DYNAMIC GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE LAYOUT
First Claim
1. At a client computing device having an associated display, a computer-based method of laying out a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) elements at the client computing device, comprising, in response to a command to display a graphical user interface form, performing actions including:
- a) receiving a set of metadata descriptive of a plurality of controls to be included in the graphical user interface form;
b) receiving a set of graphical user interface settings;
c) receiving a set of containers, each container having associated program instructions and specifications, the containers and the plurality of controls forming a hierarchical structure;
d) determining a capacity of at least one control of the plurality of controls based on the set of metadata;
e) determining a size and a position of the plurality of controls based on the set of metadata, the set of containers, and the display environment; and
f) generating a specification of the graphical user interface form based on the determined size or position.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for laying out graphical user interface elements at a client device. A client device receives a set of containers, each container including program instructions and specifications. The program instructions of each container are executed to determine a size and position of each graphical user interface element. Each type of container has corresponding logic upon which sizing and positioning of graphical user interface elements is based. The client device may receive data metadata descriptive of the graphical user interface elements and application specifications. Sizing and positioning of the graphical user interface elements may be based on the data metadata and application specifications. A layout process may recursively descend a structure of containers to determine sizes and positions of each GUI element.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. At a client computing device having an associated display, a computer-based method of laying out a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) elements at the client computing device, comprising, in response to a command to display a graphical user interface form, performing actions including:
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a) receiving a set of metadata descriptive of a plurality of controls to be included in the graphical user interface form; b) receiving a set of graphical user interface settings; c) receiving a set of containers, each container having associated program instructions and specifications, the containers and the plurality of controls forming a hierarchical structure; d) determining a capacity of at least one control of the plurality of controls based on the set of metadata; e) determining a size and a position of the plurality of controls based on the set of metadata, the set of containers, and the display environment; and f) generating a specification of the graphical user interface form based on the determined size or position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer-based system for laying out a plurality of graphical user interface elements in response to a command to display the plurality of graphical user interface elements, the system comprising:
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a) a set of GUI containers, each container including respective program instructions and specifications; b) an input mechanism for receiving metadata descriptive of the plurality of graphical user interface elements; and c) a layout manager that invokes the program instructions corresponding to each container; the program instructions corresponding to each container executable by a processor to perform actions, including; i) determining an aggregate minimum height and an aggregate target height of a plurality of child components of the container; ii) determining a height of at least one GUI element based on the aggregate minimum height and the aggregate target height; iii) determining a capacity of at least one GUI element based on the metadata; iv) determining a position of the at least one GUI element based on a comparison of the at least one GUI element with at least one other GUI; v) aligning a first GUI element with a second GUI element; and vi) determining whether to employ a vertical scroll bar based on the aggregate minimum height. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer-based system for laying out a plurality of graphical user interface elements in response to a command to display the plurality of graphical user interface elements, the system comprising:
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a) a set of containers, each container comprising specifications and program instructions for laying out a set of GUI elements that are descendent GUI elements of the container by performing actions including; i) determining an aggregate minimum size of descendent GUI components of the container, the descendent GUI components including the descendent GUI elements; ii) determining an aggregate target size of the descendent GUI components; iii) determining a virtual size of the container based on the aggregate minimum size and the target size; and iv) selectively inserting at least one scroll bar based on the virtual size of the container; b) a layout manager that manages execution of the program instructions of each container; and c) a processor for execution of the program instructions of each container. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification