Method and system for specifying the arrangement of windows on a display
First Claim
1. A method in a computer system for specifying a display arrangement for a plurality of windows, the computer system having a display device, the method comprising the steps of:
- displaying on the display device a selection grid, the selection grid having a bounding rectangle with a height and a width, and having a vertical line extending the height of the bounding rectangle and a horizontal line extending the width of the bounding rectangle, the vertical and horizontal lines intersecting to form a plurality of line segments; and
selecting a plurality of the line segments wherein the bounding rectangle and the line segments that are not selected define the display arrangement for the plurality of windows.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for specifying the arrangement of windows on a display device [is provided]. [In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a] A selection grid is displayed on the display device. The selection grid has a bounding rectangle which represents the bounds of the display device and has a plurality of lines extending vertically and horizontally across the bounding rectangle. A user selects which line segments should be removed from the selection grid. A line segment is defined by the intersection points of the vertical and horizontal lines. As the user selects a line segment, the line segment is removed from the selection grid. The line segments that are not selected define the arrangement for the windows. The computer system then arranges the windows on the display in accordance with the specified window arrangement.
180 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A method in a computer system for specifying a display arrangement for a plurality of windows, the computer system having a display device, the method comprising the steps of:
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displaying on the display device a selection grid, the selection grid having a bounding rectangle with a height and a width, and having a vertical line extending the height of the bounding rectangle and a horizontal line extending the width of the bounding rectangle, the vertical and horizontal lines intersecting to form a plurality of line segments; and selecting a plurality of the line segments wherein the bounding rectangle and the line segments that are not selected define the display arrangement for the plurality of windows. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method in a computer system for arranging a plurality of windows on a display device, each window having a display geometry indicating location and size of the window on the display device, the method comprising the steps of:
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displaying on the display device a selection grid, the selection grid having a bounding rectangle with a height and a width, and having a vertical line extending the height of the bounding rectangle and a horizontal line extending the width of the bounding rectangle, the vertical and horizontal lines intersecting to form a plurality of line segments; selecting a plurality of the line segments wherein the bounding rectangle and the line segments that are not selected define a display arrangement for the plurality of windows; and defining the geometry of the plurality of windows to correspond to the geometry of the defined display arrangement. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method in a computer system for specifying a display arrangement for a plurality of windows, the computer system having a display device, the method comprising the steps of:
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displaying on the display device a selection grid, the selection grid having a bounding rectangle and having a plurality of lines extending across the bounding rectangle; and selecting a line wherein the bounding rectangle and the lines that are not selected define the display arrangement for the plurality of windows. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A computer system for specifying a display arrangement for a plurality of windows comprising:
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a computer; a display device operatively connected to the computer for displaying a plurality of windows; means for displaying on the display device a selection grid, the selection grid having a bounding rectangle with a height and a width, and having a vertical line extending the height of the bounding rectangle and a horizontal line extending the width of the bounding rectangle, the vertical and horizontal lines intersecting to form a plurality of line segments; and means for selecting a plurality of the line segments wherein the bounding rectangle and the line segments that are not selected define the display arrangement for the plurality of windows. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method in a computer system for arranging windows on a display device, each window having a display geometry indicating location and size of the window on the display device, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving from a user an indication of a number of rows and columns of windows to include in a display grid; developing a window arrangement wherein the windows are to be arranged in accordance with the received number of rows and columns; and adjusting the geometry of a plurality of windows to correspond to the developed window arrangement.
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24. A method in a computer system for specifying a display arrangement for a plurality of windows, the computer system having a display device, the method comprising the steps of:
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displaying on the display device a selection grid, the selection grid having a bounding rectangle, and having a plurality of lines extending from a side of the bounding rectangle to another side of the bounding rectangle; and selecting one of the plurality of lines to exclude from the selection grid, wherein the bounding rectangle and lines that are not selected define the display arrangement for the plurality of windows. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method in a computer systems for specifying a display arrangement for a plurality of windows, the computer system having a display device, each window having a window geometry with lines defining the size of the window and with a position defining the location of the window on the display device, the method comprising the steps of:
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altering the window geometry of a window displayed on the display device; displaying on the display device a selection grid, the selection grid having a bounding rectangle, and having a plurality of lines distinct from the lines of the window geometries of the plurality of windows, wherein the plurality of lines of the selection grid symbolically represents the lines of the plurality of windows as altered, and wherein the intersecting lines of the selection grid form a plurality of line segments; and selecting a plurality of line segments to exclude from the selection grid, wherein the bounding rectangle and the line segments that are not selected define the display arrangement for the plurality of windows. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. A method in a computer systems for specifying a display arrangement for a plurality of windows, the computer system having a display device, each window having a window geometry with lines defining the size of the window and with a position defining the location of the window on the display device, the method comprising the steps of:
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displaying on the display device a selection grid, the selection grid having a bounding rectangle, and having a plurality of lines distinct from the lines of the window geometries of the plurality of windows, wherein the plurality of lines of the selection grid symbolically represents the lines of the plurality of windows, and wherein the intersecting lines of the selection grid form a plurality of line segments; and selecting a plurality of line segments to exclude from the selection grid wherein the bounding rectangle and the line segments that are not selected define the display arrangement for the plurality of windows.
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33. A computer system for specifying a display arrangement for a plurality of windows, each window having a window geometry with lines defining the size of the window and with a position defining the location of the window, the computer system comprising:
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a display device for displaying a selection grid, the selection grid having a bounding rectangle, and having a plurality of lines distinct from the lines of the window geometries of the plurality of windows, wherein the plurality of lines of the selection grid symbolically represents the lines of the plurality of windows, and wherein the intersecting lines of the selection grid form a plurality of line segments; an input device for receiving a selection of a plurality of line segments to exclude from the selection grid; and a window arrangement definition mechanism for defining the display arrangement for the plurality of windows based upon the bounding rectangle and the line segments that are not selected. - View Dependent Claims (34)
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35. A computer system for specifying a display arrangement for a plurality of windows comprising:
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a selection grid having a bounding rectangle and having a plurality of lines extending across the bounding rectangle; a display device for displaying the selection grid; an input device for selecting a line; a display arrangement definition mechanism for defining the display arrangement for the plurality of windows using the bounding rectangle of the selection grid and the lines that are not selected. - View Dependent Claims (36)
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Specification