Darkened transparent window overlapping an opaque window

• US 5,805,163 A
• Filed: 04/22/1996
• Issued: 09/08/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: X Corp. (f/k/a Twitter, Inc.) (X Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Bagnas, Emmanuel Salud
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John E.
• Application Number:
  US08/635,989
• Time in Patent Office: 869 Days
• Field of Search: 395/326-358, 345/117-120, 345/326-358, 345/145-146
• US Class Current: 715/768
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• 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 method, apparatus and article of manufacture for graphically displaying information in a transparent window on a display attached to a computer without obscuring the information already graphically displayed in the transparent windows is disclosed. In a first embodiment, information is graphically displayed in a first window on a display, and is viewable through a transparent second window also displayed. In a second embodiment, information is displayed in a transparent window on a display, so as not to obscure the information already graphically displayed. In a third embodiment, each window can be configured as transparent or opaque.

Claims

1. A method for graphically displaying information in one or more windows on a monitor attached to a computer, comprising the steps of:

graphically displaying information in an opaque window on the monitor; and

graphically displaying information in a transparent window at least partially overlapping the opaque window on the monitor, wherein the opaque window can be viewed through the transparent window and further comprising the step of darkening the transparent window as compared to the opaque window.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transparent window comprises a grid of pixels and overlaps a corresponding grid of pixels of the display, and the step of graphically displaying information in the transparent window comprises the steps of:

determining the corresponding grid of pixels of the display overlapped by the grid of pixels of the transparent window;

copying the corresponding grid of pixels into a buffer;

modifying selected pixels in the buffer as compared to corresponding pixels in the transparent window; and

,

replacing the corresponding grid of pixels of the display area overlapped by the grid of pixels of the transparent window with the modified grid in the buffer, wherein the modifying step comprises the steps of darkening each pixel in the buffer having a corresponding white pixel in the transparent window, and modifying the color of each colored pixel in the buffer having a corresponding colored pixel in the transparent window.

3. The method of claim 2, each pixel in the buffer and each pixel in the transparent window having an RGB value, wherein the modifying step further comprises the steps of lowering the RGB value of each pixel in the buffer having a corresponding white pixel in the transparent window, and combining the color of each primary colored pixel in the buffer having a corresponding primary colored pixel in the transparent window with the color of the corresponding primary colored pixel in the transparent window.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the modifying step further comprises the step of dithering the pixels in the buffer surrounding each colored pixel in the buffer having a corresponding colored pixel in the transparent window.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of re-configuring the transparent window as opaque and the opaque window as transparent.

6. A system for graphically displaying information, comprising:

a computer with a monitor attached thereto, wherein the information is graphically displayed in one or more windows on the monitor;

means, performed by the computer, for graphically displaying information in an opaque window on the monitor; and

means, performed by the computer, for graphically displaying information in a transparent window at least partially overlapping the opaque window on the monitor, wherein the opaque window can be viewed through the transparent window and further comprising darkening the transparent window as compared to the opaque window.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the transparent window comprises a grid of pixels and overlaps a corresponding grid of pixels of the display, and the means for graphically displaying information in the transparent window comprises:

means for determining the corresponding grid of pixels of the display overlapped by the grid of pixels of the transparent window;

means for copying the corresponding grid of pixels into a buffer;

means for modifying selected pixels in the buffer as compared to corresponding pixels in the transparent window; and

,

means for replacing the corresponding grid of pixels of the display area overlapped by the grid of pixels of the transparent window with the modified grid in the buffer, wherein the means for modifying comprises means for darkening each pixel in the buffer having a corresponding white pixel in the transparent window, and means for modifying the color of each colored pixel in the buffer having a corresponding colored pixel in the transparent window.

8. The system of claim 7, each pixel in the buffer and each pixel in the transparent window having an RGB value, wherein the means for modifying further comprises means for lowering the RGB value of each pixel in the buffer having a corresponding white pixel in the transparent window, and means for combining the color of each primary colored pixel in the buffer having a corresponding primary colored pixel in the transparent window with the color of the corresponding primary colored pixel in the transparent window.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the means for modifying further comprises means for dithering the pixels in the buffer surrounding each colored pixel in the buffer having a corresponding colored pixel in the transparent window.

10. The system of claim 6, further comprising the means for re-configuring the transparent window as opaque and the opaque window as transparent.

11. A program storage medium readable by a computer having a memory, the medium tangibly embodying one or more programs of instructions executable by the computer to perform method steps for graphically displaying information in one or more windows on a display attached to a computer, the method comprising the steps of:

graphically displaying information in an opaque window on the monitor; and

graphically displaying information in a transparent window at least partially overlapping the opaque window on the monitor, wherein the opaque window can be viewed through the transparent window and further comprising darkening the transparent window as compared to the opaque window.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the transparent window comprises a grid of pixels and overlaps a corresponding grid of pixels of the display, and the step of graphically displaying information in the transparent window comprises the steps of:

determining the corresponding grid of pixels of the display overlapped by the grid of pixels of the transparent window;

copying the corresponding grid of pixels into a buffer;

modifying selected pixels in the buffer as compared to corresponding pixels in the transparent window; and

,

replacing the corresponding grid of pixels of the display area overlapped by the grid of pixels of the transparent window with the modified grid in the buffer, wherein the modifying step comprises the steps of darkening each pixel in the buffer having a corresponding white pixel in the transparent window, and modifying the color of each colored pixel in the buffer having a corresponding colored pixel in the transparent window.

13. The method of claim 12, each pixel in the buffer and each pixel in the transparent window having an RGB value, wherein the modifying step further comprises the steps of lowering the RGB value of each pixel in the buffer having a corresponding white pixel in the transparent window, and combining the color of each primary colored pixel in the buffer having a corresponding primary colored pixel in the transparent window with the color of the corresponding primary colored pixel in the transparent window.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the modifying step further comprises the step of dithering the pixels in the buffer surrounding each colored pixel in the buffer having a corresponding colored pixel in the transparent window.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of re-configuring the transparent window as opaque and the opaque window as transparent.