<nettime> CMS patent

t byfield on Fri, 30 Jul 2004 22:51:37 +0200 (CEST)

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<nettime> CMS patent

To: nettime-l@bbs.thing.net
Subject: <nettime> CMS patent
From: t byfield <tbyfield@panix.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2004 13:17:55 -0400
Reply-to: t byfield <tbyfield@panix.com>

< http://cmspatent.notlong.com > (pointing at < http://patft.uspto.gov/ ...>)

[US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database]

( 1 of 1 )
_________________________________________________________________

United States Patent 6,745,238
Giljum , et al. June 1, 2004
_________________________________________________________________

Self service system for web site publishing

Abstract

A web site creation and maintenance system permits distributed control
and centralized management of a web site. The physical implementation
of the web site resides on a database maintained by a database
administrator. The web site system permits a site administrator to
construct the overall structure, design and style of the web site.
This allows for a comprehensive design as well as a common look and
feel for the web site. The web site system permits content for the web
site to originate from multiple content contributors. The publication
of content is controlled by content owners. This permits assignment of
content control to those persons familiar with the content. The web
site system is also a self service web site system for content
contributors, content owners, and site administrators. The self
service system displays to users one or more panels that contain input
fields to permit the users to submit content and web site components
for publication on the web site. The user, through use of only a web
browser running on the user computer, transmits the parameter to the
web site database. In response, the web site is updated at the
database in accordance with the parameter.
_________________________________________________________________

Inventors: Giljum; Robert (San Francisco, CA); Thorpe; John
(Washington, DC); Kramer; Jeanne (Silver Spring, MD); Banker; Nilay
(Fremont, CA); Deep; Vandana (Union City, CA)
Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Redwood Shores, CA)
Appl. No.: 540092
Filed: March 31, 2000

Current U.S. Class: 709/219; 707/102
Intern'l Class: G06F 015/16
Field of Search: 709/223,219 707/102,103,104
_________________________________________________________________

References Cited [10][Referenced By]
_________________________________________________________________

U.S. Patent Documents

[11]5740549 Apr., 1998 Reilly et al. 705/14.
[12]5826258 Oct., 1998 Gupta et al. 707/4.
[13]5911145 Jun., 1999 Arora et al. 715/514.
[14]5978766 Nov., 1999 Luciw 705/1.
[15]6014137 Jan., 2000 Burns 345/334.
[16]6185608 Feb., 2001 Hon et al. 709/216.
[17]6189029 Feb., 2001 Fuerst 709/217.
[18]6192415 Feb., 2001 Haverstock et al. 709/245.
[19]6195652 Feb., 2001 Fish 707/2.
[20]6195657 Feb., 2001 Rucker et al. 707/5.
[21]6223177 Apr., 2001 Tatham et al. 707/9.
[22]6233600 May., 2001 Salas et al. 709/201.
[23]6243700 Jun., 2001 Zellweger 707/3.
[24]6308188 Oct., 2001 Bernardo et al. 707/530.
[25]6317722 Nov., 2001 Jacobi et al. 705/14.
[26]6366910 Apr., 2002 Rajaraman et al. 707/5.
[27]6438580 Aug., 2002 Mears et al. 709/204.
[28]6463460 Oct., 2002 Simonoff 709/203.
[29]6466918 Oct., 2002 Spiegel et al. 705/27.
[30]6516329 Feb., 2003 Smith 715/501.
[31]2001/0042132 Nov., 2001 Mayadas 709/238.

Primary Examiner: Jaroenchonwanit; Bunjob
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hickman Palermo Truong & Becker LLP
_________________________________________________________________

Claims
_________________________________________________________________

What is claimed is:
1. A method for displaying content, comprising:
receiving input that defines a set of perspectives, wherein each
perspective in the set of perspectives is a cross category grouping of
one or more content items, and wherein said one or more content items
is in a plurality of content items;
storing, in a database, the plurality of content items, wherein each
of the plurality of content items belongs to one or more categories;
receiving user input that associates subsets of said set of
perspectives with each of said plurality of content items; and
in response to a request to display a web page that contains one of
said plurality of content items, displaying on said web page a
selectable control for each perspective in the subset of said set of
perspectives that is associated with said one of said plurality of
content items.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
storing in the database a second plurality of content items that are
not associated with any member of said set of perspectives.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said input that defines said set of
perspectives is received in response to user manipulation of a
graphical user interface presented by a second web page.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein each member of said set of
perspectives is a key word.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to input
received at said web page, where the input selects the selectable
control of a particular perspective in the subset of perspectives
associated with said one of said content items, performing the steps
of:
performing a search within said database for a set of content items
that are associated with said particular perspective; and
displaying, on a second web page, at least one content item identified
in said search.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of displaying, on a second
web page, at least one content item includes displaying, on said
second web page, a plurality of content items that are associated,
within said database, with said particular perspective.
7. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of
instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes
the one or more processors to perform the steps of:
receiving input that defines a set of perspectives, wherein each
perspective in the set of perspectives is a cross category grouping of
one or more content items, and wherein said one or more content items
is in a plurality of content items;
storing, in a database, the plurality of content items, wherein each
of the plurality of content items belongs to one or more categories;
receiving user input that associates subsets of said set of
perspectives with each of said plurality of content items; and
in response to a request to display a web page that contains one of
said plurality of content items, displaying on said web page a
selectable control for each perspective in the subset of said set of
perspectives that is associated with said one of said plurality of
content items.
8. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, further comprising
instructions for:
storing in the database a second plurality of content items that are
not associated with any member of said set of perspectives.
9. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein said input that
defines said set of perspectives is received in response to user
manipulation of a graphical user interface presented by a second web
page.
10. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein each member of
said set of perspectives is a key word.
11. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, further comprising
instructions for, in response to input received at said web page,
where the input selects the selectable control of a particular
perspective in the subset of perspectives associated with said one of
said content items, performing the steps of:
performing a search within said database for a set of content items
that are associated with said particular perspective; and
displaying, on a second web page, at least one content item identified
in said search.
12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the step of
displaying, on a second web page, at least one content item includes
displaying, on said second web page, a plurality of content items that
are associated, within said database, with said particular
perspective.
13. An apparatus for displaying content, comprising:
means for receiving input that defines a set of perspectives, wherein
each perspective in the set of perspectives is a cross category
grouping of one or more content items, and wherein said content item
is in a plurality of content items;
means for storing in a database the plurality of content items,
wherein each of the plurality of content items belongs to one or more
categories;
means for receiving user input that associates subsets of said set of
perspectives with each of said content items; and
means for displaying on a web page a selectable control for each
perspective in the subset of said set of perspectives that is
associated with said one of said content items in response to a
request to display a web page that contains one of said content items.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:
means for storing in the database a second plurality of content items
that are not associated with any member of said set of perspectives.
15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said input that defines said
set of perspectives is received in response to user manipulation of a
graphical use interface presented by a second web page.
16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein each member of said set of
perspectives is a key word.
17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said web page is a first web
page, and further comprising:
means for performing a search within said database for a set of
content items that are associated with a particular perspective in
response to input received at said first web page, where the input
selects the selectable control of said particular perspective in the
subset of perspectives associated with said one of said content items;
and
means for displaying, on a second web page, at least one content item
identified in said search in response to input received at said first
web page, where the input selects the selectable control of said
particular perspective in the subset of perspectives associated with
said one of said content items.
18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the means for displaying, on a
second web page, at least one content item includes means for
displaying, on said second web page, a plurality of content items that
are associated, within said database, with said particular
perspective.
_________________________________________________________________

