BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:
FIG. 1A shows a group of components, namely a text label and a text field displayed in a first language.
FIG. 1B shows the same group of components shown in FIG. 1A displayed in a second language and wherein the label in the second language is larger than the label in the first language shown in FIG. 1A and wherein the text field shown in FIG. 1B is narrower than the text field shown in FIG. 1A.
FIG. 2 shows a group having radio buttons and text labels wherein the grouping is used to maintain a width for a column that displays the grouping of components.
FIG. 3 shows elements of the group shown in FIG. 2 along with width arrows for the components in the grouping.
FIG. 4 shows three groupings, one group spanning the width of two other groups.
FIG. 5 shows the same components shown in FIG. 4 with different sized columns.
FIG. 6 shows a popup menu used to switch displayed languages and the resulting dialog when displayed in a second language.
FIG. 7 shows a mouse-drag used to alter the size of the dialog for a given display language.
FIG. 8 shows a flowchart for an embodiment of the method for adjusting the components of a dialog box.
FIG. 9 shows a flowchart for an embodiment of the method for adjusting the components of a dialog box using a new language setting.
FIG. 10 shows a flowchart for an embodiment of the method for adjusting the components of a dialog box using a mouse-drag for a given language setting.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A method for automatically adjusting the components of a dialog box to maintain layout integrity in multiple languages will now be described. In the following exemplary description numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to an artisan of ordinary skill that the invention may be practiced without incorporating all aspects of the specific details described herein. In other instances specific features or functionality well known to those of ordinary skill in the art have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention. Readers should note that although examples of the invention are set forth herein, the claims, and the full scope of any equivalents, are what define the metes and bounds of the invention.
One or more embodiments of the invention enable a method for automatically adjusting the components of a screen region such as a dialog box to maintain layout integrity regardless of what language is displayed. For example, if two components such as a label and text field are treated as a group and given a desired width, then if the displayed language is changed from English to German and the label becomes longer, embodiments of the invention may make the text field smaller so that the group itself does not change. FIG. 1A shows a group of components, text label 100 and a text field 101 displayed in a first language, here English. FIG. 1B shows the same group of components shown in FIG. 1A displayed in a second language, here German and wherein text label 120 in the second language is larger than text label 100 in the first language shown in FIG. 1A and wherein text field 121 shown in FIG. 1B is narrower than text field 101 shown in FIG. 1A. This example is further illustrated in the following paragraphs and figures.
One or more embodiments of the invention allow for grouping components and associating row and column settings with components in order to rapidly create screen regions that resize automatically based on the language of the text elements displayed within the screen region. The example set forth herein is described using dialog boxes. Readers should note however that the solutions described herein are also applicable to other types of screen regions contained within a graphical user interface and that the invention is not limited to use in dialog boxes only. Embodiments of the invention are also configured to make the task of programming easier by limiting the number of parameters required in order to specify how components are positioned and sized in a screen region such as a dialog user interface component.
FIG. 2 shows grouping 200 having radio buttons 201 and 221 and text labels 202 and 222 wherein grouping 200 is used to maintain a width for a column that displays the components within the grouping. FIG. 3 shows elements of the grouping shown in FIG. 2 along with width arrows for the components in the group. Specifically, each component within a group is associated with a given row and column. A specific entry at a given row and column is known as a cell or cell designation. The cells identify where each component within the screen region is permitted as determined by the layout. Hence, cell at row 1, column 1 contains a radio button (here shown as selected), while row 2, column 2 contains text label 222 as per FIGS. 2 and 3. With regards to FIG. 3, column 2 width 325 is calculated by determining the wider of text labels 202 and 222. Text label width 310 and text label width 311 are shown graphically in FIG. 3 and are mathematically differenced to determine the larger of the two. Alternatively a function call in a math library, e.g., y=MAX(a,b) is utilized to determine the wider of the components for a given column. This function call is performed iteratively when more than two components exist in column for example. Half space 320 and full space 321 is added in one or more embodiments of the invention in order to provide internal and outer spacing around components respectively. For example, half space 320 exists away from an outer boundary and as such would adjoin the half space associated with the right side of radio button 221 in order to form a full space when residing next to half space 320. Likewise, vertical spacing may be accomplished in the same manner, however heights of components can but generally do not change when selecting a different display language. Regardless of the method utilized in determining that label 222 is wider than label 202 for a given language setting, column 2 width 325 is calculated based on longest text width 311, and optionally any default or desired spacing accepted by the system via user input.
FIG. 4 shows three groupings, one group 405 spanning the width of two other groupings 400 and 401 respectively. In this example, grouping 405 contains a text label and a text field. The grouping has a setting of “SPAN” associated with it and a row setting of 1 and column setting of 1 since this group lies in the first row and first column of the dialog. The SPAN setting also have a row and column setting, here row 1 and column 2 to signify that the group spans two columns in row 1. The three groupings are shown with dashed lines since the lines may or may not be presented when the components are displayed. In this figure, the setting “SAME_WIDTH” is applied to component group 400 and 401 and is utilized to signify that the width of each component group is to be the largest of the two groups. In this example, “Long Label 2” in group 400 determines the width of not only group 400 but also group 401. Hence group width 410 and group width 411 are set to the same value that depends on the displayed language, here English.
FIG. 5 shows the same components shown in FIG. 4 with different sized columns. In this figure, group 400 and group 401 are not associated with “SAME_WIDTH” and so each grouping and the components contained within them are used to determine group width 410 and 411a. In this example, since the text labels associated with group 401 are narrower than the text labels associated with group 400, column 2, e.g., group 401 is narrower than group 400. The overall width of the dialog 425a and group 405a are likewise narrower since they depend on the width 411a of group 401.
