U.S. patent application number 11/351237 was filed with the patent office on 2006-06-15 for method, system, and program for checking contact information.
Invention is credited to Cary Lee Bates, Paul Reuben Day, John Matthew Santosuosso.
Application Number | 20060129543 11/351237 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36272468 |
Filed Date | 2006-06-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060129543 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bates; Cary Lee ; et
al. |
June 15, 2006 |
Method, system, and program for checking contact information
Abstract
Provided is a computer implemented method, system, and program
for checking text in an electronic document. Words in the text are
scanned and parsed. For each set of one or more scanned and parsed
words, a determination is made of whether one or more words form a
contact phrase providing information to identify or address a
person or entity. After one contact phrase is scanned, contact
information is accessed including contact phrases. The contact
information is searched to determine if the scanned contact phrase
matches contact phrases in the searched contact information.
Inventors: |
Bates; Cary Lee; (Rochester,
MN) ; Day; Paul Reuben; (Rochester, MN) ;
Santosuosso; John Matthew; (Rochester, MN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
IBM Corporation;Intellectual Property Law
Dept. 917
3605 Highway 52 North
Rochester
MN
55901-7829
US
|
Family ID: |
36272468 |
Appl. No.: |
11/351237 |
Filed: |
February 9, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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09658078 |
Sep 11, 2000 |
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11351237 |
Feb 9, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 ;
707/999.003; 707/999.104; 715/257 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 40/295 20200101;
G06F 40/232 20200101 |
Class at
Publication: |
707/003 ;
707/104.1; 715/533 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/30 20060101
G06F017/30; G06F 17/00 20060101 G06F017/00; G06F 17/24 20060101
G06F017/24 |
Claims
1. A method for checking contact phrases providing information to
identify or address a person or entity in a contact record in a
computer readable address book, comprising: accessing one contact
phrase in one of the contact records in the address book;
submitting a search request to a computer readable directory over a
network, wherein the directory provides searchable contact
information including contact phrases on persons or entities,
wherein the search request determines whether the accessed contact
phrase from one contact record matches one contact phrase in the
directory; receiving search result information from the directory;
and providing the capability to use the received search result
information to update one or more contact phrases in one contact
record of the address book.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the accessed contact phrase
submitted with the search request comprises a contact name and
wherein the received search results includes one or more contact
addresses, further comprising: determining whether the returned
contact addresses matches contact phrases in the contact record
including the accessed contact name; and providing information
indicating that the contact phrases in the contact record do not
match returned contact addresses from the directory.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the accessed contact phrase
submitted with the search request comprises one contact address
from the contact record, wherein the received search results
includes one contact name, further comprising: determining whether
the returned contact name matches a name contact phrase in the
contact record including the accessed contact address; and
providing information indicating that the contact address in the
contact record does not match the returned contact address from the
directory.
4. A system for checking contact phrases providing information to
identify or address a person or entity in a contact record in a
computer readable address book, comprising: a computer; a computer
readable medium including the address book and a computer program,
wherein the computer program causes the computer to perform: (i)
accessing one contact phrase in one of the contact records in the
address book; (ii) submitting a search request to a computer
readable directory over a network, wherein the directory provides
searchable contact information including contact phrases on persons
or entities, wherein the search request determines whether the
accessed contact phrase from one contact record matches one contact
phrase in the directory; (iii) receiving search result information
from the directory; and (iv) providing the capability to use the
received search result information to update one or more contact
phrases in one contact record of the address book.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the accessed contact phrase
submitted with the search request comprises a contact name and
wherein the received search results includes one or more contact
addresses, wherein the computer program is further capable of
causing the computer to perform: determining whether the returned
contact addresses matches contact phrases in the contact record
including the accessed contact name; and providing information
indicating that the contact phrases in the contact record do not
match returned contact addresses from the directory.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein the accessed contact phrase
submitted with the search request comprises one contact address
from the contact record, wherein the received search results
includes one contact name, wherein the computer program is further
capable of causing the computer to perform: determining whether the
returned contact name matches a name contact phrase in the contact
record including the accessed contact address; and providing
information indicating that the contact address in the contact
record does not match the returned contact address from the
directory.
