Method for locating and displaying information in a pointer-based computer system
First Claim
1. A method of controlling a display screen for searching the contents of a memory device associated with a pointer-based computer system and displaying the search results on the display screen associated with the computer system, the computer system having a processor and a plurality of applications, at least one of which is running on the processor, wherein the contents of the memory device include a plurality of application text files that are each associated with at least one of the plurality of applications and each capable of containing a plurality of records capable of storing textual information, the method comprising the steps of:
- a) receiving a find command;
b) displaying a find dialog box on the display screen in response to the find command;
c) receiving a search string comprising a plurality of characters, said characters being input into said dialog box by interaction of a pointer with the display screen, and displaying the search string in the find dialog box;
d) determining whether a global search mode or a local search mode has been selected by interaction of the pointer with the display screen;
e) when the local search mode is selected, executing the selected search by searching through the entire textual contents of each record in an application text file stored in the memory device, the selected search being application dependent whereby the application text file is associated with an application program that is currently running on the processor, andf) when the global search mode is selected, executing the selected search by searching through the entire textual contents of the entire records in the entire application text files stored in the memory device, the selected search being application independent, and making a list of the application text files searched and the number of records within each application text file that contain the search string; and
g) displaying at least a portion of the search results on the display screen.
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Abstract
A user interface is disclosed that facilitates easy find and display operations that search through the memory of a pointer based computing system. The user interface includes searching methods that are particularly well suited for use in a computer system in which the contents of the memory are divided into a plurality of searchable application files that are each capable of containing a plurality of records. In one aspect of the invention an improved find dialog box is disclosed. In another aspect, a method of selecting local verses global searches together with a method of conducting the chosen search and processing user inputs in response to the search results is disclosed. Additionally, an improved interface for displaying the results of various searches is described.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method of controlling a display screen for searching the contents of a memory device associated with a pointer-based computer system and displaying the search results on the display screen associated with the computer system, the computer system having a processor and a plurality of applications, at least one of which is running on the processor, wherein the contents of the memory device include a plurality of application text files that are each associated with at least one of the plurality of applications and each capable of containing a plurality of records capable of storing textual information, the method comprising the steps of:
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a) receiving a find command; b) displaying a find dialog box on the display screen in response to the find command; c) receiving a search string comprising a plurality of characters, said characters being input into said dialog box by interaction of a pointer with the display screen, and displaying the search string in the find dialog box; d) determining whether a global search mode or a local search mode has been selected by interaction of the pointer with the display screen; e) when the local search mode is selected, executing the selected search by searching through the entire textual contents of each record in an application text file stored in the memory device, the selected search being application dependent whereby the application text file is associated with an application program that is currently running on the processor, and f) when the global search mode is selected, executing the selected search by searching through the entire textual contents of the entire records in the entire application text files stored in the memory device, the selected search being application independent, and making a list of the application text files searched and the number of records within each application text file that contain the search string; and g) displaying at least a portion of the search results on the display screen. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of controlling a display screen for searching the contents of a memory device associated with a pointer-based computer system and displaying the search results on the display screen associated with the computer system, the computer system having a processor and a plurality of applications, at least one of which is running on the processor, wherein the contents of the memory device include a plurality of application text files that are each associated with one of the plurality of applications and each capable of containing a plurality of records capable of storing textual information, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a find command; receiving a search string comprising a plurality of characters, said characters being input into said dialog box by interaction of a pointer with the display screen; searching through the entire text contents of the entire records in the entire application text files in the memory device and forming a list of each application file that contains a record that includes the search string and the number of records within each application text file that contain the search string, the searching step being application independent; displaying at least a portion of the search results wherein the displayed search results include a summary indicating each of the application text files in which an occurrence of the search string was found and an indication of the number of records within each such application text file that include the search string; and processing user inputs after the search results have been displayed. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of controlling a display screen for searching the contents of a memory device associated with a pointer-based computer system and displaying the search results on the display screen associated with the computer system, the computer system having a processor and a plurality of applications at least one of which is running on the processor, wherein the contents of the memory device include a plurality of application text flies that are each associated with one of the plurality of applications and each capable of containing a plurality of records capable of storing textual information, the method comprising the steps of:
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a) receiving a find command; b) displaying a find dialog box on the display screen, in response to the find command the find dialog box including a global search icon; c) receiving a search string comprising a plurality of characters, said characters being input into said dialog box by interaction of a pointer with screen display and displaying the search string in the find dialog box; d) determining whether a global search mode or a local search mode has been selected by interaction of the pointer with the display screen wherein, when the global icon is highlighted, a global search mode that is application independent is selected, when the global icon is not highlighted, a local search mode that is application dependent is selected, and the a global search mode may be selected by using the pointer to click on an unhighlighted global icon, and a local search mode may be selected by using the pointer to click on a highlighted global icon; conducting the desired search of the entire textual contents of the entire records of the entire applicable application text files in the memory device; and e) displaying at least a portion of the search results. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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32. A pen-based computer system comprising:
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processing means; a memory means coupled to said processing means; a display screen coupled to said processing means, the display means being capable of detecting the position of the stylus when the stylus is in contact with the display screen; a plurality of records organized in one or more text files associated with one or more application programs, the records being stored in the memory means and capable of storing textual information; means for entering a plurality of characters defining a text search string; means for searching for a textual search string in each of the plurality of records of said one or more text files stored in the memory means, the searching means being arranged to search the entire textual contents of each of said records; means for determining whether a global search mode or a local search mode has been selected by interaction of the stylus with the display screen, wherein when the local search mode is selected, the means for searching searches the entire textual contents of each record in one of the text files stored in the memory mean, and when the global search mode is selected, the means for searching searches the entire textual contents of the entire records in the entire text files stored in the memory means; and a plurality of indicator indicia, each having a corresponding text file and each displayed adjacent a display of the number of hits in the corresponding text file found by the means for searching. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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36. A computer readable medium containing program instructions for searching the contents of a memory device associated with a pointer-based computer system and displaying the search results on the display screen associated with the computer system, the computer system having a processor and a plurality of applications, at least one of which is running on the processor, wherein the contents of the memory device include a plurality of application text files that are each associated with at least one of the plurality of applications and each capable of containing a plurality of records capable of storing textual information, the program instructions including instructions for performing the steps comprising:
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a) receiving a find command; b) displaying a find dialog box on the display screen in response to the find command; c) receiving a search string comprising a plurality of characters, said characters being input into said dialog box by interaction of a pointer with the display screen, and displaying the search string in the find dialog box; d) determining whether a global search mode or a local search mode has been selected by interaction of the pointer with the display screen; e) when the local search mode is selected, executing the selected search by searching through the entire textual contents of each record in an application text file stored in the memory device, the selected search being application dependent whereby the application text file is associated with an application program that is currently running on the processor, and f) when the global search mode is selected, executing the selected search by searching through the entire textual contents of the entire records in the entire application text files stored in the memory device, the selected search being application independent, and making a list of the application text files searched and the number of records within each application text file that contain the search string; and g) displaying at least a portion of the search results on the display screen. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39)
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Specification