Displaying Image Thumbnails in Re-Used Screen Real Estate

• US 20120079416A1
• Filed: 09/29/2010
• Published: 03/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Fagans, Joshua David
• Granted Patent: US 9,699,351 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/781
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/54 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3875 combined with enlarging or reducing enlarging or reducing per se H04N1/393
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window

Abstract

Methods, system and computer-readable media are disclosed to facilitate presenting a plurality of digital images in a user interface window that includes an image display region and at least one other region available for re-use, receiving input from a user indicating a selection of at least one of the digital images, and modifying the presentation of the user interface window to present the selected at least one digital image in the image display region and to present the non-selected digital images as thumbnail images displayed within the at least one other region available for re-use. The thumbnail images displayed in the re-use region may be selectively displayed in a more prominent manner to facilitate user interaction.

Claims

1. A method performed by one or more processes executing on a computing apparatus, the method comprising:

presenting a plurality of digital images in a user interface window, the

user interface window including an image display region and at least one other region available for re-use;

receiving input from a user indicating a selection of at least one of the digital images; and

modifying the presentation of the user interface window to present the selected at least one digital image in the image display region and to present the non-selected digital images as thumbnail images displayed within the at least one other region available for re-use.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the re-use region comprises a border region of the user interface window.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the re-use region comprises an unused portion of the user interface window or a portion of the user interface window that is used for a different purpose in a different context.

4. The method of claim 1 in which the selected image is presented both in the image display region and as one of the thumbnail images displayed within the re-use region.

5. The method of claim 4 in which the thumbnail images are presented within a thumbnail region that is embedded within a border region of the user interface window.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein only a portion of the non-selected images are visible as thumbnails within the thumbnail region.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising providing the thumbnail region with one or more controls with which the user can interact to bring non-visible thumbnail images into view.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising providing one or more visual cues for the user indicating that additional thumbnail images not currently visible are available through interaction with the thumbnail region.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving input from the user indicating that interaction with one or more of the thumbnail images is desired by the user; and

displaying the thumbnail images in a more prominent manner to facilitate user interaction.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein displaying the thumbnail images in a more prominent manner comprises displaying the thumbnail images with enlarged size.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein displaying the thumbnail images with enlarged size comprises displaying the thumbnail images at a size such that they overlap with the selected image displayed in the image display region.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein displaying the thumbnail images with enlarged size comprises displaying the thumbnail images at a size such that the thumbnail images are displayed at least partially outside of the re-use region.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the thumbnail images are displayed in a more prominent manner only while the thumbnail region is in an active state.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein the display of the thumbnail images in a more prominent manner terminates upon receiving input from the user indicating that interaction with one or more of the thumbnail images is no longer desired by the user.

15. Apparatus comprising:

a computer system capable of executing one or more processes, and configured to perform operations including;

presenting a plurality of digital images in a user interface window, the

user interface window including an image display region and at least one other region available for re-use;

receiving input from a user indicating a selection of at least one of the digital images; and

modifying the presentation of the user interface window to present the selected at least one digital image in the image display region and to present the non-selected digital images as thumbnail images displayed within the at least one other region available for re-use.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 in which the re-use region comprises a border region of the user interface window.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 in which the re-use region comprises an unused portion of the user interface window or a portion of the user interface window that is used for a different purpose in a different context.

18. The apparatus of claim 15 in which the selected image is presented both in the image display region and as one of the thumbnail images displayed within the re-use region.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 in which the thumbnail images are presented within a thumbnail region that is embedded within a border region of the user interface window.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein only a portion of the non-selected images are visible as thumbnails within the thumbnail region.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising providing the thumbnail region with one or more controls with which the user can interact to bring non-visible thumbnail images into view.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising providing one or more visual cues for the user indicating that additional thumbnail images not currently visible are available through interaction with the thumbnail region.

23. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the computer system is further configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving input from the user indicating that interaction with one or more of the thumbnail images is desired by the user; and

displaying the thumbnail images in a more prominent manner to facilitate user interaction.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein displaying the thumbnail images in a more prominent manner comprises displaying the thumbnail images with enlarged size.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein displaying the thumbnail images with enlarged size comprises displaying the thumbnail images at a size such that they overlap with the selected image displayed in the image display region.

26. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein displaying the thumbnail images with enlarged size comprises displaying the thumbnail images at a size such that the thumbnail images are displayed at least partially outside of the re-use region.

27. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the thumbnail images are displayed in a more prominent manner only while the thumbnail region is in an active state.

28. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the display of the thumbnail images in a more prominent manner terminates upon receiving input from the user indicating that interaction with one or more of the thumbnail images is no longer desired by the user.

29. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium bearing instructions to cause a computer system to perform operations comprising:

presenting a plurality of digital images in a user interface window, the

user interface window including an image display region and at least one other region available for re-use;

receiving input from a user indicating a selection of at least one of the digital images; and

modifying the presentation of the user interface window to present the selected at least one digital image in the image display region and to present the non-selected digital images as thumbnail images displayed within the at least one other region available for re-use.

30. The medium of claim 29 in which the re-use region comprises a border region of the user interface window.

31. The medium of claim 29 in which the re-use region comprises an unused portion of the user interface window or a portion of the user interface window that is used for a different purpose in a different context.

32. The medium of claim 29 in which the selected image is presented both in the image display region and as one of the thumbnail images displayed within the re-use region.

33. The medium of claim 29 in which the thumbnail images are presented within a thumbnail region that is embedded within a border region of the user interface window.

34. The medium of claim 33 wherein only a portion of the non-selected images are visible as thumbnails within the thumbnail region.

35. The medium of claim 34 further comprising providing the thumbnail region with one or more controls with which the user can interact to bring non-visible thumbnail images into view.

36. The medium of claim 34 further comprising providing one or more visual cues for the user indicating that additional thumbnail images not currently visible are available through interaction with the thumbnail region.

37. The medium of claim 29 wherein the medium further bears instructions to to perform operations comprising:

receiving input from the user indicating that interaction with one or more of the thumbnail images is desired by the user; and

displaying the thumbnail images in a more prominent manner to facilitate user interaction.

38. The medium of claim 37 wherein displaying the thumbnail images in a more prominent manner comprises displaying the thumbnail images with enlarged size.

39. The medium of claim 38 wherein displaying the thumbnail images with enlarged size comprises displaying the thumbnail images at a size such that they overlap with the selected image displayed in the image display region.

40. The medium of claim 38 wherein displaying the thumbnail images with enlarged size comprises displaying the thumbnail images at a size such that the thumbnail images are displayed at least partially outside of the re-use region.

41. The medium of claim 37 wherein the thumbnail images are displayed in a more prominent manner only while the thumbnail region is in an active state.

42. The medium of claim 37 wherein the display of the thumbnail images in a more prominent manner terminates upon receiving input from the user indicating that interaction with one or more of the thumbnail images is no longer desired by the user.