Tab visibility

• US 10,310,713 B1
• Filed: 04/16/2014
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Jitkoff, John Nicholas, Murphy, Glen
• Primary Examiner(s): Sax, Steven P
• Application Number:
  US14/254,553
• Time in Patent Office: 1,875 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/00 Methods or arrangements for processing data by operating upon the order or content of the data handled logic circuits H03K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7236 Synchronisation of distributed accounts

Abstract

According to one general aspect, a computing device may include an application configured to create a tab in a context of a window, and a window manager configured to register the tab with a first UI element registry. The window manager may be configured to receive, over a network, at least a portion of a second UI element registry from a secondary window manager of a secondary computing device. The portion of the second UI element registry may identify a remote tab previously registered with the secondary window manager. The window manager may be configured to cause a display to provide a graphical arrangement of the tab and the remote tab.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

a hardware computer processor and a display, the computer processor operating the following;

an application configured to create a tab in a context of a window; and

a window manager configured to register the tab with a user interface (UI) element registry, the UI element registry including hierarchal relationships of UI elements registered with the window manager and associated with a user account,

the window manager configured to receive, over a network, a UI element registry associated with a secondary window manager of a secondary computing device, the UI element registry of the secondary window manager including hierarchal relationships of UI elements registered with the secondary window manager and associated with the user account, the UI element registry of the secondary window manager identifying a relationship between a remote tab and a remote window opened on the secondary computing device, the secondary computing device being remote from the computing device,

the window manager configured to update the UI element registry to include one or more of the UI elements registered with the secondary window manager,

the window manager configured to create a new tab substantially identical to the remote tab,

the window manager configured to cause the display to provide a graphical arrangement of the tab and the new tab according to a history of when the tab and the remote tab were accessed.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the graphical arrangement of the tab and the new tab includes a graphical arrangement of a thumbnail of the tab and a thumbnail of the new tab.

3. The computing device of claim 2, wherein at least one of the thumbnail of the tab and the thumbnail of the new tab is a dynamic thumbnail such that the dynamic thumbnail indicates changes occurring to information included within the tab or the new tab.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the application includes a web browser.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the window manager is configured to receive a command to display an arrangement of tabs according to an organizational scheme, and the window manager is configured to cause the display to provide the graphical arrangement of the tab and the new tab according to the organizational scheme indicated in the command.

6. The computing device of claim 5, wherein the window manager is configured to provide a plurality of organizational schemes for selection.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the window manager is configured to determine whether or not the new tab can be created based on the UI element registry of the secondary window manager and, if not, the window manager is configured to request additional information regarding the remote tab from the secondary window manager.

13. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the window manager is configured to send an instruction to the secondary window manager to delete the remote tab on the secondary computing device.

8. A method for managing tabs, the method comprising:

registering, by a first window manager, a tab created by an application executing on a first computing device with a user interface (UI) element registry, the UI element registry including hierarchal relationships of UI elements registered with the first window manager and associated with a user account;

receiving, over a network, UI element registry associated with a second window manager of a second computing device, UI element registry of the second window manager including hierarchal relationships of UI elements registered with the second window manager and associated with the user account, the UI element registry of the second window manager identifying a relationship between a remote tab and a remote window opened on the second computing device, the second computing device being remote from the first computing device;

updating, by the first window manager, the UI element registry to include one or more of the UI elements registered with the secondary window manager;

creating, by the first window manager, a new tab substantially identical to the remote tab based on the UI element registry of the second window manager; and

displaying a graphical arrangement of the tab and the new tab according to a history of when the tab and the remote tab were accessed.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the graphical arrangement of the tab and the new tab includes a graphical arrangement of a thumbnail of the tab and a thumbnail of the new tab.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the application executing on the first computing device is a web browser.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium being tangibly embodied and including executable code that causes a first computing device to:

register, by a first window manager, a tab created by an application executing on the first a computing device with a user interface (UI) element registry, the UI element registry including hierarchal relationships of UI elements registered with the window manager and associated with a user account;

receive, over a network, a UI element registry associated with a second window manager of a second computing device, the UI element registry of the second window manager including hierarchal relationships of UI elements registered with the second window manager and associated with the user account, the UI element registry of the second window manager identifying a relationship between a remote tab and a remote window opened on the second computing device, the second computing device being remote from the first computing device;

updating, by the first window manager, the UI element registry to include one or more of the UI elements registered with the secondary window manager;

create, by the first window manager, a new tab substantially identical to the remote tab based on the UI element registry of the second window manager;

send, by the first window manager, an instruction to the second window manager to delete the remote tab on the second computing device; and

display a graphical arrangement of the tab and the new tab according to a history of when the new tab and the remote tab was accessed.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the first window manager receives only the hierarchal relationships of UI elements registered with the second window manager and associated with the user account but not extra information, the extra information including uniform resource location (URL) information and most recently used information.