Many different types of computer-implemented drawing programs are currently in use. Many such programs provide user interface displays that allow a user to perform graphic design or other sophisticated drawing operations. Such programs enable computer graphic design, computer aided design, computerized drawing, and even photo editing
In performing computerized drawing, users often attempt to align objects on a drawing surface. For instance, where a user has drawn a picture or a geometric shape or other object, or otherwise imported an object, the user may wish to align the objects in a vertical or horizontal way, or in another way. Many current computer drawing applications provide assistance to users when they are attempting to align objects.
Some of the mechanisms used to assist the user are referred to as drawing guides. In some cases, the user places a drawing guide at a certain location and then aligns a number of objects to that guide. In other cases, rather than the end user, a designer places the guide and the end user aligns objects to the designers pre-existing guide. In either case, it is generally quite easy to accidently move the guide when attempting to move the object on the drawing surface into alignment with the guide. Once the guide has been accidently moved, it can be difficult to correct.
Some current drawing programs address this problem by allowing the user to lock a guide in place. This has been done by requiring the user to unlock the guide, place the guide at a certain location, and then lock the guide. Each of these steps requires the user to interact with some type of user interface element which may either be located on the tool bar or somewhere else proximate the drawing surface, or by right clicking on a portion of the user interface display and then choosing a “lock” option from a dropdown menu or from some other type of selectable list. Requiring these types of operations can be quite cumbersome and time consuming in the drawing process.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Some types of drawing software arrange drawing surface panes or canvases (such as slides) in a pre-existing hierarchy. That is, the canvas (or drawing panes or slides of the software) conform to an inheritance model that has an inheritance hierarchy. Every new canvas that the user interacts with begins as a child of a master layout canvas. When an object is added to a master layout canvas, the child pane that inherits from that master layout canvas has the object included in the master layout canvas. In some instances, the object added at the master level is not editable at the user level unless the child moves into a master level view.
Similarly, a drawing program allows designers to add guides on a master level which inhibits the end user from accidently moving the guide at the child level. In one embodiment, the user can also set guides at the child level, which are editable because they are added on the child level canvas and not on the master level canvas.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in the background.
In the embodiment shown in
Memory 16 is illustratively accessible by processor 14 and can store drawing application 12, along with other items to be stored in memory. Various embodiments of memory 16 are also described below with respect to
In one embodiment, drawing application 12 provides mechanisms which allow designers or users of application 12 to align objects on the display screen. Those mechanisms will be referred to herein as “guides”. By way of example, application 12 illustratively includes guide change component 24 that allows a user of application 12 to change a set of vertical and horizontal guides. In one embodiment, these guides are simply rulers which can be moved along the user interface display to provide an alignment reference, along which objects can be aligned. In the embodiment where a vertical guide is provided, the user can simply select the guide (when in the guide editing view described below) and move the guide to a particular point on the display screen. The user can then align objects along that vertical guide.
Where the guide is a horizontal guide, the user can also select the guide and move it to a desired point on the display screen and the user can then use that guide to horizontally align objects on the display screen. In some current systems, drawing applications provide one view, and the user can not only move objects in that view, but also change the guides in that view. However, when the user is attempting to align an object with a guide, it can be very easy in such systems to accidently move the guide. This can lead to additional time fixing the unintentionally moved guide.
In other current systems, the guide can be locked. However, this requires the user to select a given guide, unlock it, then move it to a desired place, and then relock the guide. This is all done by requiring the user to interact with various user interface mechanisms to perform each of those steps (e.g., selecting a guide, unlocking it, moving it, and again locking it). This must be done for each of the guides that the user wishes to change. Of course, this can also be cumbersome and time consuming for the user. Alternatively, the user can perform all the user interface operations to unlock all guides at the same time, make the desired changes, and then re-lock them all. However, this can also be cumbersome because it still requires the user interface operations, and while attempting to edit a first guide, the user may accidently modify a second guide.
Thus, in accordance with one embodiment, drawing application 12 has a set of hierarchically arranged canvas views. The different levels in the hierarchy can be used to distinguish between whether guides are locked (where they cannot be edited), or unlocked (where they can be edited by the user in the current view).
