Patent Application
20150370440
Legacy calendar views in scheduling applications provide limited information. Alternatively, the legacy calendar views in scheduling applications provide excessive information. Legacy calendar views are usually used in detailed configurations for daily and weekly actions. However, users are underserved in long term synapsis of associated actions in legacy calendar views. Addition of actions and other items into legacy calendar views prove challenging for long term synapsis of associated actions.
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 exclusively identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Embodiments are directed to managing an event on a calendar with a timeline. In some example embodiments, a calendar application may display a first context menu that includes a create control on the calendar, in response to a first selection action of the event displayed on the calendar. The event may be presented on the timeline, in response to an activation of the create control. A second context menu, that includes a delete control, may be displayed on the timeline, in response to a second selection action of the event displayed on the timeline. The event may be removed from the timeline, in response to an activation of the delete control.
These and other features and advantages will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory and do not restrict aspects as claimed.
As briefly described above, an event on a calendar with a timeline may be managed by a calendar application. A first context menu that includes a create control may be displayed on the calendar, in response to a first selection action of the event displayed on the calendar. The event may be presented on the timeline, in response to an activation of the create control. A second context menu, that includes a delete control, may be displayed on the timeline, in response to a second selection action of the event displayed on the timeline. The event may be removed from the timeline, in response to an activation of the delete control.
In the following detailed description, references are made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustrations specific embodiments or examples. These aspects may be combined, other aspects may be utilized, and structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
While the embodiments will be described in the general context of program modules that execute in conjunction with an application program that runs on an operating system on a computing device, those skilled in the art will recognize that aspects may also be implemented in combination with other program modules.
Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and comparable computing devices. Embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
Embodiments may be implemented as a computer-implemented process (method), a computing system, or as an article of manufacture, such as a computer program product or computer readable media. The computer program product may be a computer storage medium readable by a computer system and encoding a computer program that comprises instructions for causing a computer or computing system to perform example process(es). The computer-readable storage medium is a computer-readable memory device. The computer-readable memory device includes a hardware device that includes a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a compact disk, a memory chip, among others. The computer-readable storage medium can for example be implemented via one or more of a volatile computer memory, a non-volatile memory, a hard drive, and a flash drive.
Throughout this specification, the term “platform” may be a combination of software and hardware components to manage an event on a calendar with a timeline. Examples of platforms include, but are not limited to, a hosted service executed over a plurality of servers, an application executed on a single computing device, and comparable systems. The term “server” generally refers to a computing device executing one or more software programs typically in a networked environment. However, a server may also be implemented as a virtual server (software programs) executed on one or more computing devices viewed as a server on the network. More detail on these technologies and example embodiments may be found in the following description.
In a diagram 100, a computing device 104 may execute a calendar application 102. The computing device may include a tablet device, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a smart phone, among others. The computing device 104 may display the calendar application 102 to a user 106. The user 106 may be allowed to interact with the calendar application 102 through an input device or touch enabled display component of the computing device 104. The user 106 may interact with the calendar application 102 with a keyboard based input, a mouse based input, a voice based input, a pen based input, a gesture based input, among others. The gesture based input may include one or more touch based actions such as a touch action, a swipe action, a combination of each, among others.
The calendar application 102 may include a timeline 120 as a component placed adjacent to and below a calendar. The timeline 120 may include a linear presentation of events during a time period divided based on a time unit such as a day. Events presented on the timeline may be duplicates of the events on the calendar displayed by the calendar application 102. A user 106 may be allowed to interact with the calendar and the timeline 120 to manage an event. The event may be displayed on the calendar and duplicated on the timeline 120.
While the example system in
In a diagram 200, a calendar application 202 that displays a calendar 226 and a timeline 220 used to create an event may be described. The calendar application 202 may display a context menu 216 on the calendar 226 in response to a selection action on an event 214. The selection action may include a click event associated with a mouse input, a tap action associated with a touch based input, among others. The context menu 216 may be displayed in proximity to the event 214, adjacent to the event 214 or superimposed on the event 214.
The calendar application 202 may display one or more controls on the context menu 216. One of the controls may include a create control 218 to create the event on the timeline 220. In response to an activation of the create control 218, the event 214 may be copied to the timeline on a date of the event. The timeline may be scrolled to a date range that includes the date of the event. The event may be displayed on the date of the event on the timeline 220.
