System and method for controlling the opacity of multiple windows while browsing

• US 7,747,965 B2
• Filed: 01/18/2005
• Issued: 06/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Holecek, Ales, Stabb, Charles W., Cooperman, Hillel N., Ligameri, Mark R., Lindsay, Donald J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore; William L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Song; Daeho D
• Application Number:
  US11/036,612
• Publication Number:
  US 20060294475A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,988 Days
• Field of Search: 715/781, 715/768, 715/766, 715/767, 715/790, 715/794
• US Class Current: 715/781
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• 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 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A method referred to as x-ray browsing for allowing a user to browse through windows on their desktop is provided. Aspects of the invention include responsive to a command, making a first window the window in focus on the display screen and changing the relative opacities between a content portion of the first window and a content portion of the second window. By controlling the opacities a single window can be made opaque while the remaining windows can be made transparent to allow a user to successively navigate among open windows.

Claims

1. A computer storage media having instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for concurrently displaying a plurality of windows on a display screen, the method comprising in order the steps of:

responsive to a single first command, reducing the opacity of a first window and a third window to a first level and setting the opacity of a second window at a second level, wherein the second level is more opaque than the first level and wherein the reducing of the opacity of the first window and the third window, and setting the opacity of the second window occurs substantially simultaneously upon the reception of the single first command; and

responsive to a single second command, increasing the opacity of the first window to the second level and reducing the opacity of the second window to the first level and maintaining the opacity of the third window at the first level;

responsive to a third command after the second command, moving the first window to the top of the z-order, maintaining the third window below the second window in the z-order, and changing the opacity of the second window and the third window to be the same as the first window.

2. The computer storage media of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to the first command, reducing the opacity of a third window level to the first level; and

responsive to the second command, maintaining the opacity of the third window.

3. The computer storage media of claim 1, wherein the second level of opacity is substantially opaque and the first level of opacity is substantially transparent.

4. The computer storage media of claim 1, wherein in response to the first and second commands, the first and second windows maintain their position in the z-order.

5. The computer storage media of claim 1, wherein prior to receiving the first command, the second window is at the top of the z-order.

6. A computer storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for concurrently displaying in a z-order configuration a plurality of windows, the method comprising:

responsive to a single first command, simultaneously setting the opacity of at least a content portion of all windows, except for a first window, to be substantially transparent, and setting the opacity of the content portion of a second window to be less than the opacity of a title portion of the second window;

setting the opacity of at least a content portion of the first window to be substantially opaque;

wherein the opacity of the title portion of the second window is the same as the opacity of the content portion of the first window;

wherein the opacity of the title portion of the first window is the same as the opacity of the title portion of the second window;

responsive to a single second command, changing the opacity of at least the content portion of a second window from being substantially transparent to being substantially opaque and changing the opacity of at least the content portion of the first window from being substantially opaque to being substantially transparent and maintaining the opacity of the remaining windows; and

responsive to a single third command, changing the opacity of all windows to an original opacity level and moving the second window to the top of the z-order.

7. The computer storage media of claim 6, wherein the first and second windows are from a common group.

8. The computer storage media of claim 7, wherein the group is defined by open windows associated with the same application.

9. The computer storage media of claim 6, wherein the step of changing in response to the second command and the step of changing in response to the third command includes determining which window to put in focus.

10. The computer storage media of claim 6, further including restoring a minimized or hidden window responsive to the first command.

11. The computer storage media of claim 6, wherein the single first command is selected from the group comprising:

a keyboard key stroke, movement of a pointer to a predetermined location on a display screen, and a mouse action.

12. One or more computer storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for concurrently displaying a plurality of windows on a display screen to allow browsing of the windows, the method comprising in order the steps of:

displaying the plurality of windows with an original opacity level, wherein the original opacity level is at least substantially opaque and wherein the windows are arranged in a z-order;

responsive to a single first command, reducing the opacity level of all windows, except for a first window at the top of the z-order, to a first opacity level and setting the opacity level of the first window to a second opacity level, wherein the first opacity level is substantially transparent and the second opacity level is substantially opaque, and wherein the reducing and setting occur substantially simultaneously;

responsive to a single second command, increasing the opacity of a second window to the second opacity level, decreasing the opacity of the first window to the first opacity level and maintaining the opacity of all other windows at the first opacity level;

responsive to a single third command, returning the opacity of all windows to the original opacity level and moving the second window to the top of the z-order;

wherein the second opacity level is equal to the original opacity level.