FIG. 6 shows popup menu 600 that is used to switch between displayed languages and the resulting window region (e.g., dialog box) having width 425b when displayed in a second language. When selecting a new language setting such as German, i.e., “Deutsch”, underlying text widths in the various components are calculated based on the text of the new language. For example, since “Eine Marke 3” is wider in the bottom dialog box than “Label 3” is in the upper dialog box, the width 411b is larger than the corresponding width 411a shown in FIG. 5. Since in this example the width of “Eine Marke 2” happens to be the exact same width as “Long Label 2” in the upper figure, width 410b is the same as width 410 in FIG. 5. Hence the overall width 425b of the dialog box increases. If “Deutsch Eine Marke 5” in the lower dialog box happens to be larger than the sum of the widths of groups 400b and 401b, e.g., the sum of widths 410b and 411b, then the width of “Deutsch Eine Marke 5” is used as width 425b.
FIG. 7 shows a mouse-drag used to alter the size of the dialog for a given display language. Mouse 700 is dragged in any direction to resize the dialog box manually for a given language. When mouse 700 is released, the resulting dialog is shown at the bottom of the figure. The result is that the proportions of the dialogs remain the same or that the resulting groups size to the largest column in a row. In this example, the latter setting is used to maximize group 401b, e.g., width 411b with group 400b, e.g., width 410b. Any other method of introducing space between components for a given language is in keeping with the spirit of the invention. One or more embodiments of the invention disable the redrawing of the background of the dialog box or window region while dragging to prevent flicker.
FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of a method for automatically adjusting the components of a dialog box to maintain layout integrity in multiple languages. Processing starts at 800 and the system accepts components from a creating user or from a programmatic generator of interfaces at 801. The system defines a group for multiple components when a user or program so commands at 802. The system associates components with the group at 803. The system accepts row and column settings for components at 804. The system determines the respective component sizes for a current display language at 805. The system determines the group size based on components in the group at 806. Optionally, if the setting SAME_WIDTH is applied to a list of cells, then the group size is set to the value of another group. Based on the components and groups in the window region, the various widths and heights are summed and the size of the window is determined by the system at 807. The system sets the dialog width and height at 808 and the system then displays the components at 809. Processing ends at 810.
FIG. 9 shows a flowchart for an embodiment of the method for adjusting the components of a dialog box using a new language setting. Processing starts at 800 and the system accepts components from a creating user or from a programmatic generator of interfaces at 801. The system defines a group for multiple components when a user or program so commands at 802. The system associates components with the group at 803. The system accepts row and column settings for components at 804. The system determines the respective component sizes for a current display language at 805. The system determines the group size based on components in the group at 806. Optionally, if the setting SAME_WIDTH is applied to a list of cells, then the group size is set to the value of another group. Based on the components and groups in the dialog, the various widths and heights are summed and the size of the dialog box is determined by the system at 807. The system sets the dialog box width and height at 808 and the system then displays the components at 809. The system accepts a new language setting to display the dialog at 900. Processing returns to 805 where the component sizes are determined for the new language.
FIG. 10 shows a flowchart for an embodiment of the method for adjusting the components of a dialog box using a mouse-drag for a given language setting. Processing starts at 800 and the system accepts components from a creating user or from a programmatic generator of interfaces at 801. The system defines a group for multiple components when a user or program so commands at 802. The system associates components with the group at 803. The system accepts row and column settings for components at 804. The system determines the respective component sizes for a current display language at 805. The system determines the group size based on components in the group at 806. Optionally, if the setting SAME_WIDTH is applied to a list of cells, then the group size is set to the value of another group. Based on the components and groups in the dialog, the various widths and heights are summed and the size of the dialog is determined by the system at 807. The system sets the dialog width and height at 808 and the system then displays the components at 809. The system accepts a user input for modifying the dialog size at 1000. This may include a mouse drag or other keyboard input such as arrow keys or menu functions. Any other method of resizing the menu while utilizing a particular language setting (of which multiples may be chosen) is in keeping with the spirit of the invention. Processing returns to 805 where the component sizes are determined for the new language.
To avoid flicker, one or more embodiments disable automatic refresh for the windowing system while the dialog is dragged to a new size. The components and background are redrawn programmatically once instead of many times per second. This eliminates flicker on the screen. To accomplish resizing of screen regions, one or more embodiments of the invention saves the initial configuration parameters for use when switching languages or when the screen region is resized. During a callback involved with switching the language displayed in the dialog or when a dialog is resized by a user, the saved configuration parameters are utilized in resizing the dialog.
For some component types such as a text area, a calculation of the text width in the text area yields a large number that defines how long the text would be if displayed on one line. To avoid this type of sizing when calculating the widths of the various components, the text area is given a maximum displayable width and height size that allows for wrapping the text. Alternatively, the text area uses a setting that signifies the number of rows that is it to be displayed in. The text wrapping is accomplished via white space breaks before the maximum displayable width, or make use of hyphenation libraries that automatically hyphenate words using language dependent rules or tables. Alternatively, the user chooses to manually specify line breaks.
In the case of images, the images are specified to exist in a given column within a group and set to automatically scale up to fit the allotted row and column or alternatively set to remain a fixed size.
While the invention herein disclosed is described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.
Patent Application
20080059877