Description
_________________________________________________________________

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward the field of web sites, and
more particularly toward designing, creating, and maintaining web
sites.
2. Art Background
Generally, a web site is a collection of text and images configured
for presentation in a predetermined way. A web site may be published
by a single person or published by a group of people. A company or
organization is an example of a group of people that publish a web
site. For example, a company may have a web site for use by its
customers (e.g., sale of products), and a company may have a web site
for internal use (i.e., Intranet). Typically, web sites published by a
group are created and maintained through a collaborative effort. For
example, a company that sells hi-tech gadgets may include, on its web
site, material that describes and shows uses for the hi-tech gadgets
as well as content that describes the basic technology of the hi-tech
gadgets. The material that discloses uses of the hi-tech gadgets may
be submitted by the company's marketing department, whereas the
content that describes the basic technology of the gadgets may be
submitted by the company's engineering department. Thus, it is typical
to assemble content for a web site from multiple sources when creating
and maintaining a web site.
Typically, to create a web site, the person, referred to as the
content contributor, submits the content (e.g., files and images) to
the web site administrator for publication. The web site administrator
assumes the role of both constructing the web site and maintaining the
implementation of the web site. The task of constructing the web site
includes using HTML to link the files and images. The task of
maintaining the implementation of the web site includes ensuring
proper operation of the host computer, such as a web server, as well
as maintaining up to date back ups of the web site. The content
contributor may not be technical and may not have any knowledge of
HTML. Thus, the content contributors rely on the web site
administrators to publish the content.
One problem associated with this traditional approach is that
funneling all the content for publication through the site
administrator creates a bottleneck. For example, if a web site has
multiple content contributors, all of the content contributors must
funnel the content through the web site administrator prior to
publishing the content. Also, this approach places all of the
responsibility of approving publication of content on the web site
administrator when the web site administrator may have little or no
knowledge of the content. Furthermore, under this approach, there is
no single responsible person for ensuring that the content is up to
date and accurate.
With the increased popularity of the Internet and corporate Intranets,
there is an increased demand for tools that aid in the creation and
maintenance of web sites. Accordingly, it is desirable to generate a
web site creation and maintenance tool that permits non-technical
people to publish content on a web site. It is also desirable to
generate a web site creation and maintenance tool that apportions
responsibility for web site creation and maintenance task to the most
appropriate individuals.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A self service web site system permits content contributors to publish
content without knowledge of HTML. The web site is implemented at a
central repository, such as a web server. In one embodiment, the
physical implementation of the web site resides on a database. The
self service system displays to users, on the users' computers, one or
more panels. The panels contain input fields to permit the users to
submit content and web site components for publication on the web
site. In one embodiment, the self service system permits a content
contributor to add an item, add an item to a folder, associate an item
with a perspective, and classify the item in a category. The user,
through use of only a web browser running on the user computer,
transmits the parameter to the central repository. In response, the
web site is updated at the central repository in accordance with the
parameter. The web site system also permits, through a self service
implementation, administration and management of the web site.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the web site
creation and maintenance paradigm of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment for the Web Site
Database system.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment for implementing
the Web Site Database system.
FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment for generating a
Web Site using the Web Site Database system.
FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment for an administration page.
FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment for the user manager.
FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment for a detailed user screen.
FIG. 8 illustrates an example Web Site home page using the Web Site
Database system.
FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment for the example web site home page
of FIG. 8 in edit mode.
FIG. 10 illustrates an example logon welcome screen.
FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment for displaying personal folders for
the Web Site database system.
FIG. 12 illustrates one screen for an item wizard to "Add an Item."
FIG. 13 illustrates a screen for a second step in the item Wizard in
accordance with one embodiment of the Web Site Database System.
FIG. 14 illustrates a screen for a third step in the item Wizard in
accordance with one embodiment of the Web Site Database System.
FIG. 15 illustrates an example Web Site screen display after adding
the item.
FIG. 16 illustrates one embodiment for a create custom item type
panel.
FIG. 17 illustrates one embodiment for specifying attributes in a
custom item type.
FIG. 18 illustrates a screen for the user to specify the type of
procedure and the text of the link display to execute the procedure.
FIG. 19 illustrates one embodiment for a folder dashboard.
FIG. 20 illustrates one embodiment for a create folder panel.
FIG. 21 illustrates an example Web Page for the new folder created.
FIG. 22 illustrates one embodiment for specifying folder attributes in
the folder manager.
FIG. 23 illustrates a screen for the folder manager for specifying
navigation bar features.
FIG. 24 illustrates a screen display to customize the navigation bar
for a folder.
FIG. 25 illustrates a category dashboard to provide quick and easy
access to the category features of the Web Site Database System.
FIG. 26 illustrates an example create category panel.
FIG. 27 illustrates one embodiment for a create perspectives panel.
FIG. 28 illustrates one embodiment for the perspective dashboard.
FIG. 29 illustrates one embodiment for a create style panel.
FIG. 30 illustrates one embodiment for the find style panel of the
style manager.
FIG. 31 illustrates one embodiment for the style editor.
FIG. 32 illustrates an example style manager for the navigation bar.
FIG. 33 illustrates one embodiment for the site style diagram for a
banner.
FIG. 34 illustrates one embodiment for the color page.
FIG. 35 illustrates one embodiment for the style editor.
FIG. 36 illustrates one embodiment for a create group panel.
FIG. 37 illustrates one embodiment to modify groups.
FIG. 38 illustrates one embodiment for granting user privileges.
FIG. 39 illustrates one embodiment for setting group privileges to a
folder.
FIG. 40 illustrates one embodiment for displaying content.
FIG. 41 illustrates one embodiment of a system for displaying content.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Web Site Paradigm
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the web site
creations and maintenance paradigm of the present invention. A web
site 110 contains one or more items (4102). By way of example, the web
site 110 may include documents (114), graphics (112), and forms (116).
However, Web Site 110 may include any type of item (4102) (i.e.,
content) for use with the web site paradigm of the present invention.
In general, different entities are responsible for the creation,
contribution, and maintenance of the web site. Specifically, for the
example of FIG. 1, the creation, contribution, and maintenance of web
site 110 is accomplished by database administrator 140, site
administrator 100, content owners or folder owners 120, content
contributors 160, and end-users viewers 150. Each of these entities
may consist of one or more persons.
As is described more fully below, in one embodiment, the web site 110
is entirely maintained (4004) in a database (e.g., database 130 in
FIG. 1). Database administrator 140 (e.g., information technology
department) maintains the database. For example, database
administrator 140 backs-up the database from the operating computer
(e.g., web server), and ensures proper operation on the web server.
Thus, this permits centralized technology maintenance of web site 110
through maintenance of database 130.
For this embodiment, site administrator 100 is responsible for the
overall creation of web site 110. Specifically, site administrator 100
may design the overall structure and flow of web site 110, as well as
the look and feel of web site 110. Also, in another embodiment, site
administrator 100 assigns style administrators that design the look
and feel of the web site (e.g., colors, font, etc.).
The web site is organized into a plurality of folders. The web site
paradigm permits the creator of the Web Site to specify who owns a
folder, who can add content to the folder (i.e., contributor) and who
can view the items in the folder. In one embodiment, site
administrator 100 may designate one or more content or folder owners
120. The folder owners 120 are responsible for controlling both the
content published on web site 110 and for controlling viewing of that
content. The Web Site paradigm also permits dividing these privileges
to match sub-folders, classified under a parent folder. The
sub-folders represent a more detailed level of classification that is
best implemented via folders.
The content or folder owners 120 control the contents of their
assigned folders, as well as assign privileges to those that may view
the contents of their folder. The web site paradigm also permits a
user to develop a security model for the user community for the
overall structure of the web site. As shown in FIG. 1, content
contributors 160 provided content to the web site 110. The content is
controlled or filtered by folder owners 120 depicted as by control
170. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, end-user viewers 150 view the contents
