ENABLING USER CONTROL OVER SELECTABLE FUNCTIONS OF A RUNNING EXISTING APPLICATION

• US 20080134071A1
• Filed: 12/05/2006
• Published: 06/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: KEOHANE, SUSANN M., McBrearty, Gerald F., Mullen, Shawn P., Shieh, Johnny M., Murillo, Jessica
• Granted Patent: US 7,779,363 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop

Abstract

A function management tool detects a user selection to drag and drop a particular selectable button from a first interface of the management tool to a second interface of an instance of a running application of multiple existing applications accessible at a computer system, wherein the management tool runs separately from the plurality of existing applications, wherein a separate pre-designated function is associated with each selectable button. Responsive to the management tool detecting the user select the dragged and dropped selectable button from within the second interface of the instance of the running application of the plurality of existing applications, the management tool controls the instance of the running application of the plurality of existing applications according to a particular pre-designated function of the dragged and dropped selectable button.

Claims

1. A method for enabling a user to control at least one selectable function of an existing application, comprising:

detecting a user selection to drag and drop a particular selectable button from a first interface of a management tool to a second interface of an instance of a running application of a plurality of existing applications accessible at a computer system, wherein the management tool runs separately from the plurality of existing applications, wherein a separate pre-designated function is associated with each selectable button; and

responsive to detecting the user select the dragged and dropped selectable button from within the second interface of the instance of the running application of the plurality of existing applications, controlling the instance of the running application of the plurality of existing applications according to a particular pre-designated function of the dragged and dropped selectable button.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring a separate selection of user activity associated with each interface of each separate instance of the plurality of existing applications;

for each separate selection of user activity, generating a separate pre-designated function to trigger a same set of functions triggered by each separate selection of user activity; and

updating the first interface of the management tool to comprise a separate selectable button associated with each separate pre-designated function generated based on monitored user activity.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein monitoring a separate selection of user activity associated with each interface of each separate instance of the plurality of existing applications, further comprises monitoring each selection of a function made by the user from a pull down menu within each interface of each separate instance of the plurality of existing applications.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

scanning the plurality of existing applications to detect, for each of the plurality of existing applications, a selection of functions from among the plurality of function calls provided by an operating system of the computer system and only triggered in each of the plurality of existing applications through user entry of a keystroke;

for each of the selection of functions, generating a separate pre-designated function to trigger a separate function call from among the plurality of function calls; and

updating the first interface of the management tool to comprise a separate selectable button associated with separate pre-designated function generated based on function calls requiring keystroke entry in at least one of the applications from among the plurality of existing applications.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the particular pre-designated function of the dragged and dropped selectable button comprises at least one from among closing a window, opening a new window, printing, minimizing a window, maximizing a window, increasing a font size, decreasing a font size, searching, and checking spelling.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

detecting the user selection to drag and drop the particular selectable button from the first interface of the management tool to a third interface of a third instance of one of the other running applications of the plurality of existing applications; and

responsive to detecting the user select the dragged and dropped selectable button from the third interface, controlling the third running instance of one of the other running applications of the plurality of existing applications according to the particular pre-designated function of the dragged and dropped selectable button.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the particular pre-designated function of the dragged and dropped selectable button is also a function performed by the running application from among the plurality of existing applications.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the particular pre-designated function of the dragged and dropped selectable button is also a function performed by the operating system of the computer system.

9. A system for enabling a user to control at least one selectable function of an existing application, comprising:

a computer system comprising a plurality of existing applications and a management tool that runs separately from the plurality of existing applications;

the management tool for detecting a user selection to drag and drop a particular selectable button from a first interface of the management tool to a second interface of an instance of a running application of the plurality of existing applications accessible at the computer system, wherein a separate pre-designated function is associated with each selectable button; and

the management tool, responsive to detecting the user select the dragged and dropped selectable button from within the second interface of the instance of the running application of the plurality of existing applications, for controlling the instance of the running application of the plurality of existing applications according to a particular pre-designated function of the dragged and dropped selectable button.

