System and process for generating a dynamically adjustable toolbar

• US 6,624,831 B1
• Filed: 10/17/2000
• Issued: 09/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Shahine, Omar H., Cortright, David S., Yeung, Saiwing
• Primary Examiner(s): Cabeca, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): DETWILER, BRIAN J
• Application Number:
  US09/690,572
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• Field of Search: 345/810, 345/811, 345/815, 345/825, 345/835, 345/840
• US Class Current: 715/815
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

A system and process for generating a dynamically adjustable toolbar is presented where the icons and labels associated with toolbar buttons are displayed or not displayed in the available toolbar space based on an assigned set of priorities. This system and process generally involves first identifying all the functions or commands that it is desired to include in a toolbar along with their respective button icons and labels. A priority is then assigned to each label associated with a button and each icon associated with a button. Next, the available toolbar space is determined. The button icons and labels are then displayed in the available toolbar space based on their assigned priority, with the icons and labels having the higher assigned priorities being displayed before those having lower priorities.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented process for displaying in an allotted space on a display screen a toolbar made up of a series of toolbar buttons each representative of a particular-function or command and comprising icons with or without associated labels, said process comprising the actions of:

assigning a priority to each label associated with an icon of a toolbar button and each icon associated with a toolbar button;

eliminating from consideration as a displayable item any label and any icon without a label or with an eliminated label, in the order of their assigned priorities from the lowest to the highest that will not fit into the allotted space; and

,

displaying the icons of any toolbar button, along with any labels associated with these icons, which are not eliminated from consideration as a displayable item, in the allotted toolbar space.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein the process action of assigning a priority to each label and icon comprises an action of assigning the same priority to more than one label or icon, and wherein the process action of eliminating from consideration as a displayable item any label and any icon that will not fit into the allotted space, further comprises an action of eliminating from consideration as a displayable item any combination of labels, icons, or labels and icons having the same assigned priority, in the order of the assigned priorities for each label, icon, and combination of labels and icons, from the lowest to the highest, that will not fit into the allotted space.

3. The process of claim 2, wherein the process action of assigning the same priority to more than one label or icon, comprises assigning the same priority to only labels and icons associated with the same toolbar button.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein the toolbar is displayed horizontally on the display screen, and wherein the process action of assigning a priority to each label and icon comprises an action of assigning the same priority to more than one label or icon each of which is associated with a different toolbar button, and wherein the process action of eliminating from consideration as a displayable item any label and any icon that will not fit into the allotted space further comprises an action of eliminating from consideration as a displayable item the rightmost one of any combination of labels, icons, or labels and icons having the same assigned priority, in the order of the assigned priorities for each label, icon and combination of labels, icons or labels and icons, from the lowest to the highest, that will not fit into the allotted space.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein the toolbar is displayed vertically on the display screen, and wherein the process action of assigning a priority to each label and icon comprises an action of assigning the same priority to more than one label or icon each of which is associated with a different toolbar button, and wherein the process action of eliminating from consideration as a displayable item any label and any icon that will not fit into the allotted space further comprises an action of eliminating from consideration as a displayable item the bottom-most one of any combination of labels, icons, or labels and icons having the same assigned priority, in the order of the assigned priorities for each label, icon and combination of labels, icons or labels and icons, from the lowest to the highest, that will not fit into the allotted space.

6. The process of claim 1, wherein the process action of assigning a priority to each label and icon, comprises an action of employing a set of prescribed priorities not alterable by a user of the process.

7. The process of claim 1, wherein the process action of assigning a priority to each label and icon, comprises an action of employing a set of prescribed priorities as default settings at least some of which are alterable by a user of the process.

8. The process of claim 1, wherein the process action of assigning a priority to each label and icon, comprises the actions of:

initially employing a set of prescribed priorities as default settings;

tracking the frequency a user of the process selects each function and command represented by-a toolbar button;

dynamically re-assigning the priority of each label and icon associated with the toolbar buttons based on the frequency that the user selects the function or command represented by the toolbar button.

9. The process of claim 8, wherein the process action of dynamically re-assigning the priority of each label and icon, comprises an action of assigning the priorities in the order of the frequency that the user selects the function or command represented by the toolbar button associated with the label or icon.

10. The process of claim 1, wherein the process action of assigning a priority to each label and icon associated with a toolbar button, comprises an action of assigning a higher priority to an icon associated with a toolbar button than to a label associated with the same button, so that the label would be eliminated from consideration as a displayable item before the icon.