7. A program for checking contact phrases providing information to
identify or address a person or entity in a contact record in a
computer readable address book, wherein the program is implemented
in a computer readable medium capable of causing a computer to
perform: accessing one contact phrase in one of the contact records
in the address book; submitting a search request to a computer
readable directory over a network, wherein the directory provides
searchable contact information including contact phrases on persons
or entities, wherein the search request determines whether the
accessed contact phrase from one contact record matches one contact
phrase in the directory; receiving search result information from
the directory; and providing the capability to use the received
search result information to update one or more contact phrases in
one contact record of the address book.
8. The program of claim 7, wherein the accessed contact phrase
submitted with the search request comprises a contact name, wherein
the received search results includes one or more contact addresses,
and wherein the program is further capable of causing the computer
to perform: determining whether the returned contact addresses
matches contact phrases in the contact record including the
accessed contact name; and providing information indicating that
the contact phrases in the contact record do not match returned
contact addresses from the directory.
9. The program of claim 7, wherein the accessed contact phrase
submitted with the search request comprises one contact address
from the contact record, wherein the received search results
includes one contact name, and wherein the program is further
capable of causing the computer to perform: determining whether the
returned contact name matches a name contact phrase in the contact
record including the accessed contact address; and providing
information indicating that the contact address in the contact
record does not match the returned contact address from the
directory.
Description
REFERENCE TO PARENT APPLICATION
[0001] This patent application is a divisional of the co-pending
patent application "METHOD, SYSTEM, AND PROGRAM FOR CHECKING CONTCT
INFORMATION", Ser. No. 09/658,078 filed by Bates et al. on Sep. 11,
2000, which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] Preferred embodiments provide a method, system, and program
for enhancing a spell checking program to handle contact
information, such as universal resource locators (URLs), e-mail
addresses, names, street addresses, phone numbers, etc.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Most word processing programs, such as Lotus Word Pro,
Microsoft Word, and Corel WordPerfect,** include a spell checker
feature. Prior art spell checker programs notify the user of a
spelling error whenever encountering an e-mail address, e.g.,
"joe@us.ibm.com", universal resource locator (URL) address
"http://www.ibm.com", personal name, e.g., "Joe Smith", and street
address, e.g., 100 Mullberry Street. Typically, the user of the
word processing program will bypass the personal name, street
address, e-mail address, and URL address. Thus, prior art spell
checkers include limited capability in providing meaningful
handling of contact information, such as personal names, street
addresses, and electronic addresses, such as e-mail and URL
addresses.
[0006] Accordingly, there is a need in the art to enhance spell
checker functionality to provide a more meaningful handling and
analysis of names, addresses, phone numbers, and other contact
information in a document.
SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0007] To overcome the limitations in the prior art described
above, preferred embodiments disclose a computer implemented
method, system, and program for checking text in an electronic
document. Words in the text are scanned and parsed. For each set of
one or more scanned and parsed words, a determination is made of
whether one or more words form a contact phrase providing
information to identify or address a person or entity. After one
contact phrase is scanned, contact information is accessed
including contact phrases. The contact information is searched to
determine if the scanned contact phrase matches contact phrases in
the searched contact information.
[0008] In further embodiments, contact phrases comprise one of a
name, phone number, street address, e-mail address, and URL.
Further, the contact information may comprise contact records for
different contacts in a computer readable address book. In such
case, each contact record is capable of including multiple
different contact phrases for one contact person or entity.
[0009] In still further embodiments, a determination is made of one
or more contact phrases in the contact information that are similar
to the scanned contact phrase if the scanned contact phrase does
not match one contact phrase in the contact information. The
determined similar contact phrases are displayed. Moreover, the
user is capable of selecting one displayed similar contact phrase
to substitute for the scanned contact phrase.
[0010] Additional embodiments concern, a method, system, and
program for checking contact phrases providing information to
identify or address a person or entity in a contact record in a
computer readable address book. One contact phrase in one of the
contact records in the address book is accessed. A search request
is submitted to a computer readable directory over a network. The
directory provides searchable contact information including contact
phrases on persons or entities. The search request determines
whether the accessed contact phrase from one contact record matches
one contact phrase in the directory. Search results information is
received from the directory. The received search result information
may be used to update one or more contact phrases in one contact
record of the address book.
