ITUB20155407A1 - METHOD, PROGRAM AND SYSTEM TO CREATE AND DISPLAY DIGITAL MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATIONS - Google Patents

Description

METHOD, PROGRAM AND SYSTEM TO CREATE AND DISPLAY

DIGITAL MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATIONS

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to graphic interfaces for computers and in particular to a method for creating and displaying digital multimedia presentations, both in real time and in deferred time, as well as a relative computer program for creating and / or displaying such multimedia presentations and a system of networked computers that implement this method.

FRAMEWORK OF THE INVENTION

Digital multimedia presentations are a widely used tool for conveying information. They can be made in the form of a succession of images or even movies, accompanied by a recorded comment or other sound effects to better highlight what is displayed. These known presentations are widely used to share contents for example for educational purposes, during lectures or seminars, or also for advertising or information purposes in general, to accompany oral communication with images or videos, and can be shared among multiple users who act through computers (PCs, notebooks, tablets, smartphones, etc.) connected to the network.

Currently, web applications that allow viewing the shared exploration of a presentation are mainly based on sharing the sequence of images displayed on your screen or on a part of it. This known technique has significant disadvantages and limitations which can be listed as follows: - impossibility of saving: the screen viewing con does not, by its nature, offer the possibility of saving the presentation that is being viewed at a given moment, but at most to capture a still image of what is represented on the screen. Consequently, the user can scroll back in time the presentation in order to return to a previous screen but without interacting with the contents;

- low quality of the display: the sharing of one's screen (or a part of it) basically consists in a continuous capture of a series of images and in the transmission of a video stream on the network after having compressed the images in order to minimize the quantity of data transmitted, so as to allow an apparently continuous display even in the presence of non-optimal bandwidth and speed requirements of display processors. The compression operation, even when optimized, inevitably reduces the quality of the transmitted images because it removes information considered superfluous, which results in a loss of detail, immediately detectable when trying to enlarge a part of the image sent;

- impossibility of autonomous exploration; it is never possible for connected users to carry out an autonomous exploration of the displayed content, as the content received is simply a non-interactive video stream that cannot be used independently; - Expensive use of network resources: the flow of video images is continuous over time, ie data is sent constantly, continuously engaging the network for the entire duration of the presentation, even when the same image is always displayed. As a result, network resources are, for the most part, busy retransmitting images that have already been transmitted before, which also entails high costs if you use a pay-as-you-go connection that takes into account the amount of data sent or received.

SUMMARY

The present description relates to a method of creation and reproduction, in real time or in deferred time, of digital multimedia presentations which obviates the aforementioned drawbacks, offering the possibility of sharing multimedia contents in real time with the possibility of exploring them, all while optimizing the bandwidth used for communications without being forced to reduce the definition of the images or, more generally, of the transmitted data.

This excellent result was obtained with the methods defined in the attached claims.

These methods can conveniently be implemented by computer programs, which contain codes configured to cause a computer to perform the operations of these methods when an application is executed, preferably by computers connected to the network.

The claims as filed form an integral part of this specification and are incorporated herein by express reference,

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows an interconnection diagram of a present computer with several display computers via server.

Figure 2 shows a screenshot of an example of a file that can be selected by a presenter computer, containing images of mechanical parts that can be individually selected and displayed in a slide of a multimedia presentation.

Figure 3 is an example of a screen on a display computer of a presentation generated on a present computer according to a first embodiment.

Figure 4 schematically illustrates Γ organization of interactive content from the viewer module.

Figure 5 is an example of a screen on a computer presenting the presentation of Figure 3 displayed on the display computer.

Figure 6 is a diagram that illustrates in a synoptic manner the interaction between the presenter computer and the display computer for the synchronization of contents for a real-time display.

Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operations of adding pointers to data sets of the selected files and the action information associated with them.

Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating how pointers and associated action information can be saved.

Figure 9 shows a flow chart of the operations carried out to add annotations such as graphic and / or textual type within a multimedia presentation.

Figure 10 schematically illustrates the saving operations of an entire multimedia presentation with a flow chart.

Figure 11 is a flow diagram of the loading operations of a multimedia presentation made according to the present disclosure.

Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating how to import content from existing files.

Figure 13 is a flow diagram illustrating the connections between the various connected users with the management of their access permissions.

Figure 14 is a flowchart illustrating connection operations by a display processor to a multimedia presentation.

Figure 15 is a flowchart illustrating navigation instruction processing operations imparted by the display module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FORMS OF CONSTRUCTION

EXAMPLE

The method of this disclosure can be implemented through a web application and can be distributed through one or more web pages. Alternatively, this application can be installed on non-volatile storage media. The application allows the sharing in real time, or even deferred, both of the contents and of the exploration and modification of the same, in a sort of virtual table visible on one or more screens to any number of enabled users scattered around. the world.

