WO2010035147A2

WO2010035147A2 - Method and system for providing electronic documents

Info

Publication number: WO2010035147A2
Application number: PCT/IB2009/007442
Authority: WO
Inventors: Frode Hegland; Mikhail Seliverstov; Solina Chau
Original assignee: Mind Works Limited
Priority date: 2008-09-23
Filing date: 2009-09-23
Publication date: 2010-04-01
Also published as: WO2010035147A3

Abstract

A method for displaying an electronic document may include providing a Javascript code to a client device to enable the client device to display a popup screen when an object within the electronic document is selected. The method may include generating an active word list for specifying a group of objects within the electronic document that when selected will cause a popup screen to be displayed. A system for providing an electronic document may comprise a computing device adapted to transmit a Javascript code to a client device to enable the client device to display a popup screen when an object within the electronic document is selected. The computing device may be adapted to generate the Javascript code in accordance with an active word list for specifying a group of objects within the electronic document that when selected will cause a popup screen to be displayed.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to graphical user interfaces, and particularly to user interfaces for Internet browsing. The present invention also relates to the display of "Web" pages and a system and method to obtain additional information on items displayed on the Web page.

BACKGROUND

Electronic documents, such as Web pages, include hyperlinks which are references in within the electronic document to an external or internal piece of information. Hyperlinks in electronic documents are often static and do not allow the external or internal piece of information to be changed with a high degree of ease and frequency. It is often desirable to change information referenced from within a Web page without the need to recode the Web page. Such changes may be desired in order to customize the external or internal piece of information to the person viewing the Web page. Such changes may also be desired to reflect rapid changes in news, social, and sporting events. Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method that allows for access to external and internal pieces of information by reference to objects within an electronic document, wherein such information may be readily updated. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention are directed to a method for displaying an electronic document. In some aspects, the method comprises inserting a code reference into an electronic document requested by a client device, and providing the electronic document with the inserted code reference to allow the client device to display the electronic document, the code reference enabling the client device to obtain code that enables the client device to display a popup window in response to selection, by a user of the client device, of an object within the electronic document.

In some aspects, a method for displaying an electronic document comprises providing code to a client device to enable the client device to display a popup screen when an object within the electronic document is selected. In further aspects, the code includes generating an active word list for specifying a group of objects within the electronic document that when selected will cause a popup screen to be displayed.

Aspects of the present invention are directed to a system for providing an electronic document. In some aspects, the system comprises a computing device adapted to transmit a code to a client device to enable the client device to display a popup screen when an object within the electronic document is selected. In further aspects, the object is a name of a person. In further aspects, the electronic document is a Web page. In further aspects, the computing device is adapted to generate the code in accordance with an active word list for specifying a group of objects within the electronic document that when selected will cause a popup screen to be displayed.

In some aspects, a system for providing an electronic document comprises a computing device adapted to insert a code reference into an electronic document in response to a request for the electronic document from a client device, the code reference enabling the client device to obtain code that enables the client device to display a popup window in response to selection, by a user of the client device, of an object within the electronic document. The features and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A-2E are screen shots illustrating a sample browser display showing a requested Web page and a hierarchy of popup screen menus for a selected text item.

FIGS. 3A-3C are views of a window of a web browser showing a requested Web page and a popup screen with information about a person whose name was selected by a user on the Web page.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a JavaScript code reference inserted into a portion of an HTML code for a requested Web page.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and drawings are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous details are described to provide an understanding of the disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description.

Referring to the exemplary drawings for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the invention, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding or like elements among the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 a system 10 including a client device 12, a first server 14, and a second server 16, which are in communication with each other through a network 18. In operation, a user of the client device may access a website hosted by the first server and obtain additional information about items displayed on the website by means of the second server. A website is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets. As will be explained in greater detail below, additional information can be obtained on any item displayed on the Web page. Examples of such items include without limitation names of persons, places, products, or companies; titles of publications, music, songs or other works of authorship; titles of works of art; and addresses. Additional information can also be obtained on non-text items, such as images or portions of images.