[0011] Preferred embodiments provide a computer implemented
technique to enhance spell checker programs to improve the handling
and checking of contact information, such as names and contact
addresses of persons and entities. Further embodiments provide
additional on-line checking of contact information in a document or
contact information in a computer readable address book by
accessing a computer readable directory over a network, such as the
Internet.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Referring now to the drawings in which like reference
numbers represents corresponding parts throughout:
[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates a computing environment in which
preferred embodiments are implemented;
[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates a graphical user interface (GUI) form
displaying contact fields in a record in an address book in a
manner known in the art;
[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates a replacement box used with a spell
checker program in accordance with preferred embodiments of the
present invention;
[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates logic implemented in a spell checker
program to perform spell checking operations with respect to
contact phrases, such as e-mail addresses, street addresses, names,
phone numbers, etc., in accordance with preferred embodiments of
the present invention; and
[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates logic to check contact information
located by a spell checker program or check records of an address
book against an Internet directory in accordance with preferred
embodiments of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] In the following description, reference is made to the
accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and which
illustrate several embodiments of the present invention. It is
understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural
and operational changes may be made without departing from the
scope of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates a computing environment in which
preferred embodiments are implemented. The computing environment
includes a computer system 2 having a processor 4 and a memory 6.
The processor 4 may comprise any computer microprocessor device
known in the art. The memory 6 may comprise any computer volatile
memory device known in the art for storing data structures that the
processor 4 is accessing and processing. Alternatively, the memory
6 may comprise any type of non-volatile storage device known in the
art capable of being accessed by the processor 4, such as a hard
disk drive, tape drive, etc.
[0020] The memory 6 includes a text editor program 12, a spell
checker program 14, address book 16, and document 18. The text
editor program 12 executes in memory 6 to provide a graphical user
interface (GUI) text editing tool known in the art, such as
WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Lotus Word Pro, etc.** The spell
checker program 14 may be a component within the installed text
editor program 12 or a separate utility that is integrated with the
text editor program 12 user interface. The spell checker program 14
includes the spell checking capabilities of spell checking programs
known in the art and the additional capabilities of the preferred
embodiments described herein. The address book 16 comprises a
computer readable database of address and contact information
maintained by the user, a program for accessing the address book
16, and an interface to allow the user to input contact
information. The address book 16 may be part of an e-mail program
or personal information manager (PIM) program known in the art. The
spell checker program 14 utilizes interface calls in order to
access information from the address book 16.
[0021] An Internet checking program 20 comprises a program object
or function within the spell checker 14 and/or address book 16
program that is used to check contact information against
information maintained in an Internet directory. For instance, if
the contact information includes a URL address, then the Internet
checking program 20 may check the format of the URL address or ping
the address over the Internet to determine if the URL link is still
valid.
[0022] The system further includes a display monitor 22 for
displaying the graphical user interface (GUI) of the text editor
program 12 and at least one input device 24, such as a touch pad,
touch screen, mouse, pen stylus, keyboard, voice activated input,
and/or any other input device known in the art capable of selecting
displayed graphical elements and entering user input. Further, the
computer 2 is connected to the Internet 26 and is capable of
accessing Internet directories 28, such as the Yahoo Yellow pages
or other on-line databases of phone numbers and contact addresses
for persons and entities.
[0023] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a graphical user interface
(GUI) contact form 50 known in the art in which the user may
review, revise, or enter contact information in a contact record in
the address book 16 database. The contact form 50 displays the
contact name, company, home phone number, business phone number,
e-mail, and other contact information from a contact record in the
address book 16. The contact form 50 further includes a "Check
Internet Directory button" 52. Selection of this button 52 causes
the address book 16 program to access an Internet directory 24 over
the Internet 26 to search the Internet directory 28 using the full
name information in the displayed contact form 50. Further, if the
Internet directory 28 allows for "reverse look-ups", i.e.,
searching for a name from a telephone number, address or e-mail,
then the address book 16 program may perform a reverse look-up
search of the Internet directory 28 using the contact information
in the address, telephone, and/or e-mail fields in the contact form
50. The address book program 16 may then display to the user the
results of the reverse look up to allow the user to check or verify
the information in the contact form 50 or allow the user to enter
contact information from the search result in empty or already full
fields, e.g., phone numbers, e-mail etc., located from the reverse
look-up.
