METHOD AND DEVICE FOR USING SUPER TASKBAR TO CONTROL INSTANT MESSAGING APPLICATION

• US 20130061164A1
• Filed: 10/30/2012
• Published: 03/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tencent Technology Company Limited (Tencent Holdings Limited)
• Original Assignee: Tencent Technology Company Limited (Tencent Holdings Limited)
• Inventors: CHEN, YUEWEI, Wang, Pu, Weng, Yuedong
• Application Number:
  US13/664,303
• Publication Number:
  US 20130061164A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/779
• 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 present invention discloses a method for using a super taskbar to control instant messaging (IM) application, comprising: creating a virtual window corresponding to a main panel of the IM application; monitoring a window message in a window process of the virtual window; and executing a super taskbar operation according to the detected window message while monitoring the window message. The present invention is capable of creating a virtual window corresponding to a main panel of IM application, monitoring a window message in a window process of the virtual window, and executing a super taskbar operation according to the detected window message while monitoring the window message, so that the IM software supports the super taskbar, that is, the running state of the IM software is controlled by using the super taskbar, thus greatly improving a user'"'"'s experience in using the IM application.

Claims

1. A method for using a super taskbar to control instant messaging (IM) application, comprising:

creating a virtual window corresponding to a main panel of the IM application;

monitoring a window message in a window process of the virtual window; and

executing a super taskbar operation according to the detected window message while monitoring the window message.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the super taskbar operation comprises one or more of the following operations:

creating a window thumbnail, creating a thumbnail toolbar, creating a window live preview, creating a taskbar button icon, or creating a taskbar overlay icon.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein:

the operation of creating a window thumbnail comprises;

when taskbar buttons are combined, scaling down a current drawing of the main panel onto a canvas to obtain a thumbnail;

when taskbar buttons are not combined, in an invisible window, placing a user portrait at a static image control, placing a user nickname and account at a static text control, and scaling down the user portrait, the user nickname and account, and the current drawing of the main panel onto a same canvas to obtain a thumbnail;

the operation of creating a thumbnail toolbar comprises;

when a taskbar button creation message is detected, creating a thumbnail toolbar;

the operation of creating a window live preview comprises;

outputting the current drawing of the main panel to obtain a preview;

the operation of creating a taskbar button icon comprises;

when taskbar buttons are not combined, setting a taskbar button icon corresponding to the main panel to a user-defined portrait; and

the operation of creating a taskbar overlay icon comprises;

when only one user logs in, overlaying an online state of the user on a taskbar button icon corresponding to the user to generate a taskbar overlay icon;

when multiple users log in and taskbar buttons are not combined, respectively overlaying an online state of the corresponding user on a taskbar button icon corresponding to each user to generate a taskbar overlay icon; and

when multiple users log in and taskbar buttons are combined, not overlaying an online state of each user on a taskbar button icon.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein:

the executing a super taskbar operation according to the detected window message while monitoring the window message further comprises;

when a locked state change, a panel size change, a panel hidden state change, or a panel position change, or any combination thereof occurs on the main panel, refreshing the window thumbnail;

the operation of creating a window live preview comprises;

setting the size of the virtual window to be the same as the size of the main panel; and

processing a shift position of the preview according to at least one of following operations;

when the main panel is not hidden, setting the shift position to a position with a difference between the virtual window and the main panel;

when the main panel is hidden at an edge and is currently floating at a screen edge, setting the shift position to a position with a difference between the virtual window and the main panel; and

when the main panel is hidden at an edge and is currently not floating at a screen edge, setting the shift position to a position with a difference between the virtual window and the main panel plus the size of the main panel; and

the operation of creating a taskbar button icon comprises;

converting a portrait file in a memory into a HICON format.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the executing a super taskbar operation according to the detected window message while monitoring the window message further comprises:

generating a jump list, and executing a corresponding jump operation according to a shortcut set for each item in the jump list.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein a format of the shortcut is an application plus one or more parameters, the application communicates with the IM application to transfer the one or more parameters of the shortcut to the IM application, so that the IM application executes the corresponding jump operation according to the one or more parameters and the application.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the communicating, by the application, with the IM application to transfer the one or more parameters of the shortcut to the IM application comprises:

when the shortcut is clicked, starting the application corresponding to the shortcut, then transferring the one or more parameters to the application, and after the application parses each of the one or more parameters, transferring the one or more parameters to the IM application.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein, when multiple users log in, processes corresponding to the multiple users display current instant states of all the multiple users in the jump list through a shared memory.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein respective process corresponding to each of the multiple users maintains its instant state in the shared memory.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein, when one of the multiple users logs in or exits, the one of the multiple users sends a notification to other users, and IM application processes corresponding to the one of the multiple users and other users all update respective taskbar overlay icon or respective jump list.