The calendar application 202 may also display additional controls associated with the calendar 226. The date picker component 204 may allow a user to select a date from a displayed range. The selected date may be displayed in the calendar 226 that shows the date within a date range that is configurable. The date range of the calendar 226 may include a day, a week, a month, a year, among others. A current date range may be illustrated with a date range label 208. The date range may also be partitioned vertically based on a time unit such as a day 210. The time units may be scrollable. The calendar 226 may also be partitioned horizontally based on an hour based unit 212. The hour based units may be scrollable. An “all day” unit may persist on a top section of the calendar 226 to show one or more events that last during a time unit such as a day.
The calendar 226 may be selectable through a calendar selection control 206. The calendar application 202 may display one or more calendars that may be selectable through the calendar selection control 206 and other calendar selection controls displayed adjacent to the calendar selection control 206.
The timeline 220 may display a linear presentation of events on the calendar 226. The timeline 220 may display a date range of events that may be scrollable through a scroll control 224. The date range may be presented with a date range label 222. The date range may be partitioned based on time units such as an hour, a day 228, a week, a month, a year, among others. The date range may be selectable based on a selection of the range by a user through a range selection control such as “weekly,” among others. The event 214 on the calendar 226 may be duplicated on the timeline 220 using the create control 218 or through another operation to copy the event 214 to the timeline 220.
In a diagram 300, a calendar application 302 may display a context menu superimposed on the event 304, in response to a selection action detected on the event 304. The selection action may include a click event associated with a mouse input, a tap action associated with a touch based input, among others. The context menu 306 may also be displayed adjacent to or in proximity to the event 304 displayed on the timeline 320. A distance between the event 304 and the context menu 306 may be determined based on an application attribute or dynamically based on other components of the calendar application 302, when displaying the context menu 306 in proximity to the event 304. The event 304 may also be a duplication of the event 314. The event 304 may be displayed on a date of the timeline 320 that corresponds to an event date of the event 314.
The context menu 306 may provide one or more controls to manage the event 304 displayed on the timeline 320. The context menu 306 may include a delete control 308 to remove the event from the timeline 320. In response to an activation of the delete control 308, the event 304 may be removed from the timeline 320. The delete control 308 may not remove the event 314 from the calendar. An additional operation may be initiated by a user to remove the event 314 from the calendar. An example may include a selection action of the event 314 to display a new context menu on the calendar. Another delete control on the new context menu may be activated to remove the event 314 from the calendar.
In a diagram 400, a drag and drop action on an event 414 may be detected by the calendar application 402. The drag and drop action may include a click and hold event by a mouse input, a tap and hold event by a touch based action, among others on the event 414. The calendar application 402 may detect a direction of the drag and drop action. In response to detecting the direction of the drag and drop action to point towards a timeline 420, a message 404 may be overlaid on the timeline 420 to guide the drag and drop action to conclude on the timeline. The timeline may also be minimized during the drag and drop action.
In response to detecting the drag and drop action to move an event 406 over the timeline 420, the timeline may be restored to an original size prior to a minimization operation. A message to guide the drag and drop action to conclude on the timeline 420 may be displayed on the timeline 420. In response to detecting a conclusion of the drag and drop action on the timeline 420, an event 406 may be detected as dropped on the timeline. The event 406 may be a copy of the event 414 in transit from the calendar to the timeline 420 during the drag and drop action. The timeline 420 may be scrolled to a display a time period that includes a date of the event 414. The event 406 may be placed on a date on the timeline that corresponds to the date of the event 414.
In a diagram 500, a calendar application 502 may detect a touch and drag action to change a date and a time of an event 514. A touch and drag action may start with a tap and hold action 512 on an event 514. The touch and drag action may be detected to conclude at a new date and a new time in response to a drop action 518. An event 516 may be placed at the new date and new time based on detecting a location of the drop action 518 that corresponds to the new date and new time on the calendar. The event 514 may be removed from the calendar. The event 516 may be displayed on the new date and new time.
An event 504 may also be moved in response to the touch and drag action on the event 514. The event 504 may be a duplicate of the event 514, on the timeline 520. As such, the event 504 may be moved to a new date that corresponds to the date of event 516, on the timeline 520. Upon conclusion of the touch and drag action, the event 504 may be removed from an original date. The event 504 may be placed on the new date on the timeline 520 that corresponds to the date of the event 516.
In a diagram 600, a hover action 602 may be detected on a section of a timeline 620. A tooltip 606 may be displayed below the section. The tooltip 606 may display a date associated with the section. The calendar application may also display an event 604 within the section where the hover action may be detected. The hover action 602 may be detected as a result of a mouse input or touch based input, among others.
