Method and apparatus for selection and manipulation of an overlapping graphical element on a display
First Claim
1. A method of operating a data processing system to select an element, using a pointing device, from among a plurality of overlapping elements displayed in an image display plane of the data processing system, wherein the image display plane includes a first window in which the plurality of overlapping elements are displayed and where the pointing device establishes a selection point in the image display plane and provides location information for the selection point, including the steps of:
- determining coordinates of the selection point;
identifying, based upon the coordinates, all elements having at least one point in common with the selection point;
automatically recognizing when plural elements have a point in common with the selection point;
upon automatically recognizing plural elements in common with the selection point, opening a second window in the image display plane and displaying in a second window, at a separate location of the image display plane, representations of the identified plural elements recognized, in a spaced-apart fashion suitable for the selection of one of the representations; and
selecting one of the representations of the plural elements displayed at the separate location, wherein the selection of the representation also selects the associated one of the plural elements.
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Abstract
The present invention is a method and apparatus for simplifying the selection and manipulation of one or more graphical elements which overlap at at least one common point or region on a display, displaying the graphical elements in a separated manner while showing the relationship between such elements, and improving the ability to select one of a plurality of overlapping elements depicted on the display of a data processing system. The present invention finds particular use with well-known drawing and illustration software suitable for use on data processing systems.
26 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method of operating a data processing system to select an element, using a pointing device, from among a plurality of overlapping elements displayed in an image display plane of the data processing system, wherein the image display plane includes a first window in which the plurality of overlapping elements are displayed and where the pointing device establishes a selection point in the image display plane and provides location information for the selection point, including the steps of:
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determining coordinates of the selection point; identifying, based upon the coordinates, all elements having at least one point in common with the selection point; automatically recognizing when plural elements have a point in common with the selection point; upon automatically recognizing plural elements in common with the selection point, opening a second window in the image display plane and displaying in a second window, at a separate location of the image display plane, representations of the identified plural elements recognized, in a spaced-apart fashion suitable for the selection of one of the representations; and selecting one of the representations of the plural elements displayed at the separate location, wherein the selection of the representation also selects the associated one of the plural elements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for selecting a graphical element, using a pointing device, from among a plurality of overlapping graphical elements displayed on an image display in a data processing system, wherein the pointing device establishes a selection point in the image display plane and provides location information for the selection point, including:
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a pointer interface for generating a pair of coordinates for the selection point; element identifying means, responsive to said pointer interface, for receiving the coordinate pair and, based upon the coordinates, identifying all graphical elements having at least one point in common with the selection point; control circuitry for automatically determining when a plurality of identified graphical elements have a point in common with the selection point; a display window, for displaying at a separate location on the image display, representations of the identified plural graphical elements in a spaced-apart fashion for selection thereof; and selection means, responsive to said coordinate determining means, for recognizing the selection of one of the representations of the plural graphical elements displayed at the separate location, wherein the selection of the representation also selects the associated one of the plural graphical elements. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification