Methods and systems for incrementally changing text representation

• US 7,650,562 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2003
• Issued: 01/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Bederson, Benjamin B., Stefik, Mark J., Good, Lance E.
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, THU V
• Application Number:
  US10/369,613
• Publication Number:
  US 20030159107A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,524 Days
• Field of Search: 715529-531, 715/520, 715/720, 715717-718, 715/732, 715/861, 715/200, 715/201, 715/203, 715/256, 715/730, 715/254, 715/255, 345473-475
• US Class Current: 715/200
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing

Abstract

To reduce required display space, a text segment is reduced in size by successively eliminating portions of the text segment in an animated fashion. The reduction is thus visually represented in a way that maintains recognizability of the text segment, even if the final representation of the text does not carry a full meaning and/or is not independently comprehensible, because of the impression left in the mind of the user by the animated reduction of the text segment. The reduction may include reducing a size of text of the text segment and/or a spacing between characters of the text segment.

Claims

1. A method of incrementally reducing space required for representing a text object, comprising:

obtaining a text segment;

automatically analyzing a content of the text segment after obtaining the text segment without a user'"'"'s designation of a criteria for reducing the space occupied by the text segment;

reducing the space occupied by the text segment based on the analysis by successively displaying reduced representations of the text segment wherein each reduced representation uses less space than space occupied by an immediately preceding reduced representation; and

enhancing recognizability of each reduced representation by displaying animation of a transition to an intermediate display where more than one representation is at least partially visible at the same time,

wherein the reduced representations change a literal content of the text segment, and

the analysis includes (1) whether words in the text segment are subject or predicate, (2) whether the words are a modifier, (3) how many letters are in each word, (4) how many times each word is repeated in a source document or selected portion of the document, (5) position of the words in the sentences, and (6) whether one or more letters of each word are capitalized.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reducing step includes reducing a number of words of the text segment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the reducing step includes reducing a number of letters in one or more words of the text segment.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the letters are reduced by at least one of eliminating vowels, replacing the word with a predetermined abbreviation, replacing the word with a stem, replacing the word with an idiosyncratic spelling of the word, and eliminating double letters.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the animation is one of a cross dissolve transition, a cross stretch transition, and shrinking and successive removal of the portions of the text segment.

6. A storage medium on which is recorded a program for implementing the method of claim 1.

7. An incremental text change representation system that incrementally reduces space required for representing a text segment, comprising:

a controller; and

a memory storing instructions for automatically analyzing a content of the text after receiving the text segment input by a user, without the user'"'"'s designation of a criteria for reducing the space occupied by the text segment, reduces the space occupied by the text segment on a display device based on the analysis by successively displaying reduced representations of the text segment wherein each reduced representation uses less space than space occupied by an immediately preceding reduced representation and enhances recognizability of each reduced representation by display animation of a transition to an intermediate display where more than one representation is at least partially visible at the same time,

wherein the reduced representations change a literal content of the text segment, and

the analysis includes (1) whether words in the text segment are subject or predicate, (2) whether the words are a modifier, (3) how many letters are in each word, (4) how many times each word is repeated in a source document or selected portion of the document, (5) position of the words in the sentences, and (6) whether one or more letters of each word are capitalized.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the reducing step includes reducing a number of words of the text segment.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the reducing step includes reducing a number of letters in one or more words of the text segment.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the letters are reduced by at least one of eliminating vowels, replacing the word with a predetermined abbreviation, replacing the word with a stem, replacing the word with an idiosyncratic spelling of the word, and eliminating double letters.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the animation is one of a cross dissolve transition, a cross stretch transition, and shrinking and successive removal of the portions of the text segment.

12. The system of claim 7, in combination with a display device and a computer that contains the controller.

13. A method of incrementally reducing space required for representing a text object, comprising:

obtaining a text segment;

automatically analyzing a content of the text segment after obtaining the text segment without a user'"'"'s designation of a criteria for reducing the space occupied by the text segment;

reducing the space occupied by the text segment based on the analysis by successively displaying reduced representations of the text segment wherein each reduced representation uses less space than space occupied by an immediately preceding reduced representation; and

enhancing recognizability of each reduced representation by successively shrinking a text font size to a smaller size, and then displaying animation to another representation with less text displayed at a restored larger font size,

wherein the reduced representations change a literal content of the text segment, and

the analysis includes (1) whether words in the text segment are subject or predicate, (2) whether the words are a modifier, (3) how many letters are in each word, (4) how many times each word is repeated in a source document or selected portion of the document, (5) position of the words in the sentences, and (6) whether one or more letters of each word are capitalized.

14. A method of incrementally reducing space required for representing a text object, comprising:

obtaining a text segment;

automatically analyzing a content of the text segment after obtaining the text segment without a user'"'"'s designation of a criteria for reducing the space occupied by the text segment;

reducing the space occupied by the text segment based on the analysis by successively displaying reduced representations of the text segment wherein each reduced representation uses less space than space occupied by an immediately preceding reduced representation; and

enhancing recognizability of each reduced representation by selectively shrinking or fading a portion of the text segment that is being eliminated in the next representation of the displayed reduced representation,

wherein the reduced representations change a literal content of the text segment, and

the analysis includes (1) whether words in the text segment are subject or predicate, (2) whether the words are a modifier, (3) how many letters are in each word, (4) how many times each word is repeated in a source document or selected portion of the document, (5) position of the words in the sentences, and (6) whether one or more letters of each word are capitalized.

15. An incremental text change representation system that incrementally reduces space required for representing a text object, comprising:

a controller;

a memory storing instructions for automatically analyzing a content of the text object, after obtaining the text object input by a user, without the user'"'"'s designation of a criteria for reducing the space occupied by the text object, reduces the space occupied by the text object based on the analysis by successively displaying reduced representations of the text segment wherein each reduced representation uses less space than space occupied by an immediately preceding reduced representation and enhances recognizability of each reduced representation by successively shrinking a text font size to a smaller size, and then displaying animation to another representation with less text displayed at a restored larger font size; and

a display device that outputs the reduced representation,

wherein the reduced representations change a literal content of the text segment, and

the analysis includes (1) whether words in the text segment are subject or predicate, (2) whether the words are a modifier, (3) how many letters are in each word, (4) how many times each word is repeated in a source document or selected portion of the document, (5) position of the words in the sentences, and (6) whether one or more letters of each word are capitalized.

16. An incremental text change representation system that incrementally reduces space required for representing a text object, comprising:

a controller;

a memory storing instructions for automatically analyzing a content of the text object, after obtaining the text object input by a user, without the user'"'"'s designation of a criteria for reducing the space occupied by the text object, reduces the space occupied by the text object based on the analysis by successively displaying reduced representations of the text segment wherein each reduced representation uses less space than space occupied by an immediately preceding reduced representation and enhances recognizability of each reduced representation by selectively shrinking or fading a portion of the text object that is being eliminated in the next representation of the displayed reduced representation; and

a display device that outputs the reduced representation,

wherein the reduced representations change a literal content of the text segment, and

the analysis includes (1) whether words in the text segment are subject or predicate, (2) whether the words are a modifier, (3) how many letters are in each word, (4) how many times each word is repeated in a source document or selected portion of the document, (5) position of the words in the sentences, and (6) whether one or more letters of each word are capitalized.