In a diagram 700, a calendar application 702 may display an event peek 706 in response to a selection action on an event 704 displayed on a timeline 720. The selection action may be a hover action detected on the event 704. The hover action may be provided through a mouse input, through a touch based input, among others. The event 704 may be a duplicate of an event 714 displayed on a calendar.
The event peek 706 may display attributes associated with the event 704. The attributes may include an event subject, an event title, a date of the event, a time of the event, a creation timestamp, a summary of the event, among others. One or more controls, that includes an edit control 708, may also be provided through the event peek 706 to edit the event 704. In response to an activation of the edit control 708, the event peek 706 may be displayed by the calendar application 702 in a persistent mode and a user may be allowed to edit the attributes of the event 704 on the event peek 706. A cancel control may also be provided to stop editing the attributes of the event 704 and undo any edits that were not saved. In response to a completion of edit operations, the edits of the attributes may be saved on the event 704. The edits of the attributes may also be saved on an event 714 on the calendar because the event 704 is a duplicate of the event 714.
In a diagram 800, a calendar application may detect a conflict between events when more than one event is added to a timeline 820 while overlapping a timeslot of the timeline 820. A new event such as an event 804 may be placed above existing events such as an event 806 and an event 808 to resolve the conflict. However, number of events overlapping a timeslot may lead to exceeding a vertical height of the timeline 820 while stacking the events.
The calendar application may detect the events (804, 806, and 808) on a date of the timeline 820 to exceed the vertical height of the timeline. As a result, part of the events (804, 806, and 808) may be hidden from view. To provide access to the events (804, 806, and 808) the calendar application may increase the vertical height of the timeline to encompass the events (804, 806, and 808). The calendar application may also detect the events (804, 806, and 808) exceeding a vertical height threshold of the timeline 820. The vertical height threshold may be configured by a user or a device setting such as available screen estate. A vertical scroll control 810 may be presented on a vertical edge of the timeline 820, such as a right edge or a left edge, to allow for scrolling through the events (804, 806, and 808), in response to detecting the events (804, 806, and 808) exceeding the vertical height threshold of the timeline 820.
In addition, an insertion action may be detected on the timeline 820 to insert an initial deadline on a date of the timeline. The initial deadline may be displayed on the date. Another insertion action may also be detected to insert a second deadline on the date of the initial deadline. The second deadline may be displayed on the date. A label of the second deadline may be superimposed on a label of the initial deadline.
The technical advantage of managing an event on a calendar with a timeline may be improved usability and enhanced reliability of display devices in providing event creation, editing, management, and display, among other features compared to static event presentation based solutions.
The example scenarios and schemas in
Client applications executed on any of the client devices 911-913 may facilitate communications via application(s) executed by servers 914, or on individual server 916. A calendar application may display a context menu that includes a create control on an event of the calendar. The event may be presented on the timeline in response to an activation of the create control. The calendar application may store data associated with the timeline in data store(s) 919 directly or through database server 918.
Network(s) 910 may comprise any topology of servers, clients, Internet service providers, and communication media. A system according to embodiments may have a static or dynamic topology. Network(s) 910 may include secure networks such as an enterprise network, an unsecure network such as a wireless open network, or the Internet. Network(s) 910 may also coordinate communication over other networks such as Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or cellular networks. Furthermore, network(s) 910 may include short range wireless networks such as Bluetooth or similar ones. Network(s) 910 provide communication between the nodes described herein. By way of example, and not limitation, network(s) 910 may include wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.
Many other configurations of computing devices, applications, data sources, and data distribution systems may be employed to manage an event on a calendar with a timeline. Furthermore, the networked environments discussed in
For example, the computing device 1000 may be used to manage an event on a calendar with a timeline. In an example of a basic configuration 1002, the computing device 1000 may include one or more processors 1004 and a system memory 1006. A memory bus 1008 may be used for communication between the processor 1004 and the system memory 1006. The basic configuration 1002 may be illustrated in
Depending on the desired configuration, the processor 1004 may be of any type, including, but not limited to, a microprocessor (μP), a microcontroller (μC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or any combination thereof. The processor 1004 may include one more levels of caching, such as a level cache memory 1012, a processor core 1014, and registers 1016. The processor core 1014 may include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), a digital signal processing core (DSP Core), or any combination thereof. A memory controller 1018 may also be used with the processor 1004, or in some implementations, the memory controller 1018 may be an internal part of the processor 1004.