11. A device for using a super taskbar to control instant messaging (IM) application, comprising:

a memory, configured to store instructions; and

a processor, coupled with the memory, configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory, and further configured to;

create a virtual window corresponding to a main panel of the IM application;

monitor a window message in a window process of the virtual window; and

execute a super taskbar operation according to the detected window message while monitoring the window message.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the super taskbar operation comprises one or more of the following operations:

creating a window thumbnail, creating a thumbnail toolbar, creating a window live preview, creating a taskbar button icon, or creating a taskbar overlay icon.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein:

the operation of creating a window thumbnail comprises;

when taskbar buttons are combined, scaling down a current drawing of the main panel onto a canvas to obtain a thumbnail; and

when taskbar buttons are not combined, in an invisible window, placing a user portrait at a static image control, placing a user nickname and account at a static text control, and scaling down the user portrait, the user nickname and account, and the current drawing of the main panel onto a same canvas to obtain a thumbnail;

the operation of creating a thumbnail toolbar comprises;

when a taskbar button creation message is detected, creating a thumbnail toolbar;

the operation of creating a window live preview comprises;

outputting the current drawing of the main panel to obtain a preview;

the operation of creating a taskbar button icon comprises;

when taskbar buttons are not combined, setting a taskbar button icon corresponding to the main panel to a user-defined portrait; and

the operation of creating a taskbar overlay icon comprises;

when only one user logs in currently, overlaying an online state of the user on a taskbar button icon corresponding to the user to generate a taskbar overlay icon;

when multiple users log in currently and taskbar buttons are not combined, respectively overlaying an online state of the corresponding user on a taskbar button icon corresponding to each user to generate a taskbar overlay icon; and

when multiple users log in currently and taskbar buttons are combined, not overlaying an online state of each user on a taskbar button icon.

14. The device according to claim 13, wherein:

the executing a super taskbar operation according to the detected window message while monitoring the window message further comprises;

when a locked state change, a panel size change, a panel hidden state change, or a panel position change, or any combination thereof occurs on the main panel, refreshing the window thumbnail;

the operation of creating a window live preview comprises;

setting the size of the virtual window to be the same as the size of the main panel;

processing a shift position of the preview according to at least one of following operations;

when the main panel is not hidden, setting the shift position to a position with a difference between the virtual window and the main panel;

when the main panel is hidden at an edge and is currently floating at a screen edge, setting the shift position to a position with a difference between the virtual window and the main panel; and

when the main panel is hidden at an edge and is currently not floating at a screen edge, setting the shift position to a position with a difference between the virtual window and the main panel plus the size of the main panel; and

the operation of creating a taskbar button icon comprises;

converting a portrait file in a memory into a HICON format.

15. The device according to claim 11, wherein the executing a super taskbar operation according to the detected window message while monitoring the window message further comprises:

generating a jump list, and executing a corresponding jump operation according to a shortcut set for each item in the jump list.

16. The device according to claim 15, wherein a format of the shortcut is an application plus one or more parameters, wherein the application communicates with the IM application to transfer the one or more parameters of the shortcut to the IM application, so that the IM application executes the corresponding jump operation according to the one or more obtained parameters and the application.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein the communicating, by the application, with the IM application to transfer the one or more parameters of the shortcut to the IM application comprises:

when the shortcut is clicked, starting the application corresponding to the shortcut, then transferring the one or more parameters to the application, and after the application parses each of the parameters, transferring the parameters to the IM software.

18. The device according to claim 15, wherein, when multiple users log in, processes corresponding to the multiple users display current instant states of all the users in the jump list through a shared memory.

19. The device according to claim 18, wherein respective process corresponding to each of the multiple users maintains its instant state in the shared memory;

and when one of the multiple users logs in or exits, the one of the multiple users sends a notification to other users, and IM application processes corresponding to the one of the multiple users and other users all update respective taskbar overlay icon or respective jump list.

20. A machine-readable medium storing an instruction set, wherein, when the instruction set is executed, the machine is enabled to execute a method for using a super taskbar to control instant messaging (IM) application, wherein the method comprises:

creating a virtual window corresponding to a main panel of the IM application;

monitoring a window message in a window process of the virtual window; and

executing a super taskbar operation according to the detected window message while monitoring the window message.