Method and apparatus for variable density scroll area

• US 20020109728A1
• Filed: 12/18/2000
• Published: 08/15/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Tiongson, Phillip R., Wu, Jessica, Weitzman, Louis
• Granted Patent: US 6,816,174 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/786
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/973 Scroll tool, e.g. window scroll bar

Abstract

A method and system to provide a user additional positional context for the information they are browsing and allows for rapid browsing through large data sets thereby providing a more usable interface. Two embodiments are described in the following sections. In the first, the 2-D scroll area is a continuous area. In this continuous embodiment the user can change the scroll resolution on a continuous scale. The second embodiment uses a set of discrete vertical scrolling bars. These scrolling bars work in concert to fine tune the scrolling access to the data.

Claims

1. A method for scrolling through at least part of a complete multimedia data set including still images, video, audio, and text, the method comprising:

receiving the size of a complete data set;

displaying a first scrollable region of indicators that represent the complete data set, the first scrollable region having a first marker to indicate a current selection from the complete data set;

displaying a second scrollable region of indicators that represents a subset of the complete data set in the first scrollable region, the second scrollable region containing a second marker indicating the current selection from the complete data set;

displaying a third region for displaying a current selection from the complete multimedia data set; and

receiving user input to move the second marker between a first indicator and a second indication in the second scrollable region of indicators whereby the current selection in the third region is changed to correspond to a new selection from the complete multimedia data set corresponding to the second indicator.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of displaying a second scrollable region includes displaying a second scrollable region formed as a geometric shape selected from the group of geometric shapes consisting of trapezoids, rhombuses, triangles and rectangles.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of displaying a second scrollable region includes displaying a second scrollable region with an edge adjacent to the third region, and the edge comprises a series of thumbnail images corresponding to images included in the complete data set that are represented by the subset of indicators.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of displaying a second scrollable region includes displaying a second scrollable region comprising a trapezoidal scroll area forming a base, a top, a first side and a second side, the trapezoidal scroll area oriented so that the top is parallel to the first area and in close proximity thereto, and the base is positioned near the second area, and a series of separators defining a plurality of continuous regions within the trapezoidal scroll area wherein the regions are formed closer together at the top of the trapezoidal scroll area and the regions fan-out to be further apart at the bottom of the trapezoidal scroll area.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the step of displaying a first scrollable region of indicators includes displaying the first scrollable region of indicators along an edge of a display.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the step of displaying a second scrollable region includes displaying the series of separators defining a plurality of continuous regions selected from a group of separators consisting of lines and curves.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the steps of displaying a first scrollable region includes displaying the first scrollable region through a web browser interface.

8. The method according to claim 4, wherein the step of displaying a second scrollable region includes displaying a second scrollable region comprising a trapezoidal scroll area which is isosceles when the first marker to indicate the current selection from the complete data set is placed within the first scroll region at a position that indicates a position which is approximately halfway through the complete data set.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of displaying a second scrollable region includes displaying a second scrollable region comprising two or more adjacent columns of indicators positioned parallel to the first scrollable region, the indicators positioned in the two or more adjacent columns so that a series of indicators are presented in each of the columns starting from a column closest to the first scrollable area contains indicators which are a subset of the indicators that represent the complete data set and each of the subsequent columns immediately adjacent to the first column contains a subset of the indicators in a column which closer to the first column.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of displaying a second scrollable region includes displaying a second scrollable region comprising two more adjacent columns further comprising the sub-steps of:

animating the display of the indicators in the columns so that the indicators are updated in linear rolling motion through the columns to reflect any new subset of indicators positioned into place whenever the user input to move the second marker is received.

12. The computer readable medium according to claim 10, wherein the programming instruction of displaying a second scrollable region includes displaying a second scrollable region comprising a trapezoidal scroll area forming a base, a top, a first side and a second side, the trapezoidal scroll area oriented so that the top is parallel to the first area and in close proximity thereto, and the base is positioned near the second area, and a series of separators defining a plurality of continuous regions within the trapezoidal scroll area wherein the regions are formed closer together at the top of the trapezoidal scroll area and the regions fan-out to be further apart at the bottom of the trapezoidal scroll area.

11. A computer readable medium comprising programing instructions for scrolling through at least part of a complete multimedia data set including still images, video, audio, and text, the method comprising:

receiving the size of a complete data set;

displaying a first scrollable region of indicators that represent the complete data set, the first scrollable region having a first marker to indicate a current selection from the complete data set;

displaying a second scrollable region of indicators that represents a subset of the complete data set in the first scrollable region, the second scrollable region containing a second marker indicating the current selection from the complete data set;

displaying a third region for displaying a current selection from the complete multimedia data set; and

receiving user input to move the second marker between a first indicator and a second indication in the second scrollable region of indicators whereby the current selection in the third region is changed to correspond to a new selection from the complete multimedia data set corresponding to the second indicator.

13. The computer readable medium according to claim 11, wherein the programming step of displaying a second scrollable region includes displaying a second scrollable region comprising two or more adjacent columns of indicators positioned parallel to the first scrollable region, the indicators positioned in the two or more adjacent columns so that a series of indicators are presented in each of the columns starting from a column closest to the first scrollable area contains indicators which are a subset of the indicators that represent the complete data set and each of the subsequent columns immediately adjacent to the first column contains a subset of the indicators in a column which closer to the first column.

15. The information processing system according to claim 16, wherein the display has an outer border and the first scrollable area is displayed along the outer border.

16. The information processing system according to claim 14, wherein the series of separators defining a plurality of continuous regions is selected from a group of separators consisting of lines and curves.

17. The information processing system according to claim 16, wherein the first scrollable area further comprises a current selection data marker for displaying a graphic indicator of the current selection being displayed in the third area from the complete multimedia data set.

18. The information processing system according to claim 17, wherein the first scrollable area further comprises means for repositioning the top of the trapezoidal scroll area along the first scrollable area when a user selects a region in the first scrollable area.

19. The information processing system according to claim 18, wherein the trapezoidal scroll area further comprising a region in the plurality of continuous regions that contains the marker is shaded to indicate that current selection in the scrolling trapezoidal area.

20. The information processing system according to claim 19, wherein the means for repositioning the top of the trapezoidal scroll area includes repositioning the marker in a region in the plurality of continuous region that is formed near the center of the base of the trapezoidal scroll area.

14. An information processing system with a display for presenting a graphical user interface (GUI) for two dimensional (2-D) scrolling through at least part of a complete multimedia data set including still images, video, audio, and text, the information processing system comprising:

a memory device for receiving parameters for size of a complete multimedia data set;

a display for presenting a GUI with a plurality of areas comprising;

a first scrollable area for displaying a series of indicators that represents the complete multimedia data set; and

a second scrollable area for displaying a geometric shape;

a third area for displaying a current selection from the complete multimedia data set;

wherein the geometric shape is trapezoidal scroll area, the trapezoidal scroll area forming a base, a top, a first side and a second side, the trapezoidal scroll area oriented so that the top is parallel to the first scrollable area and in close proximity thereto, and the base is positioned near the third area, and a series of separators defining a plurality of continuous regions within the trapezoidal scroll area wherein the regions are formed closer together at the top of the trapezoidal scroll area and the regions fan-out to be further apart at the bottom of the trapezoidal scroll area;

a marker presented in the trapezoidal scroll area for designating the current selection from the complete multimedia data set so that when a user moves the marker from a first region to a second region within the plurality of continuous regions, the current selection in the first scrollable area is changed to a new selection from the complete multimedia data set.

21. An information processing system with a display for presenting a graphical user interface (GUI) for two dimensional (2-D) scrolling through at least part of a complete multimedia data set including still images, video, audio, and text, the information processing system comprising:

a memory device for receiving parameters for a size of a complete multimedia data set;

a display for presenting a GUI with a plurality of areas comprising;

a first scrollable area for displaying a series of indicators that represents the complete multimedia data set;

a second scrollable area for displaying two or more adjacent columns of indicators positioned parallel to the first scrollable area, the indicators positioned in the two or more adjacent columns so that a series of indicators are presented in each of the columns starting from a column closest to the first scrollable area contains indicators which are a subset of the indicators that represent the complete data set and each of the columns subsequently immediately adjacent to the first column contains a subset of the indicators in a column which closer to the first column; and

a third area for displaying a current selection from the complete multimedia data set;

a marker presented in a column furthest from the third area for designating the current selection from the subset of indicators so that when a user moves the marker from a first indicator to a second indicator within the subset of indicators, the current selection in the first area is changed to a new selection from the complete multimedia data set.