System and method for displaying content without control items

• US 20040201599A1
• Filed: 11/30/2000
• Published: 10/14/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dutta, Rabindranath
• Application Number:
  US09/726,269
• Publication Number:
  US 20040201599A1
• 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

Abstract

A data processing system is programmed so that a user may select whether control graphical user interface objects are to be displayed along with the content created with an application running on the data processing system. If the user elects not to display such control objects, then the display screen will only display content objects. A user input into a hardware button, or another type of input such as a stylus stroke can result in the return of the display of the control objects to the user.

Claims

1. A method for displaying information on a data processing system, comprising the steps of:

creating a content object;

creating control GUI objects;

determining if an input has been received to display the content object without displaying the control GUI objects; and

displaying the content object without displaying the control GUI objects if the input has been received.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying the content object and the control GUI objects if an input has been received to display the content object with the control GUI objects.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the content object and the control GUI objects are created by an application program running in the data processing system, and wherein the content object contains no control GUI objects.

4. In a data processing system, a method comprising the steps of:

in an application program, determining control GUI objects and a content object;

determining if a user has set a display option flag indicating a preference for either a conventional screen object to be displayed comprising a display of the control GUI objects and the content object or an unconventional screen object to be displayed comprising a display of the content object but not any of the control GUI objects; and

determining the screen object to include the content object but not any of the control GUI objects as a function of the display option flag having a setting indicating a user preference for display of the content object without any of the control GUI objects.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprising the step of displaying the screen object on a display device of the data processing system.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

receiving input from the user to set the display option flag indicating the preference for the conventional screen object to be displayed comprising the display of the control GUI objects and the content object;

determining the screen object to include the content object and the control GUI objects as a function of the display option flag having a setting indicating the user preference for display of the content object with the control GUI objects; and

displaying the screen object on the display device of the data processing system.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein if the display option flag is set to indicate a preference for the conventional screen object then the control GUI objects are added to the screen object and excess content to be covered by the control GUI objects is saved in an excess content object.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein if the display option flag is set to indicate a preference for the unconventional screen object then the control GUI objects are eliminated from the screen object and the excess content object is included in the screen object.

9. A computer program product adaptable for storage on a computer readable means, wherein the computer program product comprises an application program that comprises the program steps of:

determining control GUI objects and a content object;

determining if a display option flag has been set indicating a preference for either a conventional screen object to be displayed comprising a display of the control GUI objects and the content object or an unconventional screen object to be displayed comprising a display of the content object but not any of the control GUI objects; and

determining the screen object to include the content object but not any of the control GUI objects as a function of the display option flag having a setting indicating a preference for display of the content object without any of the control GUI objects.

10. The computer program product as recited in claim 9, further comprising the program steps of:

determining that the display option flag has been reset to indicate the preference for the conventional screen object to be displayed comprising the display of the control GUI objects and the content object; and

determining the screen object to include the content object and the control GUI objects as a function of the reset display option flag having a setting indicating the preference for display of the content object with the control GUI objects.

11. The computer program product as recited in claim 10, wherein if the display option flag is set to indicate the preference for the conventional screen object then the control GUI objects are added to the screen object and excess content to be covered by the control GUI objects is saved in an excess content object.

12. The computer program product as recited in claim 11, wherein if the display option flag is set to indicate the preference for the unconventional screen object then the control GUI objects are eliminated from the screen object and the excess content object is included in the screen object.

13. A data processing system comprising:

a processor;

a display coupled to the processor;

a memory storing an application program further comprising;

a screen object that is then displayed on the display;

a content object;

a control GUI object;

a display option flag; and

a screen state changing program for determining whether the screen object will include only the content object without any control GUI object as a function of the display option flag.

14. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein the screen state changing program will determine the screen object to include only the content object without any control GUI object when the display option flag has been determined to be set for a preference that an unconventional screen be displayed whereby the content is displayed and no control GUIs are displayed on the display.

15. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the display option flag is settable by input from a user of the data processing system.

16. The system as recited in claim 15, wherein when the display option flag is reset for a preference that a conventional screen be displayed on the display whereby the content and the control GUIs are displayed, then the screen state changing program will determine that the screen object will include the content object and the control GUI object, any of the control object displaced by the control GUI object will be stored into an excess content object.

17. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the display option flag is reset for the preference that the conventional screen be displayed by receipt of a user selection of a hardware button on the system.

18. The system as recited in claim 16, wherein the display option flag is reset for the preference that the conventional screen be displayed by receipt of a Ronomatic action on the display by a user with a stylus.

19. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the data processing system is a PDA.

20. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the data processing system is a laptop computer.

21. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the data processing system is a desktop computer.

22. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the data processing system is a wireless communications device.