In addition to the sharing of contents, this application gives the possibility to create / modify presentations starting from multimedia contents of various kinds already present on the network or that can be loaded from a medium, as well as allowing you to create / modify textual contents, graphic contents and many other types of content, creating a new experience for users to explore multimedia content via the web.

Therefore, starting from any multimedia content present on the web or that can be loaded through the application, through a known browser, it is possible to organize a series of multimedia contents in an extremely simple and intuitive way using every single detail of any content, finally allowing users to navigate between these multimedia contents through an interface that always makes possible both a sequential exploration of the contents and a free exploration. In practice, it is not only the contents that are shared in real time with the people invited from all over the world, but also the exploration and eventual modification of the same takes place in a synchronized manner just as if the participating users were seated at the same. table, so every time the presenter switches, for example, from an image shown on his device to another image, all connected participants will see the same images change in real time on their device, as well as every time the presenter makes any changes even to a note / note or create new ones on a multimedia content, the changes will always be shared with all the participants in real time.

The invited participants will therefore always have in front of their eyes the contents of which the presenter is talking, and if the speaker deems it appropriate, he will be able to allow the participants to interact by indicating a detail with a simple click of the mouse (visible in turn to all participants ), and allow participants to use the shared contents (for example at the end of the presentation); in this case all participants will be able to explore in total autonomy not only all the slides created by the speaker, but also all the contents uploaded in their entirety. For example, if there is a pdf document in the presentation and the speaker creates slides that show only a few pages of this document, when participants can navigate on their own they will have the opportunity to see the entire pdf document in addition to the slides created.

The application elevates the concept of sharing by adding shared exploration of content and also extends the ability to create presentations by adding the ability to also insert existing multimedia objects on the network, such as maps, videos, images, documents (pdf, odt, odp, ods), web pages, vector drawings, questionnaire forms and much more, giving anyone the ability to make a complete presentation remotely with anyone connected. The related file created by the application allows the insertion of all the types of content described above, resulting in a new type of multi-content file.

The features described also make the application particularly suitable for collaboration between users, especially the professional one. All participants in possession of access to a presenting computer may be invited to participate in the drafting of a presentation. In addition, the files generated by the presenter computer can optionally be saved both on a dedicated server of the application and on your device, thus also giving you the possibility to share your presentations as you do with any other file.

The files generated by the application can optionally be protected with a cryptographic key or password, in order to make them inaccessible to anyone who is not in possession of the same, effectively allowing the total confidentiality of the data saved without having to give up the maximum flexibility in terms sharing.

The application that implements the method of this disclosure is preferably made entirely through the HTML5 standards regulated by the W3C (World Wide Web Consor tium) and makes use of different techniques and technologies to allow the population, the viewing and the synchronization of the contents. in real time. The application can be divided into two main modules, which can be used respectively on a computer acting as a presenter and a computer acting as a viewer. The presenter module is the section of the service in which a presenter user has the possibility to create a presentation and share it with an indefinite number of viewer users, while the viewer module is the part accessible to viewer users, which allows them to follow in time the presentation to which you have been invited is real, as well as allowing you to explore its content in total autonomy if and when decided by the presenter user. In any case, the files generated by the application can always be opened (even if not editable) from the viewer module.

The hardware infrastructure used may include an Apache Web Server, for example on a Linux platform, and another server, for example on a Debian (Linux) platform, where the WebSocket service used for file sharing and synchronization runs. The two components are preferably kept separate to optimize data management, as shown in Figure 1, although it would be possible to keep the two components on the same server.

As shown in figure 1, a first server FS takes care of distributing the web page and the application both to the presenter PC and to the VC display processor (of anyone who has been invited to a presentation, even without requesting his registration). . In this first FS server, all the access permissions to the application and related features are managed, all files created by users are saved and all the contents of the site are published, whether they are user guides or information on the service.

In the second SS server, on the other hand, all the services relating to the sharing and synchronization of content are running by means of a WebSocket technology. In this SS server both presentation shares can be created and managed and pass user content synchronization and viewing information, including two-way interaction when allowed.

The "first contact" service is still running in the second SS server to allow the operation of the voice communication systems, a first contact service that may in the future also be implemented for the viewing and synchronization of contents in the case of a reduced number of participants.

To understand how the method of this disclosure works, reference will be made to Figure 2 which is a photograph P of a plurality of parts of a Wankel engine. This photograph P is saved to an image file which, for example, can be used to create a multimedia presentation. Using the method of this disclosure, it is possible for example to extrapolate the individual pieces, for example the rotor of the ER motor, to show them in separate screens without having to retransmit and reload the image file each time.

Viewer module

The viewer module is the public part of the application, used by all those invited to a presentation in progress. All contents are dynamically loaded once connected to a presentation (having entered the name of the presentation and the participation key). Figure 3 illustrates an example of how a multimedia presentation appears on the screen S of a display processor VC. In the example shown, reference was made to the case in which only the ER rotor represented in Figure 2 should be displayed in the current slide.

