Special Quicktime with "Patent" plug-in to be able to view photos & Documents @ US Patent Office

Problem:

I want to be able to go to the U.S. Patent office and look at their patent information, especially the diagrams.

However, I don't understand any of the information that I have added here from the U.S. Patent Office.

If you are still using Snow Leopard, the TIFF images should be viewable directly in Safari unless you have modified the default settings for some reason or the app has become corrupted somehow. Simply search for/navigate to the patent of interest, select the "Images" option, and navigate to the specific "content" you wish to view.

If you have upgraded you OS to a newer system, then you will need to will need to perform an additional step since

It appears my response was cut off in mid-sentence during the maintenance switchover. To continue...

Problem:

I want to be able to go to the U.S. Patent office and look at their patent information, especially the diagrams.

However, I don't understand any of the information that I have added here from the U.S. Patent Office.

If you are still using Snow Leopard, the TIFF images should display directly in Safari unless you have modified or corrupted the app somehow. Simply search for/navigate to the patent of interest, select the "Images" option, and navigate to the specific TIFF "content" you wish to view.

If you have upgraded your OS to a newer system, then you will need to will need to perform an additional step since Safari now displays the referenced image as a "blank" image. In this case, when you reach the page you want, simply select the "Develop/Show Page Resources" menu option, expand the "Images" folder, and select the file named ".DImg" which is the default "variable" reference to the current page's TIFF image file.

NOTE: If you save a copy of the current TIFF image to your hard drive, be sure to change the filename since files that begin a period are, by default, reserved for system use.

Below is the specific page of the US Patent Offcie website that I started with from the above reply to you:

http://patimg2.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=D0168972&homeurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.go v%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect2%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%2 F netahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526d%3DPALL%2 5 26S1%3DD168972.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2FD168972%2526RS%3DPN%2FD168972&PageNum=&Rtype=& S ectionNum=&idkey=NONE&Input=View+first+page

Here is what I see in Safari for Mac OS X v10.8.2 using the previously described "Develop" menu option for the URL you posted:

At this point I can merely drag the image to my desktop and rename the file if I want to keep it.

Also, I have no idea what you wrote, nor do I understand that!

Here is the URL for a "Quickie" video I just made showing what I previously described. Since I already posted the written instructions above, I didn't bother to include an audio track describing my actions.

http://downloads.walker4.me/downloads/Temporary_files/ScreenFlow5.mov

You can view the file online in Safari, open the URL directly in the QT player, or download it for viewing locally on your computer.

I found the link belo onthe Net:

http://www.pat2pdf.org

I tried 1 patent # and it downloaded easily!

This appears to be the simpliest approach if you already have the patent reference number.

Another alternative for Mountain Lion is to simply "Share" your Safari patent page to the Mail app. (I.e., the image is visible in the Mail app.)

You solved my problem,but I had another problem that I had to solve:

(I had no developer on my Safari top menuscreen)

Sorry! While I am not an "HTML" programmer, I do sometimes like (or need) to analyze web page coding in order to answer questions here. As a result, I tend to assume all Lion and Mountain Lion users keep the "Develop" menu option enabled by default. Basically, this menu combines a number of separate features and options found in older Safari apps into a single, unified menu option list that allows a user to view and trace what is going on when a user actually accesses a particular web page. Thus, it has become such an essential tool for me that I take it for granted that everyone uses it on a regular basis.

1. You used Screenflow by Telestream for your video. Is that the same as Camtasia by Techsmith?

Both apps essentially serve the same purpose but use somewhat different GUIs and target different features which may appeal more to different specific users. My work flow is primarily oriented to the creation of quick responses to specific questions posed in this forum or by email from members of the local SJAUG (South Jersey Apple User Group), so I rarely take full advantage of all of the possible features or make professional looking tutorials and frequently just grab the first available app on hand whether it be QT X screen capture, Snaps Pro X, ScreenFlick, ScreenFlow, etc. that fulfills my immediate needs.

2. How easy is Screenflow to use and learn? I bought Camtasia based on SnagIt, an excellent screen-capture program (another Techsmith Product).However, I never use Camtasia - a video screen capture program as it's harder to learn that I thought!

Basic screen capture is about as easy as using the QT X built in screen capture routine. I normally just capture the entire screen and then, crop to size and shape of what I want to keep or need just before export. Use of the full list of editing features is more complicated and requires more planning. Difficulty of use for either app will likely be a matter of user "personal preference" and will probably reflect an individual's idea as to which feature work flows they considered more "naturally intuitive."

3. What exactly is Developer? You've opened up a whole new area of exploration for me!

As noted above, the "Develop" menu is simply a combining of several different features and window options (e.g., "View Source" and "Activity" window) in a single list of menu options selectable directly from the menu or from within the "Develop" window once opened. You can probably best think of it as a separate app or utility that allows you to closele examing and analyze the specifi web coding and content for the current URL at which Safari is looking. It has powerful features but they may take some time getting used to since they both simplify analysis and complicate matters by opening the door to so many new features and specific things you can do.

4. The problem with most software instructions,anything relating to computers, or even the instructions (what instructions!) on the US Patent Office to find a specific patent - is that writers don''t simplify things enough. Or,if a problem pops up (please see below), people, like myself have no idea what the the "error" or message from the program or software is saying.

As far as the patent web site goes, all they were telling you was that the content is available as TIFF images and that Mac platforms that have QT installed as an "add-on" (i.e., older systems) or embedded in the operating system (i.e., all current Mac systems) can view these TIFF images. Up until Lion, I had no problem viewing TIFF images directly in Safari. It is only the most recent operating systems that seem to require the "Develop" workaround to get the images to display in Safari. At first I thought this might be because TIFF is now considered a "lagacy" codec as far as video is concerned and, like all legacy video codecs is turned off by default... But this is a different can of worms and doesn't really seem to have any impact on the viewing of TIFF images.

4. Another "small problem arose"

As I was trying to add screen sapture photos to this reply, a problem arose.

The message below (first part) didn't make sense,since that's what I always did before.

Please add the image directly by clicking Insert Image (camera icon)

I had no idea what the second part of the message below was saying.

We cannot accept linked or embedded images.

I intuitively figured out that I needed to take my photos (presented here) out of their folder, and place them on my desktop.

Actually, I believe these messages refer to the previous ability to display images in the forum by physically posting them to a server and then linking the posted image to the forum. I used to do this to get motion GIF images to display properly if posted directly to the forum from my computer. Will test to see if most recent canhes to forum now allow proper viewing of such content directly:

In any case, I'm not sure why they left this message embedded in the current forum software since the option to automatically link files in this manner has been removed (but may be still possible to add manually via user added HTML code).

Note: Click on Chihuahua image above to see how it used to display in the forum when linked externally.

MajorTrout:

On the MAC -

I was previously using the Mac OSX version of Acell Viewtiff with Firefox to view, save as PDF, and printout US Patent Tiff images.

However Accordex, the developer, has decided to no longer support it. It does not work with the current version 7/2013, Version 22 of Firefox. You can still download an older version perhaps to make it work but risk the security problems.

Your lead to the Aspator plugin for Firefox is very helpful for searching and vieing the lists of patents at the USPTO database. This can be easily installed from the Tools menu by selecting "Add On". The developer requests a paymet of $24 presently for the app.

There is an App available in Apple's app store for easily downloading patents if you know the patent or application numbers - Pronto Patent.

You can also try using Google Patents to download patents.