Dynamic presentation of contextual help and status information

• US 5,546,521 A
• Filed: 10/17/1994
• Issued: 08/13/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Martinez, Anthony E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Application Number:
  US08/324,294
• Time in Patent Office: 666 Days
• Field of Search: 395/155, 395/157, 395/159, 395/158, 395/156, 395/135, 345/119, 345/120, 345/115, 345/113
• US Class Current: 715/711
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23121 Display graphics with corresponding text
• 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 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

A method and apparatus of displaying contextual help or status information to the user of a computer system in a graphical user interface. When a help facility is enabled, the system determines the position of a pointer, such as a mouse pointer, relative to the objects in the graphical user interface. If the pointer is over an object, the system refers to one or more tables which correlate objects with help and/or status information. The information is then displayed proximate to the pointer, preferably in a semitransparent window at a predictable offset from the pointer to allow the information presented by the graphical user interface to be viewed. As the pointer is moved across the graphical user interface, the information text associated with the pointer changes dynamically. In one preferred embodiment, at least one of the tables which correlate objects with the information is updated to reflect details about objects which change dynamically.

Claims

1. In a data processor, a method of displaying contextual help to a user thereof comprising the steps of:

initializing a help program;

automatically determining whether a pointer in a graphical user interface in the processor is located over a first data object;

responsive to determining that said first data object is present under the pointer and determining that said help program is initialized, finding information stored in the processor corresponding to the first object, wherein said finding step includes the steps of;

referring to a first table in which corresponding information correlated to the objects in the graphical user interface is dynamically updated to account for changes in the objects;

responsive to not finding corresponding information in said first table, referring to a second table in which corresponding information correlated to the objects in the graphical user interface is stored longer than in said first table;

responsive to not finding corresponding information in said second table, referring to a third table in which corresponding information correlated to the type of objects generally found in the graphical user interface is stored; and

responsive solely to finding information corresponding to the first data object, displaying the information to the user proximate to the location of the pointer.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, which further comprises the steps of:

moving the pointer across the graphical user interface to a second object;

automatically determining that the pointer is located over the second object;

responsive to the determination that the second object is present under the pointer, finding information pertaining to the second object in said first table which correlates objects within the graphical user interface and information corresponding to the objects; and

,

responsive solely to finding information corresponding to the second object in said first table, displaying the corresponding information to the user proximate to the location of the pointer.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, which further comprises the steps of:

updating the information in the first table corresponding to the objects in the graphical user interface to account for changes in the objects;

automatically determining whether the pointer is located over a second object;

responsive to determining that the second object is present under the pointer, looking up information pertaining to the second object in the first table; and

,

responsive solely to finding .updated information corresponding to the second object in the first table, displaying the updated information to the user proximate to the location of the pointer.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the corresponding information is displayed in a predictable location with respect to the location of the pointer so that the information is readily accessible, and the underlying graphical user interface is only covered by a textual portion of the corresponding information.

5. A data processing system which displays contextual help to a user comprising:

means for initializing a help program;

means for automatically determining whether a pointer in a graphical user interface is located over a first data object;

means for finding information stored in the data processing system corresponding to the first data object responsive to a determination that the first data object is present under the pointer and that said help program is initialized, wherein said means for finding includes;

means for referring to a first table in which corresponding information correlated to the objects in the graphical user interface is dynamically updated to account for changes in the objects;

means for referring to a second table in which corresponding information correlated to the objects in the graphical user interface is stored longer than in said first table in response to not finding corresponding information in said first table;

means for referring to a third table in which corresponding information correlated to the type of objects generally found in the graphical user interface is stored in response to not finding corresponding information in said-second table; and

means for displaying the information to the user proximate to the location of the pointer responsive solely to finding information corresponding to the first data object.

6. The system as recited in claim 5, which further comprises:

means for moving the pointer across the graphical user interface to a second object; and

,

wherein the determining, finding and displaying means are used to find and display the corresponding information to the second object to the user at a location proximate to the location of the pointer.

7. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the corresponding information is displayed in a predictable location with respect to the location of the pointer so that the information is readily accessible, and the underlying graphical user interface is only covered by a textual portion of the corresponding information.

8. The system as recited in claim 5, which further comprises:

means for updating information pertaining to objects in the graphical user interface to account for changes in the objects; and

,

wherein the determining, finding and displaying means are used to display the updated information to the user proximate to the pointer.