Displaying information to indicate both the importance and the urgency of the information

• US 20030214534A1
• Filed: 05/16/2002
• Published: 11/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Uemura, Marcelo R., Rogers, Daniel Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 7,051,284 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/805
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/04 Changes in size, position or resolution of an image
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/30 Control of display attribute

Abstract

Data items contained in personal information are displayed in manner that is indicative of both the importance and the urgency of the data items. A first visual cue is assigned to the data item based on an importance of the data item. The first visual cue may cause more important items to be displayed with increased size and less important items to be displayed with decreased size. A second visual cue is assigned to the data item based on an urgency of the data item. The second visual cue may cause more urgent items to be displayed in a first color and less important items to be displayed in a second color. The data item is displayed using the first and second visual cue as to provide a visual indication as to both the importance and urgency of the data item.

Claims

1. In a computer system including a video display device, a method for presenting data items included in personal information so as to indicate the importance and urgency of the personal information, comprising the following:

an act of receiving a user-indication of an importance level associated with a particular data item;

an act of assigning a first visual cue associated with the data item based on an importance of the data item;

an act of assigning a second visual cue associated with the data item based on an urgency of the data item; and

an act of causing the data item to be displayed using the first and second visual cues to provide a visual indication as to both the importance and the urgency of the data item.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of receiving a user-indication of an importance level associated with a particular data item comprises the following:

an act of receiving a user-indication of an importance level from an input device.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of receiving a user-indication of an importance level associated with a particular data item comprises the following:

an act of accessing a user-indication of an importance level from a database of personal information.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the act of receiving a user-indication of an importance level from database of personal information comprises the following:

an act of receiving a user-indication of an importance level from an application program that uses XML instructions to store values in the database.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of receiving a user-indication of an importance level associated with a particular data item comprises the following:

an act of receiving a user-indication of an importance level from an application program that detected a change in the personal information.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of assigning a first visual cue associated with the data item based on an importance of the data item comprises the following:

an act of assigning a first visual cue associated with the data item based on a first numeric value that is representative of the importance of the data item.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of assigning a first visual cue associated with the data item based on an importance of the data item comprises the following:

an act of assigning display size as a first visual cue associated with the data item.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of assigning a first visual cue associated with the data item based on an importance of the data item comprises the following:

an act of assigning a first visual cue associated with the data item that causes the display size of the data item to correspond to an importance level of the data item.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of assigning a second visual cue associated with the data item based on an urgency of the data item comprises the following:

an act of assigning a second visual cue associated with the data item based on a second numeric value that is representative of the urgency of the data item.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of assigning a second visual cue associated with the data item based on an urgency of the data item comprises the following:

an act of assigning display color as a second visual cue associated with the data item.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of assigning a second visual cue associated with the data item based on an urgency of the data item comprises the following:

an act of assigning a second visual cue associated with the data item that causes the display color of the data item to correspond to an urgency level of the data item.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of assigning a second visual cue associated with the data item based on an urgency of the data item comprises the following:

an act of assigning a second visual cue associated with the data item based on a numeric value output from an urgency calculator.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of causing the data item to be displayed using the first and second visual cues comprises the following:

an act of causing the data item to be displayed at the video display device.

14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of causing the data item to be displayed using the first and second visual cues comprises the following:

an act of causing the data item to be displayed using a first visual cue that corresponds an importance level of the data item to the display size of the data item.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the act causing the data item to be displayed using a first visual cue that corresponds an importance level of the data item with the display size of the data item comprises the following:

an act of causing a data item with an increased importance level to be displayed with increased size at the video display device.

16. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the act causing the data item to be displayed using a first visual cue that corresponds an importance level of the data item with the display size of the data item comprises the following:

an act of causing a data item with a decreased importance level to be displayed with decreased size at the video display device.

17. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of causing the data item to be displayed using the first and second visual cues comprises the following:

an act of causing the data item to be displayed using a second visual cue that corresponds an urgency level of the data item to the display color of the data item.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the act of causing the data item to be displayed using a second visual cue that corresponds an urgency level of the data item with the display color of the data item comprises the following:

an act of causing a data item with an urgency level greater than a specified urgency level to be displayed in an urgent color at the video display device.

19. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the act of causing the data item to be displayed using a second visual cue that corresponds an urgency level of the data item with the display color of the data item comprises the following:

an act of causing a data item with an urgency level less than a specified urgency level to be displayed in a non-urgent second color at the video display device.

20. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of causing the data item to be displayed using the first and second visual cues comprises the following:

an act of causing the data item to be displayed using a first visual cue that corresponds the importance of the data item with the display size of the data item and a second visual cue that corresponds the urgency of the data item with the display color of the data item.

21. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of causing the data item to be displayed using the first and second visual cues comprises the following:

an act of causing a more specific data item to be displayed within the boundaries of a more general data item.

22. The method as recited in claim 21, wherein the act of causing a more specific data item to be displayed within the boundaries of a more general data item comprises the following:

an act of causing the more specific data item to be displayed within the boundaries of a more general data item, wherein the first visual cue of the more specific data item affects the display size of the more general data item.

23. The method as recited in claim 21, wherein the act of causing a more specific data item to be displayed within the boundaries of a more general data item comprises the following:

an act of causing the more specific data item to be displayed within the boundaries of a more general data item, wherein the second visual cue of the more specific data item affects the display color of the more general data item.

24. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of causing the data item to be displayed using the first and second visual cues comprises the following:

an act of causing the data item to be displayed along with other data items so as to display all the data items associated with a user-indication of an importance level.

25. In a computer system including a video display device, a method for presenting data items included in personal information so as to indicate the importance and urgency of the personal information, comprising the following:

a step for identifying a first visual cue and a second visual cue for a data item; and

an act of causing the data item to be displayed using the first and second visual cues to provide a visual indication as to both the importance and the urgency of the data item.

26. A computer program product for use in a computer system including a video display device, the computer program product for implementing a method for presenting data items included in personal information so as to indicate the importance and urgency of the personal information, the computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon the following comprising the following:

computer-executable instructions for receiving a user-indication of an importance level associated with a particular data item;

computer-executable instructions for assigning a first visual cue associated with the data item based on an importance of the data item;

computer-executable instructions for assigning a second visual cue associated with the data item based on an urgency of the data item; and

computer-executable instructions for causing the data item to be displayed using the first and second visual cues to provide a visual indication as to both the importance and the urgency of the data item.

27. The computer program product as recited claim 26, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include physical storage media.

28. The computer program product as recited claim 26, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include system memory.

29. A computer system, comprising:

an output device configured to present a data item based on the importance and urgency associated with the data item; and

a processor unit communicatively coupled to the output device and configured to receive a user-indication of an importance level associated with the data item, to assign a first visual cue to the importance of the data item, and to assign a second visual cue to the urgency of the data item.

30. In a computer system including a video display device and an audio output device, a method for presenting data items included in personal information so as to indicate the importance and urgency of the personal information, comprising the following:

an act of receiving a user-indication of an importance level associated with a particular data item;

an act of assigning a first cue associated with the data item based on an importance of the data item;

an act of assigning a second cue associated with the data item based on an urgency of the data item; and

an act of causing the data item to be output using the first and second cues to provide an indication as to both the importance and the urgency of the data item.

31. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein the act of assigning a first cue ii associated with the data item based on an importance of the data item comprises the following:

an act of assigning a sound cue associated with the data item based on an importance of the data item.

32. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein the act of assigning a second cue associated with the data item based on an urgency of the data item comprises the following:

an act of assigning a sound cue associated with the data item based on an urgency of the data item.

33. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein the act of causing the data item to be output using the first and second cues to provide an indication as to both the importance and the urgency of the data item comprises the following:

an act of causing the data item to be output using a sound cue.

34. In a computer system including a video display device, a method for presenting personal information so as to indicate the importance and urgency of the personal information, comprising the following:

an act of configuring different importance numeric values to represent data items of the personal information that have different levels of importance;

an act of an urgency calculator calculating an urgency numeric value for each data item of the personal information;

an act of a user assigning importance numeric values for each data item of the personal information; and

an act of displaying the personal information to indicate the urgency numeric value and importance numeric value for the data items of the personal information.

35. In a computer system that includes a storage device, a method for storing data items, which will be displayed to indicate the importance and urgency of the data items, in a uniform format, comprising the following:

an act of using a hierarchical format to store data items that is independent of the application program that created the data item;

an act of storing an automatically-generated urgency level for the data items stored in the hierarchical format; and

an act of storing a user-indicated importance level for the data items stored in the hierarchical format.

36. The method as recited in claim 35, wherein the act of using a hierarchical format to store data items comprises the following:

an act of using a node format to store data items.

37. The method as recited in claim 35, wherein the act of storing an automatically generated urgency level comprises the following:

an act of storing a numeric value that was generated by an urgency calculator.

38. The method as recited in claim 35, wherein the act of using a hierarchical format to store data items comprises the following:

an act of storing a numeric value that was generated by averaging the urgency levels of data items stored in the hierarchical format.

39. The method as recited in claim 35, further comprising:

an act of outputting the data items stored in the hierarchical format to indicate both the importance and urgency of the data items.