DISPLAY NAVIGATION SYSTEM, METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

• US 20110145758A1
• Filed: 12/10/2009
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Rasillo, Jorge A., ROSALES, Jacob J., Jaramillo, Jason J., Garcia, Luis A.
• Application Number:
  US12/635,413
• Publication Number:
  US 20110145758A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/794
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance

Abstract

According to one aspect of the present disclosure a method and technique for navigating between windows is disclosed. The method includes providing a graphic user interface (GUI) including a plurality of windows ordered along a depth (Z) axis. The method also includes, responsive to receiving a window re-order keystroke input, determining a location of each window relative to a position of a pointer icon in the GUI and setting a window re-ordering sequence for re-ordering a Z-position of the windows in the GUI based at least partly on a location of the windows relative to the position of the pointer icon in the GUI.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a graphic user interface (GUI) including a plurality of windows ordered along a depth (Z) axis;

responsive to receiving a window re-order keystroke input, determining a location of each window relative to a position of a pointer icon in the GUI; and

setting a window re-ordering sequence for re-ordering a Z-position of the windows in the GUI based at least partly on a location of the windows relative to the position of the pointer icon in the GUI.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to determining that a location of a window indicates an intersection of the window with the position of the pointer icon, placing the intersecting window at a beginning of the sequence.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to determining that a plurality of windows intersect the position of the icon, placing the intersecting window having an edge located nearest the position of the pointer icon at a beginning of the sequence.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to determining that a plurality of windows intersect the position of the icon, placing the intersecting window having the position of the pointer icon nearest the center of the intersecting window at a beginning of the sequence.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to determining that a plurality of windows intersect the position of the icon, placing the intersecting windows at a beginning of the sequence according to their Z-position in the GUI followed by windows non-intersecting the position of the pointer icon.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein setting the window re-ordering sequence comprises ordering the windows from least distance to greatest distance relative to the position of the pointer icon.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein setting the window re-ordering sequence comprises placing the windows intersecting the position of the pointer icon in the sequence before the windows non-intersecting the position of the pointer icon.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to successive window re-order keystroke inputs:

cycling through and respectively raising a Z-position of each window intersecting the position of the pointer icon; and

in response to determining that each intersecting window has had its Z-position changed, cycling through and respectively changing a Z-position of each non-intersecting window.

9. A system, comprising:

a display device;

at least one input device; and

a processor programmed to display a graphic user interface (GUI) on the display device including a plurality of windows and a pointer icon corresponding to the at least one input device, wherein the plurality of windows are ordered along a depth (Z) axis, and wherein the processor is programmed to;

receive a window re-order keystroke input;

determine a location of each window relative to a position of the pointer icon on the GUI; and

;

set a window re-ordering sequence for re-ordering a Z-position of the windows in the GUI based at least partly on a location of the windows relative to the position of the pointer icon in the GUI.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is programmed to, in response to determining that a location of a window indicates an intersection of the window with the position of the pointer icon, place the intersecting window at a beginning of the sequence.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is programmed to, in response to determining that a plurality of windows intersect the position of the icon, place the intersecting window having the position of the pointer icon nearest the center of the intersecting window at a beginning of the sequence.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is programmed to, in response to determining that a plurality of windows intersect the position of the icon, place the intersecting windows at a beginning of the sequence according to their Z-position in the GUI followed by windows non-intersecting the position of the pointer icon.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is programmed to set the window re-ordering sequence by ordering the windows from least distance to greatest distance relative to the position of the pointer icon.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is programmed to set the window re-ordering sequence by placing the windows intersecting the position of the pointer icon in the sequence before the windows non-intersecting the position of the pointer icon.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is programmed to, in response to successive window re-order keystroke inputs:

cycle through and respectively raise a Z-position of each window intersecting the position of the pointer icon; and

in response to determining that each intersecting window has had its Z-position changed, cycle through and respectively change a Z-position of each non-intersecting window.

16. A computer program product for navigating between windows in a display, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising computer readable program code configured to;

display a graphic user interface (GUI) on a display device including a plurality of windows and a pointer icon corresponding to at least one input device, wherein the plurality of windows are ordered along a depth (Z) axis;

responsive to detecting a window re-order keystroke input, determine a location of each window relative to a position of a pointer icon in the GUI; and

set a window re-ordering sequence for re-ordering a Z-position of the windows in the GUI based at least partly on a location of the windows relative to the position of the pointer icon in the GUI.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the computer readable program code is configured to set the window re-ordering sequence by placing the windows intersecting the position of the pointer icon in the sequence before the windows non-intersecting the position of the pointer icon.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the computer readable program code is configured to, in response to determining that a plurality of windows intersect the position of the icon, place the intersecting windows at a beginning of the sequence according to their Z-position in the GUI followed by windows non-intersecting the position of the pointer icon.

19. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the computer readable program code is configured to, in response to determining that a location of a window indicates an intersection of the window with the position of the pointer icon, place the intersecting window at a beginning of the sequence.

20. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the computer readable program code is configured to, in response to successive window re-order keystroke inputs:

cycle through and respectively raise a Z-position of each window intersecting the position of the pointer icon; and

in response to determining that each intersecting window has had its Z-position changed, cycle through and respectively change a Z-position of each non-intersecting window.