increasing order of the order indices, of the set of archived annotations for said web document (17).