or items of the web site 110. The viewing of the web site contents or
items is controlled by folder owners 120, as depicted by control 180.
In the prior art, content contributors must go through the information
technology department in order to publish content. This prior art
methodology places content publication and maintenance on a single
source. In contrast, the web site paradigm of the present invention
provides for distributed control by, allowing the folder owners 120 to
control content for a portion of the web site. The paradigm of the
present invention eliminates the traditional bottleneck by providing
distributed control for content management. Furthermore, because the
web site is implemented on a centralized database, maintenance,
including appropriate backups of the web site, is easily maintained.
Furthermore, the overall structure and style of the web site is
controlled by a single entity (e.g., the site administrator),
permitting uniformity and commonality for the overall structure and
flow of the web site. In an example motion picture web site, the
contributors may comprise "movie team", the owner of the content may
be "movie department head", and the viewers of the movie may be
"everybody."
The web site paradigm is described herein with reference to certain
nomenclature. Specifically, the system is referred to as a Web Site
Database system (i.e., referring to the database implementation).
However, the features of the web-based system described herein apply
to other implementations. Also, the term Web Site, with "W" and "S" in
capital letters, refers to a web site created and maintained using the
web paradigm of the present invention. Furthermore, the Web Site
Database system consists of a web site development tool for the
creation and maintenance of the Web Site. A user, as referred to
herein, is anyone involved in the creation, maintenance and use of the
Web Site, and an end-user refers to a person viewing content of the
Web Site.
In one embodiment, the Web Site Database not only provides information
to its users, but also includes all the tools necessary to manage and
maintain the Web Site itself (i.e., the Web Site Development Tools).
When the Web Site is first displayed, users may only view public
information. Users, with a valid user name and password, may log onto
the Web Site and view information that they have been explicitly
granted access to view. In addition, if the user has the necessary
privileges, they may enter into an edit mode. In the edit mode, the
user may add new information (e.g., content) to the site, or edit
existing information.
The Web Site Database has a built-in structure for organizing,
classifying and cross-referencing items in a web site. The Web Site
Database of the present invention enables the creation of a taxonomy
for the classification and organization of site content. In prior art
web site design, the smallest component is a page. A page consists of
an assortment of links, images and text. In the Web Site Database, the
smallest component is an item. For this embodiment, pages are
dynamically generated, and collections of items are displayed.
In one embodiment, the Web Site Database is organized into Web Site
folders. These folders are similar to folders in a file system with
multiple items existing within a folder. Each Web Site item also has
an associated number of stored attributes. These attributes maintain
information such as title, description and author. In general, folders
divide a Web Site into distinct areas to make it easier for end-users
to find the information they need. The Web Site folders provide a
mechanism for the user to easily find information. A folder is
generally a collection of related items (e.g., files, text, URLs,
etc.). For example, a Web Site about travel may include the folders
"Africa", "Americas", and "Europe", representing areas for travel.
In one embodiment, each item is classified by a category. An item may
be classified in only a single category. The categories direct a user
as to what a particular item is, so the user may determine whether the
item contains the information sought. For an example travel Web Site,
categories may include "flights", "lodging", and "restaurants." With
use of categories, category pages may be called at runtime to show the
end-user all items that are classified by the specified category.
The Web Site Database is optionally organized using perspectives. In
general, perspectives identify areas of interest. An item may have
more than one perspective. Using perspectives, the user may find items
relating to their own preferences even though those items reside in
different folders. For example, the travel Web Site may include
perspectives for "resort", "Safari", and "skiing." Perspectives
provide another dimension of classification, and items may be assigned
many perspectives. Perspective pages may also be called at runtime to
show the end-user all items classified by the specified perspective.
In general, styles specify the appearance of the site navigation bar,
the banner at the top of each page, and the main content area. The
site administrator may use one of the standard styles provided, or
create a new style to ensure a common look across the entire Web Site.
Site administrators may assign style administrators to create and
manage Web Site styles.
In addition to the Web Site Database components, the Web Site further
includes several other features to improve information retrieval,
including search, quickpicks, news and announcements, and interest
lists features. The basic search finds all available items that
contain the specified words in the title, description, or keyboard
list. In addition, an advanced search feature limits the search to a
specific folder, category, perspective, author, or to recently created
items. A quickpick is an item display option that provides quick
access to frequently used items. Links to quick pick items are
displayed at the top of the page. For the travel Web Site example,
quickpicks may include a currency converter and travel guide. News and
announcements are item display options that identify items of
particular and current interest. In one embodiment, links to news
items are displayed under a special news banner. Links to announcement
items are displayed in the center the page under the quick picks.
Users logged onto a Web Site may add folders to their interest list.
In one embodiment, links to the folders are displayed under an
interest banner on a home page for that user. This provides quick
access to the areas of the Web Site that most interest the user.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment for the
implementation of the Web Site Database. For this embodiment, the Web
Site is maintained on a database, database 250. In turn, database 250
is implemented on web server 230. The users (i.e., content
contributors and content viewers) use a plurality of computers, shown
as desktop computers in FIG. 2 (e.g., 200, 205, 210 and 215). Each
user is permitted to view Web pages of the Web Site (e.g., user 200
views web page 202, user 205 views web page 207, user 210 views web
page 212, and user 215 views web page 214). For this embodiment, to
view content from the Web Site, the users, from the user computers,
only transmit a URL to the web server 230. The client computers need
only run web browser software (e.g., Netscape navigator, Microsoft
Explorer) to utilize the Web Site. No additional client software
(i.e., software at the user computer) is necessary. Accordingly, the
users have complete web site functionality through use of a web
browser running on the user computer.
As shown in FIG. 2, the web server 230 runs software, depicted as HTTP
listener 220. In general, HTTP Listener 220 is a server application
that transforms URL identifiers for operation with the Web Site
Database system. When the Web Site Database is installed, the database
administrator may choose to install the Web Site Database HTTP
listener. The HTTP listener is a lightweight web server that includes
a PL/SQL gateway to enable communication between web browsers and the
database. Once installation is complete, the database administrator
may change the listener and the PL/SQL gateway settings at any time
from within the Web Site. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2, users of
the Web Site Database system do not require additional client software
to utilize the Web Site Database system.
In one embodiment, the Web Site Database is contained entirely in a
database (e.g., Oracle database 8i, available from or Oracle
Corporation, Redwood Shores, Calif.). First, to initiate the process
of building a Web Site, space is allocated on a computer for
implementation of the database. In one embodiment, to accomplish this
task, a database administrator uses a site creation wizard, part of
the Web Site Development Tool, to allocate space for the database.
Because the Web Site is contained entirely in a database, when the
database is backed-up, the entire Web Site and all its contents are
also backed-up. In addition, the Web Site Database is portable, such
that moving the Web Site Database from one server to another is as
easy as transporting the database from server to server.
When contributors add an item to the Web Site, the Web Site Database
up loads the item, if necessary, to the database, and creates a link
to the item on the appropriate folder page. In addition, if the item
is a HTML file, the Web Site Database lists the supporting files
(e.g., images) that are already available and require up loading.
Using the Web Site Database, the folder page is automatically
generated. The contributor does not require any knowledge of HTML to
perform this process.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment for implementing
the Web Site database system. In general, FIG. 3 depicts a database
schema for implementing the components of the Web Site Database
system. Specifically, for this embodiment, the Web Site Database
system includes a folder table 320, an items table 330, a navigation
bar table 340, a style table 350, a perspective table 360, and a
category table 370. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, conversion code 310
converts HTTP input from user computers to PL/SQL retrieve and stored
procedures for operation in the database schema. For this embodiment,
each folder comprises an entry (i.e., row source) in the folders table
320 (e.g., entry 325). As depicted in the folders table 320, folders
are linked to sub folders, also contained in the folders table 320.
There is a one to many relationship between an entry in the folders
table 320 to entries in the items table 330. This relationship
