Patent Grant
7197718
The present invention relates to a user interface for a computer and, more particularly, to a graphical user interface that readily accommodates user interaction in selecting, scrolling, and resealing graphical representations of data displayed by a computer.
A graphical user interface (GUI) permits a computer user to communicate with application programs running on the computer by manipulating “objects” on a virtual desktop. An object on the desktop is a graphical representation of data in a file. All of the objects in a file which are potentially viewable by the user make up a virtual information area which is a topological representation of the data space viewable by the user. When the objects of a file are displayed at a particular scale, the physical area required to display the information area may exceed the physical size of the window of the computer's display through which the user can view the information area. In this case, the computer processes a subset of the data and renders a region of the virtual information area that fits the available window. The remainder of the information area is “located” outside the window and out of the user's view. To permit the user to view and work with all regions of interest in the virtual information area, the user interface includes a scrolling control that facilitates processing new subsets of data representing other regions of the information area for display in the window. Scrolling effectively repositions the virtual information area under the window. Typically, GUIs also include a zoom control which facilitates changing the scale of objects displayed in the window. Zooming “in” permits the user to examine details of an object which are not clearly visible when displayed at a certain scale. Zooming “out” facilitates more convenient examination of the relationship of larger objects. User interfaces may also permit the user to select a part of the displayed portion of the information area and then change the size of the selected region preparatory to taking some action involving the selected objects, such as zooming.
Heretofore, graphical user interfaces have required the user to differentiate between zooming, scrolling, and other interactions with the information area by making a global modal change in the interaction medium to accomplish each individual interaction. To scroll, the user typically moves a mouse controlled cursor to a scroll bar icon at an edge of the display area. The scroll bar may provide the user with a choice of actuating a scrolling control or dragging a scroll box to cause the computer to move the window horizontally or vertically over the information area. Selection of a different control (a menu followed by area selection or a zoom box) is required if the user wishes to zoom in or out. For graphics programs, such as computer aided design (CAD), where information areas are large and users frequently desire to display new regions of the information area and zoom in or out to examine details or relationships of objects, the frequent movement of the cursor between the displayed objects and the various interface controls can be awkward, time consuming, and frustrating.
Perry, METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COMBINING A ZOOM FUNCTION IN SCROLL BAR SLIDES, U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,225; illustrates a user interface having scroll bars for horizontal and vertical movement of the display window relative to the information area. The scroll bar includes a scroll box which can be dragged by a mouse controlled cursor to move the window. The relative lengths of the scroll box and the scroll bar represent the relative proportions of the window and the information area. A zoom control is incorporated into the scroll bar. By selecting the zoom control with the cursor, the user can resize the scroll box and proportionally change the size of the window relative to the size of the information area. The effect of displaying a greater or lesser region of the information area is to magnify or minify the objects displayed in the window. While placing the zoom and scroll controls in close proximity reduces the required cursor movement, global modal changes through multiple controls are required to indirectly manipulate the window and its contents.
What is desired, therefore, is a computer implemented user interface permitting a user to define a graphic region of interest in a virtual information area and to change the scale of displayed objects. The user interface should also permit resizing and repositioning the selected region relative to the information area without the necessity of searching out and actuating remotely located controls to make global modal changes.
The present invention overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art by providing, in a first aspect, a computer implemented graphical user interface that includes a manipulator enabling the alteration of a scale of an object displayed by a computer. A dimension of a graphic representation of an active region of data on the computer is altered when the dimension of the active area is approximately equal to a limit. The interface allows the user to zoom in or out of an on-screen graphic to examine details or relationships between larger objects by dragging a handle of an active area when the size of the active area graphic is at a preset maximum or minimum limit.
In a second aspect, the present invention provides a computer implemented graphical user interface that includes a manipulator enabling a user to alter a size of an active region of an information area on a computer. The alteration is performed by a first user selected interaction with a graphic representation of the active region and to alter the scale of an object displayed by the computer by a second user selected interaction with the graphic representation. By interaction of an on-screen manipulator with the graphic representation of an active region, the user can alter the size of the active region by dragging an edge of the graphic of the region with a first manipulator selection and cause the scale of objects displayed in the active region to change by continuing to drag with the manipulator after a second selection with the controls for the manipulator.
The present invention also provides a method of processing data on a computer that includes the steps of selecting an active region from a data area on the computer; representing the active region as a graphic on a display; altering the portion of the data area included in the active region by altering the size of the graphic between a plurality of limits by interaction of a cursor and the graphic; and altering the data included in the active region to change a scale of an object visible on the display by interaction of the cursor with the graphic having a size approximately equal to one of the limits. In an alternative method, the scale of displayed objects is changed by dragging the active area after a second user directed cursor selection.
The present invention also provides a computer implemented user interface and data processing method permitting a user to define a region of interest in a virtual information area and to directly manipulate the graphic representation of the selected region without making global modal changes with remotely located controls. Using the interface and method a computer user can easily and efficiently change the scale of displayed objects and resize and reposition the selected region relative to a larger information area.
