Search/retrieval system

• US 4,736,308 A
• Filed: 07/10/1985
• Issued: 04/05/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/1984
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Quickview Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Quickview Systems Incorporated
• Inventors: Heckel, Paul C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaw, Gareth D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mills, John G.
• Application Number:
  US06/754,512
• Time in Patent Office: 1,000 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200, 364/900, 364/518, 340/726, 340/712, 340/711, 340/723
• US Class Current: 715/781
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191

Abstract

A computer program provides for the display of selected portions of two or more records on a display screen where the portions selected are from different records, and may be from different files. Provision is made for scrolling of the full text of the displayed records, which may be grouped by common subject matter.

Alternatively one of the two or more records may be displayed on the full screen with the capability for selectively switching between the single record and two or more records or a display showing portions of more than one record from more than one file.

Claims

1. In an interactive data entry computer system wherein a user is presented with a data entry display screen, a data string input device, a processor, a storage device for storing S_n independent strings of data elements each string S_k of variable length less than t, each string S_k having at least one data field f_i and an output device, said independent strings S₁ through S_n classifiable into groups, each group having strings with at least one similar filed, a data retrieval and display system comprising:

processing means for locating each stored independent string of data;

control means for preselecting and simultaneously displaying on the data entry display screen or output device portions of a first independent string S₁ of data and portions of a second independent string of data S₂ said first string preselected portions having a displayed length l₁ less than t;

said second string preselected portions having a displayed length l₂ less than or equal to l₁, and said first and second strings being in the same group, whereby the user is simultaneously presented with two or more portions of different data strings.

2. The system of claim 1 further including means for displaying a preselected portion of an additional independent data string S₃ from a different group simultaneously with the preselected portions of data strings S₁ and S₂, said additional string S₃ having a displayed length l₃ equal to or less than l_l.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for simultaneously displaying on the output device a preselected portion of string S₁ and a preselected portion of string S₂ is respectively responsive to at least one field f_i contained in string S₁ and at least one field f_j contained in string S₂.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the preselected fields f_i and f_j are respectively the first fields of string S₁ and S₂.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the means for simultaneously displaying on the output device preselected portions of strings S₁ and S₂ is responsive to at least one field f_k contained in a string S_s classified in the same group as S₁ and S₂.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein the means for simultaneously displaying on the output device preselected portions of strings S₁ and S₂ includes means for accepting display size dimensions from the data string input device, said display size dimensions useable for determining the display area of strings S₁ and S₂.

7. The system of claim 1 further including means for editing strings S₁ and S₂ while portions of S₁ and S₂ are displayed.

8. The system of claim 1 further including means for highlighting the display of the preselected portions of data string S₁.

9. The system of claim 2 further including means for preselecting portions of data string S₁ such that the length l₁ of the preselected portions data string S₁ is greater than either l₂ or l₃, the displayed lengths of the preselected portions of data strings S₂ and S₃ respectively.

10. The computerized data system of claim 2 wherein the output device is a video device having a display area capable of displaying in the display area at least r lines of pixels, each line having s pixels;

the data retrieval and display system further including means for displaying in the display area on the output device the preselected portions data string S₁ on lines I through h and for displaying the preselected portions of data string S₂ on lines i through r where r is greater than 2.

11. The system of claim 10 further including means for displaying on the output device the preselected portions of data strings S₁ and S₂ in the leftmost j pixels of the output device where j is less than s and the preselected portions of data string S₃ on lines l through h in the remaining rightmost s-j pixels of the output device.

12. The system of claim 11 further including means for simultaneously displaying the preselected portions of data strings S₁, S₂ or, in response to a single command displaying only preselected portions of data string S₁.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the preselected portions of data string S₁, S₂ and S₃ are displayed in a truncated format.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the preselected portions of data string S₁ consists of fields f₁ through f_j, where each field f_i through f_j has a name associated with it, the system including means for displaying at least one field f_h of the truncated displayed fields in its full form preceded by the field name, the full field display occurring sequentially with the name followed by each character of the field moving across the display area from right to left in the area allocated to the truncated field.

15. The data retrieval system of claim 1 wherein said preselected portions include one or more fields f_i and each field f_i is abbreviated.

16. The data retrieval system of claim 1 wherein each field f_i through f_m has a name associated with it, the system further including means for retrieving and displaying at least one of said names.

17. The data retrieval system of claim 16 wherein said preselected portions include one or more fields f_i and each displayed field f_i is abbreviated.

18. The data retrieval system of claim 1 wherein said displayed preselected portions occupies a portion of the output device the system further including means for alternatively displaying the said preselected portions or a single data string on the output device upon a signal from the input device.

19. The data retrieval system of claim 1 including means to classify data strings having identical data fields.

20. In an interactive data entry computer system where the user is presented with a data entry display screen, a data string input device, a processor, a storage device for storing S_n independent strings of data elements each string S_k of variable length less than t, each string S_k having at least one data field f_i, and an output device, said independent strings S₁ through S_n classifiable into groups, each group having strings with at least one similar field, a data retrieval and display system comprising;

processing means for locating each stored independent string of data;

first control means for preselecting and simultaneously displaying on the output device portions of a first independent string S₁ of data and portions of a second independent string of data S₂, said first string preselected portions having a displayed length l₁ less than t;

said second string preselected portions having a displayed length l₂ less than or equal to l₁, said first and second string from the same group; and

second control means for alternatively only displaying preselected portions of data string S₁, whereby the user is simultaneously presented with two or more portions of different data strings.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the strings S₁ and S₂ include one or more data fields f_i and further wherein the data fields f_i are truncated when displayed with the first control means and not truncated when displayed with the second control means.

22. The system of claim 20 wherein the preselected portions of data string S₁ consists of fields f₁ through f_j, were each field f_i through f_j has a name associated with it, the system including third control means for displaying at least one field f_h of the truncated displayed fields in its full preceded by the field name, the full field display occurring sequentially with the name followed by each character of the field moving across the display area from right to left in the area allocated to the truncated field.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the preselected portions of data string S₁ consists of fields f_i through f_j, where each field f_i through f_j has a name associated with it, and further wherein the third control means further includes means to display the field f_h in its full text mode along with its associated name when the preselected portions of string S₁ are displayed by the second control means.