Providing context information to a called party for a call initiated in response to selecting tags in electronic documents and applications
The present invention provides context information to a called party or network resources when a caller initiates a click-to-call (C2C) call. The context information bears on the reason for the call, and in particular to the software entity from which the C2C call was initiated when a user selected a C2C tag in the software entity. Having access to the context information, a called party can readily ascertain the reason for the call to better respond to the caller, and network resources may better route the call to an appropriate called party. The context information may identify or include information from the software entity, such an electronic document or software application from which the C2C call was initiated. Additional information that is beneficial for the called party or the network resources may be provided by the caller and sent along with the context information.
1 . A method comprising:
obtaining context information for a click-to-call call and bearing on a software entity from which the click-to-call call was initiated; and
sending the context information over a communication network in association with initiating the click-to-call call.
2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the context information is sent to a called party terminal.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the context information is sent to a network resource, which processes the click-to-call call based on the context information.
4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the software entity is a software application supporting at least one of the group consisting of email, instant messaging, word processing, presentations, and spreadsheets.
5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the software entity is an electronic document of at least one of the group consisting of an email, an instant message, a word processing document, a presentation document, and a spreadsheet.
6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the software entity is a web browser.
7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the software entity is a web page.
8 . The method of claim 1 comprising:
obtaining additional information from a user initiating the click-to-call call; and
sending the additional information over the communication network in association with initiating the click-to-call call.
9 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
displaying at a user element an electronic document having a tag, which when selected triggers initiation of the click-to-call call; and
initiating the click-to-call call from the user element when a user selects the tag,
wherein obtaining the context information comprises creating the context information from information associated with the electronic document or a software application supporting the electronic document.
10 . The method of claim 9 further comprising:
receiving additional information from the user; and
sending the additional information along with the context information.
11 . The method of claim 1 wherein obtaining the context information comprises receiving from a user element an indication that a click-to-call tag has been selected by a user, and sending the context information over the communication network comprises establishing the click-to-call call between a user element and a called party terminal.
12 . The method of claim 1 wherein the click-to-call call is initiated from a first user element of a user and the click-to-call call is established between a second user element of the user and a called party terminal.
13 . The method of claim 1 wherein the click-to-call call is initiated from a first user element of a user and the click-to-call call is established between the first user element and a called party terminal.
14 . An apparatus comprising:
at least one communication interface; and
a control system associated with the at least one communication interface and adapted to:
obtain context information for a click-to-call call and bearing on a software entity from which the click-to-call was initiated; and
send the context information over a communication network in association with initiating the click-to-call call.
15 . The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the context information is sent to a called party terminal.
16 . The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the context information is sent to a network resource, which processes the click-to-call call based on the context information.
17 . The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the software entity is a software application supporting at least one of the group consisting of email, instant messaging, word processing, presentations, and spreadsheets.
18 . The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the software entity is an electronic document of at least one of the group consisting of an email, an instant message, a word processing document, a presentation document, and a spreadsheet.
19 . The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the software entity is a web browser.
20 . The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the software entity is a web page.
21 . The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the control system is further adapted to:
obtain additional information from a user initiating the click-to-call; and
send the additional information over the communication network in association with initiating the click-to-call call.
22 . The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising a user interface, and wherein the control system is further adapted to:
display via the user interface an electronic document having a tag, which when selected triggers initiation of the click-to-call call; and
initiate the click-to-call call when a user selects the tag,
wherein obtaining the context information comprises creating the context information from information associated with the electronic document or a software application supporting the electronic document.
23 . The apparatus of claim 22 wherein the control system is further adapted to:
receive additional information from the user; and
send the additional information along with the context information.
24 . The apparatus of claim 14 wherein obtain the context information, the control system is further adapted to receive from a user element an indication that a click-to-call tag has been selected by a user, and to send the context information over the communication network the control system is further adapted to establish the click-to-call call between a user element and a called party terminal.
25 . The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the click-to-call call is initiated from a first user element of a user, and the click-to-call call is established between a second user element of the user and a called party terminal.
26 . The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the click-to-call call is initiated from a first user element of a user, and the click-to-call call is established between the first user element and a called party terminal.