U.S. patent application number 10/464900 was filed with the patent office on 2004-12-23 for method and system for ordering on-screen windows for display.
This patent application is currently assigned to International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Pagan, William G..
Application Number | 20040261039 10/464900 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33517371 |
Filed Date | 2004-12-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040261039 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pagan, William G. |
December 23, 2004 |
Method and system for ordering on-screen windows for display
Abstract
A method and system for ordering on-screen windows for display
is disclosed in which an active window partially overlaps an
inactive window and hides a portion of the inactive window. The
movement of a mouse pointer is monitored to determine its location
on the screen. In response to the inactive window being selected
with the mouse pointer, the inactive window is given focus to
enable the inactive window to receive event signals even though a
portion of the inactive window remains hidden, whereby original
display depths of the windows is maintained.
Inventors: |
Pagan, William G.; (Durham,
NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SAWYER LAW GROUP LLP
PO BOX 51418
PALO ALTO
CA
94303
US
|
Assignee: |
International Business Machines
Corporation
Armonk
NY
|
Family ID: |
33517371 |
Appl. No.: |
10/464900 |
Filed: |
June 19, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
715/797 ;
715/790; 715/794 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G09G 5/14 20130101; G06F
3/0481 20130101; G06F 9/451 20180201 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/797 ;
715/794; 715/790 |
International
Class: |
G09G 005/00 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A computer-implemented method for ordering on-screen windows for
display in which an active window partially overlaps an inactive
window and hides a portion of the inactive window, the method
comprising the steps of: (a) monitoring movement of a mouse pointer
around the screen; and (b) in response to the inactive window being
selected with the mouse pointer, causing the inactive window to
gain focus to enable the inactive window to receive event signals
even though a portion of the inactive window remains hidden,
whereby original display depths of the windows is maintained.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein step (b) further includes the step
of: in response to the mouse pointer being moved over the hidden
portion of the window, revealing the hidden portion of the window
on the screen and enabling that portion of the window to also
receive event signals.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein step (b) further includes the step
of: in response to the mouse pointer being moved away from the
revealed hidden portion of the inactive window, hiding the
previously revealed portion of the inactive window.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein step (b) further includes the step
of: in response to the mouse pointer being removed from boundaries
of the focused window, returning the focus to the active window and
hiding any previously revealed portions of the inactive window.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the inactive window is selected by
a user when the mouse pointer is clicked on a visible portion of
the inactive window.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein if the mouse pointer is clicked on
a title bar of the inactive window, the inactive window is made the
active window, wherein the display depths of the windows are
reordered such that the active window is moved to a forefront of
the screen.
7. A computer-readable medium containing program instructions for
ordering on-screen windows for display in which an active window
partially overlaps an inactive window and hides a portion of the
inactive window, the program instructions for: (a) monitoring
movement of a mouse pointer around the screen; and (b) in response
to the inactive window being selected with the mouse pointer,
causing the inactive window to gain focus to enable the inactive
window to receive event signals even though a portion of the
inactive window remains hidden, whereby original display depths of
the windows is maintained.
8. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 wherein instruction (b)
further includes the instruction of: in response to the mouse
pointer being moved over the hidden portion of the window,
revealing the hidden portion of the window on the screen and
enabling that portion of the window to also receive event
signals.
9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein instruction (b)
further includes the instruction of: in response to the mouse
pointer being moved away from the revealed hidden portion of the
inactive window, hiding the previously revealed portion of the
inactive window.
10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein instruction (b)
further includes the instruction of: in response to the mouse
pointer being removed from within boundaries of the focused window,
returning the focus to the active window and hiding any previously
revealed portions of the inactive window.
11. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 wherein the inactive
window is selected by a user when the mouse pointer is clicked on a
visible portion of the inactive window.
12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein if the mouse
pointer is clicked on a title bar of the inactive window, the
inactive window is made the active window, wherein the display
depths of the windows are reordered such that the active window is
moved to a forefront of the screen.
13. A computer system for ordering on-screen windows for display,
comprising: a display screen; a computer coupled to the display
screen; and a computer program for displaying multiple windows on
the display screen in which an active window partially overlaps an
inactive window and hides a portion of the inactive window, the
computer program having instructions for: (a) monitoring movement
of the mouse pointer around the screen; and (b) in response to the
inactive window being selected with the mouse pointer, causing the
inactive window to gain focus to enable the inactive window to
receive event signals even though a portion of the inactive window
remains hidden, whereby original display depths of the windows is
maintained.
14. The system of claim 13 wherein instruction (b) further includes
the instruction of: in response to the mouse pointer being moved
over the hidden portion of the window, revealing the hidden portion
of the window on the screen and enabling that portion of the window
to also receive event signals.
15. The system of claim 14 wherein instruction (b) further includes
the instruction of: in response to the mouse pointer being moved
away from the revealed hidden portion of the inactive window,
hiding the previously revealed portion of the inactive window.
16. The system of claim 14 wherein instruction (b) further includes
the instruction of: in response to the mouse pointer being removed
from within boundaries of the focused window, returning the focus
to the active window and hiding any previously revealed portions of
the inactive window.
17. The system of claim 13 wherein the inactive window is selected
by a user when the mouse pointer is clicked on a visible portion of
the inactive window.
18. The system of claim 17 wherein if the mouse pointer is clicked
on a title bar of the inactive window, the inactive window is made
the active window, wherein the display depths of the windows are
reordered such that the active window is moved to a forefront of
the screen.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to window-based user
interfaces, and more particularly to a method and system for
providing improved on-screen window ordering.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Almost all of today's personal computers are controlled by
operating systems that have a window-based user interface. Most of
these operating systems are capable of multitasking in which
multiple programs execute simultaneously, and each program displays
a window on a display screen for user interaction. The ability to
resize application windows and change style and size of fonts are
the significant advantages of a GUI versus a character-based
interface. Window-based GUIs have become the standard way users
interact with computers, and the major GUIs include Windows.TM. and
Mac.TM. along with Motif for UNIX and the GNOME and KDE interfaces
for Linux.
[0003] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional
computer system with a window-based user interface. As is well
known, a typical personal-computer (PC) system 10 includes a
microprocessor and memory (not shown) for executing computer
programs, various input devices, e.g., keyboard 12 and mouse 14,
and a display screen 16.
[0004] Depending on the number of computer programs running, the
display screen 16 may display any number of open windows 18a and
18b (collectively referred to as windows 18), each awaiting user
input. Example types of computer programs include spreadsheets,
word processors, and Web browsers. Depending on the arrangement and
number of windows 18 displayed, it is common for the windows 18 to
overlap so that some windows 18 partially or completely obscure
other windows 18. To manage the display of windows 18, the
operating system typically views the windows 18 as a stack and
maintains an ordering of the windows 18 with respect to display
depth.
[0005] The mouse 14, or other type of input device, may be used to
move a mouse pointer 20 among the various windows 18. The user
typically activates a particular window 18 by clicking the mouse
pointer 20 anywhere on the window 18. When a window 18 is
activated, i.e., becomes the active window 18a, it is displayed in
its entirety on top of all other windows 18b and is the only window
that can receive user input. The user typically interacts with the
active window 18a by selecting or entering data in the window 18,
or by selecting menu functions associated with the window 18.
[0006] Although windows 18 can be moved to open areas of the screen
and/or resized, the current window management schema makes it
difficult for user to juggle more than a very few windows 18 at a
time without obscuring other windows 18 that are being used. When
one window 18a that the user wishes to interact with is obscured by
another, the user must take extra steps to return the window 18b to
the forefront. This can be terribly annoying at times, particularly
as the number of windows 18 being juggled increases.
[0007] One attempted solution to this problem is disclosed in U.S.
Pat. No. 5,046,001, which describes a method for accessing selected
windows in a multitasking system. In this method, user inputs are
monitored to determine the position of a cursor, and as the cursor
passes over each window, the window is automatically promoted to
the top display position and made active. The problem this method,
however, is that the user can quickly lose control of which windows
are promoted to the top of the display. Consider for example, the
situation where there are many tiled windows displayed and the user
needs to move the cursor to the side of the display screen 16 to
select a program icon. Assuming that the cursor passes over each of
the tiled windows on its way to the icon, each of the windows would
pop to the top of the display in quick succession whether the user
wanted them to or not. Rearranging the depth order of the windows
in this fashion without user consent could be distracting and
annoying to the user in certain situations.
