Patent Application
20070143324
The present invention relates to a status indicator for document icons displayed from a file system view.
Modern computer systems employ complicated user interfaces to display various computer resources. Such user interfaces often are designed to convey as much information as possible to relieve computer operators from having to navigate among multi-level command structures to reach and display desired information. While such user interfaces often display a robust set of information, they often contribute to excess clutter within a rendered display. The user interface might be designed to display all information about all displayed records while users often are concerned only about discrete items of information from the records.
Such concerns impair the utility of the displays of file managers. File managers are the computer applications that permit operators to browse among a computer's file structure and review items stored therein. Such file managers typically have view controls that govern the format in which items are displayed. They may be displayed as icons, whether they be as “thumbnails,” “tiles” or traditional icons. They also may be displayed in a list format, with only the filename or with a detailed view that also displays metadata such as the object's size, save date, etc. Such presentation of document data, however, does not display information that may be most pertinent to the user's needs, such as whether the document is available for use, whether the document is formal work product or an ongoing draft, and the like. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a graphical user interface that presents document information in an uncluttered fashion and still provides status information in a manner that is most pertinent to operator's needs.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a user interface for a computer system that provides an icon view of a workspace in which the appearance of individual icons therein reflect real time changes in the status of the objects they represent. When a computer is instructed to display an icon view of a workspace, the computer may determine the status of the objects within the workspace to determined, for example, whether they are locked. When rendering a display representing the workspace, the computer may use icons that represent not only the object's type but also its status within the network. Other embodiments provide for display of further object attributes in response to user command, for example, during a ‘mouse over’ in which the operator places a pointer over an icon.
The control architecture 100 also may include an operating system 120 which controls operation of devices within the hardware layer 110. The operating system 120 may include program instructions that can be executed by the processor(s) and device(s) and may include device drivers and other functional components that facilitate interaction between the components of the hardware layer. For example, the operating system may define a file system within the memory system for storage of user work product in the ordinary course of the computer's operation. The Microsoft Windows brand operating system and Unix Linux operating systems are well known types of operating systems for personal computers. The PalmOne operating system from Palm, Inc. is a well known operating system for portable digital assistant devices. Other vendors may offer operating systems for these and other computing devices.
The control architecture 100 also may include a layer 130 for applications. The application layer may include computer programs to permit the computer 100 to execute a word processing program, a spreadsheet program, a file manager, a browser or a video game. The application is executed by the hardware components via the operating system.
During execution of an application, the application and operating system cooperatively display various user interfaces to facilitate user interaction with the computer 100. For example, they may cause the computer to display icons representing various user work product, such as word processing documents, spreadsheet documents, graphics drawings, CAD drawings, presentations, data files and the like (collectively, “documents”). Operators may point and click upon icons, for example, to open a corresponding application and open the document. In this regard, the architecture and operation of computer control is well known.
Embodiments of the present invention introduce an icon management system to display status of various documents stored by the computer's file system. The icon management system may be integrated into a file manager application or any other application (e.g., a browser) that permits an operator to navigate a display items within a computer's file system. Herein, such applications are referenced collectively as “file managers.” The file system may correspond to the computer's own local storage, to resources of an integrated network or to resources extended to the computer via services provided by a wide area network such as the Internet.
In the example of
In one embodiment, the file explorer may display icons that are augmented to illustrate when the document is opened an in use by another network operator. Icon 230 illustrates a word processing document having a lock integrated with the default icon to illustrate that the icon is locked from use.
In another embodiment, the file explorer may display icons that are augmented to differentiate between documents that are draft documents and documents that are formal work product of the organization. Icon 240, for example, illustrates an icon for a word processing document in which the default icon also includes a ribbon superimposed over it to illustrate that the document represented thereby is a formal document. Icon 250, by contrast, might be used to represent a document that is a draft. It illustrates the default icon for a word processing document in which the borders of the icon are illustrated in phantom lines and for which a pencil is superimposed to convey an impression that the corresponding document is a draft.
In a further embodiment, the file explorer may display icons that are augmented to identify issues that have been flagged by the documents' authors. Icons 260 and 270 are illustrated as having alarm symbols or warning symbols superimposed over default icon representation, by way of example.
In yet another embodiment, the file explorer may display icons that are augmented to illustrate relative priorities among documents. For example, icon 280 is illustrated as a default icon with a balloon superimposed over it to represent a priority 1 document. Icons for other documents (not shown) may include other numeric representation to identify different priority levels assigned to those documents. Additionally, the priority levels may be color-coded for easy review by operators. In this manner, the icons are suitable for quick review and assessment by an operator.
In a further embodiment, the file explorer may display icons that are augmented to identify documents that have been read or are unread by specific network operators. When an operator opens a document for review or revision, metadata associated with the icon may be supplemented to indicate that the network operator has accessed the document. The corresponding document icon (not shown) may be modified to demonstrate that the document has been read.
Although
The method 400 may capture subsequent user interaction with the rendered display as an “event.” In an embodiment, the method may determine whether the event is a mouse over of a document icon rendered in the display (box 460). If so, the method may identify the document icon co-located with the cursor (box 470) and display document metadata in a new window of the display (box 480). If the event is a selection of a new workspace for display (box 490), the method 400 may repeat itself with respect to the new workspace. Of course, other commands entered with respect to displayed objects, such as opening, copying or printing a selected document, may be acted upon as appropriate to the respective commands.
The method also may repeat itself whenever the workspace display is to be refreshed, in response either to an express command from an operator or when triggered by some member of the control architecture. Thus, the system may provide essentially a real time display of a document's status.
The method of
Conventionally, operating systems maintain metadata regarding each object in a file system. For documents, for example, conventional operating systems maintain data regarding dates of creation and modification, the location of the document within the file system and the document's size. Some metadata may be supplied to the operating system by the application through which the documents are created. The foregoing embodiments of the present invention cooperate with the connectivity resident in existing operating system and application to display such metadata when provided.
The foregoing description has presented operation of the present invention in the context of a file manager displaying icons of a local file space, for example, a file space located on a local drive. Conventionally, personal and laptop computers often are used as terminals within a larger network system in which resources from other computers and servers are available to them. Accordingly, operators often use a file manager on one computer to browse through file systems of remote servers or other computers. Embodiments of the present invention are applicable to such network environments as well. Thus, the foregoing embodiments find ready application anywhere a file manager is commanded to display documents of a workspace in icon form.
Several embodiments of the present invention are specifically illustrated and described herein. However, it will be appreciated that modifications and variations of the present invention are covered by the above teachings and within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intended scope of the invention.
