Patent Application
20080040682
In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the appended drawings. These drawings should not be construed as limiting the present invention, but are intended to be exemplary only.
As shown in
As further shown in
A Tab 432 is also included in or accessible to the Program Code 16, and is included in the tab row of the Graphical User Interface 14 along with a top tab display object for the Tab Group 18 that includes the Tab Group Icon(s) 25.
The computer system 12 may, for example, include at least one processor, program storage, such as memory, for storing program code executable on the processor, and one or more input/output devices and/or interfaces, such as data communication and/or peripheral devices and/or interfaces. The computer system 12 may further include appropriate operating system software. The computer system 12 may be any specific type of computer system or other type of client electronic device. Accordingly, examples of such client systems or devices may include, but are not limited to, desktop computer systems, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), cell phones, tablet PCs, or any other appropriate device capable of providing a graphical user interface to a user.
While for purposes of concise illustration only four tab display objects and one tab display object group are shown in
The display objects 26, 28, 30 and 34 may include or consist of any specific type of user interface component or content, including but not limited to one or more widgets and/or Web pages. The Tab Group Icons 25 may be made up of any specific number of icons having any specific layout and/or shape, and the tab display objects 20, 22, 24 and 32 may be any specific geometric shape, for example rectangles, and may each include a respective text title that is descriptive of the respective display objects the tab display object is associated with.
During operation of the embodiment shown in
At step 54, the disclosed system displays at least one icon in the top tab display object for the tab display object group. The icon(s) displayed at step 54 visually indicates which one of the tab display objects in the tab display object group is currently selected by the user. The icon(s) displayed at step 54 also visually indicate a state or status associated with each of the tab display objects in the group of tab display objects.
In one embodiment, the icon(s) displayed at step 54 consists of multiple icons, and each of the icons corresponds to a respective one of the tab display objects in the tab group. In such an embodiment, each of the icons visually represents whether the corresponding one of said of tab display objects in the tab group is the currently selected one the tab display objects the tab group, and a current state or status of that corresponding one of the tab display objects in the tab group.
The state or status represented by the icon for a tab display object may be any specific type of state or status. For example, in an embodiment in which the tab display objects in a tab group each correspond to a different client software module under development in a software development tool, and where the view pane provides a script editor through which the user can write script to be deployed with a currently selected one of the client software modules and to be executed in response to the occurrence of a predetermined event, then each icon may visually represent a state consisting of whether any script has been written for the corresponding client software module to respond to the predetermined event. Alternatively, any other type of state or status associated with a tab display object may be represented by a corresponding icon contained in the top tab display object for the tab group.
The disclosed systems operates at step 56 to set the group of tab display objects logically organized at step 50 as currently active within a tab row in response to a user clicking on the top tab display object for the group. Also in response to a user clicking on a menu activation portion the top tab object for the tab group, for example a down arrow or other visual indicator of the presence of a menu, at step 58 the disclosed system displays a tab selection menu. The tab selection menu may, for example, be a pull down menu in which multiple menu items are displayed, each of which corresponds to one of the tab display objects in the tab group. If the user clicks on one of the menu items in the tab selection menu, then at step 60 the disclosed system sets the corresponding tab display object to the be the currently selected tab display object for the group. In response to a new tab display object becoming the currently selected tab display object for the group, the disclosed system modifies the visual appearance of the icon(s) displayed in the top tab display object for the group to reflect the newly selected current tab display object. In one embodiment, the disclosed system also displays a title of the currently selected tab display object of the group within the top tab display object of the group.
When a tab group is currently active within a tab row, the disclosed system displays one or more display objects associated with the currently selected one of the tab display objects contained in the group within a viewing area associated with the tab row. The viewing area is within the graphical user interface, and is referred to herein for purposes of explanation as the “view pane”. The display objects associated with a given tab display object may consist of or include any type of displayable user interface feature or content, such as one or more widgets, a Web page, and/or some other feature or content.
Further in the example of
The Top Tab Display Object 76 of
For example, in
The user can cause the tab group represented by the Top Tab Display Object 76 to become currently active within the Tab Row 72 by clicking on the Top Tab Display Object 76. The user can similarly cause the Tab Display Object 78 to become currently active within the Tab Row 72 by clicking on the Tab Display Object 78. The Tab Display Object 78 has a title “Server”. When the Tab Display Object 78 is currently active within the Tab Row 72, then any script entered into the Script Editor 80 are associated with and included in a server module of the software system under development. If the Tab Display Object 78 is currently active in the Tab Row 72, then the Tab Display Object 78 is made to appear to be in front of the other displayed tabs in the Tab Row 72, in this case the Top Tab Display Object 76. When the tab group represented by the Top Tab Display Object 76 is currently active in the Tab Row 72, then the Top Tab Display Object 76 is made to appear to be in front of the other displayed tabs in the Tab Row 72, in this case the Tab Display Object 78.
Further in
In the icon configuration 128, the square icon is hollow and not bold, thus indicating that there is no script associated with the corresponding tab display object, and that the corresponding tab display object is not currently selected. The round icon in the icon configuration 128 is filled in but not bold, thus indicating that the corresponding tab display object is not currently selected, but has script associated with it. Finally, the cross icon in the icon configuration 128 is filled in and bold, thereby indicating that there is script associated with the corresponding tab display object, and that the corresponding tab display object is currently selected.
While for purposes of explanation in the above description an embodiment has been described in which the icon(s) displayed in the top tab display object for a tab group include multiple icons, such that individual icons are visually modified to visually represent multiple states of corresponding ones of the tab display object in the group, the disclosed system is not so limited. Accordingly, the disclosed system may be embodied with any specific number of icons displayed in the top tab display object for a tab group. For example, a single icon may be displayed in the top tab display object for a tab group, and visually modified to visually represent multiple states of multiple tab display objects in a tab group.
Also, the above description refers to an embodiment in which an icon is bolded to indicate that a corresponding tab display object is currently selected within a tab group, and in which an icon is filled in to indicate a particular state associated with that corresponding tab display object, but again, the disclosed system is not so limited. Accordingly, the disclosed system may be embodied such that any particular visual variation in an icon or icons is used to visually indicate which of the tab display objects in a tab group is currently selected.
Moreover, while in the above description the tab display objects in an example of a tab group are logically related because they each are associated with one or more client modules in a software system under development, the disclosed system is not limited to any specific logical relationship between tab display objects in a group. Tab display objects in each of one or more tab groups may accordingly be logically related in any specific way, as appropriate for a given embodiment, implementation or configuration.
Finally, while the above description includes an embodiment provided in the context of a code development system, in which the state of each tab display object within a tab group is whether or not there is script associated with that tab display object, the disclosed system is also not so limited. Accordingly, the disclosed system may be embodied in any system or context in which a number of tabs are displayed to enhance user navigation in a graphical user interface.
The disclosed system can take the form of an entirely software embodiment, an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment containing both software and hardware elements. The figures include block diagram and flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatus(s) and computer program products according to an embodiment of the invention. It will be understood that each block in such figures, and combinations of these blocks, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in the block or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the block or blocks.
Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that programs defining the functions of the present invention can be delivered to a computer in many forms; including, but not limited to: (a) information permanently stored on non-writable storage media (e.g. read only memory devices within a computer such as ROM or CD-ROM disks readable by a computer I/O attachment); (b) information alterably stored on writable storage media (e.g. floppy disks and hard drives); or (c) information conveyed to a computer through communication media for example using wireless, baseband signaling or broadband signaling techniques, including carrier wave signaling techniques, such as over computer or telephone networks via a modem.
While the invention is described through the above exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that modification to and variation of the illustrated embodiments may be made without departing from the inventive concepts herein disclosed. Moreover, while specific user interface constructs are used to illustrate specific embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited to using those specific user interface constructs, and may be embodied using any specific user interface constructs that may be appropriate for a given embodiment.
