User interface having simultaneously movable tools and cursor
First Claim
1. In a method of operating a computer system where a program displays data and a user interacts with the data through the use of a plurality of displayed tools and a displayed cursor, the user activating a particular tool by moving a tool-defining region associated with the particular tool toward the cursor and generating a cursor event with the tools and the cursor being simultaneously and independently positionable in response to separate sets of input signals.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A user interface technique operates in the environment of a processor-controlled machine for executing a program that operates on a set of underlying data and displays a visible representation thereof. The user simultaneously and independently moves the tools with one hand, normally the non-dominant hand (e.g., a right-handed user'"'"'s left hand) and operates on the visible representation with the other, normally the dominant hand. In a specific implementation, the input devices include a trackball for positioning the tools and a mouse for positioning a cursor and initiating actions.
579 Citations
27 Claims
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1. In a method of operating a computer system where a program displays data and a user interacts with the data through the use of a plurality of displayed tools and a displayed cursor, the user activating a particular tool by moving a tool-defining region associated with the particular tool toward the cursor and generating a cursor event with the tools and the cursor being simultaneously and independently positionable in response to separate sets of input signals.
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2. A method of operating a processor-based machine, the machine including:
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a user input facility including at least first and second input devices capable of simultaneous and independent actuation by a user, a display device, a processor coupled to the user input facility and the display device, a storage system for storing information including instructions defining at least one program to be executed by the processor and a set of associated data, the method comprising operating the processor-based machine to perform the steps of; executing the program to operate on the data and display a visible representation thereof on the display device; displaying on the display device a visual depiction of a number of tool-defining regions and a cursor, with each tool-defining region specifying at least in part a particular operation, each tool-defining region and its specified operation being referred to as a tool; moving the number of tool-defining regions toward the cursor in response to a first set of signals from the first input device; positioning said cursor relative to the number of tool-defining regions and the visible representation in response to a second set of signals from the second input device; and performing an operation specified at least in part by a particular tool-defining region in response to a cursor event within the particular tool-defining region. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of operating a processor-based machine, the machine including:
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a user input facility including at least first and second user-actuated devices capable of simultaneous and independent actuation by a user, a display device, a processor coupled to the user input facility and the display device, a storage system for storing information including instructions defining at least one application program to be executed by the processor and at least one application data structure including a number of application data items, the method comprising operating the processor-based machine to perform the steps of; executing the application program to operate on the application data structure and display a visible representation thereof on the display device; displaying on the display device a visual depiction of a number of tool-defining regions thereon and a cursor, with each tool-defining region specifying at least in part a particular operation, each tool-defining region and its specified operation being referred to as a tool; moving the number of tool-defining regions toward the cursor to be in overlapping relation therewith; and placing the cursor and the number of tool-defining regions in overlapping relation; and performing an operation specified at least in part by a particular tool-defining region in response to a cursor event within the particular tool-defining region. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An interactive computing environment comprising:
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a processor coupled to a display screen and to first and second position-signal-generating input devices suitable for simultaneous and independent actuation by the user, and user interface software that the processor executes, that controls at least a portion of the display screen, and that is responsive to said input device, a method for applying a software tool to a workpiece, the software tool having certain properties, the method comprising the steps of; using the processor, the user interface software, and the display screen to display a window whose contents represent the workpiece and a cursor; using the processor, the user interface software, and the display screen to display at least one object that represents the tool; using the processor, the user interface software, and position signals from the first input device to move the tool with respect to the window representing the workpiece, toward the cursor; and using the processor, the user interface software, and position signals from the second input device to selectively activate the tool by generating a signal that represents an event within the tool. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. A method of operating a processor-based machine, the machine including
a display device, a pointing device for controlling the position of a cursor on the display device in response to user input, a positioning device, and a processor coupled to the display device, the pointing device, and the positioning device, the method comprising operating the processor-based machine to perform the steps of: -
executing an application program so as to operate on an associated application data structure and display a representation thereof, referred to as the visible representation, on the display device; generating a visual depiction of a transparent overlay having a number of operation-specifying regions thereon and a cursor; moving the overlay toward the cursor to be in overlapping relation therewith; and performing the operation specified by the particular operation-specifying region in response to a cursor event. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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Specification