The client device 12 can be any type of device capable of displaying Web page content. A Web page is one of a multitude of interlinked electronic documents that may be accessed through the Internet or other system of interconnected computer networks. A non- limiting example of a client device is a microprocessor-based computer or workstation running a web browser, such as Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari. The first server 14 can be any type of device or group of devices capable of providing Web page content in response to a request, such as an HTTP request from the client device. The first server 14 can be a web server or HTTP server, and can comprise one or more microprocessor-based computers running software programs and that serve both static content and dynamic Web pages on the World Wide Web. The network 18 can be any type of communications network or a group of networks, including but not limited to, a portion of the Internet, a metropolitan area network, a wide area network, and a local area network.

The second server 16 provides the user of the client device with information and network navigation capability by means of popup screens, in addition to what is provided by first server by means of hyperlinks on the Web page. A hyperlink is a reference or navigation element in a document to another section of the same document or to another document that may be on or part of the network. The second server 16 can be any type of device or group of devices capable of providing the functions described below and can include one or more microprocessor-based computers running software programs. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the second server 16 is separate from the first server 14. In other embodiments, the second server 16 can be directly connected to the first server 14. In other embodiments, the second server 16 can include a hardware module that is an integral part of the web server 14 and/or a software module running on the first server 14. In some embodiments of the present invention, the second server 16 may include a Web page processing module utilizing JavaScript. Other types of scripting language may also be used. The second server may also include middle-tier logic, which may optionally be based on Grails, a web application framework. Other types of frameworks may be used to develop Java applications. The middle-tier logic may also utilize servlets, which are small Java programs that run within a Web server. A database back end in communication with or part of the first and/or second server may be utilized. The database back end may utilize GORM (Grails Object Relational Mapping) and Hibernate, which provides data query and retrieval facilities. Other facilities for object relational mapping and data query and retrieval may be utilized.

FIGS. 2A-2E show a series of screen shots of a Web page displayed on a window 19 of a web browser running on a client device. The Web page includes text items 21 and is provided by a first server. A cursor arrow 20 may be positioned over the text items by the user using a mouse, touch pad, or other pointing device in communication with or part of the client device. When the cursor 20 is moved and kept in place for one or a few seconds over a particular item of text, such as the word "numerous" in FIG. 2B, a popup screen 22 is automatically displayed over the original contents of the Web page. The contents of the popup screen 22 may be provided by a second server and may depend on the nature or characteristic of the particular item of text, such as whether it is a name, title, or address.

In the case of the word "numerous," the popup screen 20 displays a menu listing of menu items that allows the user to select from a variety of actions. One menu item is "Search," which when selected, may allow the user to perform an Internet search on the word "numerous" using a search engine, such as Google (TM), or perform a search of news stories, blogs, or pictures associated with the word "numerous." Another menu item is "References," which may allow the user to look up the word "numerous" on any number of reference databases, such as an online dictionary or wiki resource, such as

Wikipedia. The next menu item "Translate" may allow the user to obtain a translation of the word "numerous" into any number of languages. Any number and any type of menu items may be displayed on the popup screen. When the cursor 20 is moved to any one of the menu items, the desired action may be performed, and the results of that action may be displayed on another popup screen or another window of the browser. Also, a subsequent popup screen menu may be displayed to allow the user to refine or further specify a desired action. As shown in FIG. 2C, moving the cursor 20 over the "Translate" menu item causes a second popup screen menu 24 to be displayed over the original contents of the Web page at a location adjacent to the first popup screen menu 22. The second popup screen menu 24 displays a second menu listing of languages that enable the user to specify the source or input language so as to allow the selected text to be translated "from English," "from French," "from German," or from any other language shown on the menu listing.

As shown in FIG. 2D, moving the cursor 20 over the "from English" menu item causes a third popup screen menu 26 to be displayed over the original contents of the Web page at a location adjacent the second popup screen menu 24. The third popup screen menu 26 displays a third menu listing of languages that enables the user to specify the output language so as to allow the selected text to be translated "into French," "into German," "into Italian," or into any other language shown on the menu listing.

As shown in FIG. 2E, moving the cursor 20 over the "into French" menu item causes the hierarchical group of menus 22, 24, 26 to removed and causes results of the translation to be displayed on another window 26 of the web browser above the original window 19.

