Facilitating selection of attribute values for graphical elements

• US 10,203,843 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2015
• Issued: 02/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Tobens, III, Joseph Bernard, Avilla, Gyancarlo Garcia, Glass, Andrew Stuart, Loman, Corey Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Yi, Rinna
• Application Number:
  US14/884,721
• Publication Number:
  US 20170083174A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,216 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A computer-implemented technique is described herein for facilitating a user'"'"'s interaction with graphical elements, such as emoji characters. The technique entails: presenting a collection of graphical elements on a display surface of a user interface mechanism; presenting a selector mechanism on the display surface that provides a plurality of attribute value options (such as skin tone options); receiving a selection by the user of one of the attribute value options, to provide a selected attribute value; globally modifying at least a subset of the graphical elements in the collection based on the selected attribute value, and displaying those modified graphical elements. In one approach, the technique presents the collection of graphical elements in an array that is capable of being panned along at least a first axis of movement. The technique reveals the selector mechanism when the user pans the array along a second axis of movement.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

a touch-sensitive surface;

a display surface;

a hardware processor; and

a storage resource storing machine-readable instructions which, when executed by the hardware processor, cause the hardware processor to;

display at least a part of a collection of emoji characters in an emoji display region of the display surface within a viewport, the collection being capable of being panned along a first axis of movement to reveal different parts of the collection of emoji characters in the viewport in response to detecting a first panning gesture along the first axis of movement on the touch-sensitive surface;

detect that a user has engaged the touch-sensitive surface to present a skin tone selector mechanism (STSM) using a second panning gesture along a second axis of movement on the touch-sensitive surface;

in response to detecting the second panning gesture-along the second axis of movement, present the STSM on the display surface, the STSM providing a plurality of skin tone options, and the STSM appearing in the viewport as spatially proximate to the collection of emoji characters on the display surface;

receive a selection by the user of one of the skin tone options to provide a selected skin tone, the selection being received via the STSM in response to user engagement of the touch-sensitive surface;

responsive to the selection of the selected skin tone via the STSM by the user using the touch-sensitive surface, modify a variable skin tone attribute of at least a plural subset of the collection of emoji characters that have the variable skin tone attribute to the selected skin tone; and

concurrently display at least a part of the at least the plural subset of the collection of emoji characters that have been modified to the selected skin tone in the emoji display region of the display surface.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the hardware processor, cause the hardware processor to:

receive message information that the user has input;

determine at least one predicted emoji character that is related to the message information; and

present said at least one predicted emoji character on the display surface with the skin tone.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the first axis of movement is a horizontal axis of movement, and the second axis of movement is a vertical axis of movement.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the STSM appears beneath the collection of emoji characters.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the first axis of movement is a vertical axis of movement, and the second axis of movement is a horizontal axis of movement.

6. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the STSM appears to the left or the right of the collection of emoji characters.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the hardware processor, cause the hardware processor to:

present the STSM in response to detecting the second panning gesture along the second axis of movement, regardless of a current position along the first axis of movement of the part of the collection of emoji characters being displayed.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the hardware processor, cause the hardware processor to:

present the STSM in response to detecting the second panning gesture when the part of the collection of emoji characters being displayed includes the plural subset of the collection of emoji characters whose skin tone attribute is modifiable via the STSM.

9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the hardware processor, cause the hardware processor to:

provide an animated guide presentation on the display surface which reveals a location of the STSM in relation to the collection of emoji characters.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions, the computer-readable instructions, when executed by one or more hardware processors, causing the one or more hardware processors to:

display at least a part of a collection of emoji characters in an emoji display region of a display surface within a viewport, the collection being capable of being panned along a first axis of movement to reveal different parts of the collection of emoji characters in the viewport in response to detecting a first panning gesture along the first axis of movement on a touch-sensitive surface;

detect that a user has engaged the touch-sensitive surface to present a skin tone selector mechanism (STSM) using a second panning gesture along a second axis of movement on the touch-sensitive surface;

in response to detecting the second panning gesture, present the STSM on the display surface, the STSM providing a plurality of skin tone options, the STSM appearing in the viewport as spatially proximate to the collection of emoji characters on the display surface;

receive a selection by the user of one of the skin tone options to provide a selected skin tone, the selection being received via user engagement with the STSM using the touch-sensitive surface;

responsive to the selection of the selected skin tone using the touch-sensitive surface via the user engagement with the STSM, globally modify skin tones of at least a plural subset of the collection of emoji characters that have a variable skin tone attribute by setting the variable skin tone attribute of at least the plural subset of the collection of emoji characters to the selected skin tone; and

concurrently display at least a part of the at least the plural subset of the collection of emoji characters that have been modified to the selected skin tone in the emoji display region of the display surface.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the first axis of movement is a horizontal axis of movement, and wherein the second axis of movement is a vertical axis of movement, and wherein the STSM appears beneath the collection of emoji characters.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the same STSM is presented in response to detecting the second panning gesture along the second axis of movement, regardless of a current position along the first axis of movement of the part of the collection of emoji characters being displayed.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the computer-readable instruction further cause the one or more hardware processors to:

receive message information that the user has provided;

determine at least one predicted emoji character that is related to the message information; and

responsive to the selection by the user of the selected skin tone, present the at least one predicted emoji character to the user such that said at least one predicted emoji character has the selected skin tone.

14. A method implemented by one or more computing devices, the method comprising:

displaying at least a part of a collection of emoji characters in an emoji display region of a display surface within a viewport, the collection being capable of being panned along a first axis of movement to reveal different parts of the collection of emoji characters in the viewport in response to detecting a first panning gesture along the first axis of movement on a touch-sensitive surface;

detecting that a user has engaged the touch-sensitive surface to present a skin tone selector mechanism (STSM) using a second panning gesture along a second axis of movement on a touch-sensitive surface;

in response to detecting the second panning gesture, presenting the STSM on the display surface, the STSM providing a plurality of skin tone options, and the STSM appearing in the viewport as spatially proximate to the collection of emoji characters on the display surface;

receiving a selection by the user of one of the skin tone options to provide a selected skin tone, the selection being received via the STSM in response to the user engagement of the touch-sensitive surface;

responsive to the selection of the selected skin tone using the touch-sensitive surface, globally modifying a variable skin tone attribute of at least a plural subset of the collection of emoji characters that have the variable skin tone attribute to have the selected skin tone; and

concurrently displaying at least a part of the at least the plural subset of the collection of emoji characters that have been modified to have the selected skin tone in the emoji display region on the display surface.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving message information that the user has provided;

determining at least one predicted emoji character that is related to the message information; and

presenting said at least one predicted emoji character on the display surface, such that said at least one predicted emoji character has the selected skin tone.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the first axis of movement is a horizontal axis of movement, wherein the second axis of movement is a vertical axis of movement, and wherein the STSM appears beneath the collection of emoji characters.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

continuing to present more of the STSM as the user continues to use the second panning gesture-along the second axis of movement.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

providing an animated guide presentation on the display surface which

reveals a location of the STSM in relation to the collection of emoji characters.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the first axis of movement is a vertical axis of movement, wherein the second axis of movement is a horizontal axis of movement, and wherein the STSM appears to the left or the right of the collection of emoji characters.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

presenting the STSM in response to detecting the second panning gesture along the second axis of movement, regardless of a current position along the first axis of movement of the part of the collection of emoji characters being displayed.