Methods and apparatus for recording web information
View Patent ↗Methods, systems and apparatus are provided that capture a full page of information displayed in a web browser in a native format, convert the native format data to an intermediate format, and communicate the intermediate format data over a network to an output server. The intermediate format data are received from the network at the output server, converted to an output format, and then communicated to an output device, such as a printer, copier, facsimile device, document storage device, email server or other similar device, for recording.
1. A system for use with a client device that includes a web browser adapted to display information in a web page, the system comprising:
an input module adapted to run on the client device and to capture a full page of the displayed information in a native format, convert the native format data to an intermediate format on the client device, and communicate the intermediate format data over a network from the client device; and
an output server adapted to receive the intermediate format data from the network, convert the intermediate format data to an output format, and communicate the output format data to an output device.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the native format comprises a hypertext markup language.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the intermediate format comprises at least one of a bitmap (“BMP”), a graphics interchange format (“GIF”), a Joint Photographic Experts Group (“JPEG”), a tagged image file format (“TIFF”), or a portable network graphic (“PNG”) format.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the network comprises at least one of a local area network, a wide area network, a public network, or the Internet.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the output format comprises a page description language.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the output format comprises a page description format (“PDF”).
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the output format comprises a PostScript format.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the output format comprises print stream data.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the output format comprises document management system data.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the output format comprises facsimile data.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the output device comprises at least one of a printer, a print server, a copier, a facsimile device, an email server, a storage device, or a document management system.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the input module comprises a user interface.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the user interface comprises a toolbar installed in the web browser.
14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the user interface comprises an icon.
15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the output device is adapted to print the output format data.
16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the input module comprises a web page capture module.
17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the input module comprises a transport module.
18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the output module comprises a receiver module.
19. The system of claim 1 , wherein the output module comprises an output format converter module.
20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the output format converter module comprises a plurality of output converter modules.
21. The system of claim 1 , wherein the output format converter module comprises at least one of a printer converter module, a document management converter module, or a facsimile converter module.
22. A method for use with a client device that includes a web browser adapted to display information in a web page, the method comprising:
capturing a full page of the displayed information in a native format on the client device;
converting the native format data to an intermediate format on the client device;
communicating the intermediate format data from the client device over a network to an output server;
receiving the intermediate format data from the network at the output server;
converting the intermediate format data to an output format; and
communicating the output format data to an output device.
23. The method of claim 22 , wherein the native format comprises a hypertext markup language.
24. The method of claim 22 , wherein the intermediate format comprises at least one of a bitmap (“BMP”), a graphics interchange format (“GIF”), a Joint Photographic Experts Group (“JPEG”), a tagged image file format (“TIFF”), or a portable network graphic (“PNG”) format.
25. The method of claim 22 , wherein the network comprises at least one of a local area network, a wide area network, a public network, or the Internet.
26. The method of claim 22 , wherein the output format comprises a page description language.
27. The method of claim 22 , wherein the output format comprises a page description format (“PDF”).
28. The method of claim 22 , wherein the output format comprises a PostScript format.
29. The method of claim 22 , wherein the output format comprises print stream data.
30. The method of claim 22 , wherein the output format comprises document management system data.
31. The method of claim 22 , wherein the output format comprises facsimile data.
32. The method of claim 22 , wherein the output device comprises at least one of a printer, a print server, a copier, a facsimile device, an email server, a storage device, or a document management system.
33. The method of claim 22 , further comprising providing a user interface.
34. The method of claim 33 , wherein the user interface comprises a toolbar installed in the web browser.
35. The method of claim 33 , wherein the user interface comprises an icon.
36. The method of claim 22 , further comprising printing the output format data at the output device.