As previously mentioned, the contents of a popup screen may depend on the nature or characteristic of the particular item of text, such as whether it is a name, title, or address. The contents of the popup screen may include static content, dynamic content, or both. Static content usually does not change over time for the text that is selected. For example, the popup screens 22, 24, 26 in FIGS. 2A-2C can be static in the sense that the same contents are displayed whenever the word "numerous" is selected on the Web page. Dynamic content can be obtained from a database, as opposed to being actually programmed or coded into the source code, script, or markup language of a Web page, to allow it to be changed over time. For example, when a cursor is moved over the name of a city or other geographic name, a popup screen showing a weather forecast can be dynamically generated to reflect changing meteorological conditions. The dynamically generated information can be displayed in a format which may remain constant over time.

The information that is dynamically generated can be updated at predetermined time intervals, such as every few hours, days, or longer, depending on the nature, characteristic, or category of the information. For example, when a cursor is moved over the name of a company, a popup screen showing the company's closing stock price can be dynamically generated based on data that is updated and stored in a remote database at the end of each trading day. The information that is dynamically generated can be "live" in the sense that it is updated instantaneously or almost instantaneously in response to a detected event or change in the condition, activity, or other situation. For example, when a cursor is moved over the name of a sports team, a popup screen may show the score of a game that is still in progress based on data that is updated as the score changes.

FIGS. 3A-3C show a Web page for a hypothetical sports league displayed on a window 30 of a web browser running on a client device. As shown in FIG. 3B, when the user of the client device moves a cursor 32 to the name of an athlete, "John Doe," a popup screen 34 having static and dynamic content is displayed over the original Web page. Some static content may be generic or the same regardless of the selected name. Static content may include, without limitation, formatting content, such as text for certain hyperlinks like "Galleries," "Merchandise," and "News" and for template headings for dynamic information, like "Team," "Born," "Weight," "Statistics," and "Last 3 Games." Some dynamic content may change depending on the selected name and may include, without limitation, the player's picture, player's name, a video or movie of the player, player number, player position, and personal information and statistics. Dynamic content which may change regardless of the selected name includes advertising and comments about the player posted by users. Other text items 33 on the Web page may be selected to provide a popup screen.

All or some of the text items 35 within the popup screen 34 can also be "active" in that selection or causing a mouse to hover over them causes another popup screen to be displayed on top of the first popup screen 34. In FIG. 3C, for example, hovering a mouse over "Last 3 Games" causes a second popup screen 36 to display John Doe's statistics for the previous three games he played in. Any number of subsequent popup screens may be displayed. As with the first popup screen, the information displayed on the subsequent popup screen may be of any type and may be vary depending on the active word selected, the Web page being viewed, the website domain, the individual user viewing the Web page, and/or other parameter.

Referring again to FIGS. 2A and 3 A, the text item "numerous" and the name "John Doe" are referred to herein as "active" words. An active word is any text item for which a popup screen will appear when the text item is selected by the user. Selection by the user may be performed my moving the cursor over the text item for one or two seconds, or other predetermined amount of time. Selection may also be performed by highlighting or clicking on the text item using a mouse, touch pad, or pointing device. In FIGS. 2 A and 3 A, for example, all or only a select few of the text items on the original Web page can be made active as explained below.