represents the one or more items contained in a single folder.
An item entry in the items table 330, representing items for the Web
Site, has a one to many relationship with entries in the perspective
table 320, and has a one-to-one relationship with an entry in the
category table 370. Thus, an item entry may be assigned to one or more
perspectives, and an item entry may be assigned to one category. As
shown in FIG. 3, entries in the folders table 360 have a one-to-one
relationship with entries in both the style table 350 and navigation
bar table 340. The entries in the style table 350 define the style for
the corresponding folder, and the entries of the navigation bar define
the links on the navigation bar.
Designing the Overall Structure of the Web Site Database
FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment for generating a
Web Site using the Web Site Database system. First, the database
administrator or information technology administrator creates a
database (e.g., on a web server) for implementation of the Web Site
Database system (block 400). The site administrator designs the Site,
and assigns folder owners (block 410). Folder owners assign content
providers to provide content for their folders (block 420). Then,
content contributors add content to the Web Site (block 430).
Thereafter, the Web Site user community may search the site and view,
depending upon the viewer's privileges, the Web Site contents (block
440).
The Web Site Development Tool permits database administrators to
create new users and manage existing user privileges all within the
Web Site. Specifically, the Web Site Development Tool includes all the
necessary features for managing database users such as: creating new
users; creating levels and assigning users to those levels; granting
privileges on database objects to users and levels; and granting user
privileges to build objects and browse schemas. During the Web Site
creation process, a site administrator user account is created. When a
site administrator logs onto the Web Site, the site administrator may
design the initial parameters for the Web Site. This task includes:
creating a style, creating folders, creating categories and creating
perspectives.
The site administrator logs on to the Web Site database system by
typing the administrator user name into the logon dialog box. In one
embodiment, after logon, the Web Site database displays the sites
administration page. FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment for an
administration page. As shown in FIG. 5, the administration page
includes a section for web site managers, content managers, access
managers, as well as a toolbox. In the web site managers section,
tools for "Site" and "style" are included. In the "Site" section, the
site administrator may establish site wide features and settings;
setup listener settings; control logs; system purges; and news. In the
style section, the site administrator may create and manage styles to
control frames, navigation bars, text, color and background images.
The content managers section includes tools to manage "folders",
"categories", "perspectives", and "custom item types." The folder
manager permits the user to manage site structure and navigation,
control access by users in groups, and apply styles to images and
folders. The category tools permit the user to create and manage
categories as well as associate categories with graphic images. The
perspective tool permits the user to create and manage perspectives as
well as establish their display choices. Custom item type tools permit
the user to create custom item types and establish optional attributes
and procedures.
The access managers section includes tools for "group", "user",
"privilege", and "personal information." The group tools permit the
user to create and manage groups as well as assign group
administrators. The user tools permit a user to create and manage
users, and assign administrator privileges to a single user. The
privilege tools permit a user to assign administrator privileges to
users, and the personal information tool permits the user to enter
information for the user logged on. The toolbox section of the
administration page includes functions for site statistics and search
capabilities. The site statistics tool permits the user to produce and
view online reports for site and folder page requests, searches, and
user access privileges. The search pool permits a user to establish
basic search features for search engines, as well as advance search
features for text searches.
From the access managers section, the user may click "user" to display
the user manager. FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment for the user
manager. As shown in FIG. 6, the page displayed is divided into two
panels. A "create user" panel permits a site administrator to create
the user. The "find user" section permits searching for users. The
user may desire to search for users assigned as site administrators.
For example, the user may type "M%" to display user names that start
with the letter M.
FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment for a detailed user screen. As shown
in FIG. 7, the user may set "administration privileges." In one
embodiment, there are three types of administrators: site
administrators, style administrators, and news administrators. Site
administrators have the highest level of privileges in the Web Site
Database system. Site administrators may view or modify anything on
the site. For example, site administrators may create users, groups of
users, and control access to the site. Site administrators may also
perform all file and news administrator functions. Style
administrators establish the look and feel of the Web Site. Style
administrators have control over the color screens, text, fonts and
background images for pages used on the Site. News administrators have
the authority to add news to the home page, approved news submitted by
public users, and perform other functions related to site wide news
management.
Overview of the Web Site Database Embodiments
FIG. 8 illustrates an example Web Site home page using the Web Site
Database system. This example Web Site is displayed in view mode. This
example display shows a "product management" folder for storing and
organizing product management documents, requirements, issues, etc.
The product management folder includes categories for "general",
"presentation", and "collateral." Under each of the categories, there
is one or more sub folders. For this example, sub folders exist for
"application requirements", "customer requirements", "demos", "portal
development", "plans", "enterprise search", "work in progress", and
"status reports." As shown in FIG. 8, items may be displayed beneath
the sub folders.
In addition to categories and folders, the example Web Site displayed
in FIG. 8 also includes perspectives. For this example, a perspective
for "external" and a perspective for "internal" exist. Specifically,
the item "Yahoo Item" is assigned to the perspective "external", and
the item "sample file load" is assigned to the perspective "internal."
To transition from view mode to edit mode, a user selects the "edit"
icon displayed in the upper right in corner of FIG. 8. FIG. 9
illustrates one embodiment for the example web site home page of FIG.
8 in edit mode. As shown in FIG. 9, a display bar, including several
functions, is displayed at the top of the screen. Specifically,
functions are provided to "Add Item", "Add Folder", "Folder Property",
"Navigation Bar", "Style Editor", and "Administration." A description
of these functions is provided below.
1. Items of the Web Site Database:
In general, items are the information building blocks on the Web Site
Database. All content on the Web Site Database, such as text,
graphics, or links, are added as items. When an item is added, the Web
Site Database permits the user to specify its title, display option,
and optional information about the item. An item type defines the
display and functional characteristics of items that a contributor
adds to a Web Site Database. When adding items, the user selects from
one of the item types. When selected, the URL item type adds a URL to
a folder. The title of each URL item is displayed as a link that users
can select to view another Web Site or Web page. For a file item type,
the Web Site Development Tool up loads a file and stores it in the
database of the Web Site.
Each file item title is displayed as a link. Users may click the link
to view the file or download the file to their computer. For a text
item type, the Web Site Development Tool places text (up to 32KB) on
the database of the Web Site. When the text item is added to a folder,
the items title is displayed on the folders page as a link that users
may click to display the text. For an image map item type, the Web
Site Database inserts an image map, with clickable regions and
associated URLs on the Web Site. To add a folder link item type, the
Web Site Database places the link to a folder on the Web Site.
For a Web Site component, the Web Site Development Tool adds a Web
Site component such as forms, menus, frame drivers, and reports to the
Web Site. In one embodiment, these components are created with a Web
Site component builder and an appropriate build wizard. The title of
each Web Site component item is displayed as a link that users may
click to execute the component. For a "PL/SQL" call item type, the Web
Site Development Tool displays the results of some "PL/SQL" code. The
title of each "PL/SQL" call is displayed as a link that users click to
execute. For the multiple files item type, the Web Site Development
Tool up loads multiple separately independent files into a specific
folder. The title of each multiple file item is displayed as a link
that users may click to view the files or download them to their
computer.
In one embodiment, the Web Site Database provides an assortment of
default item types. For this embodiment, the item types include: file,
text item, URL, folder link, PL/SQL call, web site database component,
and image map. Once users identify the item type, they are provided a
list of attributes to define that item. Table 1 below lists attributes
that are available in an example web site database default item type.
TABLE 1
File Text URL Folder PL/SQL Com- Image
Attribute Item Item Item Link Call ponent Map
Name X
Title X X X X X X X
Description X X X X X X X
Category X X X X X X X
Perspectives X X X X X X X
(multiple)
Author X X X X X X X
Expiration X X X X X X X
Date
Image X X X X X X X
Rollover X X X
Image
Keywords X X X X X X X
Display In X X X
Place
Display In X X X
Frame
Display In X X X X X X
Full
Browser
Enable X X X X X X X
Check Out

