SYSTEM AND METHOD THAT FACILITATES COMPUTER DESKTOP USE VIA SCALING OF DISPLAYED OBJECTS

• US 20120290973A1
• Filed: 07/19/2012
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Robertson, George G., Horvitz, Eric J., Robbins, Daniel C., Smith, Gregory R., Czerwinski, Mary P., Baudisch, Patrick Markus
• Application Number:
  US13/553,266
• Publication Number:
  US 20120290973A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/801
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• 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

The techniques described herein provide user interface(s) for managing display objects on a display surface. The techniques define a central focus area where the display objects are displayed and behave as usual, and a periphery outside the focus area where the display objects are reduced in size based on their location, getting smaller as they near an edge of the display surface so that many more objects can remain visible.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

defining a focus area within a display space, the focus area occupying a subset area of a display space area;

defining a progressive shrink area within the display space, the progressive shrink area located outside of the focus area; and

scaling an object shown in the progressive shrink area as a function of proximity to the focus area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the progressive shrink area is located along the perimeter of the display space.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the object is scaled smaller as the object is located further away from the focus area and the object is scaled larger as the object is located closer to the focus area.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying behavior of the object based at least in part on a location of the object in the display space.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the modifying the behavior of the object includes reducing behavioral functionality associated with the object as the object is located further away from the focus area and increasing the functionality of the object as the object is located closer to the focus area.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying behavior of the object based at least in part on a location of the object in the display space; and

modifying behavior of one or more other objects based at least in part on the modifying the behavior of the object.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the modifying the behavior of the object and the modifying the behavior of the one or more other objects is based at least in part on optimizing utilization of the display space.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the display space is an interactive display space and the object is configured to be moved between the focus area and the progressive shrink area.

9. One or more computer-readable storage media comprising instructions that, when executed on one or more processors, perform operations comprising:

defining a focus area within a display space, the focus area occupying a subset area of a display space area;

defining a progressive shrink area within the display space, the progressive shrink area located outside of the focus area; and

scaling an object displayed in the progressive shrink area as a function of proximity to the focus area.

10. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 9, wherein the progressive shrink area is located along the perimeter of the display space.

11. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 9, wherein the object is scaled smaller as the object is located further away from the focus area and the object is scaled larger as the object is located closer to the focus area.

12. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 9, further comprising instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, modify behavior of the object based at least in part on a location of the object in the display space.

13. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 12, wherein modifying the behavior of the object includes reducing functionality associated with the object as the object is located further away from the focus area and increasing the functionality of the object as the object is located closer to the focus area.

14. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 9, further comprising instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, perform operations comprising:

modifying behavior of the object based at least in part on a location of the object in the display space; and

modifying behavior of one or more other objects based at least in part on the modifying the behavior of the object.

15. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein the modifying the behavior of the object and the modifying the behavior of the one or more other objects is based at least in part on optimizing utilization of the display space.

16. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 9, wherein the object is an interactive object configured to be moved within the display space.

17. A system comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory coupled to the one or more processors;

a focus area component, stored in the memory and operable by the one or more processors, that defines a first portion of a display space as a focus area and a second portion of the display space as a progressive shrink area; and

a scaling component, stored in the memory and operable by the one or more processors, that scales an object displayed in the progressive shrink area based at least in part on a distance between a location of the object in the progressive shrink area and the focus area.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the progressive shrink area is located along the perimeter of the display space outside the focus area.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the object is scaled to a smaller size by the scaling component as the object is moved to a distance further away from the focus area and the object is scaled to a larger size by the scaling component as the object is moved to a distance closer to the focus area.

20. The system of claim 17, further comprising a behavior component, stored on the memory and operable on the one or more processors, that determines behavior of the object based at least in part on whether the object is located in the focus area or the progressive shrink area.