A preselected list of words can be used by a second server to make certain text items on a Web page active. The preselected list of words, for example, may include all the team names and player names in the XYZ League so that moving a mouse over any one of "Team A," "Team B," and "John Doe" in the Web page of FIG 3 A will cause a popup screen to appear.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of operational characteristics in accordance with aspects of the present invention. A user of a client device running a web browser may link to or enter the URL (Universal Resource Locator) or Web address of a target Web page, which causes the client device to request 50 the target Web page. The request can be in the form of an HTTP request. A first server receives 52 the request and, in response, obtains the HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) code or content for the target Web page. The first server inserts 54 a JavaScript (JS) code reference into the HTML content, and provides 56 the HTML content with the inserted JavaScript code reference to the client device. A non- limiting example of a JS code reference inserted into the HTML content is shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 shows a beginning portion of the HTML content for the XYZ Sports League homepage shown in FIG. 3A. The inserted JS code reference 48 appears in the last line shown in FIG. 5. In some embodiments, the JS code reference may include a filename, application name, software module name, and/or variable parameters. Referring again to FIG. 4, the client device receives 58 the HTML content, which is parsed or processed by the web browser running on the client device. The web browser obtains or requests 60 JavaScript (JS) code in response to the inserted JS code reference. The inserted JS code reference provides information to obtain the JS code from a second server. Such information may include the URL of the second server, a filename, application name, software module name, and/or parameters for customizing the popup screen, as previously mentioned. When the second server receives 62 the JS request, the second server generates 64 an active word list. The active word list may be set up in advance by an administrator or webmaster, then stored in a database accessible to the second server. The generated active word list may also be automatically selected from a plurality of lists previously stored in a database or may assembled in accordance with parameters that may be part of the JS code reference. The active word list may vary that is generated depending on the JS code reference that is inserted into the requested HTML page. For example, a request for an XYZ League Web page may have an particular JS code reference inserted into the HTML content returned by XYZ 's web server, whereas a request for an WXY Truck Supply Company Web page may have a different JS code reference inserted into the HTML content returned by WXY's web server. In the case of WXY Truck Supply Company, active words may include the names and identification numbers of products offered for sale by WXY. The filename, parameters, or other information associated with the JS code reference may be used to determine what text items are made part of the active word list that is generated by the second server.

As another example, a request for an XYZ League Web page may have a JS code reference that that varies depending on the user's web browsing history, preferences, or other information associated with the user. Such information associated with the user may be collected and stored in a cookie on the user's client device. Also, such information associated with the user may be actively provided by the user in setting up an account and username within the XYZ League's website. Parameters forming a part of the JS code reference may reflect such user information. In this way, only items of text that are more likely to be of interest to an individual user can be made active in some embodiments in order to conserve processing resources and download time.

Referring once again to FIG. 4, the second server obtains the requested JS code and appends 66 the active word list to the JS code. A JS module, including the JS code with active word list, is provided 68 to the client device. The client device receives 70 the JS code with the active word list, and the web browser running on the client device parses or processes 72 the JS module and renders the originally requested Web page. Text items within the Web page are made active in accordance with the received JS code and the active word list.

In some embodiments, the active words are displayed or rendered in the same manner as non-active words, without underlining or any special highlighting. In other embodiments, the received JS code may enable the web browser to display active words in a manner that distinguishes them from non-active words. For example, active words may be displayed using a different font, different foreground and/or background color, with underlining, or with another characteristic that distinguishes them from non-active words.

A popup screen is displayed whenever the user selects an active word. Selection may be accomplished in any number of ways. For example, selection may be accomplished by the user by moving or hovering a mouse cursor or other point over an active word without any clicking or further action. In some embodiments, the received JS code may enable the web browser to monitor for a "mouseover" or similar event with respect to text items on the active word list. Whenever a mouseover or similar event is detected, the web browser may call a function that generates a popup screen. In further embodiments, the JS code may enable the web browser to monitor for a "mouseout" or similar event. Whenever the mouseout event is subsequently detected, the web browser may erase, clear, or deactivate the popup screen from view.

As a second example, selection may be performed by dragging a cursor over an active word while actuating a pointing device. Often times, text selected in this manner in web browsers causes the background color to change. The received JS code may enable the web browser to monitor for an "onselect" or similar event with respect to the text items included in the active word list. Whenever an onselect event is detected, the web browser may call a function that generates a popup screen.

Referring again to FIG. 4, on the Web page displayed on the user's web browser, putting 74 a mouse cursor over an active word triggers a request 76 for a particular popup screen template. The requested template may include data specifying the layout of information in the popup screen and generic headings and links to be displayed in the popup screen. The requested template may vary depending on the nature, category, or characteristic of the active word that was selected by the user. For example, when an individual player's name is selected, the requested template may be specific to types of data particularly relevant to players as group, such as players' score statistics. By comparison, the requested template when a team name is selected may be differ because other data, such as team ranking within the league, may be particularly relevant.

The request for the template is received 78 by the second server. In response, the second server provides 80 the popup screen HTML template, which can include layout information, text headings, generic links to other websites, and static content. The HTML template content can also include information on the types of particularized data that are to added or inserted into the popup screen. Particularized data may be dynamic content. Examples of particularized data may include, without limitation, a player's name, team, number, position, game statistics, picture, and personal information. Particularized data may also include static and/or dynamic URLs (Universal Resource Locators) for blogs, news stories, banner advertisements, and/or other content that is available outside of the Web page domain.

