System and method for re-sizing objects

• US 20070146393A1
• Filed: 12/28/2005
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Xcpt Communication Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: Xcpt, Inc.
• Inventors: Glen, Peter, Feldman, Steven
• Application Number:
  US11/320,219
• Publication Number:
  US 20070146393A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/660
• 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

Abstract

An electronic method for re-sizing an object. The method includes selecting an object for re-sizing, dragging a cursor from a first location to a second location to produce a cursor movement, and re-sizing the object based the cursor movement to obtain a re-sized object. The first location can be designated arbitrarily and the second location can be independent of the location of the object.

Claims

1. An electronic method for re-sizing an object, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) selecting an object for re-sizing;

(b) dragging a cursor from a first location to a second location to produce a cursor movement, wherein the second location is independent of the location of the object; and

(c) re-sizing the object based the cursor movement to obtain a re-sized object.

2. The electronic method of claim 1 wherein the object is a relatively undersized object.

3. The electronic method of claim 1 wherein the object is a relatively oversized object.

4. The electronic method of claim 1 wherein the first location can be within the object or on a designated user interface element.

5. The electronic method of claim 1 wherein step (c) comprises:

(c) incrementally re-sizing the object as the cursor drags from the first location to the second location.

6. The electronic method of claim 5 further comprising:

(d) displaying the re-sized object.

7. An electronic method for re-sizing an object, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying an object, the object having a width (W) and height (H);

(b) receiving a cursor movement for re-sizing the object

(c) calculating a horizontal (h) and vertical component (v) based on the cursor movement; and

(d) re-sizing the object by adjusting (W) based on (h) and by adjusting (H) based on (v) to obtain a re-sized object.

8. The electronic method of claim 7, wherein the height and width adjustments are independent of each other.

9. The electronic method of claim 7, wherein the cursor movement includes a first cursor position (x1,y1) and a second cursor position (x2,y2).

10. The electronic method of claim 9, further comprising:

(e) determining the horizontal component (h) by subtracting x2 from x1; and

(f) determining the vertical component (v) by subtracting y2 from y1.

11. The electronic method of claim 7, wherein step (d) comprises:

(d1) increasing (W) if (h) is greater than 0;

(d2) decreasing (W) if (h) is less than 0;

(d3) increasing (H) if (v) is less than 0; and

(d4) decreasing (H) if (v) is greater than 0.

12. The electronic method of claim 10, wherein (x1,y1) and (x2,y2) are first and second pixel positions on a computer display, and (h) and (v) are represented as a number of pixels.

13. The electronic method of claim 12, wherein step (d) further comprises:

(d) re-sizing (H) and/or (W) one pixel per pixel of (v) and/or (h).

14. The electronic method of claim 7, further comprising:

(e) receiving a re-sizing scalar (s) for scaling the re-sizing of the object;

(f) calculating a scaled horizontal component based on (s) and (h); and

(g) calculating a scaled vertical component based on (s) and (v).

15. The electronic method of claim 14, wherein step (d) comprises:

(d) re-sizing the object by adjusting (W) based on the scaled horizontal component and by adjusting (H) based on the scaled vertical component to obtain the re-sized object.

16. The electronic method of claim 9, further comprising:

(e) recording a first time (t1) when the cursor is last located at (x1,y1);

(f) recording a second time (t2) when the cursor is first located at (x2,y2);

(g) calculating a cursor movement time (t) by subtracting (t1) from (t2);

(h) calculating a cursor movement distance (d) based on (x1,y1) and (x2,y2); and

(i) determining a cursor movement velocity (vel) by dividing (d) by (t).

17. The electronic method of claim 16, wherein step (d) comprises:

(d) re-sizing the object by adjusting (W) based on (h) and (vel) and by adjusting (H) based on (v) and (vel).

18. A computer system including a computer display for displaying an object that can be re-sized, the computer system comprising:

a computer having a central processing unit (CPU) for executing machine instructions and a memory for storing machine instructions that are to be executed by the CPU, the machine instructions when executed by the CPU implement the following functions;

(a) displaying an object, the object having a width (W) and height (H);

(b) receiving a cursor movement for re-sizing the object;

(c) calculating a horizontal (h) and vertical component (v) based on the cursor movement; and

(d) re-sizing the object by adjusting (W) based on (h) and by adjusting (H) based on (v) to obtain a re-sized object.

19. The computer system of claim 18, the machine instructions for step (d) comprising:

(d1) increasing (W) if (h) is greater than 0;

(d2) decreasing (W) if (h) is less than 0;

(d3) increasing (H) if (v) is less than 0; and

(d4) decreasing (H) if (v) is greater than 0.

20. The computer system of claim 18, the machine instructions for step (d) comprising:

(d) re-sizing the object by adjusting (W) based on (h) and by adjusting (H) based on (v) to obtain the re-sized object wherein the height and width adjustments are independent of each other.