The display module therefore comprises a plurality of graphic icons (buttons) V configured in such a way as to activate, when clicking on them with the mouse or with the fingers (in the case of a touch-screen), components useful for displaying the contents and primary navigation components NP and / or secondary navigation NS (if all or part of the Presenter unlocked) for their exploration, which can be schematically represented as shown in figure 4, and is remotely controlled by the presenter, except for situation in which the presenter decides to let his guests explore his content. Among these graphic icons it is worth noting the SL icon depicting a pushpin, which represents a "bookmark" button whose usefulness will be discussed later.

The viewer module has the screen or scene and the tools for the connection, which are used by the viewer module to receive the data to be loaded.

As schematically shown in Figure 4, the screen or scene S contains the content modules MC, and inside it the portion of available content is displayed, given by the combination of the content itself and its current specific position. Also in figure 4 it can be seen how the interactive tools, such as graphic notes NG, textual notes NT, video communication data CV and Γ mouse indicator IM, are positioned on separate layers and above the scene or screen S, overlapping to the visible content the tools (mouse, drawings) that are above it, and which, due to the transparency of the background, always let you see the underlying content. The upper level, if active, disables interaction of the underlying instruments.

Presenter module

The presenter module of the application includes all the graphic icons (buttons) to activate the functions of the viewer module and integrates them with all the graphic icons (buttons) for the creation of new contents and for the control of the shared navigation, as shown in the figure 5.

The tools added to the presenter module are all those that allow you to add or modify content, first of all are the "Main Tools of the SPA application" (left), and secondly the "Current Content Tools" SCA (top right), which always allow control, modification and interaction with the type of content displayed. The navigation tools of the Presenter are similar to those of the Viewer even if in the specific "Primary Navigation" NP there are further functions available.

In the Presenter you can insert an indefinite number of different modules for content management, but the single module can be present only once in a presentation, it being understood that it can contain an indefinite number of contents, therefore all the contents of the the same type are loaded into the same module and it is the interface that allows the passage from one to the other.

The application is designed to achieve synchronization of content and navigation in the shortest possible time and regardless of the initial conditions. For example, if someone connects to a presentation that has started, they will instantly receive all the contents and once uploaded they will position themselves exactly in the point visible to all participants (indispensable function for managing a debate with many participants). It is also possible to disable the "auto-sharing" function (enabled by default) if you make a limited number presentation and all the guests are already present, in which case any new users will not receive the content unless you decide to share it. again with the appropriate button.

Once a shared presentation has begun, participants will always have the same content as the speaker at hand and any changes made in terms of graphic notes, specific positions or content, will be instantly shared to all participants regardless of whether or not they are saved to file. Participants will always be able to browse all the latest changes made during a presentation, obviously only if the speaker allows autonomous exploration of the contents.

The saving of a presentation is never necessary for the purpose of sharing it, and is functional for the sole purpose of archiving material in order to be able to modify and reuse it. Under no circumstances is it required to save for sharing purposes, in fact a presentation can be built entirely once the guests are connected and therefore leave no trace anywhere once the application is closed. For example, if you want to share photos of a holiday with friends, it will not be necessary to create a file and save it but it will be enough to upload your photos or use the images uploaded to your accounts (Picasa, Flickr, Facebook) and in a few clicks the story of the holiday will begin.

As can be seen in Figure 6, the data saved by the user are in no way made accessible to other users and their content (once decrypted if encrypted) can conveniently be sent to participants by means of the WebSocket WS service, and such other users can conveniently participate and then view the contents if they are in possession of the appropriate data (name of presentation and participation key).

Practical example of utility

The features offered by the application make it a very useful tool in various situations, such as in the case of an online lesson. Let's say a teacher needs to take a history lesson on the Second World War and therefore needs to be able to show historical images, scans of original documents of the time (in image and / or pdf format), maps to describe troop deployments and movements (using Google Maps), encyclopedic information from Wikipedia or other web resources and videos from which to "extrapolate" everything from character statements to war scenes to bombing devastation.

The application allows not only to insert all the materials described above in a single file, but for each of them it gives the possibility to create numerous "bookmarks" on specific details, in which it is also possible to insert a graphic note. To give an example, consider the case of a photo in which some of the protagonists are portrayed and that you want to indicate their names and roles in detail: it will be sufficient to zoom in and position yourself on each individual character and then save the "bookmark with a name. "and add the desired graphic note. From that moment it will be possible to return to that bookmark and its note with a simple click on the appropriate button generated by the application in the list of bookmarks for that specific content.