With continued reference to FIG. 4, the popup screen HTML template content is received 82 by the client device, which in turn requests 84 the particularized data to be added or inserted into the popup screen. The second server receives 86 the request for particularized data, generates and/or retrieves 88 the particularized data, and provides 90 the particularized data to the client device. The particularized data may be retrieved by the second server from a database in communication with the second server. Thereafter, the particularized data may be provided by the second server to the client device in JSON ("JavaScript Object Notation") format or other data-interchange format. After the particularized data is received 92 by the client device, the web browser renders or shows 94 the popup screen with the particularized data displayed in accordance with the previously received HTML template content.

Any type, combination, or hierarchy of information can be displayed in a popup screen, and the examples given herein are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. For example, when the name of a celebrity or public figure is selected, the popup screen may display a brief biography of the person. If the celebrity is an actor, any films that the actor has appeared in may be listed on the popup screen as regular text or as text hyperlinks to other Web pages or websites, which may provide information on the film such as movie theaters that are showing the film and critical reviews of the film. If the celebrity is singer, any songs written or albums released by the singer may be displayed. If the public figure is a political figure, party affiliation, position in government, and a personal statement may be displayed. As a further example, when the name of a company or retail store is selected, the popup screen may display the stock price of the company, officers of the company, address, business hours, telephone number, and a homepage link.

Advertising may also appear in the popup screen. The advertising may be tailored to the individual celebrity or to a group of celebrities in the same category. For example, advertising for a movie theater or for a particular film may appear in a popup screen for an individual actor or for actors as a group. As a further example, advertising for a music retailer or for a particular musical album may appear in a popup screen for a singer. For a political figure, political advertising may appear in the popup screen from the same or opposing political party. For a company or retail store, advertisements featuring the same company, related company, and/or a competing company may be displayed. For a name of a make or model of automobile, for example, dealers that sell the same or competing make or model may be listed in the popup screen.

What appears in the popup screen may depend upon the type or characteristic of popup screen template that is requested 76 in response to user selection 74 of the active word. The type or characteristic of popup screen template corresponding to any particular active word or group of active words may be specified by the JS code received 70 by the client device. The JS code provided 68 by the second server to the client device may vary from Web page to Web page that the user is viewing, may vary from website to website, and/or may vary from user to user depending upon the web browsing history, session parameters, and other information associated with an individual user.

Customization of the popup screen may be accomplished in other ways in combination with or as an alternative to what has already been described. For example, what appears in the popup screen may depend upon the JS code reference that was initially inserted 54 into the requested Web page. The particular JS code reference that is inserted 56 may vary from Web page to Web page, website to website, and/or user to user.

The particular text items included in the active word list that is generated 64, the JS code that is provided 68, and/or the JS code reference that is inserted 54 may be setup, modified, and deactivated from a central location or any number of remote locations. A person, such as an administrator or webmaster, having authorized access to the first server and/or second server may perform the setup, modification, and deactivation at any time and as often as desired, without any need to access or modify the original HTML sources for a Web page or website. In this way, up to date and relevant information on the above described customizable popup screens can be made available for any Web page or website that may or may not already be online.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that from the implementation or webmaster's point of view, the customizable pop screen of the present invention is easy to add (for example, by inserting a single line of code), easy to edit (for example, administrators can change layout and live words list from a administration control panel), flexible (for example, different layouts can be provided for different active words), and easily scalable in that a modular approach allows a large user base.

It will also be appreciated that from the user's or client's point of view, the customizable popup screens allow for quick access to information on what is immediately of interest with a simple movement of the mouse or other pointing device; access to relevant information since the data presented is customized for the type of Web page item selected; and access to deep content that may not be readily or conveniently indexed by web search engines. Deep content includes little known Web documents, as well as highly relevant Web documents that have culled from a multitude of less relevant Web documents on the same subject. As previously mentioned, the resulting popup screen can itself be interactive by allowing a user to select or hover over text within the popup screen to obtain additional or more detailed information.

