DESKTOP ICON MANAGEMENT AND GROUPING USING DESKTOP CONTAINERS

• US 20100095248A1
• Filed: 10/14/2008
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: KARSTENS, CHRISTOPHER K.
• Granted Patent: US 9,760,234 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/846
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials

Abstract

A set of desktop icons on a graphical user interface (GUI) desktop can be selected, which marks the icons as being associated with a desktop container. In the GUI, a visual depiction that the selected desktop icons are associated with the desktop container can occur. The desktop container can be a GUI object for grouping a set of desktop icons and for manipulating a grouped set of desktop icons as a group. A user interaction with the desktop container can be received, which results in a container action being performed. The container action can affect each of the selected desktop icons and/or can affect targets to which each of the selected desktop icons point.

Claims

1. A method for grouping desktop icons comprising:

selecting a plurality of desktop icons on a graphical user interface (GUI) desktop;

marking the plurality of desktop icons as being associated with a desktop container, wherein the marking does not affect file locations in a file management hierarchy of files associated with the desktop icons;

visually depicting on the graphical user interface that the selected desktop icons are associated with the desktop container, wherein the desktop container is a GUI object for grouping a plurality of desktop icons and for manipulating a grouped set of desktop icons as a group;

receiving a user interaction with the desktop container; and

performing a container action responsive to the user interaction, wherein the container action affects each of the selected desktop icons or affects targets to which each of the selected desktop icons point.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interaction changes a layout characteristic of the container on the GUI desktop, wherein the container action changes a layout characteristic of each of the plurality of desktop icons on the GUI desktop.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interaction changes an activation state of a set of targets to which each of the desktop icons point.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the desktop icons are adjacent to each other as presented upon the GUI desktop, further comprising:

drawing a perimeter around the plurality of desktop icons, wherein the perimeter is a visual depiction of the desktop container.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the perimeter is an N-sided polygon where N is greater than four.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the perimeter comprises at least one curved segment.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

changing a color of an area behind each of the plurality of desktop icons to indicate the association with the desktop container, wherein different colors are utilized to visually indicate different desktop containers defined for a single GUI desktop.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

drawing visible lines on the desktop, wherein each of the selected desktop icons is associated with an endpoint of one of the visible lines, wherein the visible lines are used to visually depict that the selected desktop icons are associated with the desktop container.

9. A computer program product for grouping desktop icons comprising a computer usable medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising:

computer usable program code configured to select a plurality of desktop icons on a graphical user interface (GUI) desktop;

computer usable program code configured to mark the plurality of desktop icons as being associated with a desktop container, wherein the marking does not affect file locations in a file management hierarchy of files associated with the desktop icons;

computer usable program code configured to visually depict on the graphical user interface that the selected desktop icons are associated with the desktop container, wherein the desktop container is a GUI object for grouping a plurality of desktop icons and for manipulating a grouped set of desktop icons as a group;

computer usable program code configured to receive a user interaction with the desktop container; and

computer usable program code configured to perform a container action responsive to the user interaction, wherein the container action affects each of the selected desktop icons or affects targets to which each of the selected desktop icons point.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the user interaction changes a layout characteristic of the container on the GUI desktop, wherein the container action changes a layout characteristic of each of the plurality of desktop icons on the GUI desktop.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the user interaction changes an activation state of a set of targets to which each of the desktop icons point.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein each of the desktop icons are adjacent to each other as presented upon the GUI desktop, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to draw a perimeter around the plurality of desktop icons, wherein the perimeter is a visual depiction of the desktop container.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the perimeter is an N-sided polygon where N is greater than four.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the perimeter comprises at least one curved segment.

15. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to change a color of an area behind each of the plurality of desktop icons to indicate the association with the desktop container, wherein different colors are utilized to visually indicate different desktop containers defined for a single GUI desktop.

16. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to draw visible lines on the desktop, wherein each of the selected desktop icons is associated with an endpoint of one of the visible lines, wherein the visible lines are used to visually depict that the selected desktop icons are associated with the desktop container.

17. A system for grouping desktop icons comprising:

a container engine stored in a storage medium that is configured to implement desktop container functionality, wherein a desktop container is a graphical user interface (GUI) object for grouping a plurality of desktop icons in a user selected manner, wherein the desktop container permits a user to manipulate a grouped set of desktop icons as a group, wherein a desktop container is configured to visually indicate upon a desktop which desktop icons are included within the desktop container, wherein the desktop container is configured such that inclusion and exclusion of a desktop icon within a desktop container has no effect upon position of a file associated with the desktop icon within a file management hierarchy.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein a desktop container is configured to be shown as a perimeter around a set of desktop icons, which are included within the desktop container.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein container engine is configured to permit the perimeter of a desktop container to be an N-sided polygon where N is greater than four.