In practice, the bookmark comprises a pointer to a portion of a selected file containing a data or a group of data to be used in the multimedia presentation, together with relative information identifying an action to be carried out on that group of data, such as a action of selection, zoom, rotation, evening, or even execution or addition of an annotation or a graphic element (graphic note), in addition to a relative time datum that identifies a temporal order of execution of the action . For example, referring to the image shown in figures 3 and 5, the bookmark SL (represented with the image of a drawing pin) made it possible to isolate a portion of the image depicting a rotor of a Wankel rotary engine and to highlight the sealing elements T present on the edges. Any rotation or enlargement actions, for example, on the object depicted, may optionally be characterized by a temporal information that will allow you to determine when the action should be performed while viewing the multimedia presentation.

In the case of video content, the operations to be done to reach a bookmark, or a graphic note, are almost the same as for the image content and the only difference lies in the fact that in a video you also choose the moment of the video in which to add the "bookmark" and any note.

The same goes for documents (for example in .pdf,, odt, .odp,, ods or others), where in addition to what is described for images, the "bookmarks" also save the page number and the position inside it.

Without having to go further with the examples of operation for all other types of content, we can simply say that each module / content generates its own "bookmark" (essential for adding a note), collecting all the information necessary to reproduce the same identical visual situation when requested by the user.

In the event that a sharing is already active and there are participants (in the case considered, students), during the operations described above, they would immediately see the contents entered and the "bookmarks" created (including the notes) and in the case the Presenter (in the case considered the teacher) will want it, the participants will also have the possibility to browse in total autonomy both the contents and the "bookmarks" created (including the notes).

Furthermore, at the end of the lesson the Presenter (teacher) can decide whether to remove the contents, or if they should remain available and explorable to the participants (students), until the respective Viewers are closed.

Advantageous features of the method according to the present disclosure are:

• Use of Bookmarks: it is possible to save the viewing conditions of a given content at any time regardless of the type of content being viewed, creating what can be defined as a bookmark that also includes a possible graphic note, thus making it possible to return to the saved view and also show the related graphic note when necessary;

• Excellent Visual Quality: unlike the viewing of your own screen, the method of this disclosure ensures that the Viewers of all participants receive and view the original content, thus avoiding any possible loss of quality of the content due to compression. According to the method disclosed herein, it is limited to sending to the participants only the information concerning Γ exploration of the content and only when the Presenter (creator of the con vision) interacts with the content;

• Autonomous Exploration: a shared scene is created with all the participants in which the original contents are loaded, thus allowing everyone to explore them in total autonomy when decided by the Presenter who created the sharing;

• Network use: network management is optimized by always sending what is strictly necessary to maintain the synchrony of both the contents and their exploration. Once all the references for loading the contents have been sent, the application sends data only when necessary and in the case in which, for example, you are talking about a detail and therefore you are not interacting with the content, the sending of data is limited voice only, with very little network usage compared to screen sharing in current systems;

• Adding graphic notes to a content: there are currently some applications that allow you to add a graphic note to a content, but they are limited to a single note in the entire file. For example, in an image, many applications allow you to draw a note on it and save the modified image as a new file, but the note is unique for the whole image. Unlike when described above and always taking an image as an example, the method described here combines the graphic note with a "bookmark" which can be of the entire image as in existing applications, or relate to a detail enlarged with a zoom. It is also possible to save numerous bookmarks and related graphic notes both on images and on many other types of content, as well as not requiring the creation of a new image as the graphic note is inserted as a separate layer and superimposed on the original content;

• Adding textual notes: it is possible to add text-type notes similarly to what happens for graphic-type notes;

• Organization of contents through bookmarks: at present various applications allow you to create bookmarks in your content but are in any case limited to a specific type. For example, in the case of pdf, which is one of the most used document formats worldwide, the bookmark simply allows you to scroll back to a certain point of a document, but in no case is the zoom level restored for example. The method of this disclosure, on the other hand, first of all allows you to create bookmarks regardless of the type of content, allowing you to insert them on a map, an image, a video, a web page and much more. Furthermore, the "bookmarks" save not only the position of the scroll, but the entire "visual situation", thus also reproducing the zoom level and rotation (in some modules).

Basic Application and Synchrony Operation

The Scene, which is the actual visual space shared between all users, is dynamically constructed by the application with content already present on the network (loaded from your device or not), therefore accessible to all connected users.

The construction of the scene takes place entirely in the Viewer, processing a data structure created by the application's Presenter module, from which it is also possible to modify the work done and share the changes in real time.

The synchronization of the content is almost completely automated and in any case, a simple click on the content itself is always enough to synchronize the Viewers of the connected users. Only in some cases (such as in the case of the Streetview of Google Maps) the synchronization of the exploration occurs in real time without having to use the click, usually because the click event is used to control the content.

Figure 6 schematically illustrates how the Presenter and the Viewer (s) are related.

Data Population

The population of the individual data containers of the different types of modules generally takes place at two different times, as illustrated in the flow chart of Figure 7.

The first step of the population takes place after entering the links to the files to be used, at the end of this step you will have the contents in the shared scene and ready for exploration. The second step of the population takes place during exploration and concerns the addition of bookmarks to each individual content and takes place entirely in the main scene. It will be sufficient to zoom, move, rotate the content to the desired position, and after entering a name and clicking on the appropriate button, the position will be saved and reproduced at any time from the interface. From that moment on, it will be possible to draw a note on the chosen position, the latter will obviously be inserted together with the other data on the bookmark.

Saving Bookmarks

Adding specific positions of a single content can only take place after inserting the content into the scene. At that point it will be sufficient to position the content as desired using the tools made available for the specific type of module and once done, simply enter a name for the position and save it.

In saving the position, the application will "interrogate" the module in question, as shown in the flow chart of figure 8, and, once it has received the answers regarding the zoom, its position, rotation, scroll and all information necessary for the management of the specific content, the data is packaged and inserted in the data container, which will be shared with the participants (in case you are connected) and will be used by the viewers of all the participants to reconstruct the scene and the navigation menu bookmarks, as shown in figure 9.

Added Graphic Note

The Graphics note is always related to a previously saved bookmark, on which it is possible to draw anything using a vector graphics editor (svg-edit) dedicated to this purpose.

Once the new Graphic Note has been received in the connected Viewers, it will be loaded into the scene and inserted into the data container. This allows you to keep the data containers synchronized without having to make the entire data container travel in the websocket each time, which if it contains many specific positions with related graphic notes, would weigh down the connection without actually needing it.

The changes made to the graphic note are not automatically saved in the data container, but only by using the appropriate save button, which in addition to saving the note in the container sends it to all the viewers of the participants.

Added Textual Notes

As for the Graphic note, also the Textual note relates to a previously saved bookmark and is treated in a similar way to the Graphic note.

Upload files from your device

The file upload system should not be considered as a place to store your documents and files uploaded for a presentation are saved to a temporary folder which will disappear as soon as you leave the application. This gives users full control over their content.

With the same purpose of control of their own contents by the users there is a basic system for uploading files to their web space, available after installing some files in the folder chosen on their ftp.

Saving the File

The file is created by assembling together all the "data blocks" of the individual modules used in the presentation, as shown in the flow diagram of figure 10 and using "modules", for example of the type shown in the same figure. Each module could be considered an application in itself, as it generates a "data block" specific to the content, which contains all the information necessary to reproduce the data saved in it.

Once the data loaded into the modules is obtained, they are inserted together with other information in a container which is finally converted into a long string.Once the string to be inserted in the file is obtained, it is encrypted (if required) and then the result is saved (on the application server or on your own disk).

In any case, the file can be reopened and modified by anyone who has it and has a Presenter type account, but if the files used have been uploaded from their PC (using the application upload system) and are not incorporated into it, they will have to be recharged upon opening.

File Opening

The files generated by the application can be opened both by the Viewer (in read mode) and by the Presenter (in read / write mode). The first step in opening a file, whether it comes from the server or from your disk, is conveniently checking the encryption if provided: if the file is password protected, you will be prompted to enter it; otherwise, instead, the loading procedure will start, as shown in the flow chart in figure 11.

The interpretation of the file starts from the application settings, then the size of the scene, the colors, the viewing parameters (if any) and more generally all the application settings will be set. Subsequently, the content loading sequence begins, in which for each content (existing module) the data is first loaded into the appropriate containers, which are subsequently used to populate the scene with the related data. If you have a Presenter type account, when loading each module, its management tools are obviously loaded and initialized, which will allow total control, both in the exploration and in the modification of its contents, otherwise it will always be possible to use only the visualization.

Import saved contents

The structure of the file generated by the application allows you to easily manage the import of individual modules saved in other presentations, as illustrated in the flow chart in figure 12. In fact, when a file is selected, a sort is loaded preview represented by the list of modules contained in it and with a simple click it is possible to add every single module to the current one already present in the scene. Importing a module does not replace any existing data in it, but merely adds the imported content if there are any, while if the module is not already present in the scene it is loaded automatically. Connections and Sharing Details

Unidirectional Channel

The Unidirectional Channel is entirely dedicated to the passage of data from the Presenter to all the Viewers, in fact it requires a "Publication Key" different from the bidirectional channel, which is never shared with the participants, except for the situations in which you want to make possible collaboration with one or more users (who have access to the submitter module).

Bidirectional Channel

The Bidirectional Channel is dedicated to all communications and interactions of the tools between all participants. In fact, all connected users have write permissions on this channel (so they can send data as well as receive them), which is essential, for example, for the functioning of the internal chat, the Mouse Pointer tool and more.

Presenter connection

Description of the connection system between the various users and their access permissions

When the connection is created from the Presenter module of the application, two communication channels are conveniently created, as illustrated in the flow diagram of figure 13, one bidirectional where all the interactions and communications between the various participants are managed, and one dedicated entirely to the data concerning the contents and allows complete control of the exploration of the same for all participants. The write permissions on this second channel are exclusive to the creator of the communication and are regulated by a second access key. The second key, which gives the possibility to upload content on stage and to control its navigation, is shared with any user who has access to the presenter module of the application and to the same tools, in case you start a collaboration with the same. .

