Dynamically changing cursor for user interface
First Claim
1. A computer system, comprising:
- a display device on which windows and other graphical user interface elements are displayed;
a cursor control device for positioning a cursor displayed on said display device relative to said user interface elements; and
a user interface which controls the appearance of said cursor to display a first image when said cursor is positioned over a user interface element that can be immediately accessed by a user, a second image when said cursor is positioned over a user interface element associated with a foreground process that is in a busy state that prevents it from being currently accessed, and a third image when said cursor is positioned over a user interface element associated with a background process that is in a busy state.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A dynamic cursor for a computer graphical user interface changes according to the processing state of applications over which the cursor is located, or with respect to an operating system element. A normal cursor is displayed when either the operating system element, or an application over which the cursor is located, can be accessed in a normal manner. A standard wait cursor is displayed over busy applications that require a user to wait until interacting with the application, when the application is active in the foreground of the computer system. When the application is busy and operating in the background, a hybrid wait cursor is displayed that indicates to the user the busy state of the application and the user'"'"'s ability to interact with operating system elements or other applications regardless of this busy state. Other forms of hybrid cursors are disclosed that indicate the results of a drag operation, and quantitative data pertaining to objects being dragged.
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Citations
58 Claims
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1. A computer system, comprising:
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a display device on which windows and other graphical user interface elements are displayed;
a cursor control device for positioning a cursor displayed on said display device relative to said user interface elements; and
a user interface which controls the appearance of said cursor to display a first image when said cursor is positioned over a user interface element that can be immediately accessed by a user, a second image when said cursor is positioned over a user interface element associated with a foreground process that is in a busy state that prevents it from being currently accessed, and a third image when said cursor is positioned over a user interface element associated with a background process that is in a busy state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A user interface for a computer, comprising:
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at least three different images that are associated with a cursor and that respectively indicate (i) a currently accessible state, (ii) a busy state for a foreground process, and (iii) a busy state for a background process; and
means for detecting the position of a cursor relative to a user interface object and selectively displaying one of said three images at said position to indicate the state of a process associated with the object. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A method for displaying a cursor in a computer user interface, comprising the steps of:
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detecting when the cursor is positioned relative to an object associated with a process;
determining whether the process is in a state where its functionality can be currently accessed or in a busy state;
for a process that is in a busy state, determining whether the process is operating in the foreground or the background; and
selectively displaying a first image for the cursor if the process is busy and operating in the foreground, or a second image for the cursor if the process is busy and operating in the background. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer-readable medium containing a program that executes the following steps:
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detecting when a cursor of a user interface is positioned relative to an object associated with a process;
determining whether the process is in a state where its functionality can be currently accessed or in a busy state;
for a process that is in a busy state, determining whether the process is operating in the foreground or the background; and
selectively displaying a first image for the cursor if the process is busy and operating in the foreground, or a second image for the cursor if the process is busy and operating in the background. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer system, comprising:
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a display device on which a currently running application is represented to a user by a plurality of user interface objects displayed on a desktop;
a cursor control device for positioning a cursor displayed on said display device relative to said user interface objects; and
a user interface which controls the appearance of said cursor to display a first image when said cursor is positioned over a user interface object operating in the foreground that represents an application in a busy state that prevents it from being currently accessed, and a second image when said cursor is positioned over a user interface object operating in the background that represents an application in a busy state that prevents it from being currently accessed. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A method for displaying a cursor in a computer user interface, comprising the steps of:
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representing an application being executed on a computer by means of a plurality of user interface objects displayed on a desktop of the user interface;
detecting when the cursor is positioned over any of said plurality of user interface objects;
determining whether the application represented by the user interface object over which the cursor is positioned is in a busy state or a currently accessible state; and
selectively displaying a first image for the cursor if the application is currently accessible, a second image for the cursor if the application is in the foreground and is in a busy state, or a third image for the cursor if the application is in the background and is in a busy state, while the cursor is positioned over said object. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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23. A user interface for a computer, comprising:
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at least two different images for a cursor, including a first image which comprises a pointer arrow having a tail, and a second image which comprises a hybrid consisting of a pointer arrow with a graphic in place of said tail, wherein said graphic represents a condition of a process; and
means for normally displaying a cursor with said first image and for switching the display to said second image upon detecting that said cursor is associated with a user interface object that corresponds with said condition. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method for displaying a cursor in a computer user interface, comprising the steps of:
normally displaying a cursor with a first image which comprises a pointer arrow having a tail, and switching the display of said cursor to a second image which comprises a hybrid consisting of a pointer arrow with a graphic in place of said tail, wherein said graphic represents a condition of a process, upon detecting that said cursor is associated with a user interface object that corresponds with said condition. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A method for displaying a cursor in a computer user interface, comprising the steps of:
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normally displaying a cursor with a first image; and
switching the display of said cursor to a second image which comprises a hybrid consisting of a portion of the first image and a graphic, wherein said graphic represents a condition of a process, upon detecting that said cursor is associated with a user interface object that corresponds with said condition. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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Specification