11. A computer-implemented process for displaying a toolbar in an allotted space on a display screen, comprising using a computer to perform the following process actions:

identifying functions and commands it is desired to access from the toolbar;

establishing a set of toolbar buttons which are employed to represent each of the identified functions or commands, wherein each toolbar button comprises an icon and optionally a label;

assigning a priority to each label associated a toolbar button and each icon associated with a toolbar button, wherein the assigned priority is indicative of the importance of including the associated icon or label in the display of the toolbar;

displaying in the allotted space of the display screen as many of the icons and labels that will fit in the allotted space as possible based on their assigned priority, with icons and labels having a higher assigned priority being displayed over those with a lower assigned priority.

12. The process of claim 11, wherein the process action of displaying in the allotted space of the display screen as many of the icons and labels that will fit in the allotted space as possible based on their assigned priority, comprises the actions of:

(a) determining the amount of space allotted on the display screen for displaying the toolbar;

(b) selecting the icon or label having the highest assigned priority as a currently selected toolbar element;

(c) adding the currently selected element to a list of displayable elements;

(d) ascertaining if there are any remaining, previously unselected icons or labels, and if so selecting the remaining icon or label having the highest assigned priority as the currently selected toolbar element in lieu of the last-selected element;

(e) determining whether the currently selected element will fit in the remaining allotted toolbar display space;

(f) whenever the currently selected element will fit in the remaining allotted display space, adding the element to the list of displayable elements;

(g) repeating actions (d) through (f), until there are no remaining, previously unselected icons or labels, or it is determined that the currently selected element will not fit in the remaining allotted toolbar space;

(h) display the icons and labels on the list of displayable items in the allotted toolbar space, with the icons and labels associated with the same toolbar button being displayed adjacent each other.

13. The process of claim 12, wherein the toolbar is displayed horizontally on the display screen, and wherein the process action of displaying the icons and labels on the list of displayable items in the allotted toolbar space, comprises displaying any label associated with a toolbar button to the right of the icon associated with the same button.

14. The process of claim 12, wherein the toolbar is displayed vertically on the display screen, and wherein the process action of displaying the icons and labels on the list of displayable items in the allotted toolbar space, comprises displaying any label associated with a toolbar button below the icon associated with the same button.

15. The process of claim 11, wherein the allotted toolbar space is subject to change, and wherein the process further comprises the process actions of:

monitoring the allotted toolbar space for changes in size;

determining the new allotted toolbar space whenever the space is re-sized;

ascertaining whether the new allotted toolbar space is larger or smaller than the previous allotted toolbar space;

whenever it is ascertained that the new allotted toolbar space is larger than the previous allotted space, additionally displaying as many of the icons and labels which were not displayed in the previously allotted toolbar space that will fit in the added space associated with the new allotted toolbar space based on their assigned priority, with icons and labels having a higher assigned priority being displayed before those with a lower assigned priority; and

whenever it is ascertained that the new allotted toolbar space is smaller than the previous allotted space, eliminating from the toolbar display any of the icons and labels which were displayed in the previously allotted toolbar space that will not fit in the reduced space associated with the new allotted toolbar space based on their assigned priority, with icons and labels having a lower assigned priority being eliminated before those with a higher assigned priority.

16. The process of claim 15, wherein the process action of additionally displaying as many of the icons and labels which were not previously displayed in the previously allotted toolbar space that will fit in the added space associated with the new allotted toolbar space whenever it is ascertained that the new allotted toolbar space is larger than the previous allotted space, comprises the actions of:

(a) selecting an icon or label which was not displayed in the previously allotted toolbar space and has the highest assigned priority among the other icons and labels not displayed in the previously allotted toolbar space as a currently selected additional toolbar element;

(b) determining whether the currently selected additional element will fit in the added space associated with the new allotted toolbar display space;

(c) whenever the currently selected additional element will fit in the added space, adding the element to a list of displayable elements which includes all the elements displayed in the previous allotted toolbar space;

(d) ascertaining if there are any remaining, previously unselected icons or labels which were not displayed in the previously allotted toolbar space, and if so selecting the remaining icon or label having the highest assigned priority as the currently selected additional toolbar element in lieu of the last-selected element;

(e) determining whether the currently selected additional element will fit in the remaining added space associated with the new allotted toolbar space;

(f) whenever the currently selected additional element will fit in the remaining added space adding the element to the list of displayable elements;

(g) repeating actions (d) through (f), until there are no remaining, previously unselected icons or labels which were not displayed in the previously allotted toolbar space, or it is determined that the currently selected additional element will not fit in the remaining added space;

(h) display the icons and labels on the list of displayable items in the increased toolbar space, with the icons and labels associated with the same toolbar button being displayed adjacent each other.

