Computer system with graphical user interface including automated enclosures

• US 5,680,562 A
• Filed: 06/07/1995
• Issued: 10/21/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Computer Incorporated (Apple Inc.)
• Inventors: Conrad, Thomas J., Wong, Yin Yin
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung, Kee M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHAUHAN, ULKA J
• Application Number:
  US08/482,186
• Time in Patent Office: 867 Days
• Field of Search: 395/155-162, 395/326, 395/339, 395/340, 395/342, 395/344-347, 345/112, 345/113, 345/119, 345/120
• US Class Current: 715/797
• 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 3/0486 Drag-and-drop

Abstract

A new behavior in a graphical user interface allows the user to open and close enclosures, while dragging an object. When the user pauses, gestures, or rolls over a hot spot on top of an icon or text representing a closed enclosure, a temporary window for the closed enclosure is "sprung open" to allow the user to browse inside the enclosure and possible open another enclosure contained within the temporary window. This process can be carried on throughout a hierarchy of windows as the user browses for a destination window for the drag operation. All of the temporary windows except the destination are closed when the mouse button is released, signaling the end of a drag. The user may close sprung open windows by simply moving the cursor out of the sprung open window, or by making some other gesture. If an enclosure to be sprung open was previously open on the desktop, the previously opened window may zoom over to the current mouse position, and then return to its original position when the user mouse is out of the window.

Claims

1. An apparatus for finding objects in a computer including a display and a pointing device with which a user drags a pointer on the display, comprising:

an input that receives an input signal to indicate a drag operation, said input being coupled to said computer;

memory that stores a plurality of objects including enclosures in the memory, wherein said enclosures comprise objects which may enclose other objects, said memory being coupled to said computer;

window opening logic, coupled with the display, that draws windows on the display corresponding to opened enclosures, wherein a window for an opened enclosure includes identifiers within the window corresponding to objects enclosed by the opened enclosure;

temporary window logic, coupled to the display and the pointing device, that opens a temporary window for a particular enclosure to display identifiers within the temporary window corresponding to objects enclosed by the particular enclosure, in response to a drag during a drag operation of the pointer over an identifier corresponding to the particular enclosure; and

logic, coupled to the display, that determines whether the display includes an existing window for the particular enclosure during the drag operation to open a temporary window, and if so, then removes the existing window from the display.

2. An apparatus for finding objects in a computer including a display and a pointing device with which a user drags a pointer on the display, comprising:

an input that receives an input signal to indicate a drag operation, said input being coupled to said computer;

memory that stores a plurality of objects including enclosures in the memory, wherein said enclosures comprise objects which may enclose other objects, said memory being coupled to the computer

window opening logic, coupled with the display, that draws windows on the display corresponding to opened enclosures, wherein a window for an opened enclosure includes identifiers within the window corresponding to objects enclosed by the opened enclosure;

temporary window logic, coupled to the display and the pointing device, that opens a temporary window for a particular enclosure to display identifiers within the temporary window corresponding to objects enclosed by the particular enclosure, in response to a drag during a drag operation of the pointer over an identifier corresponding to the particular enclosure; and

logic, coupled to the display, that determines whether the display includes an existing window for the particular enclosure during the drag operation to open a temporary window, and if so, then removes the existing window from the display; and

logic, coupled to the display, that draws the temporary window on the display over the identifier corresponding to the particular enclosure.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the temporary window logic further includes:

a routine that graphically indicates on the display a zoom of the existing window to the temporary window.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, further including:

logic, coupled to the temporary window logic and the pointing device that closes the temporary window, and redraws the existing window on the display, in response to a drag of the pointer outside the temporary window during a drag operation.

5. An apparatus for finding objects within a hierarchy of enclosures in a computer including a display and a pointing device with which a user drags a pointer on the display, comprising:

memory to store a plurality of objects including at least one hierarchy of enclosures in the memory, wherein said enclosures comprise objects which may enclose other objects, the memory being coupled to the computer;

window opening logic, coupled with the display, that draws windows on the display corresponding to opened enclosures, wherein a window for an opened enclosure includes identifiers within the window corresponding to objects enclosed by the opened enclosure;

an input to receive an input signal to indicate a drag operation, the input being coupled to the computer;

a particular enclosure, the particular enclosure displayed within one of the windows, said particular enclosure representing a folder in a storage system hierarchy;

temporary window opening logic, coupled to the display and the pointing device that opens a current temporary window for the particular enclosure to display identifiers within the current temporary window corresponding to objects enclosed by the particular enclosure, in response to a drag during the drag operation of the pointer over an identifier corresponding to the particular enclosure, including logic that maintains a hierarchy of opened temporary windows and the current temporary window;

temporary window closing logic, coupled to the temporary window opening logic and the pointing device, that closes the current temporary window in response to a drag during the drag operation of the pointer outside the current temporary window; and

wherein the temporary window closing logic includes logic that closes temporary windows in the hierarchy except the current temporary window, in response to a drag operation that ends in the current temporary window.

6. An apparatus for finding objects within a hierarchy of enclosures in a computer including a display and a pointing device with which a user drags a pointer on the display, comprising:

memory to store a plurality of objects including at least one hierarchy of enclosures in the memory, wherein said enclosures comprise objects which may enclose other objects, the memory being coupled to the computer;

window opening logic, coupled with the display, that draws windows on the display corresponding to opened enclosures, wherein a window for an opened enclosure includes identifiers within the window corresponding to objects enclosed by the opened enclosure;

an input to receive an input signal to indicate a drag operation, the input being coupled to the computer;

a particular enclosure, the particular enclosure displayed within one of the windows, said particular enclosure representing a folder in a storage system hierarchy;

temporary window opening logic, coupled to the display and the pointing device that opens a current temporary window for the particular enclosure to display identifiers within the current temporary window corresponding to objects enclosed by the particular enclosure, in response to a drag during the drag operation of the pointer over an identifier corresponding to the particular enclosure, including logic that maintains a hierarchy of opened temporary windows and the current temporary window;

temporary window closing logic, coupled to the temporary window opening logic and the pointing device, that closes the current temporary window in response to a drag during the drag operation of the pointer outside the current temporary window; and

wherein the temporary window closing logic includes logic that after termination of the drag operation closes temporary windows opened during the drag operation in response to movement of the pointer out of the temporary windows, except for particular temporary windows selected by user input before movement of the pointer out of the temporary windows.