Task-sensitive methods and systems for displaying command sets

• US 7,712,048 B2
• Filed: 07/23/2004
• Issued: 05/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Perlow, Jonathan D., Jacobs, Nancy E., Erickson, Paul R., Westreich, Daniel J., Rockey, Eric S., Kelly, Gavin M., Hopcroft, Michael J., Talbott, Shannon P.
• Primary Examiner(s): BONSHOCK, DENNIS G
• Application Number:
  US10/897,647
• Publication Number:
  US 20050005248A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,111 Days
• Field of Search: 715/779, 715/811, 715/817, 715/825, 715/835, 715/810, 715/765
• US Class Current: 715/811
• 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 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/14 Tree-structured documents parsing G06F40/205; validation G06F40/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

Methods and systems present commands to a user within a software application program by determining the user'"'"'s context within the application program and automatically presenting in a user interface commands that pertain to the user'"'"'s current context. When the user'"'"'s context changes, the context-sensitive commands are automatically removed from the user interface. In one implementation context blocks and context panes are employed to present the commands.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of exposing commands in a software application program, the computer-implemented method comprising:

causing, by a computer, a display device to display a user interface of the software application program, the user interface simultaneously comprising;

a document area in which a user works on a document provided by the software application program; and

a container area proximate the document area, the container area not obscuring the document area;

while the display device is displaying the user interface, determining, by the computer based on actions of the user within the document area, whether context blocks are relevant to a task that the user is currently performing on the document by evaluating visibility expressions, each of the visibility expressions associated with a different one of the context blocks, each of the context blocks being a separate block containing a different plurality of user-selectable commands associated with tasks that the user is able to perform on the document, each of the context blocks having a different title;

in response to determining that given ones of the context blocks that are not displayed in the container area are relevant to the task that the user is currently performing on the document and without receiving input from the user, causing, by the computer, the display device to display the user interface such that the container area includes both the titles of the given ones of the context blocks and the commands of the given ones of the context blocks; and

in response to determining that other ones of the context blocks that are displayed in the container area are not relevant to the task that the user is currently performing on the document and without receiving input from the user, causing, by the computer, the display device to display the user interface such that the container area does not include the titles of the other ones of the context blocks and does not include the commands of the other ones of the context blocks.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each of the context blocks comprises Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) code that specifies the titles and the commands of the context blocks.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the given ones of the context blocks include at least two of the context blocks.

4. A computer-readable storage medium comprising software code which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

display a user interface of a software application program, the user interface comprising;

a document area in which a user works on a document provided by the software application program; and

a container area proximate the document area, the container area not obscuring the document area;

in response to an action of the user within the document area, determine whether context blocks are relevant to a task that the user is currently performing on the document by evaluating visibility expressions, each of the visibility expressions associated with a different one of the context blocks, each of the context blocks comprising titles and pluralities of user-selectable commands;

in response to determining that a given one of the context blocks is not displayed in the container area and that the given one of the context blocks is relevant to the task that the user is performing on the document, display the given one of the context blocks within the container area, wherein when the given one of the context blocks is displayed in the container area, both the title and the plurality of user-selectable commands of the given one of the context blocks are displayed; and

in response to determining that another one of the context blocks is displayed in the container area and that the other one of the context blocks is not relevant to the task that the user is currently performing on the document, hide the other one of the context blocks.

5. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the given one of the context blocks is within a context pane and the context pane is within the container area.

6. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 5, wherein the context pane must be closed by the user when the user no longer wishes to access commands within the context pane.

7. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein a plurality of controls within the given one of the context blocks can be scrolled through by the user.

8. A computer-readable storage medium providing non-volatile storage of computer-readable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a computer system to:

display a user interface of a software application program, the user interface comprising;

a document area in which a user works on a document provided by the software application program; and

a container area proximate the document area, the container area not obscuring the document area;

in response to an action of the user within the document area, identify relevant context blocks among a plurality of context blocks by evaluating visibility expressions, each of the visibility expressions associated with a different context block in the plurality of context blocks, the relevant context blocks being relevant to a task that the user is currently performing on the document, each context block in the plurality of context blocks comprising a title and a plurality of user-selectable commands;

in response to determining that a given one of the relevant context blocks is not displayed in the container area, display the given one of the relevant context blocks within the container area, wherein when the given one of the relevant context blocks is displayed in the container area, both the title and the plurality of user-selectable commands of the given one of the relevant context blocks are displayed; and

in response to determining that another one of the context blocks is displayed in the container area and that the other one of the context blocks is not relevant to the task that the user is currently performing on the document, hide the other one of the context blocks.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the given one of the relevant context blocks is within a context pane and the context pane is within the container area.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the context pane must be closed by the user when the user no longer wishes to access commands within the context pane.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein a plurality of controls within the given one of the relevant context blocks can be scrolled through by the user.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein each context block in the plurality of context blocks comprises Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) code that specifies the title and the command of the context block.