10. The system according to claim 9, the management tool further comprising:

means for monitoring a separate selection of user activity associated with each interface of each separate instance of the plurality of existing applications;

for each separate selection of user activity, means for generating a separate pre-designated function to trigger a same set of functions triggered by each separate selection of user activity; and

means for updating the first interface of the management tool to comprise a separate selectable button associated with each separate pre-designated function generated based on monitored user activity.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the means for monitoring a separate selection of user activity associated with each interface of each separate instance of the plurality of existing applications, further comprises means for monitoring each selection of a function made by the user from a pull down menu within each interface of each separate instance of the plurality of existing applications.

12. The system according to claim 9, the management tool further comprising:

means for scanning the plurality of existing applications to detect, for each of the plurality of existing applications, a selection of functions from among the plurality of function calls provided by an operating system of the computer system and only triggered in each of the plurality of existing applications through user entry of a keystroke;

for each of the selection of functions, means for generating a separate pre-designated function to trigger a separate function call from among the plurality of function calls; and

means for updating the first interface of the management tool to comprise a separate selectable button associated with separate pre-designated function generated based on function calls requiring keystroke entry in at least one of the applications from among the plurality of existing applications.

13. The system according to claim 9, wherein the particular pre-designated function of the dragged and dropped selectable button comprises at least one from among closing a window, opening a new window, printing, minimizing a window, maximizing a window, increasing a font size, decreasing a font size, searching, and checking spelling.

14. The system according to claim 9, the management tool further comprising:

means for detecting the user selection to drag and drop the particular selectable button from the first interface of the management tool to a third interface of a third instance of one of the other running applications of the plurality of existing applications; and

means, responsive to detecting the user select the dragged and dropped selectable button from the third interface, for controlling the third instance of one of the other running applications of the plurality of application according to the particular pre-designated function of the dragged and dropped selectable button.

15. The system according to claim 9, wherein the particular pre-designated function of the dragged and dropped selectable button is also a function performed by the running application from among the plurality of existing applications.

16. The system according to claim 9, wherein the particular pre-designated function of the dragged and dropped selectable button is also a function performed by the operating system of the computer system.

17. A program product comprising a storage-type computer-usable medium including a computer-readable program for enabling a user to control at least one selectable function of an existing application, wherein the computer-readable program when executed on a computer cause the computer to:

detect a user selection to drag and drop a particular selectable button from a first interface of a management tool to a second interface of an instance of a running application of a plurality of existing applications accessible at a computer system, wherein the management tool runs separately from the plurality of existing applications, wherein a separate pre-designated function is associated with each selectable button; and

responsive to detecting the user select the dragged and dropped selectable button from within the second interface of the instance of the running application of the plurality of existing applications, control the instance of the running application of the plurality of existing applications according to a particular pre-designated function of the dragged and dropped selectable button.

18. The program product according to claim 17, wherein the computer-readable program is transmitted over a network.

19. The program product according to claim 17, wherein the computer-readable program when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

monitor a separate selection of user activity associated with each interface of each separate instance of the plurality of existing applications;

for each separate selection of user activity, generate a separate pre-designated function to trigger a same set of functions triggered by each separate selection of user activity; and

update the first interface of the management tool to comprise a separate selectable button associated with each separate pre-designated function generated based on monitored user activity.

20. The program product according to claim 17, wherein the computer-readable program when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

scan the plurality of existing applications to detect, for each of the plurality of existing applications, a selection of functions from among the plurality of function calls provided by an operating system of the computer system and only triggered in each of the plurality of existing applications through user entry of a keystroke;

for each of the selection of functions, generate a separate pre-designated function to trigger a separate function call from among the plurality of function calls; and

update the first interface of the management tool to comprise a separate selectable button associated with separate pre-designated function generated based on function calls requiring keystroke entry in at least one of the applications from among the plurality of existing applications.