The web site database default item types are limited to the default
attributes assigned to them. If the user desires to append additional
attributes to a default item type, then an extended item type is
created. When creating an extended item type, the default item type is
copied, along with its related attributes. Then, a user may extend the
copied item type by adding attributes that the user creates. Extended
item types may be used to collect additional information via the items
attributes.
In one embodiment, in addition to the standard item types, the Web
Site Database also supports creating custom item types. Custom item
types enabled the user to customize the existing item types to make
them map more specifically to the items included in the Web Site. For
example, a custom item type may enable the user to add notes about a
text item and to specify a string to pass to a search engine.
2. Categories In The Web Site Database:
In general, a category is a classification for an item that answers
the question "what is this item?" Categories are used by end users of
the Web Site Database to filter information. The site administrator
may create categories specifically for the different types of content
that is planned for display using the Web Site Development Tool. In
one embodiment, only regular items are assigned a category (categories
are not available for news, announcement or quick to pick items). By
organizing items in categories, the content provider presents to end
users of the Web Site Database a clear understanding of the types of
content they may expect on the Web Site, and a general understanding
of how to Web Site is organized. Using categories, the end user may
view items by category. In addition, end-users may specify categories
when they perform an advanced search in the Web Site Database. For the
example travel Web Site discussed above, there may be categories for
"maps", "excursions", and "hotel reviews." In one embodiment, items
associated with categories are alphabetically organized and displayed
on a folder page by item name.
3. Folders In The Web Site Database:
As discussed above, to perform any folder tasks, the user or group
must have the appropriate folder privileges set by the folder owner or
site administrator. In general, a folder is a collection of related
objects, including items and even other folders. For the example
travel Web Site, folders may exist for "Africa", "America's", and
"Europe." Folders are the basic building blocks of the Web Site
Database. All Web Site Database sites consist of folders. The folders,
in turn, contain content or items. For example, the items accessible
within a folder may include text files, graphical images, and even
URLs for other related sites. To further refine the Web Site's
structure, the creator may generate folders within folders (i.e., sub
folders). Sub folders may be nested many levels deep depending upon
the complexity of the content and broadness of the audience.
In one embodiment, the Web Site's home page is actually the Web Site
database's root folder. Each folder has a navigation bar from which
the user can navigate to other folders in areas on the web site. Each
folder also has a content area in which the folder's content appears.
Dividing a Web Site into folders allows the Web Site creator to
organize content according to a structure similar to that of a file
system on a personal computer. Thus, this paradigm makes it easier for
users to find the information they need.
Each folder has a folder owner. The folder owner is responsible for
the content of that folder. Dedicating responsibility to each folder
results in a system that is maintained by somebody who's familiar with
the information and who's able to keep the information accurate and
up-to-date. Site administrators may create folders anywhere in the Web
Site. A folder owner may create folders within the folders that they
own. A folder owner may make folders containing general information
accessible to anyone that reviews the Web Site. Alternatively, the
folder owner may restrict access to folders containing sensitive
information to specific users who must first logon to the Web Site.
After creating a folder or editing a folder, the folder owner permits
a user to configure and control the behavior and functionality of a
particular folder. In one embodiment, there are six folder properties
that contain specific folder configuration settings. In one
embodiment, these configuration settings are presented to the user in
the form of tabs. A "main" tab identifies the folder to users, makes
folders available to public users, and provides options to set the
display order for the subfolders. The "style" tab lets the user
customize the folder's style for the navigation bar, banner, and
content area. If the style for the folder is not set, then the folder
inherits the parent folders style. An "image" tab lets the user choose
the folder image and overall image for the navigation bar, as well as
the banner image for the page title. The "navigation bar" tab permits
the user to choose the navigation bar to apply to the folder. The
navigation bar also lets the user select specific folder, category,
and perspective links. The "users" tab provides a mechanism to grant
folder privileges to users. Also, the "groups" tab provides a
mechanism to grant folder privileges to groups.
4. Styles In Web Site Database
In general, a style is a template that controls the look and feel of
the home page and each folder page on the Web Site. In one embodiment,
the style template governs the navigation bar and page body, colors,
text font, size, background images, banners, and other graphic
elements that are common to each page. With the Web Site Database, the
user does not control the detailed layout of each page; instead, the
pages are dynamically generated by the Web Site Database, based on the
settings and parameters specified in the style template. The Web Site
Database provides a default style. In addition, the user may generate
custom styles to suit particular needs. A single style may be chosen
for the entire Web Site (e.g., the home page and each folder).
Alternatively, the user may assign different styles to give each
folder a distinct look and feel.
5. Perspectives In The Web Site Database
A perspective is a cross category grouping of an item (4104). By
assigning a perspective, the Web Site creator is answering the
question "who will be interested in this item?" For the example travel
Web Site, perspectives may include "Vacations for Nordic Enthusiasts",
"Archaeology Expeditions", "Extreme Vacations for Adventurers", etc.
In one embodiment, the Web Site Database includes a perspective
manager. The perspective manager allows users,to create perspectives
for items that potentially interest the audience.
When a user adds or edits an item, they have the option of assigning
(4006) one or more perspectives to that item. Unlike categories, the
user is not required to assign perspectives to an item (4010).
However, when perspectives are assigned, they may be used by end users
of the Web Site to filter information (4012). Specifically, end users
of the Web Site may view items by perspective and may also specify
perspectives when they perform an advanced search. Perspectives are
available for regular items.
The Web Site Database permits the user to associate an icon with a
perspective. If an icon is associated with a perspective, the
perspective icon is displayed (4008) next to, the item's title. The
Web Site Database also permits a user to change perspective's name and
icon. The content manager also permits a user to delete a perspective.
Unlike categories, the user may delete a perspective without deleting
the items assigned to the perspective.
A group is a collection of users that share a common interest or
responsibility. A group has common privileges in the Web Site. For an
example corporate Intranet application, all graphical designers at the
company may be designated as a single group. This group of graphic
designers may be designated as style administrators. Any end-user may
create a group. The person who creates the group is considered a group
owner, and the group owner designates one or more group
administrators. As the creator of the group, the group owner has the
authority to modify or delete the group. The group administrator also
has the authority to modify or delete the group.
Self-Service Web Site Creation & Maintenance
Initially, the user logs onto the system with a user login dialog box.
The dialog box queries the user for the user name and the user
password. After successful logon, the Web Site Database system
displays an initial welcome screen in a predetermined root folder. An
example logon welcome screen is displayed in FIG. 10.
The Web Site Database permits the sharing of information among users
in the Web Site. In one embodiment, to share information among users,
each Web Site user with a user name and password has an associated
personal folder. FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment for displaying
personal folders for the Web Site database system. As shown in FIG.
11, an alphabetical directory is provided at the top of the screen to
permit a user to jump to folders with the corresponding letter. Also,
as shown in FIG. 11, a personal folder is created for each registered
user of the Web Site Database system. Users may work within these
personal folders. Specifically, the user may add items, organize items
by creating other folders, and control access to their personal
