Toggleable widget for a user interface

• US 20030222918A1
• Filed: 10/31/2002
• Published: 12/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Coulthard, Phil
• Granted Patent: US 7,107,546 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/780
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04895 Guidance during keyboard input operation, e.g. prompting

Abstract

A composite interface widget for toggleable entry fields that minimizes real estate and allows the entry field to toggle between a special kind of input that is either a predefined value or a value specified by the user. The widget presents a local or noninherited state which enables the widget to have an entry field with editing capability; alternatively, the widget offers an inherit state having a read-only entry field that displays a present input string. The user is given a small concise button or other icon to toggle between the two states. The programmer specifies the initial state, the string to display in the inherit mode, and the initial value for the local or noninherit mode. The programmer can subsequently query if the user chose the inherit mode or chose the local mode and, if so, what local value was entered.

Claims

1. A method for presenting two options on a user interface of a microprocessor logic device, comprising:

(1) presenting an entry field for input of data;

(2) presenting a toggleable switch to activate the entry field;

(3) allowing a user to input data in the entry field when the toggleable switch is activated in a first position; and

(4) deactivating the entry field and displaying an inherited value in the entry field when the toggleable switch is in a second position.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(1) communicating either the input data or the inherited value, depending upon the position of the toggleable switch, to an executing application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the executing application is connected to the microprocessor logic device through a network.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the network is the Internet.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor logic device is a stand-alone computer.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor logic device is a personal digital assistant.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor logic device is a wireless telephone.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(1) communicating the inherited value to the user.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of communicating the inherited value to the user further comprises implementing a graphical user interface on the microprocessor logic device.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising invoking hover help to set forth the inherited value and/or requesting input data from the user.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of communicating the inherited value to the user further uses a voice or aural tones.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of communicating the inherited value to the user further uses a tactile widget.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the input data is of a different data type than the inherited value.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(1) enabling error checking when the toggleable switch is in the first position.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein when the toggleable switch is in the second position, the inherited value is inherited from a parent class in object oriented programming;

and when the toggleable switch is in the first position, the input data is not an inherited value from the parent class.

16. A widget for use with an application having a user device on a logical device, comprising:

(1) a switch to manage an entry field wherein when the switch is in an inheritable mode, the widget presents an entry field that is a read-only entry field displaying a preset value determined by the application; and

(2) when the switch is in a local mode, the widget presents an write-enable entry field to allow the user to enter a different value.

17. The widget of claim 16, wherein the preset value and the different value are of different data types.

18. The widget of claim 16, wherein the write-enable entry field engages error-checking capabilities.

19. A program product user interface, the program product comprising a signal-bearing medium carrying thereon a user interface having a toggleable widget, the toggleable widget comprising:

(1) a field having a first choice that is an inherited default noneditable choice; and

(2) a toggle to change the field to one having a second choice entered by a user.

20. The program product of claim 19, further comprising an error checker to check for errors in the second choice entered by the user.