Method of resetting a computer video display mode

• US 5,648,795 A
• Filed: 09/30/1994
• Issued: 07/15/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Altera Corporation (Intel Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Binar Graphics, Inc. (SONICblue Incorporated)
• Inventors: Vouri, Scott D., Higgins, Paul Jerome
• Primary Examiner(s): LIANG, REGINA
• Application Number:
  US08/315,586
• Time in Patent Office: 1,019 Days
• Field of Search: 345/132, 345/153, 345/154, 345/112, 345/115, 345/119, 345/156, 395/128
• US Class Current: 345/698
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/02 characterised by the way in which colour is displayed details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports

Abstract

A method of resetting the screen display mode in a computer system having a display monitor is disclosed. The method is arranged to reset the display mode while a designated operating system such as a windowing environment based operating system is running, without requiring the operating system or any currently running application(s) to be exited and reloaded. The method includes the step of receiving a user initiated input requesting a change in the display mode. After a display mode request is received, the operating system display characteristic variables are reset to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode. Additionally, the display driver display characteristic variables are reset to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode. Moreover, the hardware mode is set to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode. After all of these resetting steps have been completed, the display screen is repented to display the images dictated by any program(s) that is/are currently running in the requested display mode.

Claims

1. A screen display mode changer suitable for use in a computer system that includes a display monitor including a screen, a display driver arranged to control a characteristic of images displayed on the screen, the display driver being arranged to support a plurality of different display modes, and a processing arrangement suitable for executing a designated windowing based operating system including USER and GDI data segments and executing a designated graphical user interface (GUI) based application program on the designated operating system, the screen display mode changer comprising:

means for setting operating system display characteristic variables in the USER and GDI data segments to values that are appropriate for a requested display mode that is requested while the windowing based operating system and the designated GUI based application program arranged to run on the windowing based operating system are open and controlling the contents of a window visible on the screen;

means for setting display driver display characteristic variables of the display driver to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode, wherein the display driver works with but is independent of the designated operating system and the designated application program;

means for setting a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode; and

means for refreshing the screen to cause the screen to display the window in the requested display mode;

wherein the operating system display characteristic variable setting means, the display driver display characteristic setting means and the hardware mode setting means are each capable of performing their designated functions without requiring that either the selected application program or the selected operating system be exited.

2. A screen display mode changer as recited in claim 1 wherein the designated operating system is a Windows based operating system and the hardware mode change is accomplished in DOS.

3. Computer software for resetting a screen display mode in a computer system running Microsoft Windows without requiring that either Windows or a graphical user interface based application program that is currently running on Windows to be exited and reloaded, wherein Windows includes USER and GDI data segments, the computer system including a processing arrangement, and a display monitor which displays images under the direction of the processing arrangement, the software being arranged to:

permit the processing arrangement to receive an input requesting a change in the display mode while Windows is running;

set Windows operating system display characteristic variables in the USER and GDI data segments to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received;

set display driver display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received;

set a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received; and

refresh the display screen to display images dictated by Windows and the GUI based application program currently running on Windows, whereby the screen display mode may be reset without requiring that the Windows or the application program that is currently running on Windows to be exited.

4. Computer software as recited in claim 3 for use in a computer system having a display monitor that can display a variety of screen resolutions, wherein the display mode changed is the screen resolution.

5. Computer software as recited in claim 3 for use in a computer system having a display monitor that can display a variety of color depths, wherein the display mode changed is the color depth.

6. Computer software as recited in claim 3 wherein:

when a new application program is selected within the Windows environment, the software is further arranged to check to determine whether the newly open application program has a desired display mode associated therewith;

when the selected application has a desired display mode associated therewith, the software is arranged to check to determine whether the desired display mode is different from the current display mode; and

when the desired display mode is different from the current display mode, the software is arranged to reset the Windows operating system display characteristics, the display driver

display characteristic variables and the hardware mode and refresh the display screen.

7. A method of resetting a screen display mode in a computer system having a display monitor, the display mode being reset while a designated operating system is running, without requiring the designated operating system or an application program that is currently open in the designated operating system to be exited and reloaded, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for a change in the display mode while the application program is open such that it dictates the contents of a window appearing on the display monitor;

setting operating system display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

setting display driver display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

setting the hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode; and

refreshing the display screen to display images dictated by the designated operating system and the application program that is currently open in the requested display mode, whereby the display mode is reset without requiring that the application program be exited.