Viewer connection

The connection to a presentation takes place after entering a User Name and the parameters received (Name of the Presentation and Participation Key) and gives access to the real-time viewing and exploration of the shared contents, according to the sequence of operations outlined in the flow chart in the figure 14. The connection to the presentation also gives the possibility to communicate with all participants and interact with them when required. Access by the Viewer opens a connection with read and write permissions on the bidirectional channel of the websocket and a connection with read permissions only on the unidirectional channel, dedicated entirely to traffic for content management and their exploration.

Data Interpretation Model Received from the Socket

All the instructions for populating the scene (adding and removing modules), primary navigation (from one module to another) and interaction between users are directed to the main viewer. The loaded modules, on the other hand, are sent instructions for managing their contents (adding / removing / sorting the module contents), for managing the saved positions (or bookmarks) and for their navigation in general.

Navigation Instructions Processing

Having all the data already present also in the viewer module (of all participants), the instructions received for the synchronization of the content exploration are limited to indicating the type of navigation required and the index of the content to be displayed and based on the type requests are directed to the main application or to the contained module, as shown in the flow diagram of figure 15,

SPECIFIC CONTENT FORM

With regard to exploration, only the requests to change the module or primary navigation are sent to the application (an example could be the passage from an image gallery to a map), while all other requests, whether for content changes, are addressed to the modules. , change bookmarks or notes. This is because each module requires specific functions for the exploration of its content, due to the fact that each module has a different type of content.

APPLICATION FROM THE DISPLAY MODULE

Speaking of content exploration, the Viewer deals exclusively with the passage from one "Content Module" to another, always starting from a numerical index. So if the instructions received are something like "Module: 3" the Viewer will perform the necessary actions to make module 3 visible, without having to worry about its type, in fact it will always be the module itself that deals with the exploration of its own content, as each module has a different type of content and therefore needs its own functions for the exploration of the same,

Functions and Technical Characteristics

The main technical / functional characteristics of the application can be summarized as follows:

• It is entirely distributable in a web context and accessible via an internet page;

• It does not require any installation on your device, neither of applications nor of specific plug-ins in your browser;

• Allows videoconferencing communication with browsers that fully support WebRTC technology;

Allows written communication with invited people in all supported browsers; Allows collaboration in the drafting of content;

It allows the synchronized exploration of its contents. By synchronized exploration we mean that those invited to the presentation will always be synchronized to the content of the speaker in real time, and any changes applied during the presentation will also be updated in real time to all participants;

• It allows you to create infinite slides of a given content by combining the exact position together with a possible graphic note and it is always editable and shared in real time. The exact position includes different parameters for the different contents, so in the case of images it will be given by the zoom level and the chosen position (as in most cases) as well as by the rotation, while in the case of a video for example, it also implies the time position of the video in question;

• It allows you to insert all the types of content offered in the same presentation:

Compositions of image galleries with images from different sources (uploaded, picasa-facebook-flickr account, or any image on the web providing the link),

Videos from Vimeo, YouTube, Daily Motion or from any file in .mp4, .webm and, ogv formats (on your web space or any other address),

Google Maps maps,

Google Earth-style 3D globe, with interchangeable maps, Documents imported from the web or uploaded, in different formats such as, but not limited to, .pdf and Open Document, odt, .odp, .ods,

Existing web pages (when allowed by the page administrators to use),

Contents created within the application (OpenOffice style text composition, vector drawings with a special editor, rendering of computer code of at least 50 different languages, musical scores, mathematical formulas, statistical graphs, drawings of molecular structures with a special editor, and much more ),

• Questionnaires created in the application,

• Forms to receive feedback;

• Presentations can be saved and edited, and can be archived both online and on your device, so as to allow them to be viewed like any other type of file and in the case of sharing to a user with presenter permissions, it is possible modification of the same;

• The generated files can be protected by using a key / password. When saving a presentation, you can decide to protect it with a key, which will be used to encrypt the file on your computer before it is sent to the server, making it impossible to read for anyone who does not have the chosen key. In the generated file, the contents can be divided into two parts: the information entered through the application, and the actual files such as images, videos, documents and so on. The application can use both existing files on the web and files uploaded from your device and in the case of the latter, you can embed them in the file generated by the application or use a link to them as for files on the web. Encryption protection generally concerns only the information entered and only the files uploaded from your device when incorporated. For all other files, however, those coming from your device but not incorporated or those present on the network, on a third-party server, it will not be possible to activate the aforementioned protection;

• Allows interaction between all participants by means of the mouse pointer, visible to all of them and manageable with a simple click;

• During or at the end of the presentations, it is possible to give all participants the possibility to browse the contents presented independently, including any notes that were entered during the conference without necessarily having to save the work session;

• Allows the management of a debate with a moderator, an "n" number of speakers and an almost infinite number of spectators;

• It can manage multiple simultaneous presentations previously created by multiple authors, and can make them flow into the same presentation, possibly shared in real time, with the possibility of moderation by the moderator user, therefore in possession of the access to the "Debate" module that allows this type of management.

