Retrieving digital content over a network

1. An electronic device, comprising:

processing circuitry; and

a user interface communicably coupled to the processing circuitry,

the processing circuitry being operably coupled to a browser plugin and configured to

determine a user's access permissions to each version of a plurality versions of a document, the plurality of versions of the document being stored at network locations and categorized by a level of each of the plurality of versions of the document in a predetermined hierarchy, wherein the predetermined hierarchy of document versions based on the level of each of the plurality of versions of the document is network source type-based hierarchy, no-fee network locations at which the document resides being a lower level of the network source type-based hierarchy and fee-based network locations at which the document resides being at a higher level of the network source type-based hierarchy,

generate, on the user interface, a single action control that is configured to be activated by a single action activation from the user and associate the single action control with a resource locator corresponding to a particular version of the plurality of versions of the document, and

retrieve, when the user has the access permissions to the particular version of the document in the predetermined hierarchy, a version of the document that is different from the particular version of the document and that has a higher level than that of the particular version in the predetermined hierarchy among the plurality of versions in response to the single action activation of the single action control.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to

request the document first from network locations higher in the network source type-based hierarchy,

cease requesting from the network locations higher in the network source type-based hierarchy when a highest version of the document is located at a network location that is lower in the network source type-based hierarchy,

fingerprint the document in different versions at a same level of the network source-based hierarchy, and

select, as the particular version of the document, a document version closest in fingerprint to a version of the document at the highest level of the network source type-based hierarchy.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to

determine an institution with which the user is affiliated,

provide, via a proxy service, a proxy into an internet protocol address range of the institution,

authenticate the user to the institution, and

locate the document through the proxy.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to

determine, while the document is being retrieved, whether the user has access permissions to the network location associated with the resource locator,

capture user input authenticating the user,

store the user input in a macro that is configured to be applied to later attempts at retrieving the document,

encode the macro into an image representation,

capture the encoded macro on a device that is other than the device with which the user has previously authenticated,

decode the macro on the other device, and

authenticate the user with the decoded macro.

5. A machine implemented method, comprising:

determining a user's access permissions to each version of a plurality of versions of a document, the plurality of versions of the document being stored at network locations and categorized by a level of each of the plurality of versions of the document in a predetermined hierarchy, wherein the predetermined hierarchy of document versions based on the level of each of the plurality of versions of the document is network source type-based hierarchy, no-fee network locations at which the document resides being a lower level of the network source type-based hierarchy and fee-based network locations at which the document resides being at a higher level of the network source type-based hierarchy;

generating, on a user interface, a single action control that is configured to be activated by a single action activation from the user and associating the single action control with a resource locator corresponding to a particular version of the plurality of versions of the document; and

retrieving, when the user has the access permissions to the particular version of the document in the predetermined hierarchy, a version of the document that is different from the particular version of the document and that has a higher level than that of the particular version in the predetermined hierarchy among the plurality of versions in response to the single action activation of the single action control.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

selecting, as the particular version of the document, a highest level in the predetermined hierarchy for which the document has been located within a predetermined time period.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the method further comprises

requesting the document first from network locations higher in the network source type-based hierarchy.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

ceasing the requesting from the network locations higher in the network source type-based hierarchy when a highest version of the document is located at a network location that is lower in the network source type-based hierarchy.

9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

fingerprinting the document in different versions at a same level of the network source type-based hierarchy, and

selecting, as the particular version of the document, a document version closest in fingerprint to a version of the document at the highest level of the network source type-based hierarchy.

10. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

locating textual representations of different versions of the document;

calculating differences in the textual representations between the different versions by comparing the textual representations of the different versions; and

indicating via a prompt through the user interface that such differences exist or that such differences do not exist.

11. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

associating the user with a group of users having identical access permissions as that of the user; and

selecting, as the particular version of the document, a highest version in the predetermined hierarchy that has been accessed by any user within the group of users.

12. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

determining an institution with which the user is affiliated;

providing, via a proxy service, a proxy into an internet protocol address range of the institution;

authenticating the user to the institution; and

locating the document through the proxy.

13. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

determining, while the document is being retrieved, whether the user has access permissions to the network location associated with the resource locator;

capturing user input authenticating the user; and

storing the user input in a macro that is configured to be applied to later attempts at retrieving the document.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

encoding the macro into an image representation;

capturing the encoded macro on a device that is other than the device with which the user has previously authenticated;

decoding the macro on the other device; and

authenticating the user with the decoded macro.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

determining a user's access permissions to each version of a plurality of versions of a document, the plurality of versions of the document being stored at network locations and categorized by a level of each of the plurality of versions of the document in a predetermined hierarchy, wherein the predetermined hierarchy of document versions based on the level of each of the plurality of versions of the document is network source type-based hierarchy, no-fee network locations at which the document resides being a lower level of the network source type-based hierarchy and fee-based network locations at which the document resides being at a higher level of the network source type-based hierarchy;

generating, on a user interface, a single action control that is configured to be activated by a single action activation from the user and associating the single action control with a resource locator corresponding to a particular version of the plurality of versions of the document; and

retrieving, when the user has the access permissions to the particular version of the document in the predetermined hierarchy, a version of the document that is different from the particular version of the document and that has a higher level than that of the particular version in the predetermined hierarchy among the plurality of versions in response to the single action activation of the single action control.