System, method, and computer-readable medium for displaying keyboard cues in a window

• US 20030174158A1
• Filed: 04/10/2003
• Published: 09/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zhigu Holdings Limited
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bermudez, Gerardo, Costea, Mihai, Schmidt, Michael A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,114,130 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/700
• 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 3/04895 Guidance during keyboard input operation, e.g. prompting

Abstract

A mechanism for predicting whether user interface elements, such as keyboard cues, would be helpful to, a computer user and either displaying or hiding the user interface elements based on that prediction is disclosed. Briefly described, an identification is made whether the last input device was a keyboard or a pointing device, such as a mouse. If the last input device was a pointing device, the keyboard cues are hidden. If the last input device was a keyboard, the keyboard cues are displayed. If the input device changes after the keyboard cues have been initially either hidden or displayed, a message so indicating is passed up the window hierarchy. Upon receiving the message, the top-level window responds by causing the display states of all the windows in the window hierarchy to be updated to reflect the changed input device

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for displaying a window, which, when executed, comprise:

recognizing a first input event that invokes the creation of the window;

identifying an input device type associated with the first input event;

if the input device type associated with the first input event is not a keyboard, displaying the window with a user interface element hidden.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, further comprising:

if the input device type associated with the first input event is the keyboard, displaying the window with the user interface element displayed.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, further comprising:

recognizing a second input event associated with the window;

identifying the input device type associated with the second input event; and

if the input device type associated with the second input event is different from the input device type associated with the first input event, changing the display state of the user interface element.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the user interface element is a keyboard cue.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 4 wherein the input device associated with the first input event is not a keyboard and the input device associated with the second input event is the keyboard, further comprising changing the display state of the keyboard cue from hidden to displayed.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein if the second input event includes depressing a pre-selected key on the keyboard, displaying a corresponding keyboard cue.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the pre-selected key is an Alt key on the keyboard and the corresponding keyboard cue is a keyboard accelerator.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the pre-selected key is a Tab key on the keyboard and the corresponding keyboard cue is a focus indicator.

9. In a computer system having an operating system, the operating system configured to display windows in a window hierarchy wherein a top-level window is superior to a child window, a method of displaying a keyboard cue, comprising:

recognizing a first input event, triggered by an input device, that invokes the creation of a window in the window hierarchy;

passing to the window a state indicator configured to reflect the input device;

in response to one state of the state indicator, displaying the window with the keyboard cue displayed; and

in response to a second state of the state indicator, displaying the window with the keyboard cue hidden.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

recognizing a second input event;

determining if the second input event was triggered by the input device;

if the second input event was not triggered by the input device, causing the state of the state indicator to be changed to reflect that the second input event was not triggered by the input device; and

updating the display of the window to reflect the changed state indicator.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the input device is a pointing device and further comprising:

if the second input event includes depressing a pre-selected key on a keyboard, displaying a corresponding keyboard cue.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the pre-selected key is an Alt key on the keyboard and the corresponding keyboard cue is a keyboard accelerator.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the pre-selected key is a Tab key on the keyboard and the corresponding keyboard cue is a focus indicator.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

recognizing a second input event;

determining if the second input event was triggered by the input device;

if the second input event was not triggered by the input device, determining if the window is the top-level window in the window hierarchy; and

if the window is the top-level window in the window hierarchy, causing the state of the state indicator to be changed to reflect that the second input event was not triggered by the input device.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising causing all of the windows in the window hierarchy to be updated to reflect the changed state indicator.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising if the window is not the top-level window in the window hierarchy, passing to a parent window of the window a request to change the state of the state indicator to reflect that the second input event was not triggered by the input device.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

upon the receipt by the parent window of the request to change the state of the state indicator, causing the state of the state indicator to be changed to reflect that the second input event was not triggered by the input device; and

causing all of the windows in the window hierarchy to be updated to reflect the changed state indicator.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

upon the receipt by the parent window of the request to change the state of the state indicator, handling the request within the parent window.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein:

if the window is not the top-level window in the window hierarchy, causing a message to be passed up the window hierarchy to the top-level window requesting a change to the state of the state indicator to reflect that the second input event was not triggered by the input device

20. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for displaying a window in a window hierarchy, which when executed, comprise:

recognizing that an input event directed to a current window in the window hierarchy was generated by an input device different from a prior input device;

identifying whether the current window is a top-level window in the window hierarchy,

if the current window is not the top-level window in the window hierarchy, passing a message up the window hierarchy indicating a change in the input device, and receiving from an operating system a message directing the current window to;

if the input device that generated the input event is a keyboard, display a keyboard cue in the current window.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20 further comprising:

if the input device that generated the input event is a pointing device, hiding a keyboard cue in the current window.

23. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the pointing device is a selected one from a group comprising a mouse, a touchpad, a graphics tablet, a stylus, a light pen, a joystick, a puck, a trackball, and a voice-activated pointer.

22. A computer-implemented method for displaying a window having a user interface element, comprising:

identifying a last input device; and

if the last input device is a pointing device, hiding the user interface element as the window is displayed.

24. A computer-implemented method for causing a window to be displayed in a user interface mode, comprising:

providing an identifier associated with the window and configured to identify the user interface mode; and

based on the state of the identifier, displaying the window in the identified user interface mode.

25. The computer-implemented method of claim 24, wherein the user interface mode comprises a display state for at least one screen display element.

26. The computer-implemented method of claim 25, wherein the at least one screen display element comprises a keyboard cue.

27. The computer-implemented method of claim 24, wherein displaying the window in the identified user interface mode comprises:

issuing to the window a command, based on the identifier, causing the window to be displayed in the identified user interface mode.

28. The computer-implemented method of claim 24, wherein the window is associated with a window hierarchy including at least one child window of the window, and further comprising:

issuing to the, window hierarchy a series of commands, based on the identifier, causing all the windows in the window hierarchy to be displayed in the identified user interface mode.

29. The computer-implemented method of claim 28, wherein the identifier is maintained by an operating system and wherein the operating system is configured to override an attempt by a software application to alter the user interface mode.

30. The computer-implemented method of claim 29, wherein the identifier is set by sensing an input event.

31. The computer-implemented method of claim 29, wherein the identifier is set by pre-selecting the user interface mode with a configuration setting maintained by the operating system.