8. A method as recited in claim 7 wherein the requested display mode is a new display resolution.

9. A method as recited in claim 7 wherein the requested display mode is a new color depth and the display characteristic variables include color depth variables.

10. A method as recited in claim 7 further comprising the steps of:

determining whether a desired display mode is different from the current display mode;

when the desired display mode is different from the current display mode, executing said setting and refreshing steps; and

wherein when the desired display mode is the same as the current display mode, the setting and refreshing steps are not executed.

11. A method of resetting a display driver display mode in a computer system having a display monitor, the display driver display mode being reset while a designated operating system is running, without requiring the operating system or an application program that is currently open in the operating system to be exited and reloaded, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for a change in the display mode while the application program is open and dictating the contents of a window displayed on the display monitor;

setting display driver display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

setting a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode; and

wherein the display driver display resetting method is arranged for use in connection with a method of resetting a display mode in the computer system which includes the steps of setting operating system display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode and refreshing the display screen to display images dictated by the application program that is currently open in the requested display mode, whereby the display mode is reset without requiring that the application program be exited.

12. A method of resetting a display mode in a computer system having a display monitor, the display mode being reset while a designated Windows based operating system that includes USER and GDI data segments is running, without requiring the operating system or an application program that is currently open in the operating system to be exited and reloaded, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for a change in the display mode while the application program is open;

setting operating system display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode, the operating system display characteristic variable setting step including setting operating system display characteristic variables in the USER and GDI data segments;

refreshing the display screen to display images dictated by the Windows based operating system and the application program that is currently open in the requested display mode, whereby the display mode is reset without requiring that the application program be exited; and

wherein the display resetting method is arranged for use in connection with a method of resetting a display driver display mode which includes the steps of setting display driver display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode and setting a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode.

13. A computer system comprising:

a display monitor including a screen display;

a display driver arranged to control the images displayed on the screen display, the display driver being arranged to support a plurality of different display resolutions;

a processing arrangement suitable for executing a Windows based operating system that includes USER and GDI data segments and executing a designated Windows based application program on the designated operating system;

means for resetting a screen display mode when a display mode change request is received, while the Windows based operating system is running, without requiring the operating system or a Windows based application program that is currently open in the operating system to be exited and reloaded, the display mode setting means being arranged to,

set operating system display characteristic variables in the USER and GDI data segments to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

set display driver display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received;

set a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received; and

cause the display screen to be refreshed to display images dictated by the operating system and the application program that is currently open on the operating system, whereby the screen display mode may be reset without requiring that the operating system or the application program that is currently open to be exited.

14. A screen display mode changer suitable for use in a computer system that includes a display monitor including a screen, a display driver arranged to control a characteristic of images displayed on the screen, the display driver being arranged to support a plurality of different display modes, and a processing arrangement suitable for executing a designated windowing based operating system and executing a designated application program on the designated operating system, the screen display mode changer comprising:

means for setting operating system display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for a requested display mode that is requested while a selected windowing based operating system and a selected application program arranged to run on the windowing based operating system are open;

means for setting display driver display characteristic variables of a display driver that works with but is independent of the selected operating system and the selected application program to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

means for setting a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode; and

wherein the operating system display characteristic variable setting means, the display driver display characteristic setting means and the hardware mode setting means are each capable of performing their designated functions without requiring that either the selected application program or the selected operating system be exited.

15. A screen display mode changer as recited in claim 14 wherein the designated operating system is a Windows based operating system and the hardware mode change is accomplished in DOS.

16. A method of resetting a display driver display mode in a computer system having a display monitor, the display driver display mode being reset to a different display mode while a Windows operating system is running, without requiring that Windows or an application program that is currently open in Windows to be exited and reloaded, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for a change in the display mode while the application program is open;

setting display driver display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

setting a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode; and

wherein the display driver display resetting method is arranged for use in connection with a method of resetting a display mode in the computer system which includes the steps of setting operating system display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode and refreshing the display screen to display images dictated by the Windows and the application program that is currently open in the requested display mode, whereby the display mode is reset to a different display mode without requiring that the application program be exited.

17. A computer readable medium having programmed instructions for resetting a screen display mode in a computer system running Microsoft Windows without requiring that either Windows or an application program that is currently running on Windows to be exited and reloaded, wherein Windows includes USER and GDI data segments, the computer system including a processing arrangement, and a display monitor which displays images under the direction of the processing arrangement, the computer readable medium having programmed instructions arranged to:

permit the processing arrangement to receive an input requesting a change in the display mode while Windows is running and the Windows based application program controls the materials displayed within a first window;

set Windows operating system display characteristic variables in the USER and GDI data segments to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received;

set display driver display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received;

set a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received; and

refresh the display screen to display images dictated by Windows and the application program currently running on Windows, whereby the screen display mode may be reset without requiring that the Windows or the application program that is currently running on Windows to be exited.

18. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 17 for use in a computer system having a display monitor that can display a variety of screen resolutions, wherein the display mode changed is the screen resolution.

19. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 17 for use in a computer system having a display monitor that can display a variety of color depths, wherein the display mode changed is the color depth.

20. Computer software for resetting a screen display mode in a computer system running a windowing based operating system with a graphic user interface (GUI) without requiring that either the operating system or a GUI based application program that is currently running on the operating system to be exited and reloaded, wherein the operating system includes USER and GDI data segments, the computer system including a processing arrangement, and a display monitor which displays images under the direction of the processing arrangement, the software being arranged to:

permit the processing arrangement to receive an input requesting a change in the display mode while the windowing based operating system is running and a GUI based application program is open and dictating the contents of a window within the windowing based operating system;

set operating system display characteristic variables in the USER and GDI data segments to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received;

set display driver display characteristic variables in a display driver that is substantially independent of the operating system and the application program to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received;

set a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received; and

transmit a refresh screen command to the application program to cause the application program to redraw display images in the requested display mode that are dictated by the operating system and the GUI based application program, whereby the screen display mode may be reset without requiring that the operating system or the application program that is currently running on the operating system to be exited.

21. Computer software as recited in claim 20 for use in a computer system having a display monitor that can display a variety of screen resolutions, wherein the display mode changed is the screen resolution.

22. Computer software as recited in claim 20 for use in a computer system having a display monitor that can display a variety of color depths, wherein the display mode changed is the color depth.

23. A computer readable medium having programmed instructions for resetting a screen display mode in a computer system running a windowing based operating system when an application program is opened, the computer readable medium comprising programmed instructions arranged to:

a) check to determine whether a newly selected application program has a desired display mode associated therewith;

b) check to determine whether the desired display mode is different from a current display mode when the selected application program has a desired display mode associated therewith; and

c) when the desired display mode is determined to be different from the current display mode, reset the screen display mode to the desired display mode without requiring that any other open application programs be exited and reloaded, wherein the desired display mode setting is accomplished by programmed instructions arranged to,

i) set operating system display characteristic variables in USER and GDI data segments associated with the windowing based operating system to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

ii) set display driver display characteristic variables in a display driver that is substantially independent of the operating system and the selected application program to values that are appropriate for the desired display mode;

iii) set a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the desired display mode when a display mode change request is received.

24. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 23 wherein the windowing based operating system is Windows 3.1.

25. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 23 wherein the computer readable medium further comprises programmed instructions arranged to refresh the display screen.

26. A method of resetting a screen display mode in a computer system having a display monitor, the display mode being reset while a designated windowing based operating system is running, without requiring the designated operating system or an application program that is currently open in the designated operating system to be exited and reloaded, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for a change in the display mode while an application program is open within the designated operating system and dictating the contents of a window appearing on the display monitor;

setting operating system display characteristic variables within the designated operating system to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

setting display driver display characteristic variables in a display driver that is substantially independent of the application program and operating system to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

setting the hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode; and

refreshing the display screen to display images dictated by the designated operating system and the application program that is currently open in the requested display mode, whereby the display mode is reset without requiring that the application program be exited.