The customizable popup screens may also provide the user with live content or live data where appropriate, such as during live athletic events and games, athletic team standing, stock price, and weather data. Rich media may also be provided by the customizable popup screens, such as a video for continued viewing by the user when performing other tasks on the client device or when "surfing" other Web pages. The customizable popup screens may also provide social content with links and/or text fields for a comment system or online chat. Online chat includes without limitation direct one-on-one chat or text-based group chat, synchronous conferencing, and instant messenger functions.

Any one or any combination the steps 62, 64, 66, 68, 78, 80, 86, 88, 90 performed by the second server as shown in FIG. 4 may, in other embodiments, be performed by the first server. Any one or any combination of the steps 52, 54, 56 performed by the second server as shown in FIG. 4, may in other embodiments, be performed by the first server. Any one or any combination of the steps performed by the first and second servers as shown in FIG. 4 may, in other embodiments, be performed by a third server in communication with any one or a combination of the client device, the first server, the second server.

While several particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will also be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the customizable popup screens may be implemented with any type of electronic document, in addition to Web pages on the Internet, that may be accessed either locally or through a network. As another example, one or more other scripting languages other than JavaScript may be utilized. As a further example, a plug-in, ActiveX component, or other software component may interact with the web browser or other host application running on the client device. Such a software component can be provided to the client device to enable the client device to perform a function associated with a popup screen that would not otherwise be supported by the client device. It is also contemplated that various combinations or subcombinations of the specific features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments can be combined with or substituted for one another in order to form varying modes of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the

invention be limited, except as by the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method for displaying an electronic document, the method comprising: inserting a code reference into an electronic document requested by a client device; and providing the electronic document with the inserted code reference to allow the client device to display the electronic document, the code reference enabling the client device to obtain code that enables the client device to display a popup window in response to selection, by a user of the client device, of an object within the electronic document.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic document includes markup language code, and the code reference includes a script code reference, and the providing of the electronic document includes sending the markup language code with the script code reference.

3. The method of any one of claims 1, wherein the code reference enables the client device to obtain a script code that includes a list of objects, and the script code enables the client device to display the popup window in response to selection of the object from among the list of objects within the script code.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising sending the script code to the client device in response to a request generated by the client device from the code reference, wherein the sent script code enables the client device to display the popup window in response to selection of the object from among the list of objects within the script code.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the inserting of the code reference is performed by a first computer server, and the sending of the script code reference is performed by a second computer server.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a popup window template to the client device in response to a request from the client device generated from the selection of the object, the popup window template including identification of data to be shown in the popup window.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the inserting of the code reference is performed by a first computer server and the sending of the popup window template is performed by a second computer server.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the popup window template includes markup language code.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising sending to the client device the data identified in the popup window template, the sending performed in response to a request from the client device made after the sending of the popup window template.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the inserting of the code reference is performed by a first computer server and the sending of the data is performed by a second computer server.

11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the electronic document is a web page.

12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the client device is a microprocessor-based device including software and hardware enabling the microprocessor-based to receive, process, and display a web page.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the client device is any one of a computer workstation, a personal computer, a laptop computer, and a mobile or cellular phone.

14. The method of any one of claim 1 to 13, wherein the selected object within the electronic document is any one of text and image.

15. The method of any one of claims 2 to 14, wherein the markup language code is Hypertext Markup Language code, and the sending of the electronic document is performed in response to an HTTP request.

16. The method of any one of claims 3 to 15, wherein the script code is Javascript code.

17. The method of any one of claims 3 to 16, wherein the list of objects is a list of words, a list of names, or a list of words and names.

18. A method for displaying an electronic document, the method comprising: providing a script code to a client device in response to a request that was generated from a script code reference within code for the electronic document, the script code including a list of objects, the script code enabling the client device display a popup window screen in response to selection, by a user of the client device, of a selected object within the electronic document content when the list of objects includes the selected object.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the following prior to the providing of the script code: obtaining the code for the electronic document; inserting the script code reference into the obtained code for the electronic document; and providing the code for the electronic document including the script code reference to the client device.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising the following after the providing of the script code: providing a popup window template to the client device, the popup window template including identification of data to be shown in the popup window.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the providing of the popup window template is performed in response to a request from the client device made in response to selection, by a user of the client device, of the selected object within the electronic document.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising the following after the providing of the popup window template: providing the data identified in the popup window template to the client device.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the providing of the data is made in response to a request from the client device based on the popup window template.