Usable technologies

The application is based on some of the new technologies brought by the HTML 5 standard, it can use various third-party libraries distributed under the GPL or Apache license, use existing web resources with the appropriate API (Application Programming Interface) made available by the managers of the services, creating additional functions that do not currently exist.

A non-exhaustive list of the technologies that can be used is the following:

HTML - the entire structure of the application is designed on the international HTML standards dictated by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium);

PHP - is used for all interactions with the server, specifically php is used for:

control of user permissions,

distribute the initial configuration of the application,

distribute all components (modules) of the application when required,

Open and Save files on the server (presentations created by the application),

Send invitations by email,

Send feedback requested in presentations from the appropriate form (forms), JavaScript - used to program all the features and interactions of the application,

JSON - used as a data exchange format between the Client and the server, Ajax - used for dynamic loading of data received from a server,

CSS - used for the style of the entire application and its contents,

SVG - used for adding graphic notes and for all uploadable graphic content, Web Socket - used for synchronization between the presenter and the viewers of the participants,

• WebRTC - used momentarily to connect the browsers of all participants.

Third party libraries with GPL or Apache license

As for the third-party libraries currently used in the application, it is only possible to provide a partial list of them as the application is designed for

allow reaching of new libraries, For illustrative purposes only and not at all

limiting, we can mention the following libraries that can be used in the application described;

CKEditor - Creating and editing HTML content,

SVG-Edit - Create and edit SVG graphic content

Ketcher - Creation and modification of molecular structures,

Cryptojs - Client Side Encryption,

jWebSocket - Signaling service for the synchronization of content and navigation,

peer - WebRTC service management for content and navigation synchronization,

Viewerjs - Documents viewer Pdf, Odt, Ods, Odp,

Geshi - Library for formatting and rendering of computer code,

AbcdJS - Library for rendering SVG sheet music

Mathjax - Library for rendering mathematical formulas in SVG

Videojs - Video player for formats supported by the HTML 5 standard and the Flash technology,

Cesium - Earth globe with interchangeable maps for the visualization of geographical ati,

jQuery - Library for simplifying writing JavaScript code,

jQuery-ui - Tools for managing graphical interfaces,

jQuery- ui-contextMenu - Tools for managing the context menu,

jQuery.panzoom - Library for content zoom capabilities,

jQuery.rotate - Library for content rotation features,

jQuery.mousewheel - Library for its mouse wheel support,

jQuery.scrollTo - Library for content scrolling functionality,

jQuery.tipsy - Library for tooltips features (information popups),

jQuery.impromptii - Library for managing dialog boxes, • jQuery-File-Upload - Library for managing file uploads from your device,

• screenfull - Library for managing the full screen display, spectrum - Library for managing the color selector.

APIs that can be used by the application for the use of external content

As with third-party libraries, an exhaustive list cannot be provided for usable APIs as the application is designed to use new APIs. For purely illustrative purposes and not at all limiting, the following APIs can be mentioned that can be used in the application described;

Google Maps (Google tools for the interaction of third parties with their systems)

• Picasa (tools for working with files uploaded to a Picasa account)

• Flickr (tools for using files uploaded to a Flickr account)

• Facebook (tools for using files uploaded to a Facebook account)

Vimeo (tools for using files uploaded to a Vimeo account)

• Youtube (tools for using files uploaded to a Youtube account)

• Daily Motion (tools for using files uploaded to a Daily Motion account)

Claims (17)

CLAIMS 1. Method for creating a digital multimedia presentation through at least one presenter, characterized by the following operational phases: to. select at least one file containing multimedia data to be played in the digital multimedia presentation; b. for each selected file, generating at least a pointer to a portion thereof containing a data or a group of data to be reproduced in said digital multimedia presentation; c. associating, to each pointer, action information identifying at least one respective command on the respective data or group of data. Method according to the preceding claim, wherein said creation operation further comprises associating, to each pointer, also a relative temporal datum identifying a temporal order of execution. 3. Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which said creation operation further comprises an operation of saving said at least one selected file and respective data identifying said at least one pointer and the associated action information on a mass storage medium. 4. Method for creating a digital multimedia presentation through a plurality of presenters connected to the network, characterized by the following operational phases: performing operations a) b) and c) of the method according to one of claims 1 to 3 on at least one of said presenting processors; share in real time among all the presenters, selected files or at least addresses to access said selected files on a server connected to the network and pointers to a portion of the selected files containing a data or a group of data to be reproduced in said digital multimedia presentation , wherein said pointer is associated with action information identifying at least one respective command on the respective data or group of data. 5. Transmission method from at least one presenting computer to at least one displaying computer of a digital multimedia presentation comprising at least one file containing multimedia data to be reproduced in the digital multimedia presentation, characterized by the following operating steps: to. transmitting said file or at least one address for accessing said file on a server connected to the network from said present computer to said display computer, before the execution of the digital multimedia presentation, b, before or during the execution of the multimedia presentation , transmitting from said present processor to said display processor at least one pointer to a portion of the file containing a data or a group of data to be reproduced in said digital multimedia presentation, in which said pointer is associated with action information identifying at least one respective command on the respective data or data group. 6. Method of reproduction through at least one display processor of a digital multimedia presentation comprising at least one file containing multimedia data to be reproduced in the digital multimedia presentation, characterized by the following operating steps: to. upload said file or at least one address to access said file on a server connected to the network on said display processor before the execution of the digital multimedia presentation; b. before or during the execution of the multimedia presentation, loading on said display processor at least one pointer to a portion of the file containing a data or a group of data to be reproduced in said digital multimedia presentation, in which said pointer is associated with identifying action information at least one respective command on the respective data or group of data; c. execute said at least one command on the data or group of data pointed to by said at least one pointer, 7. Method of creation, transmission or reproduction according to one of the preceding claims, in which said command on the respective data or group of data is selected from a set consisting of one or more selection, zoom, rotation, scroll commands , execution, adding annotations and / or graphic elements, web browsing, and / or saving on mass memory or on a server. The reproduction method according to claim 6, wherein to. each pointer is also associated with a relative temporal datum identifying a temporal order of execution, b. said reproduction operation includes executing said at least one command respecting the temporal order of execution identified by said temporal data. Method for creating and reproducing a digital multimedia presentation, comprising the operations of creating with at least a presenter computer a digital multimedia presentation according to the method of one of claims 1 to 4, of transmission to at least one display computer according to the method of claim 5 and reproduction on at least one display processor of said digital multimedia presentation according to the method of claim 6, 7 or 8. 10. Computer program comprising software code configured to perform the steps of the creation and / or transmission and / or reproduction operation according to the method of one of claims 1 to 9 when performed by a computer. 11. Method of generating a graphical user interface on a computer screen, including the following operations: to. display a first menu (NP) to select at least one file containing multimedia data to be played (P) in the digital multimedia presentation; b. displaying a button (SL) to generate, by clicking on it, at least a pointer to a portion of said selected file containing a data or a group of data (ER) to be reproduced in said digital multimedia presentation; c. displaying at least a second menu (NS, V) to generate a window for reproducing said data or group of data (ER) associated with said pointer therein; d. display at least a third menu (SPA, SCA) to associate action information identifying at least one respective command on the respective datum or data group (ER) to each pointer. 12. Computer program comprising software code configured to perform the steps of the operation of generating a graphical user interface according to the method of claim 11 when executed by a computer, 13. A computer on which a computer program is installed and running which: to. remotely connects the computer to an application and user data server; b. displays said graphical user interface generated by the computer program according to claim 12; c. it is configured to send to the application server and user data instructions for enabling / disabling one or more buttons to allow / deny use by other computers connected remotely; d. it is configured to allow adding further pointers and / or executing further commands on said at least one selected file, by clicking on buttons of the graphical user interface menu for which use by said computer is enabled; And. it is configured to reproduce several digital multimedia presentations simultaneously created with the method of claim 3 by establishing a reproduction temporal sequence of portions of said digital multimedia presentations. 14. A computer on which a computer program is installed and running which: to. remotely connects the computer to an application and user data server; b. displays said graphical user interface generated by the computer program according to claim 12. 15. Networked computer system, comprising: to. at least one presenting processor according to claim 13; b. at least one display processor according to claim 14; c. a first application and user data server (FS), connected to said at least one presenting computer and with said at least one display computer, configured to check access permissions of connected computers, to distribute files to connected computers and to save files created by computers connected; d. a second synchronization server (SS), connected with said at least one present processor and with said at least one display processor, configured to synchronize transmissions from said at least one present processor to said at least one display processor and to share said action information. 16. A computer readable storage medium containing a computer program as defined in claim 10 or claim 12. 17. Computer readable storage medium, comprising a file representative of a digital multimedia presentation created with the method of claim 3 in the form of a listing having a tree structure and organized in juxtaposed and / or nested listing sections in the other, each section being identified by a section name label followed by a section beginning symbol and a section end symbol, said representative file comprising: to. one or more juxtaposed first level sections of the tree structure for each module of the digital multimedia presentation; b. each of said first-level sections comprising one or more juxtaposed second-level sections of the tree structure, each containing unique identification information and retrieval of the respective files selected for each of the files selected during the creation of the digital multimedia presentation; c. each of said second level sections comprising one or more juxtaposed third level sections of the tree structure, each containing univocal identification and retrieval information of a respective data or group of data to be reproduced in the multimedia presentation pointed to by a pointer and the respective action information associated with said pointer.