PROVIDING A CONTEXT-AWARE HELP CONTENT USING A TRANSPARENT OVERLAY ON A TOUCH SENSITIVE SCREEN

• US 20110271185A1
• Filed: 04/29/2011
• Published: 11/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Tseng, Joey HY, Liu, Jeffrey CH, Chen, Sean YH
• Granted Patent: US 9,727,348 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/708
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/56 including a user help function

Abstract

Objects shown on a display interface can be collected for a running application. Identifications (IDs) representing the objects can also be collected. A determination can be made concerning whether there are object identifications of objects with help contents associated. A transparent layer can be displayed on the display interface. All the objects associated with help contents of the layer can be visually indicated in the transparent layer. The visual indicators can indicate that help is available for a corresponding object. When no help is available, no visual indicator is shown in the transparent layer proximate to corresponding object.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

collecting objects shown on a display interface for a running application and identifications (IDs) representing the objects;

determining whether there are object identifications of objects with help contents associated; and

displaying a transparent layer on the display interface and visually indicating in the transparent layer all the objects with help contents associated to prompt a user to select a desired object.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of determining further comprises:

checking a lookup table which is stored in advance to determine whether there are identifications (IDs) of objects with help contents associated.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

once an object is selected, directly displaying a help content of the object on the transparent layer, beside the target object.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the visual indicating in the transparent layer is performed by highlighting.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the help content is retrieved from external websites.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the objects are UI components on a layout of the display interface.

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein the objects is one of a set of words, terms, sentences or paragraphs which require further explanations.

8. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising:

computer usable program code configured to collect objects shown on a display interface for a running application and identifications (IDs) representing the objects;

computer usable program code configured to determine whether there are object identifications of objects with help contents associated; and

computer usable program code configured to display a transparent layer on the display interface and visually indicating in the transparent layer all the objects with help contents associated to prompt a user to select a desired object.

9. The computer program product according to claim 8, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to check a lookup table which is stored in advance to determine whether there are identifications (IDs) of objects with help contents associated.

10. The computer program product according to claim 8, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to, once an object is selected, directly display a help content of the object on the transparent layer, beside the target object.

11. The computer program product according to claim 10, wherein the visual indicating in the transparent layer is performed by highlighting.

12. The computer program product according to claim 9, wherein the help content is retrieved from external websites.

13. The computer program product according to claim 10, wherein the objects are UI components on a layout of the display interface.

14. The computer program product according to claim 10, wherein the objects is one of a set of words, terms, sentences or paragraphs which require further explanations.

15. A data processing system comprising:

a bus;

a memory connected to said bus, in which said memory comprises a set of instructions; and

a processor connected to said bus, in which said processor executes said set of instructions to;

collect objects shown on a display interface for a running application and identifications (IDs) representing the objects;

determine whether there are object identifications of objects with help contents associated; and

display a transparent layer on the display interface and visually indicating in the transparent layer all the objects with help contents associated to prompt a user to select a desired object.

16. The data processing system according to claim 15, in which said processor executes said set of instructions to:

check a lookup table which is stored in advance to determine whether there are identifications (IDs) of objects with help contents associated.

17. The data processing system according to claim 15, in which said processor executes said set of instructions to:

once an object is selected, directly display a help content of the object on the transparent layer, beside the target object.

18. The data processing system according to claim 17, wherein the visual indicating in the transparent layer is performed by highlighting.

19. The data processing system according to claim 16, wherein the help content is retrieved from external websites.

20. The data processing system according to claim 17, wherein the objects are UI components on a layout of the display interface.

21. The data processing system according to claim 17, wherein the objects is one of a set of words, terms, sentences or paragraphs which require further explanations.

22. The data processing system according to claim 15, wherein the data processing system is a handheld, mobile device.

23. A method comprising:

presenting a plurality of graphical objects on a touch-sensitive screen;

presenting a graphical overlay to on the touch-sensitive screen, having a level of transparency that permits the graphical objects to be seen, wherein the graphical overlay presents a help indictor proximate to the graphical objects for which help content is available and does not present a help indicator proximate to graphical objects to which help content is not available;

receiving a touch input on the touch-sensitive screen for one of the help indicators and a corresponding one of the graphical objects still visible through the graphical overlay;

responsive to the touch input, determining help content for the one of the graphical objects; and

presenting the help content on the tough-sensitive screen in responsive to receiving the tough input.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein each of the graphical objects are objects for a running application, which is instantiate and displayed on the touch-sensitive screen, wherein each of the objects has a corresponding identification unique to that object and the running application;

determining at runtime, responsive to a selection of a help function, whether each of the objects has help contents associated with that object, wherein the graphical overlay is a transparent layer on the touch-sensitive screen upon which a display interface is presented; and

highlighting all the objects with help associated on the transparent layer to prompt a user to select a desired object, wherein the highlighting is the help indicator.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the graphical overlay is presented responsive to an activation of a help function, wherein in absence of the help indicators being presented on the graphical overlay, no visual indication exists to indicate that selective ones of the graphical objects have help content associated with them and other ones of the graphical objects do not have help content associated with them.