Multi-application tabbing system

• US 20060161859A1
• Filed: 01/18/2005
• Published: 07/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Stabb, Charles W., Pettiross, Jeffrey W., Cooperman, Hillel N., Ligameri, Mark R., Holecek, Ales
• Granted Patent: US 7,426,697 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/781
• 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 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]

Abstract

A method for displaying a plurality of windows on a display screen is described. The method includes steps of associating a first window with at least one second window, the at least one second window being independent of and external to the first window, and combining the first window and the at least one second window into a common window on a display screen, the first window and the at least one second window being configured to share a common window frame. An indicator may appear on the display as a target region when a user desires to associate the first and the second windows. Subsequent operations performed on the common window are performed automatically on any underlying window. For example, when a user chooses to save the contents of the common window, the contents of all of the windows of the common window may be saved.

Claims

1. A method for combining a plurality of windows on a display screen, the method comprising steps of:

associating a first window with at least one second window, said at least one second window being independent of and external to the first window; and

combining the first window and the at least one second window into a common window on a display screen, the first window and the at least one second window being configured to share a common window frame.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of performing an operation on the common window.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of performing includes changing an orientation of the common window based upon an activation of a mode selection interface.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of associating includes a step of receiving an input to associate the first window and the at least one second window, wherein the input is a signal corresponding to a movement of the at least one second window over a target location of the first window.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the target location is an object that appears on the first window when the at least one second window is dragged within a predefined area of the first window.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein an operation performed on the common window automatically performs the operation on the first window and the at least one second window.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the common window frame includes a first tab to access the first window and a second tab to access the at least one second window.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second tab is partially obscured when the first window is an active window.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first window corresponds to a first application program and the second window corresponds to a second application program.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first application program and the second application program are different application programs.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising steps of:

receiving an input corresponding to a request to disassociate the first window and the at least one second window; and

removing the first window and the at least one second window from the common window.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of combining a first taskbar button in a taskbar area corresponding to the first window and a second taskbar button in the taskbar area corresponding to the at least one second window into a common taskbar button in the taskbar area.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the common taskbar button corresponds to the first taskbar button when the first window is active and the common taskbar button corresponds to the second window when the at least one second window is active.

14. A series of computer-executable instructions for combining a plurality of windows on a display screen, the instructions performing a step of sending an instruction to combine a first top level window corresponding to a first application program and an at least one second top level window corresponding to a second application program into a common window.

15. The series of computer-readable instructions of claim 14, further comprising a step of sending an instruction to modify the common window.

16. The series of computer-readable instructions of claim 14, wherein the first application program and the second application program are the same application program.

17. The series of computer-readable instructions of claim 14, wherein the common window is configured to be modified by the first application program.

18. A software architecture for processing data representative of combined windows, comprising:

at least one component configured to combine a first top level window and a second level window into a common window; and

at least one application program interface to access the component.

19. The software architecture of claim 18, further comprising at least one component configured to programmatically control opening the first top level window and the second top level window into the common window.

20. The software architecture of claim 18, further comprising at least one component configured to programmatically control removing the first top level window and the second top level window from the common window.