Method and system for facilitating the selection of icons

• US 5,745,715 A
• Filed: 09/17/1996
• Issued: 04/28/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Pickover, Clifford A., Schwartz, Michael Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAX, STEVEN PAUL
• Application Number:
  US08/714,819
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• Field of Search: 395/326, 395/348, 395/347, 395/349, 395/333, 395/334, 395/335, 395/339, 395/340, 395/342, 395/343, 395/346
• US Class Current: 715/835
• 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 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04895 Guidance during keyboard input operation, e.g. prompting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/977 Dynamic icon, e.g. animated or live action

Abstract

A method and system for facilitating the selection of icons. Those icons which are next likely to be used are selected and automatically moved towards a cursor thereby facilitating selection of the icons. Additionally, those icons likely to be used or other icons selected by a user may track the cursor such that those icons are always close to the cursor and capable of being easily selected. Further, in order to facilitate selection of icons, icons are provided with the capability of announcing themselves when a cursor comes close to the icon. In addition, it is possible to reduce the amount of clutter on a computer display so that icons may be easily selected. In order to clean up a computer display, icons which are least likely to be used are faded, eliminated or shrunk to a smaller size. In another embodiment, icons that are not used very often may disappear into a master icon and further, icons which have a conceptual relationship between them may be linked by a visual graphical representation.

Claims

1. A method for graphically linking one or more of a plurality of icons located on a computer display, said method comprising the steps of:

determining, independent of user intervention, which of said plurality of icons are to be linked by determining for said plurality of icons a likeliness probability that one or more icons will be selected after at least one other icon, and selecting those icons which have a likeliness probability greater than a predetermined probability as those icons to be linked with said at least one other icon; and

drawing a graphical representation between said icons to be linked, wherein appearance variations within the graphical representation indicate the nature of a relationship between said linked icons.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining step comprises selecting from stored data which of said plurality of icons are to be linked.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said graphical representation comprises a chain.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said appearance variations include varying at least one of the color and intensity along said graphical representation to indicate the nature of the relationship between the linked icons.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said color intensity indicates an amount a linked icon is used.

6. A system for graphically linking one or more of a plurality of icons located on a computer display, said system comprising:

means for determining, independent of user intervention, which of said plurality of icons are to be linked, including a means for determining for said plurality of icons a likeliness probability that one or more icons will be selected after at least one other icon, and a means for selecting those icons which have a likeliness probability greater than a predetermined probability as those icons to be linked with said at least one other icon; and

means for drawing a graphical representation between said icons to be linked, wherein appearance variations within the graphical representation indicate the nature of a relationship between the linked icons.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said determining means comprises means for selecting from stored data which of said plurality of icons are to be linked.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein said graphical representation comprises a chain.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein said appearance variations include varying at least one of the color and intensity along said graphical representation to indicate the nature of the relationship between the linked icons.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said color intensity indicates an amount a linked icon is used.

11. A method for graphically linking one or more of a plurality of icons located on a computer display, said method comprising:

selecting, independent of user intervention, one or more icons of said plurality of icons to be linked, said one or more icons having a likeliness probability that said one or more icons will be chosen after at least one other icon; and

linking said one or more icons to said at least one other icon using a graphical representation, said graphical representation indicating the nature of a relationship between the linked icons by graphically varying the appearance of said graphical representation between said linked icons.

12. A method for graphically linking icons located on a computer display, said method comprising:

determining, independent of user intervention, a first plurality of icons to be linked and a second plurality of icons to be linked by determining for each plurality of icons a likeliness probability that one or more icons will be selected after at least one other icon, and selecting those icons which have a likeliness probability greater than a predetermined probability as those icons to be linked with said at least one other icon;

drawing a first graphical representation between said first plurality of icons to be linked; and

drawing a second graphical representation between said second plurality of icons to be linked, said first graphical representation having a different appearance from said second graphical representation indicating the nature of the relationships between the first plurality of icons and the second plurality of icons.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said different appearance includes at least one of differing colors, differing intensities, and differing shapes.