README for XSLT_PEDS

Copyright © 2020 David Yockey

Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification, are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright notice and this notice are preserved.

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Description

XSLT_PEDS is a collection of Bash scripts and XSLT formatting to facilitate viewing search results downloaded in XML format from the USPTO's Patent Examination Data System (https://ped.uspto.gov/peds/).

Requirements & Recommendations

The following are recommended configurations for different systems. All recommendations & requirements are available cost-free.

Linux users

• Xalan (required; listed in package managers as 'xalan' or 'xalan-c')
• unzip (required)
• zenity (recommended; omit for program feedback to appear in-terminal)

Microsoft Windows 10 users

• At a minimum, familiarity with Linux commands ls and cd is recommended to facilitate usage.
• Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL 1 or 2 is required; WSL 1 is recommended for setup simplicity)
• WSL-compatible Linux (required; the latest LTS (long-term support) version of Ubuntu is recommended)
• Packages installed within WSL-compatible Linux:
  • Xalan (required; e.g. to install in Ubuntu, run the command sudo apt-get install xalan)
  • unzip (required; e.g. to install in Ubuntu, run the command sudo apt-get install unzip)

For detailed WSL setup information from Microsoft, please see:

• Windows Subsystem for Linux Installation Guide for Windows 10

Microsoft Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, or Vista users

Windows 10 users may prefer the following configuration if they already use Cygwin for other purposes. XSLT_PEDS is untested on Windows prior to 10, but may work with this arrangement as well. If you test on Windows prior to 10, please provide feedback about the results at https://github.com/dfyockey/XSLT_PEDS/issues so these instructions may be updated accordingly.

• At a minimum, familiarity with Linux commands ls and cd is recommended to facilitate usage.
• Cygwin (required)
  • sed (required; select in Cygwin setup)
  • unzip (required; select in Cygwin setup)
• MSXML 6.0 (msxml6.msi required for 32-bit PCs; msxml6_x64.msi required for most 64-bit PCs; msxml6_ia64.msi required for 64-bit PCs with Itanium processors)
• MSXSL (msxsl.exe required; should be placed in C:\Windows\System32)

For downloads and more information please see:

• Cygwin
• Microsoft Core XML Services (MSXML) 6.0
• Command Line Transformation Utility (msxsl.exe)

Mac OS X users

XSLT_PEDS is untested on OS X but may work if Xalan and unzip are provided. If you test on OS X, please provide feedback about the results at https://github.com/dfyockey/XSLT_PEDS/issues so these instructions may be updated accordingly.

Setup

Linux users

Simply unzip the downloaded XSLT_PEDS zip file into the folder of your choice.

If you are planning to use the Gnome Files file manager (and perhaps other FMs), you may need to change a preference to enable running XSLT_PEDS scripts from your file manager.

In Gnome Files:

1. Click ☰

2. Click "Preferences"

3. Click "Behavior"

4. Under "Executable Text Files", select either "Run them" or
   "Ask what to do", whichever you prefer.
   
5. Close the "Preferences" window.

Note: Nothing tragic will happen if you try to run a script and the file manager isn't set up or able to do it. It'll just open a text editor showing program code.

Windows users

1. Move the downloaded XSLT_PEDS zip file into your WSL Linux or Cygwin home folder.

• The WSL Linux home folder is accessible by running WSL Linux (e.g. Ubuntu), and from there running explorer.exe . (be sure to include the space and the dot following explorer.exe). The folder will open in Windows Explorer. It should have the same name as your WSL Linux username.
• The Cygwin home folder is in C:\cygwin32\home\<user> where, by default, <user> is your Windows username.

2. From within WSL Linux or Cygwin, run the command unzip zipfile, where zipfile is the name of the downloaded XSLT_PEDS zip file. DO NOT unzip using Windows Explorer's "Extract" function! ("Extract" will mess up the Linux file permissions of the XSLT_PEDS script files so they won't run.)

Usage

1. Perform a search on the USPTO's Patent Examination Data System at https://ped.uspto.gov/peds/.

2. Request and download the resulting data in XML format.

3. Move the downloaded .zip file to your XSLT_PEDS folder.

4. Run the unzipping script of your choice depending on the desired form of the results:

   unzipa - Unzip All: Unzips a PEDS collection of Xml files and
            creates from them a collection of Html files in the
            XSLT_PEDS folder, each Html file having a unique name.
   
   unzipf - Unzip to Folder: Unzips a PEDS collection of Xml files
            and creates from them a collection of Html files in a
            new folder having a unique name.
   
   unzipo - Unzip to One - Unzips a PEDS collection of Xml files
            and combines them into one uniquely-named Html file
            located in the XSLT_PEDS folder.
   

   In Linux, the unzipping scripts may be run either from a file manager or the command line. In Windows, the unzipping scripts will only run from the command line within WSL Linux or Cygwin. When running from the command line in either case, a script must be run from the XSLT_PEDS folder and its name must be preceded by ./ (e.g. ./unzipa).

   When run, the chosen unzipping script will act on the latest .zip file it finds in the XSLT_PEDS folder. The Html file, files, or folder containing Html files should appear in the XSLT_PEDS folder. Each of these files is formatted for viewing in any modern browser.

   Additionally, the downloaded .zip file should disappear and, if not already there, a zipTrash folder should appear. The unzipping scripts move downloaded .zip files into zipTrash upon completion. The downloaded .zip files are unchanged, so they can be used again if desired. You can retain or delete zipTrash or its contents as you wish.

   The file to be unzipped may alternatively be provided as an argument when running from the command line, in which case it will not be moved upon completion.

5. Open the generated Html files to view the formatted PEDS data.

Note for Technical Users: unzippeds is run be each of the aforementioned scripts to perform their operations. It may be used directly or within a script to perform any of those operations by providing an appropriate argument. Run unzippeds -? for usage information.

Viewing Options

1. Click any Application Data heading in a generated Html file to hide all data sections in the file except Application Data sections. Click any Application Data heading again to show the hidden sections. This feature can be useful in browsing through a large collection of results to find applications of interest.

2. Click any application title in a generated Html file to hide all other information in the file except that for the clicked title. Click the one remaining application title again to show the hidden information for the other titles. This feature can be useful for printing information for a single application to paper or PDF.

Upgrading to Latest Release

To upgrade to the latest release of XSLT_PEDS, rename or delete the current XSLT_PEDS folder and replace it by unzipping the new release zip file as described in the Setup section above.

Tips

1. For Windows users, you may wish to create a shortcut to your WSL Linux or Cygwin home folder or your XSLT_PEDS folder, on your Desktop or elsewhere, to make them easier to get to.

2. Depending on the file manager used, you may be able to select multiple generated Html files and hit "Enter" -- or open a context menu (i.e. "right-click menu") and click "Open" -- to open the files in a collection of (randomly-ordered) tabs.

3. The Html files are completely portable; i.e. you can move them to any folder, email them to someone, etc.

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