Systems and methods that utilize a dynamic digital zooming interface in connection with digital inking

• US 7,551,187 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2004
• Issued: 06/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Shilman, Michael, Agrawala, Maneesh
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, JIN CHENG
• Application Number:
  US10/775,710
• Publication Number:
  US 20050177783A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,960 Days
• Field of Search: 345/629, 345/667, 715/512, 715/203
• US Class Current: 345/667
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/171 by use of digital ink

Abstract

The present invention relates to systems and methods that facilitate annotating digital documents (e.g., digital inking) with devices such as Tablet PCs, PDAs, cell phones, and the like. The systems and methods provide for multi-scale navigation during document annotating via a space-scale framework that fluidly generates and moves a zoom region relative to a document and writing utensil. A user can employ this zoom region to annotate various portions of the document at a size comfortable to the user and suitably scaled to the device display. The space-scale framework enables dynamic navigation, wherein the zoom region location, size, and shape, for example, can automatically adjust as the user annotates. When the user finishes annotating the document, the annotations scale back with the zoom region to original page size. These novel features provide advantages over conventional techniques that do not contemplate multi-scale navigation during document annotating.

Claims

1. A computer system that facilitates free form digital inking, comprising:

a pen-based microprocessor device and an application program,

the application program is recorded on a computer-readable medium and capable of execution by a computer, the application program comprising;

an input device for activating an inking region within a zoom window;

an annotation management component that generates the zoom window comprising the inking region for an underlying digital document; and

a navigation component that manually and automatically re-positions and re-sizes the zoom window and the inking region relative to the digital document, the re-position and re-size of the zoom window and the inking region occurs at least as an annotation of the digital document is entered in the inking region during an annotation event based at least in part on an amount of annotation information entered and displayed in the inking region, the size of the zoom window corresponds to the size of the inking region.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the annotation management component is invoked to generate the inking region by identifying a point of interest on the digital document by at least one of a manual or an automatic technique.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the inking region is generated in connection with animation that makes it appear the inking region grows out of the digital document.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the inking region is generated to cover a subset of the digital document such that the remaining document can be concurrently viewed.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the inking region magnifies the portion of the digital document within the inking region.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the magnification factor is defined such that the user inks at a similar size to document information.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the inking region is closed via one of a digital pen, a mouse, a button, or voice activation.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein inking within the inking region scales down to a size similar to the text within the digital document when the inking region is closed.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the navigation component employs one or more of a move inking region, a move digital document, or a create space technique to navigate through the digital document.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the move inking region, move digital document and create space techniques are based on a space-scale framework.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the space-scale framework defines navigation via the following equation:

Z_X=O(1−

α

)+S_Cα

, wherein Z_C is a zoom center, O is a zoom origin, α

is a scaling factor, and S_C is a screen center.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the scaling factor is defined by:

α

=|Z|/|S|, wherein |Z| is an absolute value of a zoom region and |S| is an absolute value of a source window.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein an orientation of the inking region is determined via moving a digital pen across the document in one of a right-to-left, a left-to-right, a top-to-bottom, or a bottom-to-top manner.

14. A computer-implemented method that provides a zoom window to annotate digital documents with digital ink, comprising:

activating an inking region within the zoom window via an input device;

generating the zoom window comprising the inking region to facilitate initiating an annotation event;

scaling contents displayed in the zoom window;

manually and automatically re-positioning and re-sizing, by a pen-based computer system, the zoom window and the inking region relative to at least one underlying digital document, the re-positioning and re-sizing of the zoom window and the inking region occurs at least as annotation of the at least one underlying digital document is entered in the inking region during the annotation event as a function of an amount of annotation information entered and displayed in the inking region, wherein size of the zoom window corresponds to size of the inking region;

positioning the zoom window over an area of interest;

navigating the zoom window after annotating the at least one underlying digital document; and

terminating the annotation event after the annotation information is entered in the inking region.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising scaling down document contents and the annotations displayed in the zoom window to a size corresponding with text in the at least one underlying digital document being annotated.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising defining a shape and a location of the zoom window via indicating a point in the at least one underlying digital document with at least one of a digital pen, a button, a mouse, or voice activation.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising animating generation of the zoom window to create an appearance that the zoom window grows out of the at least one underlying digital document.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising employing a space-scale technique to navigate the zoom window.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising magnifying the zoom window such that add adding annotations, which are similar in size to document information displayed within the zoom window, is facilitated.

20. A computer system that facilitates electronic document annotating, comprising:

a pen-based microprocessor device;

means for activating an inking region within an annotation window;

means for generating the annotation window comprising the inking region for an underlying electronic document;

means for defining a location of the annotation window;

means for magnifying contents of the annotation window;

means for employing the annotation window to annotate the underlying electronic document; and

means for manual and automatic re-positioning and re-sizing of the annotation window and the inking region relative to the underlying electronic document, the re-positioning and re-sizing of the annotation window and the inking region occurs at least as an annotation of the underlying electronic document is entered in the inking region during an annotation event based at least in part on a quantity of annotation information entered and displayed in the inking region, wherein size of the annotation window corresponds to size of the inking region.