This Application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 099108810, filed on Mar. 24, 2010, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates generally to a multi-display electric device comprising a screen and a touch-sensitive screen and an operation method thereof, and, more particularly to a multi-display electric device and an operation method thereof that operates a window displayed in the screen via the touch-sensitive screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the maturity of touch panel technologies, and the function of multi-point touch supported by Windows 7 of Microsoft, software for touch-sensitive interfaces have been developed and announced by various companies, in which the input manner of traditional keyboard and mouse has been replaced by a touch-control manner; thus allowing the operational interface of computers to become more friendly and appropriate when considering human behavior.
Although the software for touch-sensitive interfaces may provide convenient operations for windows, however, functions such as adjusting the size of windows or moving the position of windows are inconvenient for users. For example, in the Windows 7 operating system, the size of a general window 10 can be adjusted via an adjustment window area 11, and the position of the window 10 can be moved via a movement window area 12, as shown in
Multi-display electric devices and operation methods thereof are provided to overcome the mentioned problems.
In an embodiment of a multi-display operation method for use in a multi-display electronic device comprising a screen, a touch-sensitive screen, and a processing module, a window is displayed in the screen, and a thumbnail corresponding to the window is displayed in the touch-sensitive screen by the processing module. The window is operated according to a touch-control operation command received on a display area of the thumbnail by the processing module.
In some embodiments, when several windows are provided, the touch-sensitive screen further displays thumbnails corresponding to the respective windows.
In some embodiments, one of the thumbnails is selected according to a touch-control selection command received via the touch-sensitive screen, and the window corresponding to the selected thumbnail is operated according to the touch-control operation command.
An embodiment of a multi-display electronic device comprises a screen, a touch-sensitive screen, and a processing module. The screen displays a window. The processing module electrically couples to the screen and the touch-sensitive screen, and displays a thumbnail corresponding to the window via the touch-sensitive screen. The processing module operates the window according to a touch-control operation command received on a display area of the thumbnail.
In some embodiments, when several windows are provided, the processing module displays thumbnails corresponding to the respective windows via the touch-sensitive screen.
In some embodiments, the processing module selects one of the thumbnails according to a touch-control selection command received via the touch-sensitive screen, and operates the window corresponding to the selected thumbnail according to the touch-control operation command.
Therefore, the multi-display electric devices and operation methods thereof of the present disclosure can operate a window displayed in a screen by operating a thumbnail, corresponding to the window, displayed in a touch-sensitive screen; thereby enhancing the convenience for users during touch-control operations of the window.
Operation methods of a multi-display electric device may take the form of a program code embodied in a tangible media. When the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the disclosed method.
The invention will become more fully understood by referring to the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Multi-display electric devices and operation methods thereof are provided.
Please refer to
When the user selects a window ‘A’ in the screen 21, the processing module 23 will locate the selected window ‘A’, and obtain a window handle of the window ‘A’ via a Findwindow application in the window API (Application Interface). The processing module 23 can enable the touch-sensitive screen 22 to display a thumbnail ‘a’ corresponding to the window ‘A’. When the user inputs a touch-control operation command via the touch-sensitive screen 22 to adjust or control the thumbnail ‘a’, the processing module 23 will operate the window ‘A’ according to the touch-control operation command.
For example, a user can input a touch-control operation command via the touch-sensitive screen 22 using a gesture. In some embodiments, the gesture may be a flick along a specific direction, or a specific geometric figure. When the user uses a finger to flick upward at the position of the thumbnail ‘a’, the processing module 23 will maximize the size of the window ‘A’ in the screen 21, as shown in
Further, the processing module 23 can also adjust the display area of the window ‘A’ according to other gestures input by the user via the touch-sensitive screen 22. For example, the user can use two fingers to point on the thumbnail ‘a’, and separate the fingers from each other, as shown in
When the user clicks the thumbnail ‘a’ by using a single-touch manner, the processing module 23 can enable the multi-display electronic device 2 to enter an advanced mode, obtain the original size of the window ‘A’ by using a GetWindowRect application in the windows management application, and map the size to the thumbnail ‘a’. Therefore, the user can move the thumbnail ‘a’ by using a touch-control manner, and the processing module 23 can move the window ‘A’ according to an offset corresponding to the movement of the thumbnail ‘a’. In the advanced mode, the processing module 23 can display a window adjustment point 221 at the edge of the thumbnail ‘a’ in the touch-sensitive screen 22, as shown in
Further, the processing module 23 will display a selection of operation forbiddance 222 in the touch-sensitive screen 22. When the selection of operation forbiddance 222 is clicked, the processing module 23 will ignore the touch-control operation command input by the user; thereby preventing sensing of unintentional contact on the touch-sensitive screen 22.
Please refer to
Additionally, in the advanced mode, the processing module 23 can further display a left-half enlargement selection 223, a right-half enlargement selection 224, and a maximization selection 225 in the touch-sensitive screen 22, as shown in
It is noted that, the processing module 23 can track the thumbnail corresponding to the window selected by the user, as shown in
Please refer to
In step S10, a window is displayed in the screen.
In step S20, a thumbnail corresponding to the window is displayed in the touch-sensitive screen by the processing module.
In step S30, the window is operated according to a touch-control operation command received on a display area of the thumbnail by the processing module
Therefore, the processing module can operate the window in the screen according to the touch-control operation command input by the user via the touch-sensitive screen. The operation of the window may be an adjustment of the display area of the window in the screen, an adjustment of the position of the window in the screen, or closing of the window.
When several windows are displayed in the screen, the processing module can display thumbnails corresponding to the respective windows via the touch-sensitive screen. The processing module can cause a corresponding thumbnail to obtain the focus according to the window selected by the user, such that a user can input a touch-control operation command to operate the selected window. It is understood that, in some embodiments, the screen may be also a touch-sensitive screen, for receiving the touch-control selection command input by the user, and causing the selected window to obtain focus.
Multi-display operation methods for a multi-display electronic device, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of a program code (i.e., executable instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMS, hard drives, or any other machine-readable storage medium, wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine thereby becomes an apparatus for practicing the methods. The methods may also be embodied in the form of a program code transmitted over some transmission medium, such as electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via any other form of transmission, wherein, when the program code is received and loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the disclosed methods. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code combines with the processor to provide a unique apparatus that operates analogously to application specific logic circuits.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those who are skilled in this technology can still make various alterations and modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention shall be defined and protected by the following claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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99108810 | Mar 2010 | TW | national |