Method and Apparatus for Providing Automation to an Internet Navigation Application

Abstract

A software application for enabling creation and execution of an automated browser navigation sequence is provided. The software application comprises a session recording module for recording parameters associated with a manual navigation sequence, a file creation module for converting data of a manual session into data comprising an executable sequence of instructions for conducting an automated navigation sequence, and an application-program-interface module for integrating a functional capability with the automated navigation sequence. The automated navigation sequence is characterized in that a completely automated browser-navigation sequence performed by the browser application is enabled through execution of the executable instruction sequence created from the recorded parameters of the manual navigation sequence.

1 . A software application for creating and executing an automated browser navigation sequence comprising: 
 a session recording module for recording parameters associated with a manual navigation sequence;    a file creation module for converting data of a manual session into data comprising an executable sequence of instructions for conducting an automated navigation sequence; and    an application-program-interface module for integrating a functional capability with the automated navigation sequence, characterized in that a completely automated, browser-navigation sequence performed by the browser application is enabled through execution of the executable instruction sequence created from the recorded parameters of the manual navigation sequence.    
   
   
       2 . The software application of  claim 1 , wherein the automated browser-navigation sequence is executed to run on a data-packet-network.  
   
   
       3 . The software application of  claim 2 , wherein the data-packet-network is the Internet network.  
   
   
       4 . The software application of  claim 3 , wherein the file-creation module includes a function for creating an executable icon for launching the automated browser-navigation sequence.  
   
   
       5 . The software application of  claim 4 , wherein the executable sequence of instructions are XML instructions.  
   
   
       6 . The software application of  claim 5 , wherein the automated-navigation sequence enables automation of one or more of form-population, data-downloading, media-interaction, data-searching, and hyper-linking.  
   
   
       7 . The software application of  claim 6 , wherein the application is implemented as a browser plug-in containing a user-configuration tool.  
   
   
       8 . The software application of  claim 6 , wherein the application is implemented as a standalone program containing a user-configuration tool.  
   
   
       9 . The software application of  claim 1 , wherein the automated navigation-sequence is created as a result of manual user programming as an alternative option to recording a manual sequence.  
   
   
       10 . The software application of  claim 7 , wherein the automated navigation-sequence includes an embedded request to one or more proxy services to be performed by a service provider operating on and accessible via the Internet network.  
   
   
       11 . The software application of  claim 10 , wherein the embedded request is automatically sent to the service provider during execution and performance of an automated navigation sequence.  
   
   
       12 . The software application of  claim 11 , wherein the embedded request is received by virtue of an opened communication channel established between communicating navigation applications while the sending application is performing an automated navigation sequence.  
   
   
       13 . A method for creating an executable instruction file for performing an automated navigation sequence on a data-packet-network using a browser application comprising steps of: 
 (a) invoking the browser application and connecting to the network;    (b) invoking and activating a session-recording module for recording a manual navigation sequence;    (c) performing a desired manual navigation sequence, the sequence recorded by the recording function;    (d) activating a stop-record function to defined the end of the manual sequence; and    (e) converting the recorded manual sequence into the executable instruction enabling the automated sequence, the conversion performed by software.    
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein in step (a), the data-packet-network is the Internet network.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein in step (e), the software converting data from the recorded session into the executable instruction prompts a user to name the executable instruction and to name an icon created and associated with instruction.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein a step is added for prompting the user with a list of options to add proxy services to the executable instruction.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the executable instruction is an XML template.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the executable instruction contains data personal to the user.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the personal data includes one or a combination of user names, passwords, credit card numbers, user location information, and Social Security information.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the personal data remains encrypted until use.  
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the personal data is stored in a secure location and accessed by virtue of a pointer to the information, the pointer embedded in the instruction file.