DOCKING AND UNDOCKING DYNAMIC NAVIGATION BAR FOR EXPANDED COMMUNICATION SERVICE

• US 20130152007A1
• Filed: 12/08/2011
• Published: 06/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Roic, Alessio, Brown, Jedidiah, Costenaro, Daniel, Holz, Elizabeth
• Granted Patent: US 9,348,484 B2
• 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

A navigation bar is provided for switching between modules within an expanded communication service such as email, calendar, contacts, tasks, etc. and for providing preview peeks associated with each module to a user. A temporary preview of a module may be provided upon a hover action over predefined navigation bar locations such as icons and/or textual identifiers without actually needing to switch to a module. One or more preview panes may be docked or pinned to a dynamically selected or user defined location on the main user interface so that they are permanently displayed within the main user interface. Users may be enabled to undock one or more of the docked preview panes through a user interface control. New or interesting activity within each module may be highlighted by displaying an information badge next to a module name, for example.

Claims

1. A method executed at least in part in a computing device for providing a dynamic navigation bar with preview docking and undocking capability within an expanded communication application, the method comprising:

displaying the navigation bar comprising a plurality of items representing individual modules of the communication application within a user interface of the communication application;

in response to detecting a hover action on one of the navigation bar items, temporarily displaying a preview pane presenting content associated with a module represented by the navigation bar item;

in response to receiving a docking request, docking the preview pane to one of a predefined and dynamically determined location on the user interface for permanent display; and

in response to receiving an undocking request, undocking the preview pane from the user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling limited interaction with the presented content through the preview pane, wherein at least one from a set of;

an extent of the interaction, the presented content, a layout of the presented content, and a format of the presented content are configurable by a user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein at least one from a set of:

an extent of the interaction, the presented content, a layout of the presented content, and a format of the presented content are automatically determined based on one or more of a machine learning process analyzing user behavior and information received from another application.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling inactivation of one or more preview panes associated with one or more navigation bar items.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically inactivating a preview pane associated with a module that is currently displayed on the user interface.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically determining the location for docking the preview pane based on at least one from a set of;

a currently displayed module, an available display area, a displayed content on the user interface, an application type, a device type, and a user credential.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling docking of a plurality of preview panes.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

adjusting at least one from a set of;

a size, a layout, a location, and content of the docked preview panes in response to one of;

docking a new preview pane and undocking an existing preview pane.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one from a set of:

displaying, hiding, docking, and undocking the preview pane in an animated manner.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling display of additional content on the preview pane through a scroll function.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one from a set of:

a size, a layout, a location, and content of the preview pane is one of;

dynamically adjustable, fixed, and user configurable.

12. A computing device for providing an expanded communication application with a dynamic navigation bar capable of docking and undocking preview panes, the computing device comprising:

an input device;

a memory;

a processor coupled to the memory and the input device, the processor executing the communication application and causing a user interface associated with the communication application to be displayed on a screen, wherein the processor is configured to;

display the navigation bar comprising a plurality of items representing individual modules of the communication application within a user interface of the communication application, wherein the modules are associated with at least one from a set of;

email exchange, scheduling, text messaging, contact management, and task management;

in response to detecting a hover action on one of the navigation bar items, temporarily display a preview pane presenting content associated with a module represented by the navigation bar item;

in response to receiving a docking request, dock the preview pane to one of a predefined and dynamically determined location on the user interface for permanent display; and

in response to receiving an undocking request, undock the preview pane from the user interface.

13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to:

adjust at least one from a set of;

a size, a layout, a location, and content of the preview pane in response to docking the preview pane.

14. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to:

enable manual adjustment of the location of the docked preview pane.

15. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to:

enable docking of the preview pane through activation of a first control element presented on the temporarily displayed preview pane.

16. The computing device of claim 12, wherein undocking of a docked preview pane is enabled through activation of one of the first control element and a second control element presented on the docked preview pane.

17. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the communication application is provided as one of a web-based application in server-client architecture, a cloud-based hosted application, and a locally installed application, and the computing device is one of:

a stationary computer, a laptop computer, a vehicle-mount computer, a handheld computer, a consumer electronic device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a hand-held game console, and a computer peripheral.

18. A computer-readable memory device with instructions stored thereon for providing a dynamic navigation bar with preview docking and undocking capability within an expanded communication application, the instructions containing:

displaying the navigation bar comprising a plurality of items representing individual modules of the communication application within a user interface of the communication application, wherein the items in the navigation bar include one or more of;

text, graphics, images, and a combination of text and graphics;

in response to detecting a hover action on one of the navigation bar items, temporarily displaying a preview pane presenting content associated with a module represented by the navigation bar item;

displaying a number of items of interest in respective modules associated with one or more modules through information badges adjacent to respective items representing the one or more modules;

in response to receiving a docking request, docking the preview pane to one of a predefined and dynamically determined location on the user interface for permanent display;

in response to receiving an undocking request, undocking the preview pane from the user interface; and

in response to detecting selection of one of the navigation bar items, modifying the user interface to display content associated with a module represented by the navigation bar item.

19. The computer-readable memory device of claim 18, wherein the instructions further comprise:

automatically undocking a docked preview pane in response to a change of displayed content on the user interface to a module that is associated with the docked preview pane.

20. The computer-readable memory device of claim 18, wherein the instructions further comprise:

employing one or more of a layout scheme, a color scheme, a shading scheme, a textual scheme, a graphics scheme, and an animation scheme in conjunction with displaying and docking the preview pane such that a consistency of look and feel is provided across different applications and devices associated with a user.