Multi-Touch Editing in a Graphical Programming Language

• US 20140109044A1
• Filed: 10/21/2013
• Published: 04/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: National Instruments Corporateion
• Inventors: Cifra, Christopher G.
• Application Number:
  US14/058,924
• Publication Number:
  US 20140109044A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/113
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming

Abstract

System and method for editing a graphical program. A graphical program is displayed on a display device. Multi-touch input is received to a multi-touch interface, where the multi-touch input specifies an edit operation in the graphical program. The edit operation is performed in the graphical program in response to the multi-touch input, and the edited graphical program is displayed on the display device.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium that stores program instructions executable by a processor to implement:

displaying a graphical program on a display device, wherein the graphical program comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes that visually indicate functionality of the graphical program, including a graphical case/switch node, wherein the graphical case/switch node is not expanded;

receiving multi-touch input to a multi-touch interface, the multi-touch input comprising two or more touchpoints applied simultaneously to the graphical case/switch node, wherein the multi-touch input specifies expansion of the graphical case/switch node;

in response to the multi-touch input, expanding the graphical case/switch node to an expanded graphical case/switch node; and

displaying the graphical program on the display device after said expanding, including displaying the expanded graphical case/switch node, comprising displaying all cases of the graphical case/switch node.

2. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch input comprises a two point reverse pinching motion applied to the graphical case/switch node.

3. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch input comprises a three point reverse pinching motion applied to the graphical case/switch node.

4. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch input comprises a multi-touch swipe or reverse multi-swipe applied to the graphical case/switch node.

5. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch input comprises multi-touch tapping of two or more touchpoints on the graphical case/switch node.

6. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch input comprises multi-touch double tapping of two or more touchpoints on the graphical case/switch node.

7. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch input comprises multi-touch triple tapping of two or more touchpoints on the graphical case/switch node.

8. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch input comprises three or more touchpoints applied to the graphical case/switch node.

9. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch input comprises a two point press applied to the graphical case/switch node.

10. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch input comprises a two point press applied to the graphical case/switch node followed by a two point swipe.

11. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein said displaying the graphical case/switch node comprises displaying a top case of the graphical case/switch node.

12. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch input is performed in combination with a keyboard key press to form a combination multi-touch input;

and

wherein the expansion of the graphical case/switch node invoked by the combination multi-touch input is different from that invoked by the multi-touch input alone.

13. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the processor to implement:

receiving another multi-touch input to the multi-touch interface, wherein the multi-touch input specifies collapse of the expanded graphical case/switch node;

in response to the multi-touch input, collapsing the expanded graphical case/switch node back to the graphical case/switch node that is not expanded; and

displaying the graphical program on the display device after said collapsing, including displaying the graphical case/switch node.

14. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 13, wherein the other multi-touch input comprises a multi-touch swipe or multi-touch reverse swipe applied to the expanded graphical case/switch node.

15. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 13, wherein the other multi-touch input comprises multi-touch tapping of two or more touchpoints on the expanded graphical case/switch node.

16. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 13, wherein the other multi-touch input comprises multi-touch double tapping of two or more touchpoints on the expanded graphical case/switch node.

17. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 13, wherein the other multi-touch input comprises multi-touch triple tapping of two or more touchpoints on the expanded graphical case/switch node.

18. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 13, wherein the other multi-touch input comprises three or more touchpoints applied to the expanded graphical case/switch node.

19. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 13, wherein the other multi-touch input comprises a two point press applied to the expanded graphical case/switch node.

20. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 13, wherein the other multi-touch input comprises a two point press applied to the expanded graphical case/switch node followed by a multi-touch swipe or multi-touch reverse swipe.

21. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 13, wherein the graphical program comprises a graphical data flow program, wherein during execution of the graphical data flow program the nodes execute whenever their necessary input data are available.

22. A computer-implemented method for creating a graphical program, the method comprising:

utilizing a computer to perform;

displaying a graphical program on a display device, wherein the graphical program comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes that visually indicate functionality of the graphical program, including a graphical case/switch node, wherein the graphical case/switch node is not expanded;

receiving multi-touch input to a multi-touch interface, wherein the multi-touch input specifies expansion of the graphical case/switch node;

in response to the multi-touch input, comprising expanding the graphical case/switch node to an expanded graphical case/switch node; and

displaying the graphical program on the display device after said expanding, including displaying the expanded graphical case/switch node, comprising displaying all cases of the graphical case/switch node.