[0008] Accordingly, what is needed is an improved method for
ordering on-screen windows. The method should retain the original
depth ordering of the windows, but also allow inactive windows to
be used as though they were active. The present invention addresses
such a need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention provides a method and system for
ordering on-screen windows for display in which an active window
partially overlaps an inactive window and hides a portion of the
inactive window. The movement of a mouse pointer is monitored to
determine its location on the screen. In response to the inactive
window being selected with the mouse pointer, the inactive window
is given focus to enable the inactive window to receive event
signals even though a portion of the inactive window remains
hidden.
[0010] According to the method and system disclosed herein, the
present invention enables a user to interact with inactive windows
as though they were active without upsetting the original display
depths of the windows. In addition, the user must physically select
an inactive window to provide it focus before hidden parts of the
inactive window can be made to appear, thereby overcoming the
problems inherent in automatically bringing to the forefront any
window that the mouse pointer passes over.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional
computers system having a window-based user interface.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a process for
intelligently ordering on-screen windows for display in accordance
with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing two open windows displayed
on the screen.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an inactive window being
made the active window and brought to the forefront of the
screen.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the screen once the
inactive window is given focus.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the screen showing
the once hidden portion of the inactive window being displayed in
response to movement of the mouse pointer when the window has
focus.
[0017] FIGS. 7A and 7B are block diagrams illustrating the process
of displaying hidden portions of the inactive window when one or
more intervening windows are displayed between the active window
and inactive window.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] The present invention relates to a method for managing the
display of windows in a window-based computer system. The following
description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art
to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a
patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to
the preferred embodiments and the generic principles and features
described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the
art. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to
the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope
consistent with the principles and features described herein.
[0019] The present invention provides an improved system for
managing window-based environments that reduces the need for a user
to mandate the position, dimensions, layered depth (i.e., the
number of windows that a particular window is from being in the
forefront, or the number of windows away that the particular window
is from being the active window), and maximized/minimized status.
The present invention accomplishes its objectives by changing what
occurs when an inactive window is clicked, and how the window then
behaves when the window is not in the forefront.
[0020] The present invention provides a mechanism that allows the
user to interact with an inactive window as though the window was
at the forefront without changing the relative display depths the
windows. This mechanism is referred to as giving an inactive window
focus and operates as follows. When the user moves the mouse
pointer over an inactive window and clicks on a visible portion of
the inactive window, the inactive window is given focus, meaning
that the window receives even signals, even though the window is
not the "active" window and displayed in the forefront. Once the
window is given focus and the user passes the cursor over a hidden
portion of the inactive window, the hidden portion of the inactive
window is temporarily revealed on the display for user interaction.
Once the user moves the cursor away this revealed portion of the
window, that portion of the window returns to its hidden state. If
the cursor is removed from within the boundaries of the inactive
window, focus is automatically returned to the active window.
[0021] Thus, because the present invention requires the user to
physically select an inactive window before focus is given to that
window, the present invention does not suffer the problem of the
method that automatically brings a window to the forefront when the
mouse pointer is passed over the window. And because the window
with focus is not automatically displayed in the forefront and its
hidden portions are only temporarily revealed during a mouse
pointer pass over, the present invention does not permanently
change the relative display depths of the windows.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a process for
intelligently ordering on-screen windows for display in accordance
with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The process
will be explained at a base level where there is at least two open
windows displayed on the screen 16, as shown in FIG. 3, which shows
an active window 22 partially overlapping an inactive window 24 so
that a portion 26 of the inactive window 24 is hidden by the active
window 22.
[0023] Referring to both FIGS. 2 and 3, the process begins in step
50 by monitoring the movement of the mouse pointer 20 across the
screen 16 until the mouse pointer 20 is positioned over any one of
the open windows. It is then determined in step 52 if the mouse
pointer 20 is over the active window 22. If so, no change is made
in step 54.
