Method for providing selectable alternate menu views

• US 20070150839A1
• Filed: 12/23/2005
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Danninger, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,802,203 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/825
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

In a method for providing a menu display, in response to a menu item selection, the method may determine whether a menu map selection event or a cascading menu selection has occurred, may display a plurality of menus including those that are of a hierarchical level below and not immediately following the hierarchical level of the menu item upon a condition that the menu map selection event occurred, and may display a plurality of menus including a submenu of the menu item that is of an hierarchical level immediately below and not further below that of the menu item if the cascading menu selection has occurred.

Claims

1. A menu display method, comprising:

in response to a selection of a menu item;

determining which of a first and a second selection event has occurred; and

displaying at least one menu in accordance with the determination;

wherein a menu that is of a hierarchical level below a hierarchical level of the menu item and not immediately following the hierarchical level of the menu item is displayed upon a condition that the first selection event has occurred.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, if the first selection event has occurred, all submenus of the menu item are displayed in response to the selection irrespective of the submenus'"'"' hierarchical levels.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, if the first selection event has occurred, all menus of a menu category to which the menu item belongs are displayed in response to the selection.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, if both the first selection event has occurred and another menu category is selected subsequent to the display of the at least one menu, menus of the another category are displayed instead of the menus of the menu category to which the menu item belongs.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein, if the first selection event has occurred:

a menu that is not a submenu of the menu item is displayed upon a condition that the menu one of (a) includes the menu item, and (b) includes a menu item that is a parent of the selected menu item.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determination is made upon a condition that the menu item is not selected from a display generated in response to a previous occurrence of the first selection event.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein if a menu listing is selected from the display generated in response to the previous occurrence of the first selection event, the display generated in response to the previous occurrence of the first selection event is modified to remove any menu that is none of (a) a submenu of the menu listing, (b) a menu that includes the menu listing, and (c) a menu that includes a menu item that is a parent of the selected menu item.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, if the first selection event has occurred, a submenu displayed in response to the menu item selection is displayed immediately following its parent menu item of an immediately preceding hierarchical level, and wherein another menu item of a menu that includes the parent menu item is displayed following the submenu.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a new window for the display of the at least one menu upon the condition that the first selection event has occurred, wherein the at least one menu is otherwise displayed in a window in which the menu item is displayed.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the new window remains open until one of selection of a window exit button and a window escape key.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein, if the second selection event has occurred, a menu is displayed in response to the selection upon a condition that the menu is one of (a) a menu that includes a menu item that is a parent of the selected menu item, (b) a menu that includes the selected menu item, and (c) a submenu of the selected menu item and of a hierarchical level that immediately follows the hierarchical level of the selected menu item.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first selection event occurs via a right-click of a mouse and the second selection even occurs via a left-click of the mouse.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the menu item includes one of a menu category, a menu listing, a portion of a menu bar not assigned to any menu category, and an icon corresponding to a combination of all menu categories of the menu bar, and wherein, if the first selection event occurs and the selection is of one of the portion of the menu bar and the icon, all menus of all menu categories of the menu bar are displayed in response to the selection.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the menu item is a menu listing displayed in response to a previous selection; and

a determination that the second selection event occurred was made in response to the previous selection.

15. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions adapted to be executed by a processor, the instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to perform the method of claim 1.

16. A menu display method, comprising:

in response to a selection of a menu item;

determining how the selection was input;

if it is determined that the selection is via a first selection input;

determining a distance between a hierarchical level of a menu and a hierarchical level of the menu item;

based on the distance determination, determining whether to display the menu; and

if it is determined that the menu is to be displayed, displaying the menu; and

if it is determined that the selection is via a second selection input, displaying the menu without consideration of the distance between the hierarchical level of the menu and the hierarchical level of the menu item.