Creation and Manipulation of Canvases Based on Ink Strokes

• US 20100289820A1
• Filed: 07/26/2010
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kim, Guem R., Cooperstein, Howard L., Breinberg, Steven A., Owen, Clifton W., Hoyer, Crystal L.
• Granted Patent: US 9,304,682 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/619
• 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

A canvas in an inking application is created and manipulated based on ink strokes. An ink stroke outside a presented canvas, even outside a user interface of the inking application, is recorded and the presented canvas enlarged to cover the recorded ink stroke. If the ink stroke begins on a command area such as a canvas size control icon, the command associated with the area is executed. If the ink stroke begins in a typed text area, lines are frozen and separated responsive to the first stroke. A new canvas is presented between the separated lines. A size of the new canvas is adjusted based on ink entry or a size of the first ink stroke.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method to be executed at least in part in an inking application for creating and manipulating a canvas, the method comprising:

receiving an inking mode indication;

determining a canvas area anchor point; and

inserting, if the canvas area anchor point is in an acceptable location, a canvas area.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the acceptable location includes at least one from a set of a typed text area, a presented canvas area, and an area outside the presented canvas area.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, the canvas area anchor point is determined based on an ink stroke.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising adjusting a size of the inserted canvas area based on one of a size of the ink stroke and an input detected by a canvas control icon.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising determining a separation location and a separation distance between typed text lines based on an initial point and a length of the ink stroke, if the canvas area anchor point is in the typed text area.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the ink stroke is also the inking mode indication.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising determining a command to be executed if the ink stroke is initiated on a command area.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the command area includes a canvas size control icon.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising modifying a size of the canvas based on a length and a direction of the ink stroke initiated on the canvas size control icon.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the command area further includes a soft button associated with the inking application user interface.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the inking application includes at least one of from a set of:

a word processing application, a presentation application, a spreadsheet application, a calendar application, a graphics application, a diagram application, and an electronic mail application.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the inking mode indication includes at least one from a set of:

an inking pen stroke, a touch screen activation, activation a soft button, activation of a hard button, a mouse entry, and a keyboard entry.

13. A computer-readable medium having a set of instructions which when executed performs a method for creating and manipulating a canvas, the method executed by the set of instructions comprising:

receive an ink stroke;

determining a canvas area anchor point based on a location of the ink stroke;

determining a canvas size based on the ink stroke; and

inserting, if the canvas area anchor point is in an acceptable location, a canvas area in an application user interface, wherein inserting the canvas area comprises inserting the canvas area having the canvas size associated with an ink stroke size of the ink stroke.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the acceptable location includes at least one from a set of a typed text area, a presented canvas area, and an area outside the presented canvas area.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, further comprising determining a command to be executed if the ink stroke is initiated on a command area.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein determining the canvas size based on the ink stroke comprises determining the canvas size based on the length and a direction of the ink stroke.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, further comprising receiving an inking mode indication, the inking mode indication comprising at least one from a set of:

an inking pen stroke, a touch screen activation, activation a soft button, activation of a hard button, a mouse entry, and a keyboard entry.

18. A system for creating and manipulating a canvas, the system comprising:

a memory storage; and

a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is configured to;

receive an inking mode indication,

receive an ink stroke,

determine a canvas area anchor point based on a location of the ink stroke,

when the canvas area anchor point is in an acceptable location, inserting the canvas at the acceptable location, and

when the canvas area anchor point is in a command area, executing a command associated with the ink stroke.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the acceptable location includes at least one from a set of a typed text area, a presented canvas area, and an area outside the presented canvas area.

20. The system of claim 18, further comprising determining the canvas size based on the based on a length of the ink stroke and a direction of the ink stroke.