Graphical user interface having contextual menus
First Claim
1. A user interface via which a computer operator causes actions to be performed on objects appearing on a computer display, comprising:
- means for detecting a designated action by a user with respect to an object under the control of an application program running on a computer;
means responsive to said designated action for retrieving a list of commands provided by the application program and associated with the object;
means for adding commands, other than the commands provided by said application program, to said list; and
means for displaying said list with the added commands on the computer display in the vicinity of the object.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A contextual pop-up menu of frequently used commands is displayed by an application whenever a user carries out a particular action. The contextual menu appears at the location of a cursor, so that the displayed commands are spatially very close to an item on which an action is to be performed. The commands which are displayed in the contextual menu are not limited to those provided by an application associated with the selected item. Other commands, such as system level commands, for help items or other types of user assistance features, can be added to the menu before it is displayed to the user. In addition, plug-in modules can be employed to provide other commands associated with the selected item.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A user interface via which a computer operator causes actions to be performed on objects appearing on a computer display, comprising:
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means for detecting a designated action by a user with respect to an object under the control of an application program running on a computer; means responsive to said designated action for retrieving a list of commands provided by the application program and associated with the object; means for adding commands, other than the commands provided by said application program, to said list; and means for displaying said list with the added commands on the computer display in the vicinity of the object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for enabling a computer operator to invoke actions that are to be performed on objects appearing on a computer display, comprising the steps of:
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detecting a designated action by a user with respect to an object under the control of an application program running on a computer; retrieving a list of commands provided by the application program and associated with the object, in response to said designated action; adding commands other than the commands provided by said application program to said list; and displaying said list of commands on the computer display in the vicinity of the object. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer readable medium containing a program which performs the functions of:
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detecting a designated action by a user with respect to an object under the control of an application program running on a computer; retrieving a list of commands provided by the application program and associated with the object, in response to said designated action; adding commands other than the commands provided by said application program to said list; and displaying said list of commands on the computer display in the vicinity of the object. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer system, comprising:
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a display device for displaying data objects; a user interface for controlling the display of data objects which appear on said display device, said user interface including a pointing mechanism via which a user can designate selected objects appearing on said display device and perform actions with respect thereto; a user input device which a user can indicate a request to perform a particular operation; and a software control system responsive to actuation of said user input device to request said particular operation for retrieving a list of commands relating to a selected object and causing the retrieved list of commands to be displayed on said display device at a location in the vicinity of the selected object. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A user interface via which a computer operator causes actions to be performed on objects appearing on a computer display, comprising:
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means for detecting a designated action by a user with respect to an object under the control of an application program running on a computer; means responsive to said designated action for retrieving a list of commands provided by the application program and associated with the object; means for adding commands, other than the commands provided by said application program, to said list; and means for displaying said list with the added commands on the computer display. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. The user interface of claim 30 wherein said other commands are provided by plug-in software modules associated with an operating system running on the computer.
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23. A user interface via which a computer operator causes actions to be performed on objects appearing on a computer display, comprising:
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means for detecting a designated action by a user with respect to an object under the control of an application program running on a computer; means responsive to said designated action for retrieving a list of commands provided by the application program and associated with the object; and means for displaying said list of commands on the computer display in the vicinity of the object. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification