Two-dimensional radial user interface for computer software applications

• US 7,712,049 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2004
• Issued: 05/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Keohane, Robert F., Jensen, Stephen D., Leukart, Richard H., Williams, Cheryl L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu; Sy D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham; Linh K
• Application Number:
  US10/954,954
• Publication Number:
  US 20060069603A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,042 Days
• Field of Search: 715/843, 715/834, 715/711, 715/808, 715/768, 715/706, 715/751, 715/758, 715/715, 715/816, 715/818, 715/810, 715/858
• US Class Current: 715/834
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

An improved user interface is provided for allowing the application of two properties or pieces of metadata to an object with a single user action. A two-dimensional radial menu (user interface) is provided. The radial menu is a generally pie-shaped user interface that is divided into two or more slices associated with two or more corresponding types of a first property that may be applied to a selected object. The menu is further divided to two or more circular sections so that each slice of the pie-shaped radial menu is further divided into two or more sections. Each circular section is associated with a type of a second property that may be applied to the object. By selection of a given section in a given slice of the radial menu, one type of the first property associated with the given slice and a one type of the second property associated with the given circular section of the slice are applied to the selected object with a single user action.

Claims

1. A method of applying two properties to a selected object in response to a single action, the method comprising:

launching a pie-shaped user interface in response to receiving a primary selection of the selected object followed by a hold of the selected object, wherein the user interface is displayed until a user selection on the user interface is received;

dividing the pie-shaped user interface into at least two slices, where each of the at least two slices is associated with a different type of a first property, wherein the first property comprises a first set of property types to be applied to the selected object according to a context of the selected object;

further dividing the pie-shaped user interface into at least two circular sections by dividing the user interface with at least one concentric circular divider disposed between a center of the user interface and an outer edge of the user interface, where each of the at least two circular sections is associated with a different type of a second property, wherein the second property comprises a second set of property types to be applied simultaneously with the first property to the selected object according to the context of the selected object;

creating a plurality of bounded areas in the user interface by an intersection of the at least two slices with the at least one concentric circular divider;

coding each of the plurality of bounded areas with a unique color corresponding to the first property of each of the plurality of bounded areas;

designating each of the plurality of bounded areas as a selectable control which, upon the user selection of the selectable control associated with a selected bounded area of the plurality of bounded areas, causes an application of a first type of the first subset of property types of the first property and a second type of the second subset of property types of the second property to the selected object;

applying, upon the user selection of the selected bounded area of the plurality of bounded areas, the unique color associated with the selected bounded area of the plurality of bounded areas to a marker associated with the selected object; and

in response to receiving a cursor focus on a given one of the plurality of bounded areas, displaying a tool tip dialog showing the first type of the first subset of property types of the first property and the second type of the second subset of property types of the second property associated with the given one of the plurality of bounded areas.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating, with each of the plurality of bounded areas, the first type of the first subset of property types of the first property and the second type of the second subset of property types of the second property, wherein each of the plurality of bounded areas is associated with a different combination of the first subset of property types of the first property and the second subset of property types of the second property.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein associating, with each of the plurality of bounded areas, the first type of the first subset of property types of the first property and the second type of the second subset of property types of the second property includes associating with each of the plurality of bounded areas a start date property type of a plurality of start date types for application to a task item and a category property type of a plurality of category types for application to the task item, wherein each of the plurality of bounded areas is associated with a different combination of the plurality of start date property types and the plurality category property types.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein coding each of the plurality of bounded areas with the unique color associated with the first property type comprises coding each of the plurality of bounded areas with the unique color associated each category property type of the plurality of category types, and wherein applying the unique color associated with the selected bounded area of the plurality of bounded areas comprises applying the unique color associated with the selected bounded area of the plurality of bounded areas to the selected object.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising launching the user interface adjacent to the selected object.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising causing the user interface to be translucent to allow objects over which the launched user interface is displayed to be visible through the launched user interface.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising launching the user interface in response to receiving a secondary selection of the selected object following the primary selection, wherein receiving the secondary selection of the selected object causes the launching of the user interface.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface is launched after a set period of time following the primary selection of the selected object.

9. A two-dimensional radial menu displayed by a display device operatively associated with a processing unit coupled to a memory storage having a set of instructions which, when executed by the processing unit, cause the display device to display the two-dimensional radial menu for applying two properties to a selected object in response to a single action, the two-dimensional radial menu comprising:

a pie-shaped user interface;

launched in response to receiving a primary selection of the selected object followed by a hold of the selected object for a set period of time,

displayed until a user selection on the user interface is received,

divided into at least two slices, where each of the at least two slices is associated with a different type of a first property, wherein the first property comprises a first subset of property types to be applied to the selected object according to the context of the selected object, and

further divided into at least two circular sections by at least one concentric circular divider disposed between a center of the user interface and an outer edge of the user interface, where each of the at least two circular sections is associated with a different type of a second property, wherein the second property comprises a second subset of property types to be applied simultaneously with the first property to the selected object according to the context of the selected object;

a plurality of bounded areas in the user interface formed by a intersection of the at least two slices with the at least one concentric circular divider, wherein each of the plurality of bounded areas is designated as a selectable control which, upon receiving the user selection of the selectable control, causes an application of a first type of the first subset of property types of the first property and a second type of the second subset of property types of the second property to the selected object, and wherein each of the plurality of bounded areas is coded with a unique color corresponding to the first property of each of the plurality of bounded areas; and

a tool tip dialog showing the first type of the first subset of property types of the first property and the second type of the second subset of property types of the second property associated with a given one of the plurality of bounded areas displayed in response to receiving a cursor focus on the given one of the plurality of bounded areas.

10. The two-dimensional radial menu of claim 9, wherein the first property comprises a start date property for application to a task item and the second property comprises a category property for application to the task item, wherein each of the plurality of bounded areas is associated with a different combination of the start date property and the category property.

11. The two-dimensional radial menu of claim 10, wherein the unique color further corresponds with the category property type, wherein, upon the user selection of the selectable control, the unique color associated with the bounded area containing the given selectable control is applied to the selected object.

12. The two-dimensional radial menu of claim 9, wherein the two-dimensional radial menu is translucent to allow objects over which the two-dimensional radial menu is displayed to be visible through the two-dimensional radial menu.

18. The two-dimensional radial menu of claim 11, wherein, upon the user selection of the selectable control, the unique color associated with the bounded area containing the given selectable control is further applied to a flag associated with the selected object.

13. A computer-readable storage medium containing computer-executable instructions which when executed by a computer perform a method of applying two properties to a selected object in response to a single action, the method executed by the computer-executable instructions comprising:

launching a pie-shaped user interface adjacent to the selected object in response to receiving a primary selection of the selected object by a left mouse click on the object followed by a hold of the selected object, wherein the user interface is displayed until a user selection on the user interface is received;

dividing the pie-shaped user interface into at least two slices, where each of the at least two slices is associated with a different type of a first property, wherein the first property comprises a first subset of property types to be applied to the selected object according to the context of the selected object;

further dividing the pie-shaped user interface into at least two circular sections by dividing the user interface with at least one concentric circular divider disposed between a center of the user interface and an outer edge of the user interface, where each of the at least two circular sections is associated with a different type of a second property, wherein the second property comprises a second subset of property types to be applied simultaneously with the first property to the selected object according to the context of the selected object;

creating a plurality of bounded areas in the user interface by an intersection of the at least two slices with the at least one concentric circular divider;

associating, with each of the plurality of bounded areas, a first type of the first subset of property types of the first property and a second type of the second subset of property types of the second property, wherein each of the plurality of bounded areas is associated with a different combination of the first subset of property types of the first property and the second subset of property types of the second property;

coding each of the plurality of bounded areas with a unique color corresponding to the first property of each of the plurality of bounded areas;

designating each of the plurality of bounded areas as a selectable control which, upon receiving the user selection of the selectable control associated with a selected bounded area of the plurality of bounded areas, causes an application of a first type of the first subset of property types of the first property and a second type of the second subset of property types of the second property to the selected object; and

in response to receiving a cursor focus on a given one of the plurality of bounded areas, displaying a tool tip dialog showing the first type of the first subset of property types of the first property and the second type of the second subset of property types of the second property associated with the given one of the plurality of bounded areas.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein associating, with each of the plurality of bounded areas, the first type of the first subset of property types of the first property and the second type of the second subset of property types of the second property includes associating with each of the plurality of bounded areas a start date property type of a plurality of start date types for application to a task item and a category property type of a plurality of category types for application to the task item, wherein each of the plurality of bounded areas is associated with a different combination of the plurality of start date property types and the plurality category property types.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the unique color further corresponds with each category property type of the plurality of category property types, and, upon the user selection of a given selectable control, applying the unique color associated with the corresponding bounded area of the plurality of bounded areas containing the given selectable control to the selected object.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising causing the user interface to be translucent to allow objects over which the launched user interface is displayed to be visible through the launched user interface.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising launching the user interface in response to receiving a secondary selection of the selected object following the primary selection, wherein receiving the secondary selection of the selected object causes the launching of the user interface.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, further comprising applying, upon the user selection of the selected bounded area of the plurality of bounded areas, the unique color associated with the selected bounded area of the plurality of bounded areas to a flag associated with the selected object.