Floating command object
First Claim
1. A method of providing a floating command object that is contextually relevant to selected text, the method comprising:
- upon receiving a selection of text in an electronic document for editing, displaying a command object adjacent to the selected text such that at least a portion of the selected text remains visible, the command object providing text editing functionality in response to the selection of the text;
displaying in the command object a set of functionality commands that are relevant to editing the selected text, the set of functionality commands being a subset of a broader range of functionality commands available for editing the selected text, wherein displaying in the command object the set of functionality commands comprises displaying the set of functionality commands with a first set of visual representations similar to a second set of visual representations associated with displaying the broader range of functionality commands;
associating an opacity of the displayed command object to a distance between an electronic pointer and the displayed command object; and
continuing to display the command object after receiving a selection of one of the set of functionality commands.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A floating command object is provided for offering a set of commonly or frequently used commands in close proximity to a selected text, data or other object in a document. When a given object is selected for editing, the floating object automatically displays near the object to allow easy selection of relevant commands such as formatting property commands. The object remains displayed to allow multiple command selections until it is closed by user action. If a mouse or touchpad pointer is moved away from the displayed object, the displayed object becomes increasingly translucent to visually deemphasize the relevance of the object to the new position of the pointer.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of providing a floating command object that is contextually relevant to selected text, the method comprising:
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upon receiving a selection of text in an electronic document for editing, displaying a command object adjacent to the selected text such that at least a portion of the selected text remains visible, the command object providing text editing functionality in response to the selection of the text; displaying in the command object a set of functionality commands that are relevant to editing the selected text, the set of functionality commands being a subset of a broader range of functionality commands available for editing the selected text, wherein displaying in the command object the set of functionality commands comprises displaying the set of functionality commands with a first set of visual representations similar to a second set of visual representations associated with displaying the broader range of functionality commands; associating an opacity of the displayed command object to a distance between an electronic pointer and the displayed command object; and continuing to display the command object after receiving a selection of one of the set of functionality commands. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer storage medium containing computer executable instructions which when executed by a computer perform a method of providing a command object that is contextually relevant to a selected portion of text within an electronic document, the method executed by the set of instructions comprising:
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upon receiving a selection of a first portion of text in an electronic document for editing, displaying a command object adjacent to the selected first portion of text such that at least a portion of the selected first portion of text is not covered by the command object, the command object providing text editing functionality in response to the selection of the first portion of text; displaying in the command object a set of functionality commands that are relevant to formatting the selected first portion of text, the set of functionality commands being; derived from a subset of available formatting commands for the document, the subset of available formatting commands being displayed in a main user interface portion of the electronic document, displayed with visual representations similar to the subset of available formatting commands displayed in the main user interface portion, and configured to be applied to the selected first portion of text; receiving a selection of one of the functionality commands from the command object for application of an associated functionality to the first portion of text without closing a display of the command object; associating an opacity of the displayed command object to a distance between an electronic pointer and the displayed command object; and continuing to display the command object after receiving a selection of one of the set of functionality commands. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A display device having rendered thereon an improved user interface with functionality from a software application that is relevant to selected text, the user interface comprising:
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a floating object having disposed therein a subset of functionality commands available from the software application that are relevant to editing the selected text in an electronic document, the subset of functionality commands being displayed in a main user interface of the software application and, when disposed in the floating object, having a first visual representation in the floating object similar to a second visual representation in the main user interface, wherein each functionality command within the subset of functionality commands is configured to be selected for applying at least one property to the selected object without requiring a display of a secondary user interface, the at least one property corresponding to text editing functionality; wherein the floating object is operative to display in the electronic document adjacent to the selected text upon receiving a selection of the selected text such that at least a portion of the selected text remains visible; wherein the floating object is displayed translucently based on an opacity associated with a distance between an electronic pointer and the floating object; and continuing to display the command object after receiving a selection of one of the set of functionality commands. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification