A method for use in a computer having a display comprising the steps of displaying on said display a plurality of information fields, identifying for each field a kind of information to be inserted therein, indicating a particular one of said information fields into which information is to be inserted and for concurrently displaying a predefined tool associated with said one of said fields, said predefined tool being operable to supply information of the kind identified for said one field, said tool being selected from a group of predefined tools including a tool adapted to supply an individual entry from a menu of alternatives and at least a tool adapted to allow said user to compose said information, and inserting in said one field information that is derived as a result of said user operating said displayed tool. view more

The method set forth in claim 19 wherein the step of displaying said pattern includes the step of displaying one or more of said information fields as a bit-mapped-graphics field.

A circuit responsive to coded video signals where the video signals comprise successive frames and each frame includes a plurality of blocks and where the coded video signals comprise codes that describe deviations from approximated blocks and codes that describe deviations from interpolated blocks, comprising: means for developing block approximations from said codes that describe deviations from approximated blocks; and means responsive to said block approximations and to said codes that describe deviations from interpolated blocks to develop said interpolated blocks. view more

An apparatus for controlling a computer system, the computer system comprising a screen for displaying information and a stylus having a tip for inputting information into the computer, including: first detecting means coupled to said computer for detecting a stroke of the stylus tip in contact with the screen; second detecting means coupled to said computer for detecting a departure of the stylus tip from the screen; means coupled to said computer for defining termination of a gesture comprising at least one stroke in response to said departure of the stylus tip; means coupled to said computer for recognizing a plurality of said gestures, said recognizing means including means for comparing each said gesture to at least one predefined shape; means coupled to said computer for implementing each said recognized gesture, said implementing means including means for performing a predetermined action associated with each said predefined shape, said predetermined action being determined by the context in which said gesture was used, including a first context in which said action is executed upon an operating system level object and a second context in which said action is executed upon an application level object. view more

In a digital image display system: a memory for storing color data values; processing means responsive to a predetermined command and data sequence comprising at least one command, the processing means decoding the predetermined command and data sequence, the predetermined command and data sequence selecting one of a plurality of modes of access to color data values, the modes comprising a first mode of access wherein an in-use foreground color is directly specified as a color data value; a second mode of access wherein the in-use foreground color is specified as an index into the color memory; and a third mode of access wherein the in-use foreground color and an in-use background color are specified as indexes into the color memory; and display means responsive to the processing means, the display means displaying the colors associated with the color data values accessed by the selected mode. view more