VIRTUAL KEYBOARD TEXT REPLICATION

• US 20080320410A1
• Filed: 06/19/2007
• Published: 12/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Boler, Sabrina, Whytock, John Christopher, Vassigh, Ali Moradd
• Granted Patent: US 8,078,984 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/773
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for replicating text at a virtual keyboard. Characters submitted to, displayed at, or accumulated for submission to an application data field are echoed at a keyboard data field that is in relatively close proximity to virtual keys used to enter the characters. Thus, a user does not have to alter their field of view to the application data field to determine what was submitted to the application data field, what was entered at the application data field, or what is to be submitted to the application data field. Accordingly, embodiments of the invention permit a user to much more easily see what they typed using a virtual keyboard. The need to alter a visual field of focus between an application data field and a virtual keyboard is significantly reduced, if not eliminated.

Claims

1. At a computer system including an interactive touch screen display, a method for replicating text entered at a virtual keyboard, the method comprising:

an act of shifting focus to an application data field of an application presented on the interactive touch screen display;

an act of presenting a virtual keyboard on the interactive touch screen display along with the application, the virtual keyboard including;

a plurality of virtual keys for entering characters into the application data field; and

a keyboard data field for echoing characters entered into the application data field, the keyboard data field being more easily viewable relative to the one or more virtual keys than the application data field relative to the one or more virtual keys;

an act of receiving input indicating that a virtual key, from among the plurality of virtual keys, have been selected;

an act of providing the character corresponding to the selected virtual key to the application data field; and

an act of echoing the character corresponding to the selected virtual key in the keyboard data field to provide more easily viewable feedback indicating what character was selected at the virtual keys such that a user does not have to alter their field of view to the application data field to determine what character was selected.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of shifting focus to an application data field of an application comprises an act of receiving a user command indicative of a desire to enter text into the application data field.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of presenting a virtual keyboard on the interactive touch screen display along with the application comprises an act of presenting a virtual keyboard that includes one or more of typewriter keys, function keys, application keys, cursor control keys, enter keys, a numeric keypad, and operating system keys

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of receiving input indicating that a virtual key, from among the plurality of virtual keys, have been selected comprises an act of detecting contact with the interactive touch screen display in the location of a virtual key.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of providing the character corresponding to the selected virtual key to the application data field comprises an act of providing a character code from a specified character set to the application data field.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of providing the character corresponding to the selected virtual key to the application data field comprises an act of providing the character corresponding to the selection virtual key to the application data field essentially immediately in response to receiving input indicating that a virtual key from among the one or more virtual keys of the virtual keyboard has been selected.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of echoing the character corresponding to the selected virtual key in the keyboard data field comprises an act of act echoing a character for a specified language.

8. At a computer system including an interactive touch screen display, a method for replicating text entered into an application data field, the method comprising:

an act of shifting focus to an application data field of an application presented on the interactive touch screen display;

an act of presenting a virtual keyboard on the interactive touch screen display along with the application, the virtual keyboard including;

one or more virtual keys for entering characters into the application data field; and

a keyboard data field for echoing characters presented at the application data field based on application data field logic associated with the application data field, the keyboard data field being more easily viewable relative to the one or more virtual keys than the application data field relative to the one or more virtual keys;

an act of receiving input indicating that a virtual key from among the one or more virtual keys of the virtual keyboard has been selected;

an act of providing the character corresponding to the selected virtual key to the application data field;

an act of presenting an altered character within the application data field based on the application data field logic; and

an act of echoing the altered character in the keyboard data field to provide more easily viewable feedback indicating what character was presented within application data field such that a user does not have to alter their field of view to the application data field to determine what character was presented.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of presenting a virtual keyboard on the interactive touch screen display along with the application comprises an act of presenting a virtual keyboard that includes one or more of typewriter keys, function keys, application keys, cursor control keys, enter keys, a numeric keypad, and operating system keys

10. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of presenting a virtual keyboard on the interactive touch screen display along with the application comprises presenting a virtual keyboard having a keyboard data entry field for echoing characters that were altered by one of data type rules and data validation rules corresponding to the application data field

11. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of receiving input indicating that a virtual key, from among the plurality of virtual keys, have been selected comprises an act of detecting contact with the interactive touch screen display in the location of a virtual key.

12. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of providing the character corresponding to the selected virtual key to the application data field comprises an act of providing a character code from a specified character set to the application data field.

13. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of echoing the altered character in the keyboard data field comprises an act of echoing a character that was altered by at least one of data type rules and data validation rules corresponding to the application data field.

14. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of echoing the character corresponding to the selected virtual key in the keyboard data field comprises an act of act echoing a character for a specified language.

15. At a computer system including an interactive touch screen display, a method for sending accumulated text to an application, the method comprising

an act of shifting focus to an application data field of an application presented on the interactive touch screen display

an act of presenting a virtual keyboard on the interactive touch screen display along with the application, the virtual keyboard including

a plurality of virtual keys for entering characters into the application data field;

and

a keyboard data field for echoing characters directed to the application data field, the keyboard data field being more easily viewable relative to the one or more virtual keys than the application data field relative to the one or more virtual keys;

an act of receiving input indicating that a one or more virtual keys, from among the plurality of virtual keys, have been selected;

an act of accumulating the one more characters corresponding to the selected one or more virtual keys in the keyboard data field to provide more easily viewable feedback indicating what characters were entered at the virtual keys such that a user does not have to alter their field of view to determine what characters were entered;

an act of receiving an indication that the one or more characters are to be forwarded to the application subsequent to accumulating the one more characters; and

an act of sending the one or more characters to the application data field for presentation in response to the indication.

16. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the act of presenting a virtual keyboard on the interactive touch screen display along with the application comprises an act of presenting a virtual keyboard that includes one or more of typewriter keys, function keys, application keys, cursor control keys, enter keys, a numeric keypad, and operating system keys.

17. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the act of receiving input indicating that a one or more virtual keys, from among the plurality of virtual keys, have been selected comprises an act of detecting contact with the interactive touch screen display in the location of a the one or more virtual keys.

18. The method as recited in claim 15, further comprising:

an act of buffering the one or more characters in system memory.

19. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the act of receiving an indication that the one or more characters are to be forwarded to the application subsequent to accumulating the one more characters comprises an act of receiving an indication that a send control was selected.

20. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the act of receiving an indication that the one or more characters are to be forwarded to the application subsequent to accumulating the one more characters comprises an act of receiving an indication that a logical condition was satisfied.