17. The process of claim 15, wherein the process action of eliminating from the toolbar display any of the icons and labels which were displayed in the previously allotted toolbar space that will not fit in the reduced space associated with the new allotted toolbar whenever it is ascertained that the new allotted toolbar space is smaller than the previous allotted space, comprises the actions of:

(a) selecting the icon or label which was displayed in the previously allotted toolbar space that has the lowest assigned priority among the other icons and labels displayed in the previously allotted toolbar space as a currently selected eliminatable toolbar element;

(b) determining whether the currently selected eliminatable element will fit in the reduced space associated with the new allotted toolbar display space;

(c) whenever the currently selected eliminatable element will not fit in the added space, deleting that element from a list of displayable elements which initially includes all the elements displayed in the previous allotted toolbar space;

(d) ascertaining if there are any remaining, previously unselected icons or labels which were displayed in the previously allotted toolbar space, and if so selecting the remaining icon or label having the lowest assigned priority as the currently selected eliminatable toolbar element in lieu of the last-selected element;

(e) determining whether the currently selected eliminatable element will fit in the reduced space associated with the new allotted toolbar space;

(f) whenever the currently selected eliminatable element will not fit in the reduced space, deleting that element from the list of displayable elements;

(g) repeating actions (d) through (f), until there are no remaining, previously unselected icons or labels which were displayed in the previously allotted toolbar space, or it is determined that the currently selected eliminatable element will fit in the remaining added space;

(h) display the icons and labels on the list of displayable items in the reduced toolbar space, with the icons and labels associated with the same toolbar button being displayed adjacent each other.

18. A computer-implemented process for displaying toolbars in respective allotted spaces on a display screen, comprising using a computer to perform the following process actions:

identifying functions and commands to access from each of the toolbars;

establishing a set of toolbar buttons which are employed to represent each of the identified functions or commands, wherein each toolbar button comprises an icon and optionally a label;

assigning a priority to each label associated with a toolbar button of the toolbars and each icon associated with a toolbar button of the toolbars, wherein the assigned priority is indicative of the importance of including the associated icon or label in the display of any of the toolbars;

displaying in the allotted space associated with at least one of the toolbars, as many of the icons and labels associated with that toolbar that will fit in the allotted space based on their assigned priority, with icons and labels having a higher assigned priority being displayed over those with a lower assigned priority.

19. A computer-implemented process for displaying a toolbar in an allotted space on a display screen, comprising using a computer to perform the following process actions:

identifying functions and commands to access from the toolbar;

establishing a set of toolbar buttons which are employed to represent each of the identified functions or commands, wherein each toolbar button comprises an icon and optionally a label;

assigning with a priority to each label associated a toolbar button, wherein the assigned priority is indicative of the importance of including the associated label in the display of the toolbar;

displaying in the allotted space of the display screen as many of the labels that will fit in the allotted space as possible based on their assigned priority, with labels having a higher assigned priority being displayed over those with a lower assigned priority.

20. A system for displaying a toolbar in an allotted space on a computer monitor display screen, comprising:

a general purpose computing device;

a computer monitor which has a display screen and which is in communication with the computing device; and

a computer program comprising program modules executable by the computing device, wherein the computing device is directed by the program modules of the computer program to,

identify functions and commands to access from the toolbar;

establish a set of toolbar buttons which are employed to represent each of the identified functions or commands, wherein each toolbar button comprises an icon and optionally a label;

assign a priority to each label associated with a toolbar button and each icon associated with a toolbar button, wherein the assigned priority is indicative of the importance of including the associated icon or label in the display of the toolbar,

eliminate from consideration as a displayable item any label and any icon without a label or with an eliminated label, in the order of their assigned priorities from the lowest to the highest that will not fit into the allotted space; and

,

display the icons of any toolbar button, along with any labels associated with the button, which are not eliminated from consideration as a displayable item, in the allotted toolbar space of the display screen.

21. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for displaying in an allotted space on a display screen, a toolbar made up of a series of toolbar buttons each representative of a particular function or command and comprising icons with or without associated labels, said computer-executable instructions comprising:

assigning a priority to each label associated with a toolbar button and each icon associated with a toolbar button, wherein the assigned priority is indicative of the importance of including the associated icon or label in the display of the toolbar;

displaying in the allotted space of the display screen as many of the icons and labels that will fit in the allotted space based on their assigned priority, with icons and labels having a higher assigned priority being displayed over those with a lower assigned priority.