Procedural toolbar user interface

• US 6,456,304 B1
• Filed: 06/30/1999
• Issued: 09/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Abdo, Nadim, Angiulo, Michael A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cabeca, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): VU, KIEU D
• Application Number:
  US09/343,417
• Time in Patent Office: 1,182 Days
• Field of Search: 345/762, 345/764, 345/779, 345/810, 345/853, 345/843, 345/835, 345/765, 345/840, 345/841, 345/825, 345/808
• US Class Current: 715/779
• 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 user interface toolbar and associated method for enabling a user to make a series of selections in a procedural order that can be used to assign properties to a component object in an application program document. The toolbar contains a plurality of selection controls, each containing a control value and a dropdown menu. The menu options that drop down in successive selection controls change in context with the menu choices made in a previous selection control. A user typically fills selection controls from left to right (or top to bottom) in a procedural fashion. As the user makes selections to fill in the controls, the menus corresponding to the selection controls that are downstream (to the right of or below) the last filled selection control are updated based on the content of the previous selections. The toolbar allows a user to select and change any selection previously made, as desired, with the resultant changes effecting the selections and menus to the right of or below the changed selection. The toolbar also allows a user to enter a secondary set of control values in the selection controls. Properties may be assigned to a component object in an application program document based on the control values in the selection controls. The toolbar preferably is implemented as a modeless window comprising a title bar and a close window icon, wherein the plurality of selection controls are arranged horizontally across the toolbar, or vertically.

Claims

1. In a computer system having a graphical user interface and including a display and a user interface selection device, a method for enabling a user to assign properties to a component object in an application program document, comprising the steps of:

(a) enabling a user to select the component object on the display;

(b) displaying a toolbar comprising a plurality of selection controls, each selection control having a control value and an associated dropdown menu comprising a set of menu items;

(c) enabling a user to enter a control value for a first selection control by selecting a menu item from among the set of menu items comprising the dropdown menu for the first selection control, the set of menu items being based on a context of the selected component object;

(d) enabling a user to enter a control value for a second selection control, disposed adjacent to the first selection control, by selecting a menu item from among the set of menu items comprising the dropdown menu for the second selection control, the set of menu items being based on a context of the control value in the first selection control; and

(e) assigning the properties to the selected component object based on the control values entered in the plurality of selection controls by a user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the toolbar is disabled when no component object in the application program document is selected.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the toolbar has an initial configuration in which the control values in the selection controls are cleared.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the toolbar further includes a clear button, the clear button causing the control values in the plurality of selection controls to be cleared when activated by a user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the selected component object has properties that have been previously assigned to it, and further wherein activation of the clear button causes any previously assigned properties corresponding to the control values that are cleared from the plurality of selection controls to be removed from the selected component object.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the toolbar is a moveable modeless window disposed on the display.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein selection by a user of a component object that has not been assigned any properties causes the first selection control to display a prompt requesting a user to select a menu item from the dropdown menu for the first selection control.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second selection control displays a prompt requesting a user to select a menu item from the dropdown menu for the second selection control upon entry of a control value into the first selection control.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the toolbar further includes a control enabling a user to visually highlight the selected component object, and wherein the properties assigned to a highlighted selected component object are displayed when a user positions a cursor over the selected component object.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the toolbar further includes a control enabling a user to visually highlight all component objects in the application document that have properties assigned to them.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein a dropdown menu of a control contains a menu item that causes a dialog corresponding to the formatting context to be invoked upon selection of said menu item, whereby the dialog that is invoked enables the user to select formatting properties to be applied to the selected component object.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of enabling a user to re-enter a new control value for the first selection control by selecting a menu item from among the set of menu items comprising the dropdown menu for the first selection control that is different than an existing control value previously selected for the first selection control, selection of the new control value causing the control value in the second selection control to be cleared if the latter control value is not a viable option for a context of the selected component object and the new control value.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the set of menu items for the second selection control are updated based on the new control value for the first selection control.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of enabling a user to assign secondary properties to the selected component object by:

(a) enabling a user to enter a secondary control value for the first selection control by selecting a previously unselected menu item from among the set of menu items comprising the dropdown menu for the first selection control;

(b) enabling a user to enter a secondary control value for the second selection control by selecting a menu item with the user interface selection device from among the set of menu items comprising the dropdown menu for the second selection control, the set of menu items being based on a context of the additional control value in the first selection control; and

(c) assigning the secondary properties to the selected component object based on the secondary control values entered in the plurality of selection controls.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the dropdown menu of the first selection control contains indicia indicating that a previous menu item selection has been assigned to the component object.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of enabling a user to enter a control value for a third selection control, disposed adjacent to the second selection control, by selecting a menu item from among the set of menu items comprising the dropdown menu for the third selection control, the set of menu items being based on a context of the control value in the second selection control.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of enabling a user to enter a new control value for the second selection control by selecting a menu item from among the set of menu items comprising the dropdown menu for the second selection control that is different than an existing control value previously entered, selection of the new control value causing the control value in the third selection control to be cleared.

18. The method of claim 17, further wherein the set of menu items for the third selection control are updated based on the new control value for the second selection control.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the third selection control displays a prompt requesting a user to select a menu item from the dropdown menu for the third selection control following entry of a control value into the second selection control.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of enabling a user to enter a new control value for the first selection control by selecting a menu item from among the set of menu items comprising the dropdown menu for the first selection control that is different than the existing control value, selection of the new control value causing the control values in the second selection control and the third selection control to be cleared.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the first selection control dropdown menu comprises a set of event menu items.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the second selection control dropdown menu comprises a set of effect menu items.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the set of menu items comprising at least one of the dropdown menu for the second selection control and the dropdown menu for the second selection control are based in part on browser compatibility criteria.

