Gesture-based Workflow Progression

• US 20140282243A1
• Filed: 03/06/2014
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omnissa, LLC
• Original Assignee: VMware, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Eye, Andrew, Cianfichi, Adam
• Granted Patent: US 10,025,459 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for displaying, by the one or more processors, at least one graphical representation associated with an electronic document on a touchscreen display; and receiving, by the one or more processors, user input to the at least one graphical representation, the user input indicating a touchscreen gesture to the touchscreen display, and in response: determining a type of the touchscreen gesture; determining a degree of the touchscreen gesture; identifying one or more actions based on the type and the degree, each action of the one or more actions being executable to progress through a workflow; and displaying one or more action elements on the touchscreen display, each action element representing an action of the one or more actions.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method executed using one or more processors, the method comprising:

displaying, by the one or more processors, at least one graphical representation associated with an electronic document on a touchscreen display; and

receiving, by the one or more processors, user input to the at least one graphical representation, the user input indicating a touchscreen gesture to the touchscreen display, and in response;

determining a type of the touchscreen gesture;

determining a degree of the touchscreen gesture;

identifying one or more actions based on the type and the degree, each action of the one or more actions being executable to progress through a workflow; and

displaying one or more action elements on the touchscreen display, each action element representing an action of the one or more actions.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving user input to an action element and, in response, executing a respective action to progress through the workflow.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the type is based on a direction of the touchscreen gesture relative to the touchscreen display.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the type of the touchscreen gesture comprises:

determining a direction of the touchscreen gesture relative to the touchscreen display;

in response to determining a first direction of the touchscreen gesture, determining that the touchscreen gesture is a positive touchscreen gesture type; and

in response to determining a second direction of the touchscreen gesture, determining that the touchscreen gesture is a negative touchscreen gesture type.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the degree is based on a length of the touchscreen gesture relative to the touchscreen display.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the degree of the touchscreen gesture comprises:

in response to determining that the touchscreen gesture is the positive touchscreen gesture type;

determining a length of the touchscreen gesture;

comparing the length to a first threshold;

in response to determining that the length is greater than the first threshold;

comparing the length to a second threshold;

in response to determining that the length is less than the second threshold, displaying a first action element on the touchscreen display; and

in response to determining that the length is greater than the second threshold, displaying a second action element on the touchscreen display.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second threshold is greater than the first threshold.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein determining that the length is less than the second threshold further comprises:

creating a task associated with the electronic document in response to completion of receiving the user input.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the task is associated with a task data record, the task data record including one or more fields, with data of the one or more fields populated with data associated with one or more fields of a document data record associated with the electronic document.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the task data record includes a title field, an assignee field, and an assignor field, the title field populated with data associated with a subject field of the document data record, the assignee field populated with data associated with a recipient field of the document data record, and the assignor field populated with data associated with a sender field of the document data record.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein creating the task further comprises adding one or more fields to a document data record associated with the electronic document, the one or more fields based on the task.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the task data record is associated with a task data record, the method further comprising:

synchronizing one or more fields of the document data record with one or more fields of the task data record.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein in response to creating the task:

displaying one or more additional action elements on the touchscreen display, each additional action element representing an additional action of the one or more additional actions.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more additional action elements include a more action element and an undo action element.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

in response to receiving user input selecting the more action element, displaying one or more secondary action elements on the touchscreen display, the one or more secondary action elements including a task action element, a due date action element, and an assignee action element.

16. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the degree of the touchscreen gesture comprises:

in response to determining the that the touchscreen gesture is the negative touchscreen gesture type;

determining a length of the touchscreen gesture;

comparing the length to a third threshold;

in response to determining that the length is greater than the third threshold;

comparing the length to a fourth threshold;

in response to determining that the length is less than the fourth threshold, displaying a third action element on the touchscreen display; and

in response to determining that the length is greater than the fourth threshold, displaying a fourth action element on the touchscreen display.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the fourth threshold is greater than the third threshold.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the third action element is an archive action element, and the fourth action element is a delete action element.

19. A computer-readable medium coupled to one or more processors having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

displaying, by the one or more processors, at least one graphical representation associated with an electronic document on a touchscreen display; and

receiving, by the one or more processors, user input to the at least one graphical representation, the user input indicating a touchscreen gesture to the touchscreen display, and in response;

determining a type of the touchscreen gesture;

determining a degree of the touchscreen gesture;

identifying one or more actions based on the type and the degree, each action of the one or more actions being executable to progress through a workflow; and

displaying one or more action elements on the touchscreen display, each action element representing an action of the one or more actions.

20. A computing device, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

displaying, by the one or more processors, at least one graphical representation associated with an electronic document on a touchscreen display; and

receiving, by the one or more processors, user input to the at least one graphical representation, the user input indicating a touchscreen gesture to the touchscreen display, and in response;

determining a type of the touchscreen gesture;

determining a degree of the touchscreen gesture;

identifying one or more actions based on the type and the degree, each action of the one or more actions being executable to progress through a workflow; and

displaying one or more action elements on the touchscreen display, each action element representing an action of the one or more actions.