Space tool feedback by changing the displayed visual appearance of objects to be moved before deletion of displayed objects occurs

• US 7,221,376 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2002
• Issued: 05/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Iwema, Marieke, Jones, F. David, Rimas, Emily K., Grutzmacher, Rich, Wakeam, Jamie N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brier; Jeffery A.
• Application Number:
  US10/222,509
• Publication Number:
  US 20040032415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,741 Days
• Field of Search: 345/619, 345/676, 345678-680, 345/179, 345/864, 715/864, 715/863
• US Class Current: 345/619
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/163 Handling of whitespace

Abstract

A space tool that inserts space into or deletes space from a document is described. The space tool provides the user with feedback as to which objects will be moved when space is inserted into or deleted from a document. To provide the user with this feedback, the space tool identifies the objects that will be moved when space is inserted or deleted, and changes the appearance of these objects. For example, the space tool may gray out or fade identified electronic ink objects that will be moved. Alternatively, or additionally, the space tool may move identified objects in real time, so that their location continually corresponds with what their location will be after space has been inserted or deleted.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of deleting space from a document presented on a display, comprising:

determining a first threshold position in the document based on a first user input;

determining a second threshold position on a first side of the first threshold position based on a second user input;

responsive to the second user input, changing a displayed visual appearance only of objects located on a second side of the first threshold position opposite the first side without changing a position of the objects and without deleting any space, wherein changing the displayed visual appearance visually identifies those objects which will be moved when space is deleted from the document; and

deleting space between the first threshold position and the second threshold position.

2. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising shading or changing the color of the space between the first threshold position and the second threshold position before the space is deleted.

3. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the first user input identifies a pointer position in the document.

4. The method recited in claim 3, wherein the first threshold position corresponds to the pointer position.

5. The method recited in claim 3, wherein the document includes lines spaced apart according to a line height, and

wherein determining the first threshold position includes calculating the line height between adjacent lines and locating the first threshold position at a predetermined distance from the pointer position based on the line height.

6. The method recited in claim 5, wherein the distance equals ½

the line height.

7. The method recited in claim 5, further comprising providing a first cursor at the pointer position.

8. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising providing a first cursor at the first threshold position.

9. The method recited in claim 8, wherein the first cursor is a line extending across at least a segment of the document.

10. The method recited in claim 8, further comprising providing a second cursor at the second threshold position.

11. The method recited in claim 10, wherein the second cursor is a line extending across the at least a segment of the document.

12. The method recited in claim 1, wherein a line extending across the document intersects two adjacent segments, and space is deleted in only one of the two segments of the document, the space being deleted in a direction parallel to the line.

13. The method recited in claim 1, wherein an object is located on the second side of the first threshold position if a percentage of the object is located on the second side of the first threshold position.

14. The method recited in claim 13, wherein an object is located on the second side of the first threshold position only if greater than fifty percent of the object is located on the second side of the first threshold position.

15. The method recited in claim 14, wherein an object is located on the second side of the first threshold position only if sixty percent or more of the object is located on the second side of the first threshold position.

16. The method recited in claim 15, wherein an object is located on the second side of the first threshold position only if eighty percent or more of the object is located on the second side of the first threshold position.

17. The method recited in claim 16, wherein an object is located on the second side of the first threshold position only if ninety percent or more of the object is located on the second side of the first threshold position.

18. The method recited in claim 17, wherein an object is located on the second side of the first threshold position only if one hundred percent of the object is located on the second side of the first threshold position.

19. The method recited in claim 1, where the displayed visual appearance of each object located on the second side of the first threshold position is changed, without obscuring the object, by one of the group consisting of:

changing a color of the object, graying the object, fading the object, changing a color of a bounding box of the object, graying a bounding box of the object, fading a bounding box of the object, and providing dashed lines for a bounding box of the object.

20. A space tool having computer executable components stored on one or more computer readable storage media, which when executed by a computer deletes space from a document presented on a display, comprising:

a pointer position detection module that detects pointer positions in the document;

a threshold position determination module that determines a first threshold position based upon a first pointer position detected by the pointer position detection module and a second threshold position based upon a second pointer position detected by the pointer position detection module;

an object appearance control module that, in response to the threshold position determination module determining the first threshold position and the second threshold position, identifies objects located on a first side of the first threshold position and changes a displayed visual appearance only of the objects located on the first side of the first threshold position without changing a position of the objects and without deleting any space, wherein changing the displayed visual appearance visually identifies those objects which will be moved when space is deleted from the document; and

a module that deletes space from a document between the first threshold position and the second threshold position, wherein the second threshold position is on a second side of the first threshold position opposite the first side.

21. The space tool recited in claim 20, further comprising a cursor drawing module that draws a cursor in the document corresponding to the first threshold position.

22. The space tool recited in claim 21, wherein the cursor drawing module further draws a second cursor in the document corresponding to the second threshold position.

23. The space tool recited in claim 20, wherein the object appearance control module shades or changes the color of the space between the first threshold position and the second threshold position before the space is deleted by the space deletion module.

24. The space tool recited in claim 20, wherein the object appearance control module includes a parser for determining whether the appearance of an associated group of objects are changed together if one of the objects in the group is located on the first side of the threshold position.

25. Computer readable storage media having computer-executable instructions stored thereon for causing a computer to perform a method of deleting space from a document presented on a display comprising the steps of:

determining a first threshold position in the document based on a first user input;

determining a second threshold position on a first side of the first threshold position based on a second user input;

responsive to the second user input changing a displayed visual appearance only of objects located on the second side of the first threshold position opposite the first side without changing a position of the objects and without deleting any space, wherein changing the displayed visual appearance identifies those objects which will be moved when space is deleted from the document; and

deleting space between the first threshold position and the second threshold position.