1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a graphical user interface and methods for creating and utilizing the graphical user interface, wherein the user interface includes meta-information and meta-control over all items in a list.
2. Description of the Related Art
Graphical user interfaces are available which arrange items of information into a list of items and display the list to the user for interaction therewith. Such user interfaces are sometimes referred to as “list controls” or “list view controls”. Most typically, these user interfaces arrange the items of information into multiple rows of column-arranged text and images, in which each column includes a title signifying the nature of the content in the column. In addition, such controls provide methods to control individual items in the list, such as by selection of the item in the list.
These conventional user interfaces provide a convenient interface by which large amounts of information can be arranged and displayed systematically, and which permit the user to interact with this information on an item-by-item basis.
Often, however, the displayed items of information share a common property. For instance, in one non-limiting example, the items might represent a collection of items resulting from a search. Heretofore, there has not been a graphical user interface that displays this common property as meta-information shared by all items in the list, and also allows meta-control over all items in the list.
It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing shortcomings found in conventional user interfaces, by providing a user interface that displays meta-information shared by all items in a list, and that allows meta-control over all items in the list.
In one aspect, the invention is a user interface for a list of items wherein the user interface comprises first, second and third visible regions. The first region comprises a visible display of the list of items, and the second region comprises a visible display of meta-information shared by all items in the list. The third region comprises a visible display of a meta-control for all items in the list, wherein the meta-control corresponds to an action applicable to all items in the list. User selection or activation of the meta-control is responded to by application of the action to all items in the list.
In one representative embodiment, for example, the items in the list are assembled from a search for items that share a common property. The meta-information is a display of the common property, and the meta-control is a download or a purchase of all items in the list, typically from a remote source over the Internet.
The user interface of the invention herein might form part of an overall display of supplemental user interface elements. In such a situation, the user interface might be provided with a fourth region which allows sliding control of the view window for the user interface so as to provide for a larger and a smaller view window for the user interface, with a corresponding smaller and larger display of the other supplemental user interface elements.
The invention also contemplates a method for creation and display of a user interface as described above, as well as use thereof by a user.
This brief summary has been provided so that the nature of the invention may be understood quickly. A more complete understanding of the invention can be obtained by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof in connection with the attached drawings.
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Individual items in list 11 may be selected by the user for individual action. For example, each item of information has a right-pointing triangular icon signifying a “Play” action for the selected item of information. By selecting the “Play” icon, the individual item may be played, and it is played individually and apart from other items in the list. For example, by selecting icon 16, the radio station named “Alan Jackson” is played separately and apart from other radio station items listed in list 11. Additional actions that can be performed on individual ones of the items in the list include methods to download individual items, methods to purchase individual items, and methods to display additional details of individual items.
Preferably, at least some of the actions that can be performed individually on items in the list can also be performed on all items in the list using the meta-controls. Here, for example, it is possible to play individual items in the list by selecting the items individually, and it is also possible to play all of the items in the list using meta-control 13a. It is not necessary for all actions performable individually on one item also to be performable by meta-control over all items. In this embodiment, for example, by selecting an item individually, it is possible to display additional details on the item. This action is not available in this embodiment for all items using meta-controls 13.
Situations sometime arise in which there are too many items for display in list 11. In such a case, a scroll bar 17 might be provided for scrolling display of items in the list. Additionally, the list of items might be split into a multi-page display of items, in which subsequent pages can be selected for display through the controls indicated generally at area 18. In these situations, even though all items might not be visible at the same time, the meta-information displayed at region 12 is still common to all items, even to non-visible items. On the other hand, with respect to the meta-controls at region 13, the meta-controls can be programmed to operate in one of two modes. In the first mode, the meta-controls are programmed to apply to all items, even to non-visible items. In the second mode, the meta-controls are programmed to apply only to visible items, and not to non-visible items. Where there are multiple meta-controls in region 13, it is possible for some of them to apply to all items (i.e., to visible and to non-visible items alike), and for others of them to apply only to visible items and not to non-visible items.
The user interface 10 might be displayed as part of a stand-alone application resident on a user's computer. Here, a “computer” can include electronic devices such as a personal computer, a mobile phone, a television set top box (“STB”), or other networked or non-networked electronic devices. The items assembled for display in list 11 might be items resident on the user's computer, or might also be items located remotely of the user's computer such as over a network or over the Internet. User interface 10 might also be provided as part of a display in a web browser; again, items displayed in list 10 might be resident on the user's computer, or might be located remotely over a network or the Internet.
Computer code to generate the display is computer-executable code that is resident on the user's computer. Alternatively, the computer code might be a plug-in such as an ActiveX® control, or it might be created by a script or platform-independent code (for example, Java) downloaded from a network or the Internet.
As before, each item in list 21 is selectable individually, and individual actions are performed on the selected items separately and apart from actions which might or might not be performed on any other item in the list.
One way in which the second embodiment of this
In most other respects, user interface 20 of this second embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment, and additional description thereof is omitted in the interest of brevity.
The user interface of the present invention is created as follows. First, plural items for display are assembled, wherein each of the plural items shares at least one piece of meta-information that is common to all of the assembled items. The assembled items, or at least some of them, are displayed in a first region of the user interface, and the shared meta-information is displayed in a second region of the user interface. A meta-control is displayed in a third region of the user interface, wherein the meta-control corresponds to an action applicable to all of the assembled items.
In use, and responsive to user selection of the meta-control, the action corresponding to the meta-control is applied to all of the assembled items. It is not necessary for all of the assembled items to be displayed at the same time in the first region, but the meta-information displayed in the second region is common to all of the assembled items, even to non-visible items, and the meta-control displayed in the third region is applied to all of the assembled items, even to non-visible ones of the items.
The invention has been described with particular illustrative embodiments. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and that various changes and modifications may be made by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.