Method and system for controlling an application displayed in an inactive window

• US 20030184592A1
• Filed: 03/28/2002
• Published: 10/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Burkes, Philip Bernard, Awada, Faisal M., Brown, Joe Nathan
• Granted Patent: US 7,114,129 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/788
• 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 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars

Abstract

A view controller, such as a scroll bar, for a first application which is currently displayed within an inactive window is detached and remotely displayed within an active window in addition to the view controller associated with the content of that active window. A Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) link is then established between the remotely displayed view controller and the first application such that user inputs to the remotely displayed view controller can be utilized to modify the display of the first application without requiring the user to activate the inactive window. In this manner data within the first application can be scrolled and visually accessed by the user while the user is working within an active window, without requiring the user to toggle the focus back and forth between two windows.

Claims

1. A method for manipulating an inactive window displayed on a computer display screen, said method comprising:

displaying at least a portion of the inactive window on the computer display screen; and

controlling a display of the content of the inactive window with a remote active viewing controller, wherein said remote active viewing controller is displayed within an active window.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said inactive window comprises a first application program.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling said remote active viewing controller from a keyboard connected to the computer display screen.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer display screen has less than forty square inches of viewable area.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said remote active viewing controller controls only said inactive window.

6. A computer system having a computer display screen, said computer comprising:

means for displaying at least a portion of an inactive window on the computer display screen, and

means for controlling a display of the content of the inactive window with a remote active viewing controller, wherein said remote active viewing controller is displayed within an active window.

7. The computer system of claim 6, wherein said inactive window comprises a first application program.

8. The computer system of claim 6, further comprising means for controlling said remote active viewing controller from a keyboard connected to the computer display screen.

9. The computer system of claim 6, wherein said computer display screen has less than forty square inches of viewable area.

10. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the remote active viewing controller controls only said inactive window.

11. A computer program product for manipulating an inactive window displayed on a computer display screen, said computer program product comprising:

computer program code for displaying at least a portion of the inactive window on the computer display screen; and

computer program code for controlling a display of the content of the inactive window with a remote active viewing controller, wherein said remote active viewing controller is displayed within an active window.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein said inactive window comprises a first application program.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising computer program code for controlling said remote active viewing controller from a keyboard connected to the computer display screen.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the computer display screen has less than forty square inches of viewable area.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein said remote active viewing controller controls only said inactive window.