The canvases lower down in the hierarchy 29 inherit the properties of their ancestors in the levels higher up in hierarchy 29. In one embodiment, drawing application 12 allows users to view the canvases at different levels in the hierarchy. For instance, when a user is viewing canvas 34 from the child level 35, then certain properties of canvas 34 can be viewed and edited. However, when the user is viewing canvas 34 from the intermediate level 33, in hierarchy 29, then other properties of canvas 34 can be viewed and edited.
In the canvas hierarchy 29 shown in
By way of example, when an object is added to layout master canvas 44, all of the children canvases 34, 36 and 38 inherit, and thus include, that object as well. However, the object added at the intermediate level of layout master canvas 44 is illustratively not editable when the user is viewing a child canvas 34-38, at the child level 35 of the hierarchy 29.
For instance,
In the embodiment shown in
For instance, if the group of objects in layer 64 are geometric shapes that have text written in them, then a “bolding” property can be applied to layer 64, in which case all of the lines forming all of the geometric shapes in layer 64 will appear in bold. Of course, the objects in each layer 62-66 can be manipulated in other ways as well, and bolding those objects is described for the sake of example only.
It will also be noted that, in one embodiment, one of the given layers 62-66 can be active at any given time. This can be done by selecting a layer to be active using a user interface input mechanism in drawing application 12. The particular mechanism used to select a layer to be the active layer can vary, based on application. However, when one of the layers 62-66 is active, the objects in that layer can be modified. However, when that layer is inactive, then its objects cannot be modified.
In one embodiment, layer 62 is a guide layer. Guide layer 62 thus displays guides for user manipulation, and also allows the user to add additional guides or delete guides from layer 62. Therefore, when the user makes guide layer 62 the active layer, the user can adjust all of the guides in that layer. However, when the user makes either layer 64 or layer 66 the active layer, then the user cannot adjust the guides in guide layer 62, although, in one embodiment, those guides will be displayed even if the user has made layer 64 or 66 the active layer. Therefore, when the user, for instance, has made layer 64 the active layer, the user can use the guides to align objects in layer 64 with the guide, without inadvertently changing the guide, itself. That is because in order for the user to change or edit the guide itself, the user must make guide layer 62 the active layer.
On the other hand, if application 12 has layers such as those shown in
Application 12 illustratively includes view change component 22 which controls changing the display generator by application 12 as coming from the perspective of the selected view. Thus, once the selected view has been received, application 12 unlocks the guides associated with the selected view. For instance, where application 12 has hierarchy 29, and the user has selected the child level 35 as the view, then application 12 (by way of example) unlocks guides 56 and 58 so that they can be edited by the user. On the other hand, if application 12 has layers 62-66, and the user has chosen guide layer 62 as the active layer, then application 12 unlocks all of the guides 52, 54, 56 and 58, so that the user can edit all of them. Unlocking the guides associated with the selected view is indicated by block 74 in
Application 12 then causes user interface component 18 and user interface display 20 to display the canvas and guides corresponding to the selected view. This is indicated by blocks 76 in
When the canvas is displayed from a guide edit view (that is when guide layer 62 is made active in
Guide change component 24 then illustratively changes the guides based on the editing inputs received through the user interface. For instance, where the user has dragged and dropped one of the guides to a desired location, guide change component 24 illustratively records the new location of the guide. This can be saved in memory 16 or it can be persisted in other ways. Changing the guides based on the editing inputs received from the user is indicated by block 80 in
As long as application 12 is presenting a canvas from the perspective of a guide editing view, the user can continuously change the guides or edit their locations, as desired. At some point, after the guides are edited in a desired way, the user will input (though an appropriate user input mechanism) an input indicative of the fact that the user wishes to change views. For instance, where the user is editing the guides in the intermediate level 33 of hierarchy 29, and the user has finished editing those guides, then the user may illustratively provide an input to view change component 22 of application 12 indicating that the user wishes to move to the child level 35 of hierarchy 29 and view the canvas from that perspective. Alternatively, in the embodiment shown in
When view change component 22 changes the view, then application 12 illustratively locks the guides that have just been edited, and are no longer associated with the currently-selected view. For instance, if the user is moving from intermediate level 33 to child level 35 of hierarchy 29, then application 12 illustratively locks the guides associated with intermediate level 33 and unlocks the guides (if any) associated with child level 35. Similarly, in the embodiment shown in
View change component 22 then changes the view displayed to the user to the newly selected view. This is indicated by block 86 in
Application 12 then uses user interface component 18 and user interface display 20 to generate a display that displays the canvas showing the editable guides in the selected level. This can be done in a number of different ways. For instance, if the user has selected the intermediate level 33, then in one embodiment application 12 only displays guides 52 and 54 that are editable from that level. This is indicated by block 104 in
Once the canvas and associated editable guides are displayed, the user can edit those guides. This has been described above, and is indicated by block 110 in
Processing then reverts to block 108 where, if there are any guides associated with the currently selected level, they are displayed in a way that indicates that they are editable. However if, at block 112, the user has not chosen to change levels yet, then the current display is continued.
