Foreground window determination through process and thread initialization

• US 6,005,575 A
• Filed: 03/23/1998
• Issued: 12/21/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Bermudez, Gerardo, Colleran, John D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hailu, Tadesse
• Application Number:
  US09/046,496
• Time in Patent Office: 638 Days
• Field of Search: 345/340, 345/343, 345/345, 345/342, 345/114, 345/344, 709/201, 709/205, 709/215, 709/223, 709/240, 709/249, 709/225, 709/100, 709/101, 709/102, 709/103, 709/104, 709/105, 709/106, 709/107, 709/108
• US Class Current: 715/807
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A method, system and computer program product for foreground window determination of windows displaying applications in a displayed desktop. The present invention continuously resolves the issue of what program or process running or to be run in a window on the desktop is displayed in the foreground or focus window, thereby avoiding unintentional inputs to an application in a background window and unintentional switching of the application program presented in the foreground window of a windows-based operating system. The continuous resolution is made by determining if an initiated process has the special right for its window to become the foreground window; determining if the window associated with a process can take the foreground based on a set of predetermined process foreground rules and if the right was given with respect to the initiated process; determining if an initiated thread has the special right for its window to become the foreground window; and determining what window displayed or to be displayed is in the foreground when a thread requests for its associated window to take the foreground based on a set of predetermined thread foreground rules and if the right was given with respect to the initiated thread.

Claims

1. A computer-based method for determining if a window may become the foreground window on a computer controlled display, said method comprising:

determining if an initiated process has the right for its window to become the foreground window;

determining if the window associated with a process can take the foreground based on a set of predetermined process foreground rules and if the right was given with respect to the initiated process;

determining if an initiated thread has a right for its window to become the foreground window; and

determining what window displayed or to be displayed is in the foreground when a thread requests for its associated window to take the foreground based on a set of predetermined thread foreground rules and if the right was given with respect to the initiated thread.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining if an initiated process has the right for its window to become the foreground window comprises:

granting the right to the initiated process if;

no input has been generated for another process during initialization of the initiated process; and

the window associated with the process that created the initiated process or any process in a chain of parent processes from the initiated process can take the foreground based on predetermined process foreground rules.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the window associated with a process can take the foreground based on the predetermined process foreground rules if:

the process owns the thread that received the last input;

the process owns the thread that is associated with the window that is in the foreground;

the special right has been granted with respect to the process;

no window associated with another process is in the foreground;

or

if a window associated with another process is in the foreground, the process that received the last input is being debugged, the process in the foreground is being debugged, or a preset time-out limit has expired for the process in the foreground.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining if an initiated thread has the right for its window to become the foreground window further comprises:

granting the right with respect to a thread if;

the right was not granted with respect to the thread'"'"'s process; and

the window associated with the thread'"'"'s process is in the foreground or the thread'"'"'s process received the last input.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined thread foreground rules allow the window associated with a thread to take the foreground if:

there are no windows associated with threads in the menu mode; and

the thread is a system thread, the special right was granted with respect to the thread or the window associated with the thread'"'"'s process can take the foreground.

6. A computer program product executable by a computer system for performing the method of claim 5.

7. A computer system for determining if a window may become the foreground window on a computer controlled display, said system comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

a display device;

a user interface device; and

a computer program stored in the memory and executed by the processor comprises;

a process right component for determining if an initiated process has the right for its window to become the foreground window;

a process request component for determining if the window associated with a process can take the foreground based on a set of predetermined process foreground rules and if the right was given with respect to the initiated process;

a thread right component for determining if an initiated thread has a right for its window to become the foreground window; and

a thread request component for determining what window displayed or to be displayed is in the foreground when a thread requests for its associated window to take the foreground based on a set of predetermined thread foreground rules and if the right was given with respect to the initiated thread.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the determining if an initiated process has the right for its window to become the foreground window further comprises:

granting the right to the initiated process if;

no input has been generated for another process during initialization of the initiated process; and

the window associated with the process that created the initiated process or any process in a chain of parent processes from the initiated process can take the foreground based on predetermined process foreground rules.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the window associated with a process can take the foreground based on the predetermined process foreground rules if:

the process owns the thread that received the last input;

the process owns the thread that is associated with the window that is in the foreground;

the special right has been granted with respect to the process;

no window associated with another process is in the foreground;

or

if a window associated with another process is in the foreground, the process that received the last input is being debugged, the process in the foreground is being debugged, or a preset time-out limit has expired for the process in the foreground.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the determining if an initiated thread has the right for its window to become the foreground window further comprises:

granting the right with respect to a thread if;

the right was not granted with respect to the thread'"'"'s process; and

the window associated with the thread'"'"'s process is in the foreground or the thread'"'"'s process received the last input.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the predetermined thread foreground rules allow the window associated with a thread to take the foreground if:

there are no windows associated with threads in the menu mode; and

the thread is a system thread, the special right was granted with respect to the thread or the window associated with the thread'"'"'s process can take the foreground.