Display control method, program product, and information processing apparatus for controlling objects in a container based on the container's size

• US 7,216,293 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2003
• Issued: 05/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Itoh, Naoko, Kataoka, Katsuhisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu; Tadesse
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tan; Alvin H
• Application Number:
  US10/388,709
• Publication Number:
  US 20030210268A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,516 Days
• Field of Search: 715/800, 715/801
• US Class Current: 715/246
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/04 Changes in size, position or resolution of an image
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports

Abstract

The present invention provides a technique to improve productivity on a task for redesigning a screen depending on change in a display size of the screen displayed on a display unit. In a computer environment, a display of a screen composed of a container for defining a frame of the screen and a GUI part arranged in this container is controlled as follows. When an event is detected for changing the size of the screen displayed on a display section, the size of the container in this screen is changed according to the detected event. Furthermore, data relating to a GUI part arranged within the container are changed on the basis of transformation assist lines 341 and 342 set on the container. Then the changed size of the container, a position and the size of the GUI part are reflected to update the screen.

Claims

1. In a computing environment, a method for controlling changes to a screen displayed on a display device, the screen including a container and Graphical User Interface (GUI) parts arranged in said container, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting an event which causes a size change of said container;

changing data relating to a size of said container, according to said event;

changing GUI data relating to a position and a size of the GUI parts, based on a transformation assist line that is preset at a predetermined position on said container, and wherein the GUI data is changed only for GUI parts that are intersected inside their boundary lines by the transformation assist line; and

updating the screen displayed on the display device to reflect the changed data for the container and the position and the size of the GUI parts.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of changing data relating to the GUI parts further comprises:

changing the position data of said GUI parts depending on their positional relation to said transformation assist line, and

changing the size data of said GUI parts, on which said transformation assist line is set, depending on a variation in the size of said container in a direction orthogonal to said transformation assist line.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transformation assist line is a non-linear plurality of segments, such that a higher level of granularity is provided for selecting which GUI parts are size-affected by the size change of the container.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of transformation assist lines adjust the position data and the size data of the GUI parts.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein each of the transformation assist lines are weighted, and wherein GUI parts intersected by different transformation assist lines are moved and resized differently according to a different weighting value for each transformation assist line.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined position of the transformation assist line remains at a fixed distance from a moved side of the container, wherein the fixed distance remains the same before and after the moved side of the container is moved.

7. A system comprising:

means for detecting an event which causes a size change of a container, wherein the container is displayed on a screen displayed on a display device, and wherein the contain surrounds multiple Graphical User Interface (GUI) parts that are arranged in the container;

means for changing data relating to a size of the container, according to the event;

means for changing GUI data relating to a position and a size of the GUI parts, based on a transformation assist line that is preset at a predetermined position on the container, and wherein the GUI data is changed only for GUI parts that are intersected inside their boundary lines by the transformation assist line; and

means for updating the screen displayed on the display device to reflect the changed data for the container and the position and the size of the GUI parts.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the means for changing data relating to the GUI parts further comprises:

means for changing the position data of the GUI parts depending on their positional relation to the transformation assist line, and

means for changing the size data of the GUI parts, on which the transformation assist line is set, depending on a variation in the size of the container in a direction orthogonal to the transformation assist line.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the transformation assist line is a non-linear plurality of segments, such that a higher level of granularity is provided for selecting which GUI parts are size-affected by the size change of the container.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein a plurality of transformation assist lines adjust the position data and the size data of the GUI parts.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein each of the transformation assist lines are weighted, and wherein GUI parts intersected by different transformation assist lines are moved and resized differently according to a different weighting value for each transformation assist line.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the predetermined position of the transformation assist line remains at a fixed distance from a moved side of the container, wherein the fixed distance remains the same before and after the moved side of the container is moved.

13. A computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program, the computer program including instructions that, when executed, are configured for:

detecting an event which causes a size change of a container, wherein the container is displayed on a screen displayed on a display device, and wherein the contain surrounds multiple Graphical User Interface (GUI) parts that are arranged in the container;

changing data relating to a size of the container, according to the event;

changing GUI data relating to a position and a size of the GUI parts, based on a transformation assist line that is preset at a predetermined position on the container, and wherein the GUI data is changed only for GUI parts that are intersected inside their boundary lines by the transformation assist line; and

updating the screen displayed on the display device to reflect the changed data for the container and the position and the size of the GUI parts.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions for changing data relating to the GUI parts are further configured for:

changing the position data of the GUI parts depending on their positional relation to the transformation assist line, and

changing the size data of the GUI parts, on which the transformation assist line is set, depending on a variation in the size of the container in a direction orthogonal to the transformation assist line.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the transformation assist line is a non-linear plurality of segments, such that a higher level of granularity is provided for selecting which GUI parts are size-affected by the size change of the container.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein a plurality of transformation assist lines adjust the position data and the size data of the GUI parts.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein each of the transformation assist lines are weighted, and wherein GUI parts intersected by different transformation assist lines are moved and resized differently according to a different weighting value for each transformation assist line.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the predetermined position of the transformation assist line remains at a fixed distance from a moved side of the container, wherein the fixed distance remains the same before and after the moved side of the container is moved.