Scrolling web pages using direct interaction

• US 7,681,142 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2004
• Issued: 03/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Ribas-Ribikauskas, Emily K, Jarrett, Robert J, Duncan, Richard J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu; Tadesse
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ulrich; Nicholas S
• Application Number:
  US10/985,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20060048073A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,950 Days
• Field of Search: 715/784, 715/785, 715/786, 715/787, 345/179, 345/173
• US Class Current: 715/784
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

Aspects of the present invention provide a system and method for scrolling or dragging information on a display. A panning tool is provided that may scroll information, such as a web page, on a display in tandem with movement of a cursor. If interactive elements are present on the page or document, an interactive element may be activated as desired. Scrolling may be accomplished with the panning tool either on non-interactive elements or interactive elements that are not required to be activated. Furthermore, inertia of movement of the information on a display is optimized and autoscrolling is provided in which a page or document may be scrolled without dragging.

Claims

1. A method of providing a display control mechanism for information in a computing device, comprising:

displaying a document in a display area on a display screen of said computing device;

displaying a cursor in said display area of said display screen, wherein a movement of said cursor in said display area is controlled to coincide with a movement detected by an input device, said cursor capable of being activated for panning tool behavior when said cursor is located on the document;

scrolling the document after the cursor is activated for panning tool behavior on the document, the scrolling of the document being in tandem with the movement of said activated cursor in the display area that coincides with the movement detected by the input device;

determining a speed, a strength, or a combination thereof associated with the movement detected by the input device; and

continuing the scrolling of the document for a particular distance after the movement detected by the input device ends,

wherein the particular distance is a percentage of a length of the document,

wherein the percentage is determined based on the speed, the strength, or the combination thereof that is associated with the movement detected by the input device, and

wherein the continued scrolling of the document is caused to stop upon reaching the particular distance.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular distance is set based on the speed.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the continued scrolling of the document is stopped before reaching the particular distance in response to another controlled movement of said activated cursor coinciding with another movement detected by the input device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the document is scrolled in tandem with the another controlled movement of the activated cursor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the document is a web page.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the direction of the scrolling of the document is within a tolerance range of the direction of the controlled movement of the activated cursor.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the tolerance range is 20 pixels.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the direction of scrolling of the document is horizontal or vertical.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular distance is set based on the strength.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the input device is at least one of a mouse, a stylus pen, or a touch-sensitive surface, and wherein movement detected by the touch-sensitive surface includes detected movement of a user'"'"'s finger in contact with the touch-sensitive surface.

11. A system of providing a display control mechanism for information in a data processing system, comprising:

a display screen for displaying a document in a display area and for displaying a cursor, said cursor capable of being activated by an input device to enable panning tool behavior while said cursor is located on the document in the display area, said cursor being controlled to move in the display area to coincide with a movement detected by the input device;

a processor for scrolling the document within the display area after the cursor is activated, the scrolling of the document being in tandem with movement of said activated cursor in the display area that coincides with the movement detected by the input device,

wherein the processor determines a speed, a strength, or a combination thereof associated with the movement detected by the input device,

wherein the processor continues the scrolling of the displayed information in the display area for a particular distance after the movement detected by the input device ends, the particular distance being a percentage of the a length of the document, the percentage being set according to the speed, the strength, or the combination thereof, and

wherein the continued scrolling of the document is caused to stop upon reaching the particular distance.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the particular distance is set based on the speed.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the continued scrolling of the document in the display area is stopped before reaching the particular distance in response to another controlled movement of said cursor coinciding with another movement detected by the input device.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the document in the display area is scrolled in tandem with the another controlled movement of the activated cursor.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the displayed information is a web page.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the direction of the scrolling of the document is within a tolerance range of the direction of the controlled movement of the activated cursor.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the tolerance range is 20 pixels.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the direction of scrolling of the document is horizontal or vertical.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the input device is at least one of a mouse, a stylus pen, or a touch-sensitive surface, and wherein movement detected by the touch-sensitive surface includes detected movement of a user'"'"'s finger in contact with the touch-sensitive surface.

20. A computer-readable storage medium comprising executable code for performing the following steps when executed by a computer:

displaying a document in a display area on a display screen;

displaying a cursor on said display, and controlling movement of said cursor to coincide with a movement detected by an input device, said cursor capable of being activated for panning tool behavior while located within the document;

scrolling the document with respect to the displayed area after the cursor is activated within the document for panning tool behavior, the scrolling of the document being in tandem with the controlled movement of said activated cursor in the display area that coincides with the movement detected by the input device;

determining a speed associated with the movement detected by said input device;

when the speed associated with the movement detected by said input device meets a threshold, continuing the scrolling of the document in the display area for a particular distance after the movement detected by said input device ends, the particular distance being a percentage of the length of the document, the percentage being set according to the speed or a strength associated with the movement detected by the input device, wherein the continued scrolling of the document is caused to stop upon reaching the particular distance.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the particular distance is set based on the determined speed.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the continued scrolling of the document in the display area is stopped before reaching the particular distance in response to another controlled movement of said activated cursor coinciding with another movement detected by said input device.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the document in the display area is scrolled in tandem with the another controlled movement of the activated cursor.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the document is a web page.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein the direction of the scrolling of the document is within a tolerance range of the direction of the controlled movement of the activated cursor.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 25, wherein the tolerance range is 20 pixels.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 25, wherein the direction of scrolling of the document is horizontal or vertical.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 20, wherein the particular distance is set based on the strength associated with the movement detected by the input device.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the input device is at least one of a mouse, a stylus pen, or a touch-sensitive surface, and wherein movement detected by the touch-sensitive surface includes detected movement of a user'"'"'s finger in contact with the touch-sensitive surface.