folders. This provides an ideal environment for sharing information
among registered users at a Web Site. No floppy disks or electronic
mail is needed, and everyone always has access to the latest versions
of the content.
In one embodiment, the Web Site Database includes an interface for
adding new items (e.g., the files, text and URLs) to the Web Site. In
addition, this interface permits the user, with the proper privileges,
to edit or to delete existing items within the Web Site itself. When
contributors logon to the Web Site and navigate to a folder where the
user has the appropriate privileges to edit, the user may simply click
the edit button and start editing and adding content.
1. Adding Items
In one embodiment, the Web Site Database includes item management
tools to manage items. The item management tools are displayed in edit
mode. The user may move the cursor control device of the computer over
a tool to display its tool tip. An "add sub item" management tool,
when invoked, displays the item wizard to add a sub item to the
selected item. An "add an item below this item" tool displays the item
wizard to add a new item after the selected item. An "edit item" tool
displays the item manager to allow the user to change the required or
optional item settings. A "delete item" tool removes the item from the
folder, and an "expire item" tool causes the selected item to expire.
When expired, the item is no longer visible to the user. A "move item"
tool displays the move item page. This tool permits the user to move
the item to another location in the same folder or to move the item to
another folder completely. The "move item up" tool automatically moves
the selected item above the previous item. The "move item left"
permits the user to move quickpick items to the left.
The "check out item" tool applies only to items enabled for check out.
When an item is checked out, no other contributor may edit the item.
If another contributor attempts to edit the item, a message is
displayed that the item is checked out by "username", and the edit
tool is not available. A "checked-in item" tool permits a contributor
to return the updated item to the folder after editing it. This tool
applies only to items that have been checked out and that were enabled
for checked out. The "multiple files item" function indicates that the
item has multiple referenced files associated with it. The "multiple
files missing file item" function indicates that the item is missing
one or more referenced files. The user may click to display a multiple
item page so that the user may download the missing files. An "approve
item" tool displays on the news administrator's, site administrator's
or folder owner's home page for a user's request for approval of an
item. The approve item icon is displayed only for items that are added
by contributors who have the "create with approval privilege." A task
help function displays task based help that includes how to topics,
table of contents, index, and full text search capabilities. A context
help function displays context sensitive help for the current page.
FIG. 12 illustrates one screen for an item Wizard to "Add an Item."
The first step of the Wizard includes specifying an item type and
display options. The user may select an item type from an item type
list as shown in FIG. 12. For this example, the item type selected is
a file. In one embodiment, the Web Site Database includes item display
options to permit a user to select where the item will be located on a
rendered Web page. FIG. 12 displays, on the item wizard, an example
Web page showing where items may appear. The vertical bar in the left
frame is the navigation bar. The entire area in the right frame refers
to the content area. The strip in the right frame is the title banner.
As shown in FIG. 12, the web page includes areas for Quickpicks,
Announcements, News and Regular items. In general, the quickpick
display provides access to high visibility items. Quickpicks are the
most prominent items on a folder page. For this embodiment, Quickpicks
are displayed at the center and top of each folder page. Also, as
shown in FIG. 12, Announcements are displayed directly below any
Quickpicks to receive immediate attention by the web page viewer. The
Announcement text is centered and stacked vertically on the home or
folder page by title. An announcement item is used to introduce
information to the general public. For example, one may announce the
appointment of the member of the board or the date of an important
corporate event. A News item is used to categorize time sensitive
items. In one embodiment, the News items are displayed as text links
by title under the news banner on each folder page. Public users may
add News items to the root folder as long as the site administrator
has checked the "enabled public users to contribute news" feature. A
regular item, displayed below the News items, receives no special
display treatment. The title of each regular item is displayed along
with all other regular items, below all the special banners. In one
embodiment, regular items are displayed under a category banner
grouped by category (in alphabetical order).
FIG. 13 illustrates a screen for a second step in the item Wizard in
accordance with one embodiment. For this step, the user, through the
item Wizard, specifies the filename (with path), title, category, a
description, if preferred, and an expiration period. A browse button
is provided to assist the user in locating a directory and file. The
user selects the category through the category list. For the example
of FIG. 13, the user selects the category "specification." Also, for
this example, the user provides a description of the item (i.e., this
is a specification on adding content management capabilities to
WebDB."). The expiration period is set by selecting from options in
the list. For this example, the user designates the item as
"permanent."
FIG. 14 illustrates a screen for a third step in the item Wizard in
accordance with one embodiment of the Web Site Database system. This
step permits a user to submit optional settings and values.
Specifically, the user may select from a list of predefined
perspectives (e.g., internal, external, word, PowerPoint, HTML, zip,
etc.). From this step of the item Wizard, the user may associate an
image with the item. Furthermore, the user may add keywords for
searching, and author information, as well as designate display
options and enable item check out.
FIG. 15 illustrates an example Web Site screen display after adding
the item. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, the item "WebDB content
management proposal" was added to the "specification" category with
the perspective "internal." Also, the description provided from the
Wizard (e.g., this is a specification on adding content management
capabilities to WebDB) is displayed beneath the link for selecting the
item.
An item type defines the display and functional characteristics of
items that a contributor adds to a Web Site. The user may create their
own custom item types that enable them to customize the existing item
types to make them map more specifically to the items in their Web
Site. In one embodiment, only Site administrators may create custom
item types. The following example illustrates the creation of a custom
item type that enables users to add notes about a text item and to
specify a string to pass to the search engine. In the navigation bar,
the user clicks the administration icon to display the administration
page. In the content manager section, the user clicks the "custom item
type" to display the custom item type manager. In part, the Web Site
Database system displays a create custom item type panel.
FIG. 16 illustrates one embodiment for a create custom item type
panel. Using the create custom item type panel, a user types, in the
name field, the type. For this example, from the base item type list,
the user selects "file." In one embodiment, when the user first
creates a custom item type, it is exactly the same as the base item
type. The user then edits the custom item type to customize it to meet
the specific requirements. The user then clicks "create." Similarly,
in the custom item type manager, the user may create more custom item
types as well as find and edit existing custom item types.
FIG. 17 illustrates one embodiment for specifying attributes in a
custom item type. As shown in FIG. 17, the user may use custom item
type attributes to enable contributors to add more information about
an item or specify values to pass to a PL/SQL or HTTP procedure. A
user is permitted to specify, under the features and values section, a
name, default value, display control, pass procedure control and a
control as to whether the attribute is required.
FIG. 18 illustrates a screen for the user to specify the type of
procedure and the text of the link display to execute the procedure.
In the features and values section, the user specifies a procedure
type. In the link text field, the user may specify that the text be
displayed as a hypertext link next to the item title. When a user
clicks the text, a call it is made to the procedure using the value
specified in the "p" field when the item was added. The user may
specify the procedure call in the procedure call field, as well as
specify several conditions for execution of the procedure call.
2. Creating and Editing Folders:
In one embodiment, the Web Site Database includes a folder dashboard.
FIG. 19 illustrates one embodiment for a folder dashboard. In general,