Depending on the desired configuration, the system memory 1006 may be of any type including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM), non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.), or any combination thereof. The system memory 1006 may include an operating system 1020, a calendar application 1022, and a program data 1024. The calendar application 1022 may display a context menu that includes a create control on an event of the calendar. The event may be presented on the timeline in response to an activation of the create control. Components of the calendar application 1022 (such as a user interface) may also be displayed on a display device associated with the computing device 1000. An example of the display device may include a hardware screen that may be communicatively coupled to the computing device 1000. The display device may include a touch based device that detects gestures such as a touch action. The display device may also provide feedback in response to detected gestures (or any other form of input) by transforming one or more user interfaces of the calendar application 1022 such as the timeline, displayed by the touch based device. The program data 1024 may include, among other data, a timeline data 1028, or the like, as described herein. The timeline data 1028 may include the event, subject name of the event, the event date, among others.
The computing device 1000 may have additional features or functionality, and additional interfaces to facilitate communications between the basic configuration 1002 and any desired devices and interfaces. For example, a bus/interface controller 1030 may be used to facilitate communications between the basic configuration 1002 and one or more data storage devices 1032 via a storage interface bus 1034. The data storage devices 1032 may be one or more removable storage devices 1036, one or more non-removable storage devices 1038, or a combination thereof. Examples of the removable storage and the non-removable storage devices may include magnetic disk devices, such as flexible disk drives and hard-disk drives (HDD), optical disk drives such as compact disk (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid state drives (SSD), and tape drives, to name a few. Example computer storage media may include 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.
The system memory 1006, the removable storage devices 1036, and the non-removable storage devices 1038 may be examples of computer storage media. Computer storage media may include, but may not be limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD), solid state drives, or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which may be used to store the desired information and which may be accessed by the computing device 1000. Any such computer storage media may be part of the computing device 1000.
The computing device 1000 may also include an interface bus 1040 for facilitating communication from various interface devices (for example, one or more output devices 1042, one or more peripheral interfaces 1044, and one or more communication devices 1066) to the basic configuration 1002 via the bus/interface controller 1030. Some of the example output devices 1042 may include a graphics processing unit 1048 and an audio processing unit 1050, which may be configured to communicate to various external devices, such as a display or speakers via one or more A/V ports 1052. One or more example peripheral interfaces 1044 may include a serial interface controller 1054 or a parallel interface controller 1056, which may be configured to communicate with external devices, such as input devices (for example, keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc.) or other peripheral devices (for example, printer, scanner, etc.) via one or more I/O ports 1058. An example communication device 1066 may include a network controller 1060, which may be arranged to facilitate communications with one or more other computing devices 1062 over a network communication link via one or more communication ports 1064. The one or more other computing devices 1062 may include servers, client equipment, and comparable devices.
The network communication link may be one example of a communication media. Communication media may be embodied by computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media. A “modulated data signal” may be a signal that has one or more of the modulated data signal characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), and other wireless media. The term computer-readable media, as used herein, may include both storage media and communication media.
The computing device 1000 may be implemented as a part of a general purpose or specialized server, mainframe, or similar computer, which includes any of the above functions. The computing device 1000 may also be implemented as a personal computer including both laptop computer and non-laptop computer configurations.
Example embodiments may also include managing an event on a calendar with a timeline. These methods may be implemented in any number of ways, including the structures described herein. One such way may be by machine operations, using devices of the type described in the present disclosure. Another optional way may be for one or more of the individual operations of the methods to be performed in conjunction with one or more human operators performing some of the operations while other operations may be performed by machines. These human operators need not be co-located with each other, but each may be with a machine that performs a portion of the program. In other examples, the human interaction may be automated such as by pre-selected criteria that may be machine automated.
Process 1100 begins with operation 1110, where a first context menu that includes a create control may be displayed on the calendar, in response to a first selection action of the event displayed on the calendar. At operation 1120, the event may be presented on the timeline, in response to an activation of the create control. A second context menu, that includes a delete control, may be displayed on the timeline, in response to a second selection action of the event displayed on the timeline at operation 1130. At operation 1140, the event may be removed from the timeline, in response to an activation of the delete control.
The operations included in process 1100 are for illustration purposes. A calendar application according to embodiments may be implemented by similar processes with fewer or additional steps, as well as in different order of operations using the principles described herein.