24. The method of any one of claims 18 to 23, wherein the electronic document is a web page.

25. The method of any one of claims 18 to 24, wherein the client device is a microprocessor-based device including software and hardware enabling the microprocessor-based to receive, process, and display a web page.

26. The method of any one of claims 18 to 25, wherein the client device is any one of a computer workstation, a personal computer, a laptop computer, and a mobile or cellular phone.

27. The method of any one of claims 18 to 26, wherein the selected object is any one of text and image.

28. The method of any one of claims 18 to 27, wherein the code for the electronic document is Hypertext Markup Language code, and the script code is Javascript code.

29. The method of any one of claims 18 to 28, wherein the list of objects is a list of words, a list of names, or a list of words and names.

30. A method for displaying an electronic document, the method comprising: providing data to a client device having an electronic document and a popup window template, the popup window template including identification of the data being provided, the electronic document including a code reference enabling the client device to obtain code that enables the client device to display a popup window in response to selection, by a user of the client device, of an object within the electronic document.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising the following prior to the providing of the data: providing the popup window template to the client device in a response to a request from the client device, the request made in accordance with a script code contained in the client device.

32. The method of claim 31 , further comprising the following prior to the providing of the popup window template: providing the script code to the client device in response to a request from the client device in accordance with the code reference contained in the client device.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the script code includes a list of objects, and the providing of the data is performed only when the list of objects includes the object selected by the user.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising the following prior to the providing of the script code: obtaining the electronic document; inserting the code reference into to the electronic document; and providing the electronic document to the client device in response to a request for the electronic document from the client device.

35. The method of any one of claims 30 to 34, wherein the electronic document is a web page.

36. The method of any one of claims 30 to 35, wherein the client device is a microprocessor-based device including software and hardware enabling the microprocessor-based to receive, process, and display a web page.

37. The method of any one of claims 30 to 36, wherein the client device is any one of a computer workstation, a personal computer, a laptop computer, and a mobile or cellular phone.

38. The method of any one of claims 30 to 37, wherein the selected object is any one of text and image.

39. The method of any one of claims 31 to 38, wherein the electronic document is encoded using Hypertext Markup Language, and the script code is Javascript code.

40. The method of any one of claims 33 to 39, wherein the list of objects is a list of words, a list of names, or a list of words and names.

41. A method for displaying an electronic document, the method comprising: providing code to a client device to enable the client device to display a popup screen when an object within the electronic document is selected.

42. The method of claim 41 , wherein providing the code includes generating an active word list for specifying a group of objects within the electronic document that when selected will cause a popup screen to be displayed.

43. A system for providing an electronic document, the system comprising: a computing device adapted to transmit a code to a client device to enable the client device to display a popup screen when an object within the electronic document is selected.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein the object is a name of a person.

45. The system of any one of claims 43 and 44, wherein the electronic document is a Web page.

46. The system of any one of claims 43 to 45, wherein the computing device is adapted to generate the code in accordance with an active word list for specifying a group of objects within the electronic document that when selected will cause a popup screen to be displayed.

47. A system for providing an electronic document, the system comprising: a computing device adapted to insert a code reference into an electronic document in response to a request for the electronic document from a client device, the code reference enabling the client device to obtain code that enables the client device to display a popup window in response to selection, by a user of the client device, of an object within the electronic document.

48. The system of claim 47, wherein the computing device is further adapted to provide a script code to the client device in response to a request from the client device that is made in accordance with the code reference inserted into the electronic document.

49. The system of claim 47, further comprising a second computing device adapted to provide a script code to the client device in response to a request from the client device that is made in accordance with the code reference inserted into the electronic document.

50. The system of any one of claims 47 to 49, wherein the computing device is further adapted to provide a popup window template in response to a request from the client device made in accordance with selection of the object by the user of the client device.

51. The system of any one of claims 47 and 48, further comprising a second computing device adapted to provide a popup window template in response to a request from the client device made in accordance with selection of the object by the user of the client device.