SELF-REVELATION AIDS FOR INTERFACES

• US 20090187824A1
• Filed: 01/21/2008
• Published: 07/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Zhao, Shengdong, Yust, Darryl, Hinckley, Kenneth P., Sarin, Raman K., Baudisch, Patrick M., Cutrell, Edward B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,196,042 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/711
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

Systems and/or methods are provided that facilitates revealing assistance information associated with a user interface. An interface can obtain input information related to interactions between the interface and a user. In addition, the interface can output assistance information in situ with the user interface. Further, a decision component that determines the in situ assistance information output by the interface based at least in part on the obtained input information.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates providing assistance information, comprising:

an interface component that obtains input information and outputs assistance information in situ with a user interface; and

a decision component that determines the in situ assistance information output by the interface component based at least in part on the obtained input information.

2. The system of claim 1, the in situ assistance information comprises one or more tips that overlay the user interface such that the one or more tips are correlated with the one or more controls of the user interface.

3. The system of claim 1, the decision component comprises a proximity component that ascertains whether to reveal in situ assistance information when a user maintains proximity to a control via an input device.

4. The system of claim 3, the proximity component activates in situ assistance information when proximity is maintained for a time period threshold.

5. The system of claim 1, the decision component comprises a collection management component that analyzes the input information obtained by the interface component and evaluates whether to display assistance information comprising a collection of tips in situ with the user interface.

6. The system of claim 5, the collection of tips includes one or more tips specifying actionable features of a portion of the user interface, the one or more tips comprise informal annotations with a handwritten appearance to suggest separation from the user interface.

7. The system of claim 5, the interface component provides user interface a hide tips control corresponding to the collection of tips that enables a user to dismiss the tips.

8. The system of claim 7, the collection management component dismisses the tips upon activation of the hide tips controls, the interface component animates the collection of tips shrinking into a user interface control employable to reveal the collection of tips.

9. The system of claim 5, the collection management component is communicatively coupled to a data store, the data store persists a preference that specifies the collection of tips should remain hidden.

10. The system of claim 1, the user interface is a gesture-based interface wherein a user motions an input device to activate commands.

11. The system of claim 7, the decision component comprises a contention component that facilities managing multiple overlapping gestures associated with a portion of the user interface.

12. The system of claim 8, the overlap component selects assistance information comprising a subset of tips associated with the portion of the user interface.

13. The system of claim 9, the subset of tips includes tips associated with a set of most common gestures employed via the portion of the user interface.

14. The system of claim 8, the interface component outputs one or more frames providing assistance information related to the multiple overlapping gestures.

15. The system of claim 11, the one or more frames include animations that demonstrate the gestures being drawn.

16. The system of claim 11, the one or more frames are hierarchically organized wherein gestures with preconditions are shown dependent on gestures that satisfy the preconditions.

17. A method that facilitates providing gesture-based input to an application user interface, comprising:

associating a floating tool palette with the application user interface;

capturing gesture input via the tool palette; and

forwarding event data to the application.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising generating the event data based at least in part on the captured gesture input.

19. The method of claim 17, the floating tool palette is a translucent overlay placed in a conspicuous location on the application user interface.

20. A system that facilitates self-revelation of tips providing assistance information related to a user interface, comprising:

means for obtaining at least one of input information or context information;

means for analyzing the at least one of input information or context information;

means for selecting candidate tips based at least in part on the analyzed input information or context information; and

means for revealing the candidate tips in situ with the user interface.