It will also be noted that as shown in
In any case,
Under other embodiments, applications or systems are received on a removable Secure Digital (SD) card that is connected to a SD card interface 15. SD card interface 15 and communication links 13 communicate with a processor 14 along a bus 19 that is also connected to memory 21 and input/output (I/O) components 23, as well as clock 25 and location system 27.
I/O components 23, in one embodiment, are provided to facilitate input and output operations. I/O components 23 for various embodiments of the device 10 can include input components such as buttons, touch sensors, touch screens, proximity sensors, microphones, tilt sensors, and gravity switches and output components such as a display device, a speaker, and or a printer port. Other I/O components 23 can be used as well.
Clock 25 illustratively comprises a real time clock component that outputs a time and date. It can also, illustratively, provide timing functions for processor 14.
Location system 27 illustratively includes a component that outputs a current geographical location of device 10. This can include, for instance, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, a LORAN system, a dead reckoning system, a cellular triangulation system, or other positioning system. It can also include, for example, mapping software or navigation software that generates desired maps, navigation routes and other geographic functions.
Memory 21 stores operating system 9, network settings 11, applications 43, application configuration settings 35, registry 37, communication drivers 39, and communication configuration settings 7. Memory 21 can include all types of tangible volatile and non-volatile computer-readable memory devices. It can also include computer storage media (described below). Memory 21 stores computer readable instructions that, when executed by processor 14, cause the processor to perform computer-implemented steps or functions according to the instructions. Drawing program 12, or other items for example, can reside in memory 21. Processor 14 can be activated by other components to facilitate their functionality as well.
Examples of the network settings 7 include things such as proxy information, Internet connection information, and mappings. Application configuration settings 7 include settings that tailor the application for a specific enterprise or user. Communication configuration settings 41 provide parameters for communicating with other computers and include items such as GPRS parameters, SMS parameters, connection user names and passwords.
Applications 43 can be applications that have previously been stored on the device 10 or applications that are installed during use, although these can be part of operating system 9, or hosted external to device 10, as well.
The mobile device of
Note that other forms of the devices 10 are possible. Examples include tablet computing devices, music or video players, and other handheld computing devices.
Computer 810 typically includes a variety of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computer 810 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media is different from, and does not include, a modulated data signal or carrier wave. It includes hardware storage media including both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by computer 810. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.
The system memory 830 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 831 and random access memory (RAM) 832. A basic input/output system 833 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer 810, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM 831. RAM 832 typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit 820. By way of example, and not limitation,
The computer 810 may also include other removable/non-removable volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only,
The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in
A user may enter commands and information into the computer 810 through input devices such as a keyboard 862, a microphone 863, and a pointing device 861, such as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices (not shown) may include a joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 820 through a user input interface 860 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 891 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 821 via an interface, such as a video interface 890. In addition to the monitor, computers may also include other peripheral output devices such as speakers 897 and printer 896, which may be connected through an output peripheral interface 895.
The computer 810 is operated in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 880. The remote computer 880 may be a personal computer, a hand-held device, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer 810. The logical connections depicted in
When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 810 is connected to the LAN 871 through a network interface or adapter 870. When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 810 typically includes a modem 872 or other means for establishing communications over the WAN 873, such as the Internet. The modem 872, which may be internal or external, may be connected to the system bus 821 via the user input interface 860, or other appropriate mechanism. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 810, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. By way of example, and not limitation,
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.