The present invention relates, in general, to data processing systems and also, to methods and apparatus for displaying graphical information on a computer system and also, to electronic presentation software.
Many software systems create a windowing environment that manages interactions between a user and an application program executing on a computer through a graphical display monitor. Each sheet of information is displayed on the monitor in a rectangular region of the screen called a “window.”
In a typical window-based Graphical User Interface System, such as Microsoft Windows®, a variety of techniques are provided to the operator to manage the windows on the display. Typically, two levels of interaction are provided for the user. The first is a main application interface that is presented to the user. The second is known as “property pages” or “dialog boxes”, which are individual windows that are launched by the software that allow the user to define parameters that set how the application program is to run. Dialog boxes are often used to determine the location of where a file will be saved to or loaded from. While the property pages allow the user to manipulate various aspects of the software, the property pages or dialog boxes themselves cannot be changed or edited by the user.
In today's market, several presentation software packages are available which are designed to allow users to set up a sequence of slides containing text and images that can be displayed to an audience using a projector or similar output device. Most presentation software programs are designed to allow the user to place text and/or images anywhere on the screen. Examples of such presentation software include Microsoft PowerPoint, and Presentation Manager by Creative Lifestyles, Inc., Milford, Mich. 48380.
It would be desirable to provide a method and an apparatus for a user to edit or change any property of a property page or dialog box without the user having to generate any software program code. It would also be desirable to provide a means for a user to arrange and manipulate the look and functionality of property and dialog pages.
Embodiments of methods and apparatuses for designing a user interface for a software application are described herein.
In one embodiment, a method for designing a user interface for a software application using a slide-generating program, includes obtaining, by the slide-generating program stored on a computer, at least one slide representative of a user interface window in the software application, the at least one slide having an existing configuration representing a look-and-feel of the user interface window and receiving, from an end user of the slide-generating program, input indicative of a command to change the at least one slide's existing configuration to a new configuration, the new configuration representing a look-and-feel that is different than the look-and-feel represented by the existing configuration. Responsive to receiving the input from the end user, the method also includes generating, by the slide-generating program, reconfiguration data that represents the at least one slide's new configuration. Further, the method includes obtaining, by the software application stored on the computer, the generated reconfiguration data and generating, on a display of the computer, a reconfigured user interface window in the software application using the generated reconfiguration data such that the reconfigured user interface has the new configuration's look-and-feel.
In another embodiment, a method for designing a user interface for a software application using a slide-generating program includes obtaining, by the slide-generating program stored on a computer, at least one slide representative of a user interface window in the software application, the at least one slide having an existing configuration and receiving, from an end user of the slide-generating program, input indicative of a command to change the at least one slide's existing configuration to a new configuration. Responsive to receiving the input from the end user, the method also includes generating, by the slide-generating program, reconfiguration data that represents the at least one slide's new configuration. Further, the method includes obtaining, by the software application stored on the computer, the generated reconfiguration data and generating, on a display of the computer, a reconfigured user interface window in the software application using the generated reconfiguration data.
In another embodiment, an apparatus for designing a user interface for a software application includes one or more processors are configured to execute instructions to obtain at least one slide representative of a user interface window in the software application, the at least one slide having an existing configuration and receive, from an end user, input indicative of a command to change the at least one slide's existing configuration to a new configuration. Responsive to receiving the input from the end user, the one or more processors are further configured to generate reconfiguration data that represents the at least one slide's new configuration. The generated reconfiguration data is obtainable by the software application and useable to generate, on a display, a reconfigured user interface window in the software application.
The unique interface described herein enables a user to edit objects on a property page of a graphical user interface as to the location, function, background image, color, shape, etc., without having to generate input software code to the application program. The user merely generates edit commands to the properties of the object, which commands are converted by the interface to a form which is executable by the application program.
The various features, advantages and other uses of the present invention will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description and drawing in which:
Referring now to the drawings, and to
In the present software interface, the dialog box and/or property pages, both hereafter referred to as “property pages,” are not hard coded within the operating system software code, but rather are made a part of the user interface. As shown in
ActiveX for objects has an interface through which properties of that object can be sorted or read. The interface 24 allows access to a number of properties of each object. Each property is referenced by an I.D. Each property can also give the type, i.e., numeric or string or file, etc. Each property can optionally give the minimum and maximum values as applicable or the enumeration of possible values. Each property can optionally report a default value. Each property can optionally give an access level, i.e., all users, advanced user or super user. Each property can also optionally be assigned to a group, thereby enabling large numbers of properties to be edited across several pages at the same time.
An application of the present method and apparatus will be demonstrated through the use of a presentation program which allows presentation of a sequence of slides through the presentation device.
Presentation software executed by the processor 10 can be used to prepare an electronic slide for presentation. For example, the slide is saved in an xml file. The xml file is effectively a list of display/edit entities. Each entity references a property ID. Each xml entity further describes the location, and fixed or relative coordinates, the color, and optional background image, any translations, etc. Non-editable entities, such as “images/text”, are also listed to help in the presentation of the slide.
As shown in
The bridge 24 allows the user to define the name and values that can be modified by the user. The bridge 24 converts what the user creates into working code which is understood by the underlying application software. The bridge 24 may be specific to the application software or be based on an open standard, such as xml, for example.
The changes made by the bridge 24 to the property pages may or may not be automatic. Some of the entries may be automatic and will change within the application the moment the values are changed. Alternately, other entries will not be automatic and will only change in the application once the user confirms the change, typically through an “apply” button.
The property pages will be auto-generated. The software used to edit the property pages will be able to locate all of the editable properties for a given action, i.e., save, load, etc., or parameter, i.e., the complete set of properties for the application, and create a base property page that includes all of the editable properties for the given action or parameter.
The editable properties may be renamed by an alternate source, i.e., a file. This would enable the property page editor or bridge 24 to be adaptable to many software program languages through a translation file.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/504,357, filed Aug. 15, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11504357 | Aug 2006 | US |
Child | 14038247 | US |