Methods and systems for incrementally changing text representation

• US 20030159107A1
• Filed: 02/21/2003
• Published: 08/21/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Bederson, Benjamin B., Stefik, Mark J., Good, Lance E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,650,562 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/500
• 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 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing

Abstract

To reduce required display space, a text segment is reduced in size by successively eliminating portions of the text segment in an animated fashion. The reduction is thus visually represented in a way that maintains recognizability of the text segment, even if the final representation of the text does not carry a full meaning and/or is not independently comprehensible, because of the impression left in the mind of the user by the animated reduction of the text segment. The reduction may include reducing a size of text of the text segment and/or a spacing between characters of the text segment.

Claims

1. A method of incrementally changing text representation, comprising:

obtaining a text segment; and

reducing space occupied by the text segment by successively eliminating portions of the text segment, the reduction being displayed using animation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reducing step includes reducing a number of words of the text segment.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein reducing the number of words is based on at least one of whether the words are subject or predicate, whether the words are a modifier, how many letters are in each word, how many times each word is repeated in a source document or selected portion of the document, position of the words in the sentences, a user'"'"'s preference, and whether one or more letters of each word are capitalized.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the reducing step includes reducing a number of letters in one or more words of the text segment.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the letters are reduced by at least one of eliminating vowels, replacing the word with a predetermined abbreviation, replacing the word with a stem, replacing the word with an idiosyncratic spelling of the word, and eliminating double letters.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the animation is one of a cross dissolve transition, a cross stretch transition, and shrinking and successive removal of the portions of the text segment.

14. A storage medium on which is recorded a program for implementing the method of claim 1.

7. An incremental text change representation system, comprising:

a controller that reduces space occupied by the text segment on a display device by successively eliminating portions of the text segment, the reduction being displayed on the display device using animation.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the reducing step includes reducing a number of words of the text segment.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein reducing the number of words is based on at least one of whether the words are subject or predicate, whether the words are a modifier, how many letters are in each word, how many times each word is repeated in a source document or selected portion of the document, position of the words in the sentences, a user'"'"'s preference, and whether one or more letters of each word are capitalized.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the reducing step includes reducing a number of letters in one or more words of the text segment.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the animation is one of a cross dissolve transition, a cross stretch transition, and successive removal of the portions of the text segment.

13. The system of claim 7, in combination with a display device and a computer that contains the controller.

11. The method he letters are reduced by at least one of eliminating vowels, replacing the word with a predetermined abbreviation, replacing the word with a stem, replacing the word with an idiosyncratic spelling of the word, and eliminating double letters.