According to some examples, a method that is executed on a computing device to manage an event on a calendar with a timeline may be described. The method may include displaying a first context menu that includes a create control on the calendar, in response to a first selection action of the event displayed on the calendar, presenting the event on the timeline, in response to an activation of the create control, displaying a second context menu, that includes a delete control, on the timeline, in response to a second selection action of the event displayed on the timeline, and removing the event from the timeline, in response to an activation of the delete control.
According to other examples, the method may further include presenting the first context menu on a location that includes one from a set of: in proximity to, adjacent to, and superimposed on the event displayed on the calendar and presenting the second context menu on another location that includes one from a set of: in proximity to, adjacent to, and superimposed on the event displayed on the timeline. The method may further include detecting a drag and drop action on the event displayed on the calendar, overlaying a message on the timeline to guide the drag and drop action to conclude on the timeline, detecting the drag and drop action that concludes on the timeline, scrolling the timeline to a date range that includes a date of the event, and displaying the event within the date on the timeline
According to further examples, the method may further include detecting a touch and drag action on the event displayed on the calendar to move the event from an original date and an original time to a new date and a new time, displaying the event at the new date and the new time on the calendar, removing the event on the timeline at the original date, scrolling the timeline to a date range that includes the new date, and displaying the event on the timeline at the new date. A hover action may be detected on a section of the timeline and a tooltip may be displayed below the section that shows a date associated with the section.
According to further examples, the method may further include detecting a third selection action on the event displayed on the timeline, displaying an event peek on the timeline, presenting one or more attributes from a set of: an event subject, an event title, a date of the event, a time of the event, a creation timestamp, and a summary of the event in the event peek, and providing an edit control in the event peek to allow one or more edit operations to modify the one or more attributes. The event and other events may be detected on a date of the timeline that exceed a vertical height threshold of the timeline and a vertical scroll control may be presented on a vertical edge of the timeline to allow for scrolling through the event and the other events. The event and other events may be detected on a date of the timeline that exceed a vertical height of the timeline and the vertical height of the timeline may be increased to encompass the event and the other events.
According to some examples, a computing device to manage an event on a calendar with a timeline may be described. The computing device may include a display device, a memory, a processor coupled to the memory and the display device. The processor may be configured to execute a calendar application in conjunction with instructions stored in the memory. The calendar application may be configured to display a first context menu that includes a create control on the calendar, on the display device, in response to a first selection action of the event displayed on the calendar, where the first context menu is displayed superimposed on the event, present the event on the timeline, on the display device, in response to an activation of the create control, display a second context menu, that includes a delete control, on the timeline, on the display device, in response to a second selection action of the event displayed on the timeline, where the second context menu is displayed superimposed on the event, and remove the event from the timeline, on the display device, in response to an activation of the delete control.
According to other examples, the calendar application is further configured to detect an insertion action to insert a first deadline on a date of the timeline, display the first deadline on the date, on the display device, detect another insertion action to insert a second deadline on the date, and display the second deadline on the date, on the display device, where a label of the second deadline is superimposed on a label of the first deadline. The calendar application is further configured to detect a second event added to the timeline, where the second event overlaps one or more dates associated with the event, display the second event above the event on the timeline, on the display device, detect a third event added to the timeline, where the third event overlaps one or more dates associated with the event and the second event, increase a vertical height of the timeline to encompass the event, the second event, and the third event, and display the third event above the second event on the timeline, on the display device. A drag and drop action may be detected on the event displayed on the calendar, the timeline may be minimized, and a message may be overlaid on the timeline to guide the drag and drop action to conclude on the minimized timeline, on the display device.
According to some examples, a computer-readable memory device with instructions stored thereon to manage an event on a calendar with a timeline may be described. The instructions may include actions that are similar to the method described above.
According to some examples, a means to manage an event on a calendar with a timeline may be described. The means to manage an event on a calendar with a timeline may include a means for displaying a first context menu that includes a create control on the calendar, in response to a first selection action of the event displayed on the calendar, a means for presenting the event on the timeline, in response to an activation of the create control, a means for displaying a second context menu, that includes a delete control, on the timeline, in response to a second selection action of the event displayed on the timeline, and a means for removing the event from the timeline, in response to an activation of the delete control.
The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the embodiments. 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 and embodiments.
This applications claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/015,350 filed on Jun. 20, 2014. The disclosure of the provisional application is incorporated herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62015350 | Jun 2014 | US |