[0024] In step 56, it is determined if the cursor is positioned
over any inactive window 24. If yes, then it is determined in step
58 whether the user has selected the inactive window 24. In a
preferred embodiment, the user selects an inactive window 24 by
clicking with the mouse 14 when the pointer 20 is over the window
24.
[0025] According to the present invention, when the user selects an
inactive window 24 it must be determined whether the user wishes to
make the inactive window 24 the active window, or rather give the
inactive window focus so that it can receive user input, while the
original depth ordering is maintained. In a preferred embodiment,
the distinction is made in step 60 by determining whether the user
selects the title bar of the inactive window 24, or instead selects
any visible portion of the inactive window 24.
[0026] If the user has selected the title bar, typically by
clicking on it, then the inactive window 24 is made the active
window in step 62 and brought to the forefront of the screen, as
shown in FIG. 4.
[0027] Referring again to FIG. 2, if the user has clicked on any
visible portion of the inactive window 24, then in step 64, the
inactive window 24 is given focus. FIG. 5 is a block diagram
illustrating the screen 16 once the inactive window 24 is given
focus. When the window 24 is given focus, the mouse pointer 20
and/or a cursor 28 are displayed in the window 24 and the window 24
receives all events signals from the user input devices, but the
depth ordering of the windows remain unchanged so that some
portions 26 of the inactive window 24 remain hidden.
[0028] Referring again to FIG. 2, once the window 24 is given
focus, it is determined in step 66 whether the mouse pointer 20 is
moved over a hidden portion 26 of the window 24. If the mouse
pointer 20 has been moved over the hidden portion 26, then in step
68 the hidden portion 26 is revealed on the screen.
[0029] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the screen 16 showing
the once hidden portion 26 of window 24 being displayed in response
to movement of the mouse pointer 20 when the window 24 has focus.
Once displayed, the once hidden portion 26 of window 24 is also
able to receive even signals because all displayed areas of window
24 are given focus. Note, although the example shows all of window
24 being displayed, window 22 remains the active window, which is
typically indicated by displaying a highlighted title bar in the
active window 22 and displaying a grayed-out title bar in the
inactive window 24.
[0030] Referring again to FIG. 2, if it is determined that the
mouse pointer 20 is moved away from the portion 26 of the window 24
that would normally be hidden in step 70, then that portion 26 of
the window 24 is returned to its hidden state in step 76, as shown
in FIG. 5. If the mouse pointer 20 is not moved away, then step 70
is repeated to keep checking.
[0031] If the mouse pointer 20 is not moved over a hidden portion
26 in step 66, then in step 72 it is determined if the mouse
pointer 20 is from within the boundaries of the inactive window 24.
If yes, then in step 74, focus is automatically returned to the
active window 22 and the movement of the mouse pointer 20 continues
to be monitored. If the mouse pointer is not moved outside the
boundaries of the inactive window 24, then the process continues by
determining if the cursor passes over a hidden portion 26 of the
inactive window 24 in step 66.
[0032] FIGS. 7A and 7B are block diagrams illustrating the process
of displaying hidden portions of the inactive window 24 when one or
more intervening windows are displayed between the active window 22
and inactive window 26. FIG. 7A shows an intervening window 30
between active window 22 and window 24, which currently has focus.
The windows are positioned such that window 30 hides a portion 32
of window 24 that the active window 22 does not. FIG. 7B shows that
if the mouse pointer 20 is moved to the portion 26 of the window 24
hidden by the active window 22, then only that hidden portion 26 of
window 24 is displayed. The portion 32 hidden by window 30 remains
hidden. Should the mouse pointer 20 pass from portion 26 to portion
32, then portion 26 would return to its hidden state, and portion
32 would be displayed.
[0033] A method and system for ordering on-screen windows has been
disclosed. The present invention has been described in accordance
with the embodiments shown, and one of ordinary skill in the art
will readily recognize that there could be variations to the
embodiments, and any variations would be within the spirit and
scope of the present invention. Accordingly, many modifications may
be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from
the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *