System for maintaining visible presentation of status indication by undocking it when it is moving out of visible presentation space and redocking thereto

• US 6,345,358 B1
• Filed: 12/08/1999
• Issued: 02/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hall, George E. Jr., Shields, Ian Beaumont, Molander, Mark Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mai, Rijue
• Application Number:
  US09/456,756
• Time in Patent Office: 790 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2, 713/100, 709/220, 709/221, 709/222, 345/340, 345/339, 345/352, 345/353, 345/346, 345/348, 345/349
• US Class Current: 713/1
• 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 and system is presented which enables the user to maintain the receipt of information from an application bar while the application bar is minimized. In addition, the conveyance of information and availability of controls to the user is maintained while the user moves the window which the application bar is docked to off or around the presentation space.

Claims

1. In an information processing system having a visible presentation space upon which one or more windows reside, a method of maintaining visibility of a status indication or a control of a first executing application wherein said status indication or control is docked to a second application program, said second application program executing in a first program window having four edges, said method comprising undocking said status indication or control from said second application program and redocking said status indication or control to a visible edge of said presentation space as a user is moving said first program window out of the visible presentation space once said status indication or control encounters an edge of said visible presentation space.

2. In an information processing system having a visible presentation space upon which one or more windows reside,computer readable code for maintaining visibility of a status indication or a control of a first executing application wherein said status indication or control is docked to a second application program, said second application program executing in a first program window having four edges, said method comprising undocking said status indication or control from said second application program and redocking said status indication or control to an edge of said visible presentation space as a user is moving said first program window out of the visible presentation space once said status indication or control encounters an edge of said visible presentation space.

3. An information processing system having a visible presentation space upon which one or more windows reside, means for maintaining visibility of a status indication or a control of a first executing application wherein said status indication or control is docked to a second application program, said second application program executing in a first program window having four edges, said means comprising undocking said status indication or control from said second application program and redocking said status indication or control to an edge of said visible presentation space as a user is moving said first program window out of the visible presentation space once said status indication or control encounters an edge of said visible presentation space.