Radial Menus

• US 20100306702A1
• Filed: 05/29/2009
• Published: 12/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Warner, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 8,549,432 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/811
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

Some embodiments of the invention provide several novel techniques for manipulating radial menus in graphical user interfaces of an application. In some embodiments, radial menus include multiple selectable items arranged about an internal location (e.g., a center of the radial menu). The novel radial menu techniques of some embodiments include (i) non-uniform spacing of menu items, (ii) the use of shading or highlighting within a region associated with an item to indicate the present selectability of the item, and (iii) the use of radial gestures for opening sub-menus and the subsequent display of the sub-menu.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

defining a plurality of selectable menu items, each menu item having a particular priority; and

defining a radial menu for receiving selections of the selectable menu items, the menu items for display in the radial menu as a series of separate icons arranged at a particular distance from a central location, wherein angular distances between the displayed icons are based on the priorities.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the plurality of selectable menu items comprises defining the priority of a particular menu item as based on a frequency with which the particular menu item is selected.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the plurality of selectable menu items comprises defining the priorities of the selectable menu items as based on frequencies with which the menu items are selected relative to one another.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein defining the plurality of selectable menu items comprises defining the priority of a particular menu item as based on an expected frequency with which the menu item will be selected.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each particular icon is assigned a particular range of angles in the radial menu based on the particular icon'"'"'s priority.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein when a first icon has a first priority and a second icon has a second priority larger than the first priority, the first icon is assigned a smaller range of angles than the second icon.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein each icon is for display in the center of the range of angles assigned to the icon.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising defining a module for assigning (i) a first range of angles to a first icon and (ii) a second range of angles to a second icon that neighbors the first icon in the radial menu, wherein the angular distance between the first and second icons in the radial menu is the sum of half of the first range of angles and half of the second range of angles.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein when a first icon has a first priority and a second icon has a second priority larger than the first priority, the angular distance between the first icon and its neighboring icons in the radial menu is smaller than the angular distance between the second icon and its neighboring icons.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the radial menu is for display in an operating system.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the radial menu is for display in an application that runs on top of an operating system.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the application is a media-editing application and the selectable menu items are selectable media-editing tools.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the radial menu is for display on a handheld device, wherein the selectable menu items are selectable via touch input on a touchscreen of the handheld device.

14. A computer readable medium storing a computer program which when executed by at least one processor presents a set of menu items, the computer program comprising sets of instructions for:

displaying the set of menu items in a radial menu, each menu item represented in the radial menu by a distinct icon;

identifying a cursor location;

associating the cursor location with a particular menu item from the set of menu items; and

displaying a highlight emanating from a center of the radial menu indicating a selectable area for the particular menu item.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the selectable area for the particular menu item is larger than the distinct icon representing the particular menu item.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the selectable area comprises a range of angles associated with the particular menu item.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the selectable area is confined to a maximum radial distance.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the selectable area extends to an infinite radial distance.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 14 further comprising sets of instructions for:

receiving selection input from a cursor controller while the cursor is at the identified location; and

selecting the particular menu item.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 14 further comprising sets of instructions for:

receiving input from a cursor controller to move the cursor to a new location;

identifying the new location;

associating the new location with a second item from the set of menu items; and

displaying a highlight emanating from a center of the radial menu indicating a selectable area for the second menu item.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the computer program further comprises sets of instructions for:

before displaying the set of menu items, receiving a request to open the radial menu; and

displaying an animation of the menu items opening from a central location.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the computer program is an operating system.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the computer program is an application that runs on an operating system.

24. A computer readable medium storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor, the computer program comprising sets of instructions for:

displaying a radial menu comprising a set of menu items arranged radially about a central location, each menu item displayed as a distinct icon;

receiving a gestural selection of a particular menu item that opens a radial sub-menu;

after the gestural selection, receiving further input from a cursor controller;

identifying the location of the cursor when the further input is received from the cursor controller; and

displaying the radial sub-menu as a set of items arranged radially about the identified cursor location.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the gestural selection comprises a rapid movement of the cursor at a particular angle.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the particular angle is associated with the particular menu item.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the further input is a click of a mouse button.

28. The method of claim 24 further comprising sets of instructions for after receiving the gestural selection but before receiving the further input, displaying the radial sub-menu about the central location of the radial menu.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the set of instructions for displaying the radial sub-menu about the identified cursor location comprises a set of instructions for displaying an animation of the radial menu from the central location of the radial menu to the identified cursor location.

30. A computer readable storage medium storing a computer program for execution by at least one processor, the computer program comprising a graphical user interface (GUI), the GUI comprising:

a display area; and

a radial menu comprising a plurality of selectable menu items, each having a particular priority, the radial menu for (i) display in the display area and (ii) receiving selections of the selectable menu items, wherein the menu items are for display in the radial menu as a series of distinct icons arranged at a particular distance from a central location, wherein angular distances between the displayed icons are based on the priorities.

31. The computer readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the GUI further comprises a highlight emanating from the central location, the highlight for indicating a selectable area for a particular menu item when the particular menu item is presently selectable.

32. The computer readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein the particular menu item is presently selectable when a cursor is located over the selectable area of the particular menu item.

33. The computer readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein:

the radial menu is for receiving gestural selections;

a particular menu item is for opening a sub-menu; and

the GUI further comprises a radial sub-menu for display about a cursor after a user selects the particular menu item via a gestural selection.