27. A method as recited in claim in claim 26 wherein the operating system display characteristic variables include variables within USER and GDI data structures.

28. A method as recited in claim in claim 27 wherein the designated operating system is a Windows operating system.

29. A method as recited in claim in claim 28 wherein the designated operating system is Windows 3.1.

30. A method as recited in claim 26 wherein the requested display mode is a new display resolution.

31. A method as recited in claim 26 wherein the requested display mode is a new color depth and the display characteristic variables include color depth variables.

32. A method as recited in claim 26 further comprising the steps of:

determining whether requested display mode is different from the current display mode; and

when the desired display mode is different from the current display mode, executing said setting and refreshing steps; and

wherein when the desired display mode is the same as the current display mode, the setting and refreshing steps are not executed.

33. A method as recited in claim in claim 27 wherein the refreshing step includes the substep of sending a refresh screen command to the application program to cause the application program to redraw display images in the requested display mode that are dictated by the operating system and the application program.

34. A computer readable medium having programmed instructions for resetting a screen display mode in a computer system having a display monitor, the display mode being reset while a designated windowing based operating system is running, without requiring the designated operating system or an application program that is currently open in the designated operating system to be exited and reloaded, the computer readable medium comprising programmed instructions arranged to:

receive a request for a change in the display mode while an application program is open within the designated operating system and dictating the contents of a window appearing on the display monitor;

set operating system display characteristic variables within the designated operating system to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

set display driver display characteristic variables in a display driver that is substantially independent of the application program and operating system to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

set a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode; and

refresh the display screen to display images dictated by the designated operating system and the application program that is currently open in the requested display mode, whereby the display mode is reset without requiring that the application program be exited.

35. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 34 wherein the operating system display characteristic variables include variables within USER and GDI data structures.

36. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 35 wherein the designated operating system is a Windows operating system.

37. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 36 wherein the designated operating system is Windows 3.1.

38. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 34 wherein the requested display mode is one of a new display resolution and a new color depth.

39. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 34 further comprising programmed instructions for:

determining whether requested display mode is different from the current display mode; and

when the desired display mode is different from the current display mode, executing said setting and refreshing steps; and

wherein when the desired display mode is the same as the current display mode, the programmed instructions are configured such that the setting and refreshing steps are not executed.

40. A computer readable medium as recited in claim in claim 34 wherein the computer readable instructions for refreshing the display screen include instructions for sending a refresh screen command to the application program to cause the application program to redraw display images in the requested display mode that are dictated by the operating system and the application program.

41. A computer readable medium having programmed instructions for resetting a display driver display mode in a computer system having a display monitor, a designated windowing based operating system, and a display driver that is substantially independent of the windowing based operating system, the computer readable medium comprising programmed instructions arranged to:

receive a request for a change in the display mode while an application program is open and dictating the contents of a window displayed on the display monitor;

set display driver display characteristic variables in the display driver to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

set a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode; and

wherein the instructions for resetting the display driver display mode are arranged for use in connection with an arrangement for resetting a display mode in the computer system which sets operating system display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode and refreshing the display screen to display images dictated by the application program in the requested display mode, whereby the display mode is reset such that at least some of the contents of the window are displayed in the new display mode without requiring that the application program be exited and reloaded.

42. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 41 wherein the operating system display characteristic variables include variables within USER and GDI data structures.

43. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 42 wherein the designated operating system is a Windows operating system.

44. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 43 wherein the designated operating system is Windows 3.1.

45. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 41 wherein the requested display mode is one of a new display resolution and a new color depth.

46. A computer readable medium as recited in claim in claim 41 wherein the computer readable instructions for refreshing the display screen include instructions for sending a refresh screen command to the application program to cause the application program to redraw display images in the requested display mode that are dictated by the operating system and the application program.

47. A computer readable medium having programmed instructions for resetting a display mode in a computer system arranged to execute a windowing based operating system, the computer system including a display monitor and a display driver that is substantially independent of the windowing based operating system, the computer readable medium comprising programmed instructions arranged to:

receive a user initiated request for a change in the display mode while an application program is open and dictating the contents of a window displayed on the display monitor;

set operating system display characteristic variables in USER and GDI data segments of the windowing based operating system to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

refresh the display screen to display images dictated by the windowing based operating system and the application program in the requested display mode, whereby the display mode is reset without requiring that the application program be exited; and

wherein the programmed instructions are arranged for use in connection with an arrangement for resetting a display driver display mode of the display driver which sets display driver display characteristic variables of the display driver to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode and setting a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode.

48. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 47 wherein the operating system is a Windows operating system.

49. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 48 wherein the designated operating system is Windows 3.1.

50. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 47 wherein the requested display mode is one of a new display resolution and a new color depth.

51. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 47 further comprising programmed instructions for:

determining whether requested display mode is different from the current display mode; and

when the desired display mode is different from the current display mode, setting the operating system display characteristic variables; and

wherein when the desired display mode is the same as the current display mode, the programmed instructions are configured such that the operating system display characteristic variables setting is not performed.

52. A computer readable medium as recited in claim in claim 47 wherein the computer readable instructions for refreshing the display screen include instructions for sending a refresh screen command to the application program to cause the application program to redraw display images in the requested display mode that are dictated by the operating system and the application program.

53. A computer system comprising:

a display monitor including a screen display;

a display driver arranged to control the images displayed on the screen display, the display driver being arranged to support a plurality of different display resolutions;

a processing arrangement suitable for executing a windowing based operating system that includes USER and GDI data segments and executing a designated graphical user interface (GUI) based application program on the operating system;

means for resetting a screen display mode when a display mode change request is received, while the operating system is running, without requiring the designated application program that is currently dictating the contents of a window displayed on the display monitor to be exited and reloaded, the display mode setting means being arranged to,

set operating system display characteristic variables in the USER and GDI data segments to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

set display driver display characteristic variables in the display driver to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode when the display mode change request is received;

set a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode when the display mode change request is received; and

cause the display screen to be refreshed to display images dictated by the operating system and the application program, whereby the screen display mode may be reset without requiring the application program that is currently dictating the contents of a window displayed on the display monitor to be exited.

54. A computer system as recited in claim 53 further comprising means for check to determine whether a newly selected application program has a desired display mode associated therewith and if so, determining whether the desired display mode is different from a current display mode and issue a display mode change request to the means for resetting a screen display mode is further configured to reset the current display mode to the desired display mode.

55. A method of resetting a display driver display mode in a computer system having a display monitor, the display driver display mode being reset to a different display mode while a windowing based operating system is running, without requiring that the windowing based operating system or a graphical user interface (GUI) based application program that is currently open in the windowing based operating system such that it dictates the contents of a window displayed on the display monitor to be exited and reloaded, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for a change in the display mode while the application program is open and dictating the contents of a window displayed on the display monitor;

setting display driver display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode;

setting a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode; and

wherein the display driver display resetting method is arranged for use in connection with a method of resetting a display mode in the computer system which includes the steps of setting operating system display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode and refreshing the display screen to display images dictated by the windowing based operating system and the GUI based application program that is currently open in the requested display mode, whereby the display mode is reset to a different display mode without requiring that the application program be exited.

56. A computer readable medium having programmed instructions for resetting a screen display mode in a computer system running Microsoft Windows without requiring that either Windows or an application program that is currently running on Windows to be exited and reloaded, wherein Windows includes USER and GDI data segments, the computer system including a processing arrangement, and a display monitor which displays images under the direction of the processing arrangement, the computer readable medium having programmed instructions arranged to:

permit the processing arrangement to receive an input requesting a change in the display mode while Windows is running and the Windows based application program controls the materials displayed within a first window;

set Windows operating system display characteristic variables in the USER and GDI data segments to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received;

set display driver display characteristic variables to values that are appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received;

set a hardware mode to a mode that is appropriate for the requested display mode when a display mode change request is received; and

refresh the display screen to display images dictated by Windows and the application program currently running on Windows, whereby the screen display mode may be reset without requiring that the Windows or the application program that is currently running on Windows to be exited.

57. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 56 for use in a computer system having a display monitor that can display a variety of screen resolutions, wherein the display mode changed is the screen resolution.

58. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 56 for use in a computer system having a display monitor that can display a variety of color depths, wherein the display mode changed is the color depth.