Providing archived web page content in place of current web page content

Abstract

In accordance with the present disclosure a user can return to a previously viewed/archived version of a web-page when the content of the currently available webpage is different from the archived content. To facilitate such an interaction, a browser can archive displayed versions of web pages and their network address and when a user makes new request for the web page, the browser can determine that there is an archived version with the requested network address. When an archived version of the web page exists, the browser can prompt the user to determine if the user wants to “re-display” the contents of a previously displayed web page or if the user wants to display the current contents provided by the website server.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for displaying archived web page content, the method comprising:
 in response to a first instruction to open a web page at a network address, downloading a first content of the web page from a server at the network address;   causing display of the first content of the web page in a browser;   in response to a user input, providing, in the browser, a selectable feature for archiving one or more user-selected portions of the first content of the web page;   storing the network address of the web page and a copy of the one or more user-selected portions of the first content on a client device;   in response to receiving a second instruction to open the web page at the network address, downloading a second content of the web page from the server at the network address, wherein the second content is different from the first content; and   causing display of either the second content or the copy of the one or more user-selected portions of the first content.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the client device determining that portions of the second content corresponding to the one or more user-selected portions of the first content are different than the one or more user-selected portions of the first content. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing user-entered data and adding the user-entered data to the copy of the one or more user-selected portions of the first content. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing an archive copy of the second content in response to an activation of a back button of the browser. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing an archive copy of the second content in response to an activation of a submit form instruction. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a selectable feature for selecting a number of archive copies of user-selected portions of contents of web pages to store. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a selectable feature for categorizing archive copies of user-selected portions of contents of web pages. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a selectable feature for selecting a time period for which to store archive copies of user-selected portions of contents of web pages. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing, on the client device, one or more additional contents linked by one or more user-selected links in the first content. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selectable feature for archiving one or more user-selected portions of the first content is enabled to receive an input selecting one or more links comprised in the one or more user-selected portions of the first content and an input selecting the one or more user-selected links for archiving. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the storing of the copy of the one or more user-selected portions of the first content comprises storing one or more user-selected links comprised in the user-selected portions of the first content. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 monitoring the web page for changes to the one or more user-selected portions of the first content of the web page;   wherein the storing of the copy of the one or more user-selected portions of the first content occurs in response to detecting the changes to the one or more user-selected portions of the first content of the web page.   
     
     
         13 . A computer system for displaying archived web page content, the computer system comprising one or more processors, one or more computer-readable storage devices, and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more computer-readable storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, the program instructions comprising:
 program instructions to download, in response to a first instruction to open a web page at a network address, a first content of the web page from a server at the network address;   program instructions to cause display of the first content of the web page in a browser;   program instructions to provide, in the browser, in response to a user input, a selectable feature for archiving one or more user-selected portions of the first content of the web page;   program instructions to store the network address of the web page and a copy of the one or more user-selected portions of the first content on the computer system;   program instructions to download, in response to receiving a second instruction to open the web page at the network address, a second content of the web page from the server at the network address, wherein the second content is different from the first content; and   program instructions to cause display of either the second content or the copy of the one or more user-selected portions of the first content.   
     
     
         14 . The computer system of  claim 13 , further comprising program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more computer-readable storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, to provide, in the browser, a selectable feature to cause display of either the second content or the one or more user-selected portions of the first content. 
     
     
         15 . The computer system of  claim 14 , wherein the program instructions to provide, in the browser, a selectable feature to cause display of either the second content or the one or more user-selected portions of the first content comprise program instructions to cause display of a prompt in a graphical user interface of the browser based in part on a predetermined preference. 
     
     
         16 . The computer system of  claim 15 , wherein the program instructions to cause display of the prompt comprise program instructions to cause display of a selectable link. 
     
     
         17 . The computer system of  claim 13 , further comprising program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more computer-readable storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, to store the downloaded first content and the downloaded second content in one or more cache files. 
     
     
         18 . The computer system of  claim 14 , wherein the program instructions to provide, in the browser, a selectable feature to cause display of either the second content or the one or more user-selected portions of the first content comprise program instructions to provide a pop-up window with a selectable feature in response to a user input. 
     
     
         19 . A computer program product for displaying archived web page content, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable storage devices and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more computer-readable storage devices, the program instructions comprising:
 program instructions to download, in response to a first instruction to open a web page at a network address, a first content of the web page from a server at the network address;   program instructions to cause display of the first content of the web page in a browser;   program instructions to provide, in a the browser, in response to a user input, a selectable feature for archiving one or more user-selected portions of the first content of the web page;   program instructions to store the network address of the web page and a copy of the one or more user-selected portions of the first content on the computer system;   program instructions to download, in response to receiving a second instruction to open the web page at the network address, a second content of the web page from the server at the network address, wherein the second content is different from the first content; and   program instructions to cause display of either the second content or the copy of the one or more user-selected portions of the first content.   
     
     
         20 . The computer program product of  claim 19 , further comprising program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more computer-readable storage devices, to store user-entered data and add the user-entered data to the first content.