the dashboard is designed to provide quick and easy access to the main
folder features. The folder dashboard appears below the folder title
banner while the user is in edit mode. The add item icon 500 displays
the item wizard to add an item to the folder. The add folder icon 510
displays the folder manager to create or edit folders. The folder
properties 520 displays the folder manager from which the user may
define or edit the folder properties. A navigation bar icon 530, when
invoked, displays the folders navigation bar display properties. The
style editor icon 540, when invoked, causes the Web Site Database to
display the style editor. From the style editor, the user may edit the
style for the folder or create a new style for the folder. The
administration icon 550, when invoked, displays the main
administration page from which the user may access the various
administration tools. Finally, the view folder icon, when invoked,
reverts to Web Site Database from edit mode to view mode.
The following example illustrates creation of a folder that contains
content management information about a product offered by a company.
In one embodiment, when the user logs onto the Web Site, the home page
displays a list of folders owned by that user. After logon, the user
scrolls down the home page and under the "Owned Folders" banner,
clicks his/her name to display his/her personal folder. In the banner
at the top of the page, the user clicks the "edit" icon to enter the
edit mode. In response, the Web Site database system displays the
folder dashboard. In the folder dashboard, the user clicks the "add
folder" icon to display the folder manager. In part, the Web Site
database system displays a create folder panel. To create a folder,
the user navigates to a folder that is the parent folder of the new
folder being created. For purposes of this illustration, a folder is
contained in the main page the Web Site. The main page of the Web Site
itself is a folder, entitled the root folder. Site administrators own
the root folder.
FIG. 20 illustrates one embodiment for a create folder panel. For this
example, in the name field, the user types "WebDBContentMgmt." In the
title field, the user types a title for the folder, such as "Content
Management Reqs." Thereafter, the user clicks the "create" button
located on the create folder panel.
From the toolbar, the user clicks the "done" icon. In response, the
Web Site Database system creates a link between the root folder (i.e.,
main web page) and the Content Management Reqs folder. The user may
view the Content Management Reqs folder as shown in FIG. 21.
In another embodiment, the user may create folders through the
administration page. For this example, the user desires to create, in
a "Products" folder, another folder that contains confidential
information about products offered by the company. To accomplish this
task, the user, from the navigation bar, clicks the administration
icon to display the administration page. In the content manager
section, the user clicks "folder" to display the folder manager tree.
The folder manager tree lists all of the folders that the user has
access privileges. The user then expands the "personal folders", and
expands the first letter of the user name. The user then expands
his/her personal folder. In the toolbar to the right of products, the
user clicks an icon to display the folder manager. In the create
folder panel, the user types, in the name field, "ConfidentialName."
In the title field, the user types "Confidential." Then, the user
clicks the create button to create the folder. At the top of the
navigation bar, the user clicks the site logo to display the home
page. The user may then scroll down the home page, and under the
"Owned Folders" banner, click "Confidential" to display the
confidential folder.
FIG. 22 illustrates one embodiment for specifying folder attributes in
the folder manager. In the folder attributes section, the user
specifies a title for the folder, as well as provides a general
description of the folder (e.g., this folder is for WebDB product
management documents, requirements, issues, etc.). The folder
attributes section also includes a check box to allow the user to
specify display of the folder to public users. A display section
permits the user to specify which holders to display within the parent
folder, as well as select the display order for the sub folders.
FIG. 23 illustrates a screen for the folder manager for specifying
navigation bar features. This screen permits the user to choose
elements for the folders navigation bar. Default results in the same
elements for the navigation bar as the root folder. The folder
inherits the navigation bar from the parent folder's elements. The
customized selection permits the user to customize the navigation bar
for this folder.
FIG. 24 illustrates a screen display to customize the navigation bar
for a folder. Using this screen, the user selects from the available
elements for display to customize the navigation bar. The user may
also selects available folder links for the navigation bar by moving
them to the displayed folder links box.
3. Creating and Editing Categories:
Before contributors began to add items to the Web Site, the site
administrator collaborates with folder owners to determine which
categories, and optionally perspectives, to create for the Web Site.
Categories should be created to correspond to the different types of
content on the Web Site. In one embodiment, the site administrator
must first create a category before contributors can assigned an item
to it. Once categories are created, the categories are visible to
folder owners and contributors when adding or editing items.
FIG. 25 illustrates a category dashboard to provide quick and easy
access to the category features of the Web Site Database System. As
shown in FIG. 25, the category dashboard includes buttons for "add
item" 600, "add category" 610, "category properties" 620,
"administration" 630 and an icon, labeled 640, to "view folder."
As discussed above, all items added to the Web Site Database system
are assigned to a category. In one embodiment, site administrators
create categories. To create a category, the site administrator clicks
the administration icon in the navigation bar, and the Web Site
Database system displays the administration page. In the content
manager section, the user clicks "category" to display the category
manager. In part, the Web Site Database system displays a create
category panel. FIG. 26 illustrates an example create category panel.
In the "name" field, the user types the name of the category.
Thereafter, the user clicks "create." Similarly, the category manager
permits the user (i.e., site administrator) to create more categories,
as well as find and edit existing categories.
In one embodiment, to create a new category, the user "clicks" on the
administration 630 icon. The administration 630 icon displays the main
administration page from which the user may access the various
administration tools. On the administration page, the user clicks the
category or the category link to display the category manager. In the
create category name field, the user types a unique category and name.
Then, the user clicks "create", and the newly created category is
added to the find category list.
When a categories name is changed, all items previously associated
with that category are automatically associated to the new name. To
change the categories name, the user clicks the administration icon
630 or selects the administration link on the administration page. The
user clicks the category link icon, or chooses the category link under
content manager, to display the content category manager page.
Deleting a category deletes all items belonging to the category on the
Web Site. A user may also associate an image with a category. Rather
than displaying the category list or category links on the navigation
bar, a user may choose to display an image that is associated to a
category.
4. Creating and Editing Perspectives:
As discussed above, each item added to the Web Site Database system
may optionally be assigned to one or more perspectives. In one
embodiment, site administrators create perspectives. To create a
perspective (4002), the user clicks the administration icon in the
navigation bar. In response, the Web Site Database system displays the
administration page. In the content manager section, the user clicks
the perspective to display the perspective manager. In part, the Web
Site Database system displays a create perspective panel. FIG. 27
illustrates one embodiment for a create perspectives panel. In the
name field, the user types in a name for the perspective. The user
then clicks the create hutton. From the perspective manager, the user
may create more perspectives, as well as find and edit existing
perspectives.
In one embodiment, the Web Site Database includes a perspective
dashboard. The perspective dashboard is designed to provide quick and
easy access to the perspective functions. FIG. 28 illustrates one
embodiment for the perspective dashboard. An add item 710 icon
displays the item wizard to add an item to this perspective. The add
perspective icon 720 displays the perspective manager to create or
edit perspectives. The perspective properties icon 730 displays the
perspective manager from which the user may define or edit the
perspective properties. The administration icon 740 displays the main
administration page from which the user may create the various
