Interactor for a graphical object

• US 10,114,528 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2014
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dardailler, Pascale, Durocher, Marc, Garbarino, Damien A. F., Kaplan, Phillippe
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Jennifer N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Spratt, Beau D
• Application Number:
  US14/187,398
• Publication Number:
  US 20140258900A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,709 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

A interactor tool, method and/or computer program for changing the properties of a graphical object comprises: an edge property detector for identifying a property controlled by a moveable edge of a selected graphical object, wherein the property adjustment may be constrained if the movement of the edge is constrained by boundary conditions; and an additional graphical control that is created and displayed for the identified property and allows adjustment of the property based on user interaction of the additional graphical control, wherein the property is no longer constrained by the boundary conditions and graphical object edge.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

partially obscuring, by one or more processors, a graphical object on a graphical user interface with a pop-up window to create a partially obscured graphical object;

identifying, by one or more processors, all properties that are associated with the graphical object;

receiving, by one or more processors, a selection of the partially obscured graphical object;

identifying, by one or more processors, a property adjusted by a moveable edge of the partially obscured graphical object, wherein a property adjustment of the property adjusted is initially constrained by the graphical user interface, and wherein the property is from said all properties that are associated with the graphical object;

creating and displaying, by one or more processors, an additional graphical control for the identified property, wherein the additional graphical control is created in response to a user selecting a constrained edge and requesting the additional graphical control from a context menu associated with the partially obscured graphical object, wherein the additional graphical control includes a control icon that increases a size of the partially obscured graphical object beyond a viewable area of the graphical user interface, wherein the additional graphical control is incorporated into the pop-up window, and wherein the pop-up window includes a visual representation of a button that, when activated, expands the partially obscured graphical object in a direction in which the partially obscured graphical object is to extend beyond its visibly displayed portion;

adjusting, by one or more processors, the identified property based on a user interaction with the additional graphical control, wherein the identified property is no longer constrained by the graphical user interface; and

displaying, by one or more processors, feedback for the identified property being adjusted with the additional graphical control, wherein the additional graphical control causes the identified property of the partially obscured graphical object to be adjusted, and wherein the adjusted property is displayed in a separate field from the additional graphical control on the graphical user interface.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein operations shown in claim 1 are performed at a machine level of a computer that is independent of an application that generated the graphical user interface.

2. A computer program product for changing a graphical object property in a graphical user interface, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, the program code readable and executable by a processor to perform a method comprising:

partially obscuring a graphical object on a graphical user interface with a pop-up window to create a partially obscured graphical object;

identifying all properties that are associated with the graphical object;

receiving a selection of the partially obscured graphical object;

identifying a property adjusted by a moveable edge of the partially obscured graphical object, wherein a property adjustment of the property adjusted is initially constrained by the graphical user interface, and wherein the property is from said all properties that are associated with the graphical object;

creating and displaying an additional graphical control for the identified property, wherein the additional graphical control is created in response to a user selecting a constrained edge and requesting the additional graphical control from a context menu associated with the partially obscured graphical object, wherein the additional graphical control includes a control icon that increases a size of the partially obscured graphical object beyond a viewable area of the graphical user interface, wherein the additional graphical control is incorporated into the pop-up window, and wherein the pop-up window includes a visual representation of a button that, when activated, expands the partially obscured graphical object in a direction in which the partially obscured graphical object is to extend beyond its visibly displayed portion;

adjusting the identified property based on a user interaction with the additional graphical control, wherein the identified property is no longer constrained by the graphical user interface; and

displaying feedback for the identified property being adjusted with the additional graphical control, wherein the additional graphical control causes the identified property of the partially obscured graphical object to be adjusted, and wherein the adjusted property is displayed in a separate field from the additional graphical control on the graphical user interface.

3. The computer program product as in claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

removing the additional graphical control in response to a user confirming a value of the adjusted identified property.

4. The computer program product as in claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

creating a first additional graphical control and a second additional graphical control;

associating the first additional graphical control with a constrained edge on the partially obscured graphical object, wherein movement of the constrained edge on the partially obscured graphical object is constrained by boundary conditions of the graphical user interface; and

associating the second additional graphical control with an edge opposite to the constrained edge on the partially obscured graphical object.

5. The computer program product as in claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

resetting the identified property in response to a user cancelling the additional graphical control.

9. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein the pop-up window comprises a cancel button for resetting any adjustments to properties of the partially obscured graphical object back to original values of the properties of the partially obscured graphical object, wherein the pop-up window further comprises a validate button for confirming any adjustments to the properties of the partially obscured graphical object, wherein the pop-up window further comprises interactor sensitive area controls that include user-selectable arrows for increasing and decreasing time frames of the partially obscured graphical object, and wherein the pop-up window further comprises interactor feedback controls for displaying updated text representations of the time frames of the partially obscured graphical object.

10. The computer program product of claim 2, further comprising:

adjusting said all properties that are associated with the graphical object based on the user interaction with the additional graphical control.

6. A system comprising:

a processor, a computer readable memory, and a computer readable storage medium;

first program instructions to partially obscure a graphical object on a graphical user interface with a pop-up window to create a partially obscured graphical object;

second program instructions to identify all properties that are associated with the graphical object;

third program instructions to receive a selection of the partially obscured graphical object;

fourth program instructions to identify a property adjusted by a moveable edge of the partially obscured graphical object, wherein a property adjustment of the property adjusted is initially constrained by the graphical user interface, and wherein the property is from said all properties that are associated with the graphical object;

fifth program instructions to create and display an additional graphical control for the identified property, wherein the additional graphical control is created in response to a user selecting a constrained edge and requesting the additional graphical control from a context menu associated with the partially obscured graphical object, wherein the additional graphical control includes a control icon that increases a size of the partially obscured graphical object beyond a viewable area of the graphical user interface, wherein the additional graphical control is incorporated into the pop-up window, and wherein the pop-up window includes a visual representation of a button that, when activated, expands the partially obscured graphical object in a direction in which the partially obscured graphical object is to extend beyond its visibly displayed portion;

sixth program instructions to adjust the identified property based on a user interaction with the additional graphical control, wherein the identified property is no longer constrained by the graphical user interface; and

seventh program instructions to display feedback for the identified property being adjusted with the additional graphical control, wherein the additional graphical control causes the identified property of the partially obscured graphical object to be adjusted, and wherein the adjusted property is displayed in a separate field from the additional graphical control on the graphical user interface; and

wherein

the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media, and wherein the program instructions are executed by the processor via the computer readable memory.

7. The system as in claim 6, further comprising:

eighth program instructions to remove the additional graphical control in response to the user confirming a value of the adjusted identified property; and

wherein

the eighth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media, and wherein the program instructions are executed by the processor via the computer readable memory.

8. The system as in claim 6, further comprising:

eighth program instructions to create a first additional graphical control and a second additional graphical control;

ninth program instructions to associate the first additional graphical control with a constrained edge on the partially obscured graphical object, wherein movement of the constrained edge on the partially obscured graphical object is constrained by boundary conditions of the graphical user interface; and

tenth program instructions to associate the second additional graphical control with an edge opposite to the constrained edge on the partially obscured graphical object; and

wherein

the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media, and wherein the program instructions are executed by the processor via the computer readable memory.