Sidebar engine, object model and schema

• US 20070074126A1
• Filed: 08/18/2005
• Published: 03/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Erickson, Paul, Amadio, Louis, Teutsch, Brian, Fisher, Oliver
• Granted Patent: US 7,665,032 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/764
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

An engine is provided for displaying an application for hosting a second application. The hosting application can be a sidebar on a display. The engine can contain a part or program which can include a manifest file, a definition file and/or a script file. The manifest file may contain a pointer to at least one of the definition file and the script file. The engine may also contain a loader that can locate the definition file and/or script file (e.g., via pointers in the manifest file) and load the definition file and/or script files of the part for processing. The engine may also execute script associated with the part and convert an object model into a user interface which can be displayed at a predetermined location on a display or docked onto a sidebar. The user interface can further be manipulated or relocated within the sidebar or removed (i.e., undocked) from the sidebar. The sidebar may be exploded or imploded with the corresponding parts on the sidebar displayed on the desktop or another application (exploded) or returned to the sidebar (imploded).

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a data structure, comprising:

a part object parameter representing a property of a user interface;

a part settings object parameter representing a configuration of the user interface;

a display object parameter representing at least one of an event and a property associated with the user interface;

a display screen object parameter representing at least one of a property and method of the user interface;

an element object parameter representing at least one of an event, method or property of the user interface;

wherein the data structure defines a representation of the user interface on a display.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the part object parameter is selected from the group consisting of ActiveWindow;

Docked;

IsInOverflow;

ProcessGroup;

Settings;

View;

Id;

WidgetMenuButtonOffsetTop;

WidgetMenuButtonOffsetRight;

Hotkey;

LogEvents;

Shown; and

Visibility.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the part settings object parameter is selected from the group consisting of Read((String)PropertyName) and IWrite((String)PropertyName, (String)PropertyValue).

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the display object parameter represents an event associated with the user interface and is selected from the group consisting of PrimaryScreenChanged( ), ScreenChanged( ), and TerminalServerChanged.

5. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the display object parameter represents a property associated with the user interface and is selected from the group consisting of IsDragFullWindows, IsHighContrast, IsDropShadowEnabled, IsTerminalServerSession, and PrimaryScreen.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the display screen object parameter represents a property of the user interface and is selected from the group consisting of Height, Left, Top, Width, WorkingHeight, WorkingLeft, WorkingTop, WorkingWidth, DPI, BitsPerPixel, Resolution, DeviceName, and PrimaryScreen.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the display screen object parameter represents a method of the user interface and is selected from the group consisting of GetBounds( ) and GetWorkingArea( ).

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the element object parameter represents an event of the user interface and is selected from the group consisting of DragEnter, DragLeave, Drop, GotFocus, KeyDown, keyup, LostFocus, MouseEnter, MouseLeave, MouseLeftButtonDown, MouseLeftButtonUp, MouseMove, MouseRightButtonDown, MouseRightButtonUp, and MouseWheel.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the element object parameter represents a method of the user interface and is selected from the group consisting of ShowDialog((String)Messsage, (String)Title, (String)Type, (Int)Buttons);

CreateElement((String)ElementType);

(Element) FindChild((String)ElementName);

(Collection(Elements)) FindChildren((String)ElementName);

Insert((Element)Element);

Insert((Int)Index, (Element)Element);

Remove((Element)Element); and

RemoveAt((Int)Index).

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 wherein the element object parameter represents a property of the user interface and is selected from the group consisting of Background, Canvas.Bottom, Canvas.Left, Canvas.Right, Canvas.Top, CenterX, CenterY, Cursor, height, IsTabStop, Name, Opacity, Parent, Rotate, TabIndex, Tag, Tooltiip, Visibility, Width, and ZOrder.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 further comprising an ActiveXControl Object parameter representing a property of the user interface.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the ActiveXControl Object parameter is ObjectId.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 further comprising a machine object parameter representing system properties associated with the user interface.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 wherein the machine object parameter is selected from the group consisting of CPUCount, TotalCPUUsage, and TotalMemory.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 further comprising a system shell object parameter representing at least one of an event or a method associated with the user interface.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the system shell object parameter is DirectoryChanged ((String)Path, (Function Pointer)Function) and represents an event associated with the user interface.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the system shell object parameter represents a method associated with the user interface and is selected from the group consisting of (System.Shell.Item) ChooseFile((String)Path, (String)Filter);

(System.Shell.Item) ChooseFolder((String)Path);

(String, RGB) ColorPicker( );

Delete((String)Path);

Delete((String)Path,(Boolean)Recursively);

Exists((String)Path);

FriendlyName;

(String) GetDirectoryRoot((String)Path);

(System.Shell.Item) GetItem((String)Path);

Name;

Navigate((String) Url); and

(System.Shell.Item) SaveFileDialog((String)Path, (String)Filter).

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 further comprising a shell item object parameter representing a method of the user interface, the shell item object parameter being selected from the group consisting of CreateText((String)Path), Delete((String)Path), MoveToRecycleBin((String)Path), Show((String) Path), InvokeVerb((String)Verb), (Int) GetAttributes((String)Path).

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 further comprising a shell item object parameter representing a property a property of the user interface, the shell item object parameter being selected from the group consisting of Folder, IsLink, ItemType, Link, ModifyDate, Name, Path, Size, Type, and RealShellItem((String)Path).

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 1 further comprising an event object parameter representing a property of the user interface and selected from the group consisting of ClickCount, MouseWheelDelta, Handled, isKeyDown, Key, keyState, modifierKeys, and MouseKeyStates.