POINTER TOOL WITH TOUCH-ENABLED PRECISE PLACEMENT

• US 20110239153A1
• Filed: 03/24/2010
• Published: 09/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sengupta, Tirthankar, Bickel, Ryan Terry, Fong, Jeffrey Cheng-Yao, Davis, Shawna Julie, Singhal, Priyanka, Davis, Peter Gregory, Carter, Benjamin F.
• Granted Patent: US 9,292,161 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/784
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A pointer tool in a touch-screen display is disclosed. The method includes activating a pointer tool in a touch screen display in response to contact with an area of the touch screen and persisting the displaying of the pointer tool in the touch screen display after the contact with the touch screen is removed. Once editing data is received, the pointer tool is removed from the touch screen display.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

activating a pointer tool in a touch screen display in response to contact with an area of the touch screen to display the pointer tool;

persisting the displaying of the pointer tool in the touch screen display after the contact with the touch screen is removed; and

removing the pointer tool from the touch screen display in response to receiving editing data.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

relocating the pointer tool in the touch screen display to an insertion point at character level precision.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:

wherein the pointer tool moves in a notched fashion when the pointer tool enters an area relative to a possible cursor location.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2,

wherein the pointer tool moves in a floating fashion respective to the area of contact with the touch screen.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2,

wherein the pointer tool moves in a floating fashion respective to the area of contact with the touch screen until contact with the touch screen is removed;

and

relocating the pointer tool to a possible cursor location when contact with the touch screen is removed.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,

wherein locating the pointer tool in the touch screen display upon activation is independent of a location of a cursor.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

re-grabbing the pointer tool without reactivating the pointer tool by detecting contact with the touch screen in a hit target area of the pointer tool after contact with the touch screen has been removed.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the pointer tool is visually weighted towards a lower end thereof to indicate an area of the touch screen where the pointer tool is able to be grabbed so that manipulated text is not obscured.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the pointer tool comprises one selected from a list comprising:

an I-beam, a triangle, an arrow, and an I-beam and triangle.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

scrolling text into view by detecting the pointer tool located in an area relative to the edge of an input data field to scroll through the input data field.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

selecting text using the pointer tool.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the contact with the touch screen is made with one selected from a list comprising:

a stylus, and a finger.

13. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that cause a computing device coupled to a touch screen to perform a method, the method comprising:

activating a pointer tool in a touch screen display to display the pointer tool in response to contact with the touch screen display, a location of the pointer tool upon activation being independent of a cursor location;

relocating the pointer tool in the touch screen display to an insertion point at character level precision, at least by displaying the pointer tool relative to contact movement indicating the insertion point, wherein the pointer tool is displayed such that text in the touch screen display is not overlapped;

persisting the displaying of the pointer tool in the touch screen display after the contact with the touch screen is removed; and

removing the pointer tool from the touch screen display in response to receiving editing data.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising:

wherein the pointer tool moves in a floating fashion respective to the area of contact with the touch screen.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising:

re-grabbing the pointer tool by detecting contact with the touch screen; and

wherein the pointer tool is visually weighted towards the lower end to indicate an area of the touch screen where the pointer tool is able to be grabbed so that manipulated text is not obscured.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising:

wherein the pointer tool comprises an I-beam and a triangle.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising:

wherein the pointer tool moves in a notched fashion respective to the area of contact with the touch screen, wherein moving in a notched fashion comprises locating the pointer tool in possible cursor locations such that the pointer tool does not overlap text.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising:

wherein the pointer tool moves in a floating fashion respective to the area of contact with the touch screen until the pointer tool enters an area relative to a possible cursor location; and

moving the pointer tool in a notched fashion when the pointer tool enters an area relative to a possible cursor location, wherein moving in a notched fashion comprises locating the pointer tool in possible cursor locations such that the pointer tool does not overlap text.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising:

re-grabbing the pointer tool without reactivating the pointer tool by detecting contact with the touch screen in an area respective of the pointer tool after contact with the touch screen has been removed.

20. A computer-implemented method comprising:

activating a pointer tool on a touch screen display in response to contact with an area of the touch screen display, the pointer tool displayed above the area of contact with the touch screen;

relocating the pointer tool in the touch screen display to a first cursor position in an editable text field at character level precision, at least by moving the pointer tool in the display relative to contact movement indicating the first cursor position in the editable text field, wherein the pointer tool is displayed so that text is not overlapped in the editable text field;

wherein the pointer tool moves in a floating fashion respective to the area of contact with the touch screen until the pointer tool enters an area relative to a possible cursor location in the editable text field; and

moving the pointer tool in a notched fashion when the pointer tool enters an area relative to a possible cursor location in the editable text field, wherein moving in a notched fashion comprises locating the pointer tool in possible cursor locations such that the pointer tool does not obscure text;

persisting the displaying of the pointer tool in the touch screen display after the finger contact with the touch screen is removed;

relocating the pointer tool by re-grabbing the displayed pointer tool through contact with the touch screen within the pointer tool hit target area and moving the pointer tool to a second cursor location by contact movement; and

removing the pointer tool from the touch screen display when a text character is entered into the editable text field.