Direct manipulation interface for data analysis

• US 10,416,871 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2014
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Hou, Zhitao, Zhang, Haidong, Dove, Bryan, Zhang, Dongmei, Liang, Xiao, Huang, He
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Linh K
• Application Number:
  US14/201,368
• Publication Number:
  US 20150254369A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,020 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/904 Browsing; Visualisation therefor for navigating the web G06F16/954; browsing optimisation for the web G06F16/957
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Implementations are described related to users directly manipulating visual depictions of aspects of a data set displayed in a user interface to generate or modify visual representations of the data set, such as a chart. The direct manipulation may be either through a computer input device, (e.g., a keyboard or mouse), or based on other input data, such as a touch input. Aspects of a data set include dimensions, which may be used to filter the data set, and metrics, which are quantifiable elements within the data set. In various implementations, input such as drag-and-drop operations corresponding to visual depictions of aspects of a data set may be interpreted in generating or modifying charts.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, perform a method, comprising;

detecting input that selects and moves one or more visual representations of a data set depicted within a first area of a user interface, the one or more visual representations representing one or more elements of a data set;

determining one or more query parameters, based, at least in part, on the detected input and on an ending point of the movement of the one or more visual representations, the ending point in a second area of the user interface;

querying the data set using the determined one or more query parameters;

receiving a query response that includes results of the querying, wherein the results include at least one element of the one or more elements of the data set;

automatically determining a chart type in which to display the results, wherein the chart type is based, at least in part, on;

one or more selection criteria; and

the query response; and

generating a chart that displays the results using the determined chart type.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising instructions for determining a touch region of the input within the user interface and an end point of the input within the user interface.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the input is one or more of:

a direct manipulation of a dimension of the data set;

a direct manipulation of a dimension item of the data set;

or

a direct manipulation of a metric of the data set.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more selection criteria include user preferences or default chart types.

5. A method, comprising:

detecting input that selects a visual element of a visual representation associated with a chart in a user interface, the visual element corresponding to a quantity of a dimension of a data set with the visual representation;

detecting that the input ends within a chart displayed on the user interface; and

in response to detecting that the input ends within the chart displayed on the user interface;

filtering the data set according to the dimension associated with the selected visual element; and

updating the chart using the filtered data set.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein filtering the data set comprises:

querying a database such that query parameters include the dimension and a default metric; and

receiving a subset of the data set.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein updating the chart comprises:

determining a default metric that corresponds to the data set; and

generating a visual element of the data set to correspond to the default metric.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein:

the visual element is a first visual element, the input is a first input, and the method further comprises;

detecting a second input that selects a second visual element of the user interface, the second visual element corresponding to a metric of the data set;

detecting that the second input ends within the chart displayed on the user interface; and

in response to detecting that the second input ends within the chart displayed on the user interface, updating the chart with the second visual element.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the input includes a touch input.

10. The method of claim 5, further comprising generating a new visual element within the chart displayed on the user interface that corresponds to the dimension.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

detecting an input selecting the new visual element;

detecting a drag operation of the new visual element ending over an existing visual element within the region; and

in response to detecting that the drag operation of the new visual element ended over the existing visual element, updating the visual representation of the data set to produce an additional visual element of the user interface, the additional visual element including a combination of the new visual element and the existing visual element.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

detecting an input selecting the new visual element;

detecting a drag operation of the new visual element ending outside of the region; and

in response to detecting that the drag operation of the new visual element ended outside of the region, generating an updated visual representation of the data set such that the updated chart is not filtered according to an additional dimension of the data set corresponding to the new visual element.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

detecting an input selecting the new visual element;

detecting a flick operation of the new visual element; and

in response to detecting the flick operation of the new visual element, generating an updated visual representation of the data set such that the updated chart is not filtered according to the dimension corresponding to the new visual element.

14. The method of claim 5, further comprising modifying an existing visual element within the chart displayed on the user interface that corresponds to the dimension in response to detecting that the input ends within the chart.

15. The method of claim 5, wherein visual elements of the user interface correspond to depictions of one or more of:

a dimension of the data set;

a dimension item of the data set;

or

a metric of the data set.

16. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

detecting a first input selecting a first visual element of the visual representation of the data set within a threshold amount of time of detecting a second input selecting a second visual element of the visual representation of the data set;

detecting a beginning of a drag-and-drop operation of the first visual element and the second visual element;

detecting that the drag-and-drop operation of the first visual element and the second visual element ends outside of the chart displayed on the user interface; and

generating a new visual representation of the data set based, at least in part, on filtering the data set according to a first element of the data set that corresponds to the first visual element and a second element of the data set that corresponds to the second visual element.

17. A system, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, perform a method, comprising;

detecting an input that selects a visual representation of an aspect of a data set, the visual representation being included in a first region of a chart displayed within a user interface;

detecting that the input ends within a second region of the chart that is different than the first region of the chart;

determining one or more modifications for the chart based, at least in part, on;

the selected visual representation of the aspect of the data set;

the input ending within the second region of the chart; and

the aspect of the data set that corresponds to the visual representation; and

modifying one or more visual elements of the chart based, at least in part, on the determined one or more modifications.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the visual representation of the aspect of the data set includes a first column of the chart, the region of the chart includes a second column of the chart, and the memory further stores instructions for combining the first column and the second column into a single column within the chart.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the chart includes one or more columns, and the memory further stores instructions for separating a column of the one or more columns within the chart into a first column and a second column within the chart.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein modifying the one or more visual elements of the chart includes rearranging an order of one or more columns within the chart.