The foregoing and other objectives, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
A user interacts with the computer through programs running on the computer's hardware. User interaction may be facilitated by a graphical user interface (GUI) providing for a virtual desktop and permitting the user to communicate with the program by interaction with virtual controls and manipulation of graphical representations of the data in the files of the program or objects on the desktop. Referring to
To make effective use of the computer, the user should be able to move the window relative to the information area so that all regions of the virtual information area are visible and available for the object manipulation provided by the program. Movement of the window relative to the information area is accomplished by scrolling which effectively moves the information area under the window. Likewise, the user may wish to zoom in or out, effectively moving closer or further away from the information area, to view different levels of detail. Scrolling and zooming are actions which are often performed contemporaneously, but controlled by separate, remotely located controls making rapid switching between modes difficult and frustrating. The present inventors realized that it would be easier to use the computer if scrolling and zooming could be accomplished by directly altering the position and size of an active portion of the information area displayed in the window with a simple manipulator.
Continuing to refer to
To facilitate interaction with the data, the user may desire to move the active region 34 relative to the information area 32 so that a different region of the information area 32 is active and viewable in the window 30. Referring to
The user may also desire to alter the size of the active area 34 to change the size of the region of the information area which is viewable in the window and the number of objects active for operations. To resize the active area, the cursor is positioned on the periphery of the active area 44 or at a “handle” 46 at the corner of the active area 44, as illustrated in
Zooming in to magnify or zooming out minify the visible objects is an operation frequently desired in connection with movement of the display area relative to the information area. Functionally, zooming is related to changes in the size of the active area. When the size of the active region reaches the limits of the on-screen display, zooming is required to further increase or decrease the size of the active region. Referring to
In addition to the above described application to two-dimensional data presentation, the interface is useful for one-dimensional or three-dimensional graphic displays. For example, an active area on a ruler could be moved, resized, or rescaled (changing the gradations on the ruler) by application of the interface of the present invention. The interface allows a computer user to select a part of the available graphical representation of the virtual information area and directly manipulate the position, size and magnification applied to that area, avoiding the need to search for and select a number of controls to perform functionally related actions.
All the references cited herein are incorporated by reference.
The terms and expressions that have been employed in the foregoing specification are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims that follow.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4148073 | Slobodzian et al. | Apr 1979 | A |
| 4197590 | Sukonick et al. | Apr 1980 | A |
| RE31200 | Sukonick et al. | Apr 1983 | E |
| 4417239 | Demke et al. | Nov 1983 | A |
| 4446526 | Iwanade | May 1984 | A |
| 4574364 | Tabata et al. | Mar 1986 | A |
| 4608656 | Tanaka et al. | Aug 1986 | A |
| 4774572 | Kellar et al. | Sep 1988 | A |
| 4786897 | Takanashi et al. | Nov 1988 | A |
| 4790028 | Ramage | Dec 1988 | A |
| 4831556 | Oono | May 1989 | A |
| 4864011 | Bussink et al. | Sep 1989 | A |
| 4893258 | Sakuragi | Jan 1990 | A |
| 4961072 | Sekikawa | Oct 1990 | A |
| 4972138 | Bush | Nov 1990 | A |
| 5001697 | Torres | Mar 1991 | A |
| 5039937 | Mandt et al. | Aug 1991 | A |
| 5051927 | Tada et al. | Sep 1991 | A |
| 5138700 | Kinashita | Aug 1992 | A |
| 5175813 | Golding et al. | Dec 1992 | A |
| 5187776 | Yanker | Feb 1993 | A |
| 5204944 | Wolberg et al. | Apr 1993 | A |
| 5208588 | Nishiyama | May 1993 | A |
| 5218459 | Parulski et al. | Jun 1993 | A |
| 5263134 | Paal et al. | Nov 1993 | A |
| 5289168 | Freeman | Feb 1994 | A |
| 5333247 | Gest et al. | Jul 1994 | A |
| 5341466 | Perlin et al. | Aug 1994 | A |
| 5347628 | Brewer et al. | Sep 1994 | A |
| 5361296 | Reyes et al. | Nov 1994 | A |
| 5375199 | Harrow et al. | Dec 1994 | A |
| 5396590 | Kreegar | Mar 1995 | A |
| 5485174 | Henshaw et al. | Jan 1996 | A |
| 5491781 | Gasperina | Feb 1996 | A |
| 5517537 | Greene et al. | May 1996 | A |
| 5528385 | Manning | Jun 1996 | A |
| 5533383 | Greene et al. | Jul 1996 | A |
| 5553225 | Perry | Sep 1996 | A |
| 5583984 | Conrad et al. | Dec 1996 | A |
| 5604509 | Moore et al. | Feb 1997 | A |
| 5623588 | Gould | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5623591 | Cseri | Apr 1997 | A |
| 5680562 | Conrad et al. | Oct 1997 | A |
| 5692142 | Cracroft et al. | Nov 1997 | A |
| 5715385 | Stearns et al. | Feb 1998 | A |
| 5729338 | Houlberg et al. | Mar 1998 | A |
| 5754161 | Noguchi et al. | May 1998 | A |
| 5754348 | Soohoo | May 1998 | A |
| 5768552 | Jacoby | Jun 1998 | A |
| 5782547 | Machtig et al. | Jul 1998 | A |
| 5835578 | Reyes et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5838315 | Craycroft et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5839000 | Davis, Jr. et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
| 5841994 | Boesch et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
| 6057840 | Durrani et al. | May 2000 | A |
| 6320599 | Sciammarella et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