[0024] FIG. 3 illustrates a replacement box 60 that is displayed by
the spell checker 14 when identifying a name or contact address
(e.g., phone number, e-mail, street address, etc.) of a person or
entity in the document 18 that does not match names or contact
addresses in the address book 16. In the replacement box 60
embodiment of FIG. 3, the spell checker 14 highlights 62 the
contact phrase in text 64 that fails to match an entry in the
address book 16 and displays the non-matching contact phrase in a
"Replace with" box 66. The closest matching replacements found in
the address book 16 are displayed in the "Replacements" box 68. The
user may select the "Skip" button 70 to leave the highlighted
contact phrase 62 unchanged in the text 64 or the "Skip All" button
72 to leave all instances of the contact phrase 62 unchanged in the
text 64. The "Replace" button 76 is selected to replace the
highlighted contact phrase 62 in the text 64 with a highlighted
word in the "Replacements" box 66 or a new contact phrase the user
enters into the "Replace with" box 66. Selection of the "Add to
Address Book" button 78 displays a new contact record form from the
address book 16, such as the record 50 shown in FIG. 2, displaying
the highlighted 62 contact phrase in the "Replace with" box in the
appropriate contact field in the address record. The user may fill
in additional information in the other fields in the address record
50 then save the new record in the address book 16.
[0025] The user may further select the "Check Internet Directory"
button 80 to cause the spell checker 14 to access a default or user
specified Internet directory 28 over the Internet 26 and then
search the Internet directory for the highlighted contact phrase
62. If there is a match, then the spell checker 14 could display a
dialog box stating that a match occurred and further information on
the matching entry in the Internet directory 28. The user may also
be alerted if there is no match in the Internet directory 28.
[0026] FIG. 4 illustrates program logic implemented in the spell
checker 14 to provide special handling for contact phrases, such as
entity or person names, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, street
addresses, URLs, etc. At block 100, the spell checker 14 is
invoked. In preferred embodiments the spell checker 14 is invoked
from the text editor 12 user interface to spell check words within
a selected area of text or the entire document 18. The spell
checker 14 scans and parses (at block 102) a group of one or more
words in a manner known in the art and determines (at block 104)
whether one or more of the scanned words form a contact phrase
(e.g., e-mail address, street address, name, telephone number,
etc.) according to a set of contact phrase rules. In preferred
embodiments, the spell checker 14 would maintain a set of rules of
formats for contact phrases. If one or more consecutive words
constitute a contact phrase according to the set of contact phrase
rules, then the spell checker 14 determines (at block 106) whether
the scanned contact phrase matches any contact phrase in an
appropriate contact phrase field of one address book 16 record.
This step would require that the spell checker 14 use specialized
address book 16 application program interfaces (API) to query
records in the address book 16.
[0027] In preferred embodiments, the address book 16 comprises a
database of contact records, where each contact record includes
fields for different types of contact phrases (e.g., e-mail
address, street address, name, telephone number, etc.). In such
case, as part of determining whether the scanned word(s) constitute
a contact phrase according to contact rules, the spell checker 14
would also determine the type of contact phrase, e.g., e-mail
address, street address, name, telephone number, etc. The spell
checker 14 could then query the fields in the address book 16
records that correspond to the determined type of contact phrase.
For instance, if the type of contact phrase is an e-mail address,
then the spell checker would query the e-mail field in the address
book 16 records; if the type is a telephone number, then the spell
checker 14 would query all telephone number fields, e.g., business,
home, fax, in the address book 16 records.
[0028] If (at block 106) the scanned contact phrase matches a field
in one or more address book 16 records, then the spell checker 14
determines (at block 108) whether there are further strings to
check. If not, the checking ends. Otherwise, if there are further
words to check, then the spell checker 14 scans and parses (at
block 109) the next words in the search area and returns to block
104. Otherwise, if (at block 106) the contact phrase does not
match, then the spell checker 14 displays (at block 110) the
replacement box 60 (FIG. 3) with the scanned contact phrase
displayed in the "Replace with" box 66 and determined similar
entries in the searched address book 16 records in the
"Replacements" box 68. The user may then perform one of the actions
in the replacement box 60 described above. After selecting a
particular replacement action with respect to the scanned contact
phrase, control proceeds to block 108 to scan and parse further
words in the selected portion of the document 18 being checked by
the spell checker 14.
[0029] If (at block 104) one or more of the scanned words do not
constitute a contact phrase, then the spell checker 14 determines
(at block 112) whether the scanned word constitutes a URL according
to a set of URL rules. If the scanned word is not a URL, then the
spell checker 14 handles (at block 114) the scanned word using a
dictionary maintained by the spell checker in a manner known in the
art. If the scanned word is a URL, then the spell checker 14
determines (at block 118) whether the scanned URL is in a URL list
maintained in memory 6. The URL list comprises a list of URLs that
the user has previously accessed or approved. If the scanned URL
matches a URL in the URL list, then control proceeds to block 108
to consider further words in the document 18. Otherwise, if the URL
does not match, then the spell checker 14 displays the replacement
box 60 including the scanned URL in the "Replace with" box 66 and
similar URLs in the URL list in the "Replacements" box 68. Control
then proceeds to block 120 to consider the next words in the
document 18.
[0030] FIG. 5 illustrates logic implemented in the Internet
checking program 20, which may comprise a program component of the
spell checker 14 and/or address book 16 program, to check any
contact phrases in the document 18 or in address book 16 records
against information maintained in an Internet directory 28. Control
begins at block 200 with either the spell checker 14 or address
book 16 program invoking the Internet checking program 20 or
module. This function may be invoked by selecting the "Check
Internet Directory" button 80 in the replacement box 60 (FIG. 3) to
check the contact phrase in the "Replace with" box 60.
Alternatively, this mode may be invoked by selection of the "Check
Internet Directory" button 52 in the address book 16 contact form
50 (FIG. 2) to check the contact phrases in each contact field. For
instance, when invoked from the address book 16, the Internet
checking program 20 may search the Internet directory 28 on the
full name in the form 50 to check whether the Internet directory 28
includes a street address, e-mail address or phone numbers for the
checked name. Still further, the address book program 16 may
perform a reverse look-up using the e-mail address or phone numbers
maintained with the address book 16 record for the contact to
verify the name and other contact information in the address book
records 16 against the reverse look-up search results.
[0031] If (at block 202) the check is of a URL, then the Internet
checking program 20 sends (at block 204) a ping over the Internet
26 to the URL. If (at block 206) a response to the ping is
returned, then the Internet checking program 20 displays (at block
208) a message that the URL is active; otherwise, a message is
displayed (at block 210) that the URL is not active. If (at block
202) the contact phrase being checked is not a URL, and instead a
contact name or contact address (e.g., street address, e-mail
address, phone number, etc.), then the Internet checking program 20
accesses (at block 212) the Internet directory 26 over the Internet
26 and submits (at block 214) a search using the contact phrase in
the "Replacement with" box 66 or in the address book 16 record.
[0032] At block 216, the Internet checking program 20 receives the
search results of the Internet directory 28, which may indicate
that there were no matches, or provide a matching entry in the
Internet directory 28, which would likely include additional
contact information for the contact phrase searched. If the
Internet checking program 20 is integrated with the spell checker
14, then the Internet checking program 20 may determine whether the
contact phrase in the "Replacement with" box 66 is found in the
Internet directory 24. If the searched contact phrase is a name,
then the Internet checking program 20 may display to the user
related contact information for that person. If the searched on
contact phrase is a contact address, such as an e-mail address,
street address, phone number, etc., then the Internet checking
program 20 may display results from a reverse look-up operation. In
this way, the user may review related contact information when
invoking the Internet checking function during a spell check
operation.
[0033] If the Internet checking program 20 is integrated with the
address book 16 program and the contact name is searched, then the
search results may provide related contact addresses for the
searched name, e.g., phone number, e-mail, street address, etc. The
Internet checking program 20 may then compare the returned search
results with contact information stored in the address book 16
record to determine any discrepancies. The Internet checking
program 16 may then display an interface to alert the user of
discrepancies or prompt the user to input returned contact results
into fields in the address book 16 record, or replace information
in the address book 16 record fields with the contact search
results.
[0034] In further embodiments, the user may schedule the Internet
checking program 20 to perform periodic checking of all records in
the address book 16 against information maintained in the Internet
directory 26 during off-hours. The results may then be presented to
the user to notify the user of any inconsistencies and allow the
user to input the returned contact information in the appropriate
fields in the address book 16 records.
