SYSTEM FOR INSERTING HYPERLINKS INTO DOCUMENTS

摘要

Through the Internet, it is possible to electronically link documents, by embedding hyperlinks into documents. The hyperlinks, which function as network addresses for specific documents, can be selected to "jump" electronically from a document on one computer system to a document on another computer system. One problem with conventional hyperlinks is that occasionally they become out dated and ineffective, as documents are deleted, for example. Another problem is that hyperlinks are typically generated without regard to connection time or charges involved in accessing specific computers, leading users to waste time or incur unnecessary charges when hyperlinking. Accordingly, the inventors devised a system, method, and software that automatically locate and mark specific portions of a document and define hyperlinks including at least a portion of the marked text. An exemplary implementation, tailored for legal citations, processes the portion of the marked text as a search term, and allows completion of hyperlinks without the necessity of including complete file addresses. This implementation also defines a portion of the hyperlinks based on the cost or time of executing the hyperlink, to reduce the cost or time of executing the hyperlink.