Apparatus and method for displaying windows

• US 5,689,665 A
• Filed: 06/07/1995
• Issued: 11/18/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mitsui, Kinichi, Javey, Shahram
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): dela Torre, Crescelle N.
• Application Number:
  US08/483,907
• Time in Patent Office: 895 Days
• Field of Search: 395/155, 395/156, 395/157, 395/158, 395/159, 395/160, 395/161, 395/146, 395/147, 395/342, 395/334, 395/333, 345/119, 345/120
• US Class Current: 715/803
• 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

Abstract

A layout table describing positions and types of a plurality of windows is used to manage a graphical user interface. At the time of initialization or when the layout table is changed, windows and associated window managing modules are generated or added in accordance with the contents of the layout table. The window managing module processes a user input event in accordance with its type and position, and displays appropriate information in the windows in accordance with the user'"'"'s instructions. The user can describe the contents of the layout table in an external file or can specify layout information using a menu provided by the system when running the system. In this manner, the user can set the positions and types of windows as desired and improved ease of use can thus be enjoyed.

Claims

1. A window displaying apparatus comprising:

means for displaying a first application specified graphical user interface for an application program including a plurality of windows on a display screen;

means for storing information specifying the graphical user interface, the information including a window type for each of the windows, each window type displaying information in a different form;

means for displaying in each of the windows, a corresponding portion of the graphical user interface as specified in the storing means;

means responsive to user input for changing the application specified graphical user interface to a user specified graphical user interface during runtime of the application program including means for changing the window type of at least one window from an application specified window type to a user specified window type; and

means for displaying the user specified graphical user interface including the at least one window according to the changed window type.

2. The window displaying apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information on the graphical interface includes information on a menu to be displayed in a first window.

3. The window displaying apparatus of claim 2, wherein the information on the menu to be displayed in the first window is determined in accordance with a current window type of the first window to be displayed.

4. The window displaying apparatus of claim 1 wherein the information specifying the graphical user interface is based on a window state for each of the windows, wherein the possible window states include an application specified initial state and a user specified import state for importing data from another window.

5. The window displaying apparatus of claim 1 wherein the windows are displayed in a fixed, nonoverlapping arrangement.

6. A window displaying method comprising the steps of:

displaying a first application specified graphical user interface for an application program including a plurality of windows on a display screen;

reading information specifying the graphical user interface, the information including a set of window types for the windows from a memory, each window type displaying information in a different form;

displaying in each of the windows, parts of the graphical user interface as specified in the information;

changing the application specified graphical user interface to a user specified graphical user interface in response to user input during runtime of the application, the changing step including changing the window type of at least one window from an application specified window type to a user specified window type; and

displaying the user specified graphical user interface including the at least one window according to the changed window type.

7. The method of claim 6 which further comprises the step of displaying a menu in a first window in accordance with the window type for the first window, wherein the menu is changed if the window type of the first window is changed.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the information specifying the graphical user interface is based on a window state for each of the windows, wherein the possible window states include an application specified initial state and a user specified import state for importing data from another window.

9. In a computer program product on a computer readable medium for displaying windows executable on a computer system, said program product comprising:

program code means for displaying a first application specified graphical user interface for an application program including a fixed plural number of windows on a display screen without overlapping and in a fixed arrangement;

program code means for reading information specifying the graphical user interface, the information including a window type for each of the windows from a memory, each window type displaying information in a different form;

program code means for displaying in each of said windows, parts of the graphical user interface based on the information read from the memory; and

,

program code means responsive to user input for changing the application specified graphical user interface to a user specified graphical user interface during runtime of the application program including means for changing the window type of at least one window from an application specified window type to a user specified window type; and

program code means for displaying the user specified graphical user interface including at least one window according to the changed window type.

10. The product of claim 9 which further comprise program code means for displaying a menu in a first window in accordance with a window type for the first window, wherein the menu is changed if the window type of the first window is changed.

11. The product of claim 9 wherein the information specifying the graphical user interface is based on a window state for each of the windows, wherein the possible window states include an application specified initial state and a user specified import state for importing data from another window.

12. An information processing apparatus comprising:

processing information storing means for storing information to be processed;

a processor for processing the information to be processed that is stored in the storing means;

means for displaying a fixed plural number of windows on a display screen in a fixed arrangement;

user interface specifying information storing means for storing information specifying a first application specified graphical user interface for an application program which specifies a window type for each of the windows, each window type displaying information in a different form;

means for displaying, for each of the windows, parts of the graphical user interface in an associated window in accordance with the user interface specified with respect to the associated window;

means for controlling, for each of the windows, an interaction with a user via the parts of the associated window; and

means responsive to user input for changing the application specified graphical user interface to a user specified graphical user interface during runtime of the application program including means for changing the window type of at least one window from an application specified window type to a user specified window type.

13. An information displaying apparatus comprising:

means for displaying a first application specified graphical user interface for an application program including a plurality of windows on a display screen;

means for displaying a set of information elements in the windows according to a window type and window state for each of the windows, each window type displaying information in a different form, each window state initially in an application specified state;

means for selecting one information element among the set of displayed information elements in a first window;

means for changing the application specified state to a user specified import state of a second window in response to user input, the import state designating the second window to display detailed information on the selected information element in the first window; and

means for displaying, in the second window, detailed information on the information element that has been selected in one window.

14. The information displaying apparatus of claim 13, wherein when the second window for displaying the detailed information on the selected information element is specified, a menu displayed in the second window is changed from a first menu for normal display to a second menu for detailed information display.

15. A method for changing a graphical user interface from an initial application specified state to a user specified state, comprising the steps of:

displaying the graphical user interface in the application specified state each of a plurality of windows in an initial application specified state, a first window in the plurality including a set of selectable elements;

selecting an element in the set of selectable elements;

changing the initial application specified state of a second window to a user specified state for importing data about the selected element; and

displaying the graphical user interface in the user specified import state, wherein detailed data concerning the selected element is displayed in the second window.

16. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein the detailed data and the set of selectable elements are menus.

17. The method as recited in claim 16 wherein the menus are displayed in the first and second windows according to a respective window type of the first and second windows.

18. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein a first menu is displayed in the second window in its initial state and the menu of detailed data is displayed in the second window in its user specified import state.

19. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein the elements in the set of selectable elements are of different types and the detailed data is displayed in the second window according to a type of the selected element.

20. A computer program in a computer readable medium for changing a graphical user interface from an initial application specified state to a user specified state, comprising:

means for displaying each of a plurality of windows in an initial application specified state and a list of selectable elements in a first window;

means for selecting an element in the list of selectable elements;

means for changing the initial application specified state of a second window to a user specified import state; and

means for displaying the second window in the import state so that detailed data concerning the selected element is displayed in the second window.