Multi-pane navigation model for graphical user interfaces

• US 20060101353A1
• Filed: 01/17/2006
• Published: 05/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Clark, Bradford R., Feliberti, Vanessa Cristina
• Application Number:
  US11/333,164
• Publication Number:
  US 20060101353A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/792
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• 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 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

A graphical user interface for navigating a hierarchical tree of items wherein a top level pane, a first detail-level pane, and a second detail-level pane are utilized to display contents of tree items being navigated.

Claims

1. In a computer system having a graphical user interface including a display and a user interface selection device, a method for displaying selectable items in a hierarchy, the method comprising:

defining at least three panes;

displaying a plurality of selectable top-level containers in a top-level pane, said top-level containers being displayed in a navigational hierarchy;

displaying at least one selectable first detail-level container in a first detail-level pane, wherein the first detail container is derived from a top-level container selected from the top-level pane;

displaying at least one selectable detail-level object in a second detail-level pane, wherein the detail-level object is derived from a first detail-level container selected from the first-level pane.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected first detail-level container comprises a second detail-level container.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

selecting the first detail-level container; and

displaying a selectable tab, table, or table of selectable tabs in the second detail-level pane, said selectable tab representing a second detail-level container derived from the first detail-level container.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

selecting a tab representing the second detail-level container; and

displaying a detail-level object derived from the second detail-level container in the second detail-level pane.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a plurality of second detail-level panes.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of second detail-level panes contain objects or containers independently derived from a plurality of first detail-level containers selected from the first detail-level pane.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting a top-level container in the top-level pane; and

displaying a set of selectable first detail-level containers in the first detail-level pane, said set of selectable first detail-level containers comprising a first detail-level root container displayed in a tree hierarchy, the first detail-level root container corresponding to the selected top-level container.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting a top-level container in the top-level pane; and

displaying two or more first detail-level tree hierarchies in the first detail-level pane, wherein the tree hierarchies are derived from the selected top-level container.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first detail-level tree hierarchies are independently selectable.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first detail-level tree hierarchies are displayed in the first detail-level pane by a selectable user interface component, wherein the selectable user interface component is selected from the group comprising selectable tabs, selectable table, and selectable table comprising tabs.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

selecting the selectable user interface component; and

displaying a first detail-level tree comprising a set of selectable first detail-level containers in the first detail-level pane, the first detail-level tree being derived from the selected user interface component.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more computer-readable media have computer-executable instructions for performing the computer-executable method of claim 1.

13. A method of navigating a hierarchy of selectable items in a top-level pane, the method comprising:

selecting a top-level item in the top-level pane;

displaying a first detail-level pane comprising at least one selectable first detail-level item derived from the selected top-level item;

selecting a first detail-level item in the first detail-level pane;

displaying a second detail-level pane comprising at least one selectable second detail-level item derived from the selected first detail-level item.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the selected first detail-level item is a first detail-level container comprising at least one second detail-level container.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a selectable tab that corresponds to the second detail-level container is displayed in the second detail-level pane.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

selecting the second detail-level tab; and

displaying, in the second detail-level pane, one or more objects that correspond to the selected second detail-level tab.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein selecting a second top-level item changes the items displayed in the first detail-level pane and the second detail-level pane.

18. A computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method comprising:

providing a top-level pane for displaying a tree hierarchy of selectable items;

providing a first detail-level pane for displaying at least one first detail-level item linked to one of the items in the tree hierarchy of the top-level pane;

providing one or more second detail-level panes wherein each second detail-level pane displays one or more selectable tabs linked to the first detail-level item, said selectable tabs each representing a container of one or more second detail-level objects; and

displaying the contents of a selected tab in the second detail-level pane.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the first detailed-level pane comprises one or more tree hierarchies of items.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19 further comprising:

displaying the first detail-level tree hierarchies in the first detail-level pane by a selectable user interface component, wherein the selectable user interface component is selected from the group comprising selectable tabs, selectable table, and selectable table comprising tabs.