24. A computer readable medium having computer executable instructions for performing the steps of the method of claim 1.

25. A computer readable medium having computer executable instructions for performing the steps of the method of claim 16.

26. A toolbar usable in an application program running on a computer system having a graphical user interface, for, assigning properties to a selected component object in the application program, the toolbar comprising:

(a) a moveable modeless window having a title bar and a close icon;

(b) a first selection control having a control value and an associated dropdown menu comprising a set of menu items that are based on a context of the selected component object; and

(c) a second selection control disposed adjacent to the first selection control and having a control value and an associated dropdown menu comprising a set of menu items that are based on a context of the control value in the first selection control.

27. The toolbar of claim 26, wherein entry of control values in the first and the second selection controls of the toolbar is disabled if no component object in the application program document is selected.

28. The toolbar of claim 26, wherein the toolbar has an initial configuration in which the control values in the selection controls are cleared.

29. The toolbar of claim 26, further comprising a clear button, activation of the clear button causing the control values in the plurality of selection controls to be cleared.

30. The toolbar of claim 29, wherein the selected component object has properties that have been previously assigned to it, and further wherein an activation of the clear button causes any previously assigned properties corresponding to the control values that are cleared from the plurality of selection controls to be removed from the selected component object.

31. The toolbar of claim 26, wherein the first selection control displays a prompt requesting a user to select a menu item from the dropdown menu for the first selection control if the selected component object does not have any properties assigned to it.

32. The toolbar of claim 26, wherein the second selection control displays a prompt requesting a user to select a menu item from the dropdown menu for the second selection control upon entry of a control value into the first selection control.

33. The toolbar of claim 26, further providing a control, which when selectively activated, visually highlights the selected component object.

34. The toolbar of claim 26, wherein the toolbar further includes a control enabling a user to visually highlight all component objects in the application document that have properties assigned to them.

35. The toolbar of claim 26, wherein a dropdown menu for a control contains a menu item corresponding to a formatting context that causes a dialog corresponding to the formatting context to be invoked upon selection of said menu item, wherein the dialog that is invoked comprises user selectable formatting options.

36. The toolbar of claim 26, further including a tip box associated with each of the selection controls, each tip box displaying a content corresponding to an underlying function of its associated selection control.

37. The toolbar of claim 26, wherein additional properties are assignable to the component object by entering a secondary control value in each of said selection controls.

38. The toolbar of claim 37, wherein the first selection control dropdown menu includes indicia indicating that the component object has properties already assigned to it.

39. The toolbar of claim 37, wherein the second selection control value is cleared upon entry of a secondary control value in the first selection control if the second selection control value is not a viable option, given a context of the selected component object and the secondary control value.

40. The toolbar of claim 26, further comprising a third selection control disposed adjacent to the second selection control and having a control value and an associated dropdown menu comprising a set of menu items that are based on a context of the control value in the second selection control.

41. The toolbar of claim 40, wherein each of said selection controls is re-entrant, and the third selection control is cleared when a user changes the control value entered into the second selection control.

42. The toolbar of claim 40, wherein the set of menu items for the third selection control is updated based on a context of the changed control value of the second selection control.

43. The toolbar of claim 40, wherein each of said selection controls is re-entrant, and the second selection control and the third selection control are cleared when a user changes the control value entered into the first selection control.

44. The toolbar of claim 43, wherein the set of menu items for the second selection control is updated based on a context of a changed control value of the first selection control.

45. The toolbar of claim 40, wherein the second selection control displays a prompt requesting a user to select a menu item from the dropdown menu for the second selection control upon entry of a control value into the first selection control.

46. The toolbar of claim 40, wherein the third selection control displays a prompt requesting a user to select a menu item from the dropdown menu for the third selection control upon entry of a control value into the second selection control.

47. A computer readable medium having computer executable instructions for implementing the toolbar of claim 26.

48. A computer readable medium having computer executable instructions for implementing the toolbar of claim 40.

49. A system for enabling a user to assign properties to a selected component object in an application program document, comprising:

(a) a memory in which a plurality of machine instructions are stored;

(b) a display; and

(c) a processor that is coupled to the memory to access the machine instructions and to the display, said processor executing said machine instructions to implement a plurality of functions, said functions including;

(i) displaying a toolbar comprising a plurality of selection controls, each selection control having a control value and an associated dropdown menu comprising a set of menu items;

(ii) enabling a user to enter a control value for a first selection control by selecting a menu item from among the set of menu items comprising the dropdown menu for the first selection control, the set of menu items being based on a context of the selected component object;

(iii) enabling a user to enter a control value for a second selection control, disposed adjacent to the first selection control, by selecting a menu item from among the set of menu items comprising the dropdown menu for the second selection control, the set of menu items being based on a context of the control value in the first selection control; and

(iv) assigning properties to the selected component object based on the control values entered in the plurality of selection controls.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein said plurality of functions executed by said processor further includes enabling a user to enter a control value for a third selection control, adjacent to the second selection control, by selecting a menu item from among the set of menu items comprising the dropdown menu for the third selection control, the set of menu items being based on a context of the control value in the second selection control.