[0035] In still further embodiments, the spell checker 14 may check
the consistency of the syntax used in contact phrases, such as
telephone numbers, URL addresses etc. The spell checker 14 would
buffer all contact information to be checked for inconsistencies.
After checking the entire page or selected area, the spell checker
14 would compare the syntax used for buffered contact phrases of a
particular type and notify the user of any inconsistencies in the
syntax used. For instance, the spell checker 14 would compare the
format used for phone numbers, e.g., 310-555-5555,555-5556, (310)
555-5557, and note that in each case a different syntax was used
for the numbers. The spell checker 14 would alert the user to the
presence of different syntax for phone numbers. Similarly, the
spell checker 14 may compare the syntax of URLs in the document,
e.g., www.ibm.com, http://www.ibm.com, etc., and notify the user of
any inconsistency. Still further, the spell checker 14 could check
whether the syntax of a URL is correct, such as checking whether
the correct forward slashes "//" following the "http" are used as
opposed to incorrectly using back slashes "\\". This consistency
checking feature allows the user to improve the appearance of the
document by consistently using the same format for contact
information.
[0036] Preferred embodiments provide a program and user interface
to extend the capabilities of spell checker programs to provide
spell checking and confirmation of contact phrases in a document
18. Further, preferred embodiments provide a technique for
real-time checking of address information entered into a document
18 or in address book 16 records against an Internet directory 28
over the Internet 26. Preferred embodiments extend spell checker
functions to accommodate the frequent use of electronic addresses
and URLs that are often included in business and personal documents
generated by word processing programs.
Alternative Embodiments and Conclusions
[0037] This concludes the description of the preferred embodiments
of the invention. The following describes some alternative
embodiments for accomplishing the present invention.
[0038] The preferred embodiments may be implemented as a method,
apparatus or program using standard programming and/or engineering
techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any
combination thereof. The program, code and instructions in which
the preferred embodiments are implemented are accessible from and
embedded in an information bearing medium, which may comprise one
or more computer-readable devices, firmware, programmable logic,
memory devices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, SRAMs, etc.),
hardware, electronic devices, a computer readable magnetic storage
unit, CD-ROM, a file server providing access to the programs via a
network transmission line, wireless transmission media, signals
propagating through space, radio waves, infrared signals, etc. Of
course, those skilled in the art will recognize that many
modifications may be made to this configuration without departing
from the scope of the present invention.
[0039] The preferred algorithm described particular steps as
occurring in a particular order. However, in further embodiments
the order of the steps may be changed and certain steps removed and
added without departing from the scope of the invention. Moreover,
different steps may be performed to execute the overall operation
of the algorithm.
[0040] The preferred embodiment GUIs, such as the address book form
50 and replacement box 60 provided particular fields in a
particular layout. However, any GUI arrangement may be used to
present the information and functions provided herein to the user.
Further, the GUI panels described in FIGS. 2 and 3 may include more
or less information than shown in the exemplar figures.
[0041] The preferred embodiment GUI was described as having
particular pushbuttons to cause a particular set of actions to
occur. In further embodiments, the GUI panels for the composition
tool may include additional pushbuttons to provide additional
functions or combinations of functions described herein.
[0042] In preferred embodiments, the Internet checking program 20
checked a single Internet directory 28 over the Internet 26. In
alternative embodiments, multiple Internet directories may be
checked. Alternatively, directories stored locally or available
over other networks known in the art, e.g., an Intranet, private
LAN, etc., may be checked.
[0043] In summary, the present invention provides a computer
implemented method, system, and program for checking text in an
electronic document. Words in the text are scanned and parsed. For
each set of one or more scanned and parsed words, a determination
is made of whether one or more words form a contact phrase
providing information to identify or address a person or entity.
After one contact phrase is scanned, contact information is
accessed including contact phrases. The contact information is
searched to determine if the scanned contact phrase matches contact
phrases in the searched contact information.
[0044] The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of
the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration
and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit
the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and
variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is
intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this
detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto. The
above specification, examples and data provide a complete
description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the
invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the
invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.
**WordPerfect is a registered trademark of Corel Corporation; Word
Pro is a registered trademark of Lotus Development Corporation.
* * * * *
References