Content based user interface design

• US 20070061740A1
• Filed: 09/12/2005
• Published: 03/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Marini, Cesare
• Granted Patent: US 7,831,918 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/762
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces

Abstract

Design of a user interface can be based on content of a data source bound to the user interface. Access can be provided to a data source having fields containing respective items of data. The items can be automatically analyzed to determine which types of user interface elements and/or properties of user interface elements to bind to the fields. Information for binding the fields with the respective determined types of user interface elements and/or the properties can be generated or stored. A user interface design tool can have data field identifiers that identify data fields of a data source. Control-type designators associated with the data fields can allow a user to designate one of a plurality control-types. Property designators associated with one of the control-type designators can be included to allow a user to designate a property of the control-type designated by a corresponding control-type designator.

Claims

1. A method of selecting a type and/or property of a user interface element to be associated with a data source field, the method comprising:

accessing a data source, the data source comprising a plurality of fields, each field containing a respective item of data;

automatically analyzing the items of data to determine which types of user interface elements and/or properties of user interface elements to bind to the fields; and

storing binding information indicating binding of the fields with the respective determined types of user interface elements and/or the properties.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the information indicating binding of the fields comprises information usable by an application, at runtime, to bind the fields to user interface elements displayed by the application.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the types of user interface elements comprise properties, and wherein the analyzing further determines which properties to bind to the fields.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising binding user interface elements with the fields based on the stored binding information such that when corresponding user interface elements are instantiated their behavior affects or is affected by the data source.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the analyzing comprises comparing the data items to predetermined patterns that are associated with the types of user interface elements.

6. An apparatus configured to perform a method according to claim 1.

7. Volatile or non-volatile computer-readable media storing information for a computer to perform a process, the process comprising:

designating a data source to be bound to a user interface for displaying and/or manipulating data obtained from the data source, the data source comprising fields containing content;

accessing the data source and automatically analyzing the content of the fields to automatically select different types of user interface elements and/or different user interface element properties for being bound to respective fields of the data source; and

generating information capable of being used to provide a user interface comprising user interface elements and/or properties in accordance with the automatic selection.

8. Computer-readable media according to claim 7, wherein the data source comprises a database or a document comprising markup language and content identified thereby.

9. Computer-readable media according to claim 7, wherein the generated information comprises source code or markup language.

10. Computer-readable media according to claim 7, wherein the generated information comprises XAML.

11. Computer-readable media according to claim 7, wherein the automatically selecting different types of user interface elements comprises automatically setting current selections of respective multi-selection user interface elements.

12. Computer-readable media according to claim 7, wherein the generating is responsive to user input, and the generated information is based on the current selections of the multi-selection user interface elements in a user interface design tool.

13. A computing apparatus comprising computer-readable media according to claim 7.

14. Volatile or non-volatile computer-readable media storing information for allowing an apparatus to perform a process for determining which types of user interface elements and which properties thereof are to be bound to respective fields of a data source, the process comprising:

displaying a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface comprising;

a plurality of data field identifiers, each comprising information identifying a corresponding one of the data fields;

a plurality of control-type designators, each control-type-designator comprising a user interface element that is associated with one of the data fields, and each control-type designator being capable of being interacted with by a user to designate one of a plurality control-types, each of the control-types comprising a different type of user interface element; and

a plurality of property designators, each property designator comprising a user interface element that is associated with one of the control-type designators, and each property designator being capable of being interacted with by a user to designate a property of the control-type designated by its associated control-type designator.

15. Computer-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein a data field identifier further comprises a component with which a user can interact to indicate whether the data field is to be bound to a user interface element.

16. Computer-readable medium according to claim 14, the process further comprising:

automatically designating the control-type of a control-type designator based on an automatic analysis of a data item within its corresponding data field.

17. Computer-readable medium according to claim 16, the process further comprising:

automatically designating the property of a property designator based on the automatic analysis of the data item.

18. Computer-readable medium according to claim 17, wherein the analyzing comprises a heuristic for determining a data type from among a plurality of possible different types of data.

19. Computer-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein the heuristic comprises comparing the data item to a plurality of patterns, each corresponding to a different type of data.

20. Computer-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein the process further comprises:

in response to user input, generating a template or programming code, where the template or programming code comprises information to cause an application to bind the data fields with respective user interface elements of the types designated by the control-type designators.