administration tools. The view icon, 750, switches from edit mode to
view mode.
5. Creating and Editing Styles:
As discussed above, the style of a Web Site determines how the Web
Site looks. Folder owners may use an existing style to apply to their
folders. In addition, site administrators may grant folder owners
privileges to create their own styles. To design the style of the Web
Site, the user clicks the administration icon in the navigation bar to
display the administration page. In the Web Site Managers section, the
user clicks "style" to display the style manager. In part, the Web
Site Database system displays a create style panel.
FIG. 29 illustrates one embodiment for a create style panel. In the
name field, the user types an identification for a style. In the
"Based on Style"section, the user may choose the "Main Site style.
Using a base style provides the user with a starting point. The new
style is created with the same settings as the Main Site Style. Then,
the user may edit the new style settings to their own preferences. To
accomplish this, the user clicks "Access: Private." By doing this, the
style is only available to the user. After designing the style, the
user may make this style available for other folder owners to use. To
create the new style, the user proceeds by clicking the button
"create" shown in the create style panel of FIG. 29. From the style
manager, the user may create more styles, as well as find and edit
existing styles.
To find a style, the user utilizes the "Find Style" panel of the style
manager. FIG. 30 illustrates one embodiment for the find style panel
of the style manager. For the example of FIG. 30, the user searches
for the "tutorial style" as shown in the name list. From the panel,
the user clicks "edit" to display the style editor.
FIG. 31 illustrates one embodiment for the style editor. From the
style editor, the user may click the area of the site on the site
style diagram for which the user desires to change a style setting
(e.g., navigation bar, banner or content area). In the site style
diagram, the user clicks the "navigation bar", to display the style
manager "Main Page for the Navigation Bar."
FIG. 32 illustrates an example style manager for the navigation bar.
The user may check "resizable navigation bar" to enable users to
resize the navigation bar by dragging the frame border. By clicking
the finish icon, the user saves his/her changes and returns to the
style editor.
In the site style diagram, the user may click "banner" to display the
style manager "main page for the banner." FIG. 33 illustrates one
embodiment for the site style diagram for a banner. For this example,
the user may click the "text" tab to display the text page. From the
"font" list, the user may choose a font other than the current
setting. The user may also change the font size from the font size
list, and may change the font style from the font style list. As
highlighted in FIG. 33, the user may check the main banner text and
sub banner text, followed by clicking the finish icon, to change the
main banner text and sub banner text to the settings specified in the
lists. The user then returns to the style editor.
The user may click the color tab to display the color page. FIG. 34
illustrates one embodiment for the color page. The user may choose a
color from the color palette. The user, from the Title Link, may
change the Title Link color. The user may also change the background
color.
The user may apply a style to a folder. To apply a style to a folder,
the user begins by clicking the site logo at the top of the navigation
bar to display the home page. The user then scrolls down the home
page, and under the "Owned Folders" banner, clicks a folder (e.g.,
"products") to display the products folder. In the banner of the top
of the page, the user clicks the "edit" icon to enter into edit mode.
In response, the Web Site Database system displays the folder
dashboard (FIG. 19). In the folder dashboard, the user clicks the
"style editor" icon to display the style editor of the products folder
where, depending upon the user's privileges, the user may: choose an
existing style; edit the current style; and create a new style.
FIG. 35 illustrates one embodiment for the style editor. For this
example, the user may select a style from the "Select Style" list. The
user may then click "finish" to save the changes and return to the
products folder. The products folder now uses the style specified
(e.g., the text in the banners at the top of page is the font
specified, title links in the content area are the color specified,
and the content area itself is the color specified, etc.).
6. Creating and Editing Groups
In one embodiment, to create a group in the Web Site database system,
a group panel is used. FIG. 36 illustrates one embodiment for a create
group panel. The create group panel is accessible from the access
manager. As shown in FIG. 36, this page is divided into the create
group panel and the find group panel. An administrator may create a
group by typing the name in the field provided and by selecting the
create button. The find group panel is used to locate existing groups
such as for editing the groups.
FIG. 37 illustrates one embodiment to modify groups. Specifically,
this screen permits an administrator to add users to a group, view
group members, delete members, or specify a member as a group
administrator. To add a member to a group, the administrator types the
user name in the name field, and selects the "add to access list"
button. As shown in FIG. 37, a check box to designate group
administrators is provided.
Granting Privileges In the Web Site Database
When end-users first display a Web Site, they may only view items in
public folders. For greater access to the Web Site, users must log
onto the Web Site using their database usemame and password. Once
users log onto the Web Site, the tasks they perform on a folder
depends upon the privileges they have been granted for that folder. In
one embodiment, if the end-user has an own privilege, then the
end-user may perform all folder tasks, including granting folder
privileges to other users. If the end-user has a view privilege, the
end-user may view any item in the folder. A style privilege permits an
end-user to make changes to the folder style. A manage item privilege
permits an end-user to add, edit, or delete items in the folder. Also,
a "create with approval" privilege permits an end-user to add new
items to the folder. Items that are added using the "create with
approval" privilege must be approved by the folder owner before
displayed publicly.
To limit access to items in a folder owned by a folder owner, the
folder owner grants the appropriate access privileges. For example, if
the information in a folder is of a confidential nature, the folder
owner may want only a few users to view the contents. For example, in
one application, a company may want to use a confidential folder, a
sub folder of the products folder, to make confidential product
information available to its employees. However, the company does not
want the company's customers to view this information. Under this
scenario, company employees have the privilege to view the
confidential folder, whereas the customers do not have the privilege
to view the confidential folder.
A folder owner may desire to grant the same privileges to multiple
users. For example, the folder owner may want to allow all the members
of a department in a corporation to add items to the department's
folder. Under this scenario, rather than individually granting each
user the "create with approval privileges", the folder owner may
create a group of users and may grant, in a single operation, the
privileges to all members of this group.
A folder owner or an individual with manage items privileges on a
folder, may add, edit, move and delete items in that folder. When an
item is added to a folder by a folder owner or an individual with
manage items privileges, then that item is immediately visible in the
folder. An individual with "create with approval" privileges may only
add items to the folder. Under this scenario, the item does not become
visible to other users until the folder owner approves the item. This
feature enables the folder owner to maintain control of the folder's
content.
FIG. 38 illustrates one embodiment for granting user privileges. In
general, this screen provides the ability to authorize users to view,
create, and manage items in a corresponding folder. Specifically, from
the user dialog box, a user name is associated with the folder to
provide access to that folder. As shown below in FIG. 38, a user
access list permits setting privileges associated with that folder
(i.e., own, view, style, manage items, and create with approval).
FIG. 39 illustrates one embodiment for setting group privileges to a
folder. As shown in FIG. 39, the administrator, in the group box, may
select from a predefined group to add access to the folder.
Furthermore, through the group access list, the site administrator may
specify individual access privileges (i.e., own, view, style, manage
items, and create with approval).
Although the present invention has been described in terms of specific
exemplary embodiments, it will be appreciated that various
modifications and alterations might be made by those skilled in the
art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

* * * * *
_________________________________________________________________

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