Writing guide for a free-form document editor

• US 20060257025A1
• Filed: 05/08/2006
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Simmons, Alex J., Pratley, Christopher H., Urata, Kentaro, Braun, Owen C., Engrav, Peter Loren, Stuple, Stuart J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,409,089 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/186
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/171 by use of digital ink
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/18095 Summing image-intensity values; Projection and histogram analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/36 Matching; Classification

Abstract

Displaying a writing guide for a free-form document editor by detecting electronic ink, classifying the detected ink as corresponding to handwriting or a drawing, and displaying a handwriting guide or a drawing guide in response to classifying the detected ink as handwriting or a drawing, respectively. The writing guides can provide feedback regarding the classification of the detected ink and can be resized as additional ink is detected. The handwriting guide can comprise a writing area, writing guide portion, bullet guide, indent marker, character notches, gesture guide, or sacrificial guide to create meaningful structure within an outline object of an electronic document.

Claims

1-27. -27. (canceled)

28. A method of displaying a writing guide for a free-form document editor, comprising:

detecting electronic ink;

creating a histogram representing a distribution of the detected electronic ink;

determining the dimensions of a writing area into which a user inputs electronic ink based on the histogram; and

displaying a writing guide wherein the writing guide encompasses the writing area.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein determining the dimensions further comprises increasing the dimensions of the writing area by adding spacing.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein creating a histogram further comprises:

dividing the line into a plurality of segments;

measuring an amount of the detected ink in each segment; and

creating the histogram based on the amount of detected ink in each segment.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein creating a histogram further comprises:

setting an ink removal threshold corresponding to an amount of ink below which a segment is removed from the writing area;

determining whether the amount of detected ink in a segment is less than the ink removal threshold; and

if the amount of detected ink in the segment is less that the ink removal threshold, removing the segment from the writing area to establish the dimensions of the writing area.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein determining the dimensions further comprises:

converting a portion of the detected ink to text; and

calculating the dimensions of the writing area based on the ink-to-text conversion.

33. The method of claim 28, wherein if the detected ink is classified as handwriting, the displayed guide is a handwriting guide.

34. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for displaying a writing guide in a determined location, by a method comprising:

detecting an electronic ink stroke made by a user;

determining the location within a document of the electronic ink stroke; and

after determining the location, displaying a writing guide based on the location of the electronic ink stroke.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the method further comprises removing the writing guide.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein the writing guide is removed after a predetermined duration of inactivity.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein the writing guide is removed after a second writing guide is displayed.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the writing guide is resized as additional electronic ink strokes are detected.

39. The computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein ink strokes within the writing guide are placed in a group and ink strokes outside the writing guide are not placed in the group.

40. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for displaying a writing guide for modifying the format of digital ink, by a method comprising:

displaying a writing guide comprising controls for formatting digital ink;

receiving digital ink;

receiving a selection of a formatting control; and

formatting the received digital ink in accordance with the selected formatting control.

41. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the controls for formatting include a next level indent indicator dividing the writing area into a first level region and a second level region, the first and second level regions corresponding to different levels of a structured outline.

42. The computer-readable medium of claim 41 wherein the controls for formatting include a bullet region corresponding to a bullet outline of the structured outline.

43. The computer-readable medium of claim 42, wherein the method further comprises activating the bullet region to display the bullet outline.

44. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the controls for formatting include character notches that divide the writing area into character boxes for individual characters of a language.

45. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the controls for formatting include a paragraph indentation control.

46. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein the controls for formatting include a control for merging groups of related ink strokes into a single group.

47. The computer-readable medium of claim 46, wherein the groups are paragraphs and the control merges multiple paragraphs into a single paragraph.