Localized exploded view

• US 7,945,863 B1
• Filed: 07/05/2005
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Reid, Dexter, Anders, Mark, Jaramillo, Narciso B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore; William L
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALVESTEFFER, STEPHEN D
• Application Number:
  US11/175,114
• Time in Patent Office: 2,142 Days
• Field of Search: 715/763, 715/762, 715/767, 715/797, 345/660, 345/661, 345/665, 345/671, 345/651
• US Class Current: 715/797
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces

Abstract

A method for providing an Integrated Development Environment comprises receiving input from a user identifying an area containing an edge shared by two or more objects, wherein the shared edge includes two or more individual edges corresponding to the objects, and visibly separating the two or more individual edges in a localized exploded view responsive to the receiving.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving input from a user identifying an area containing an edge shared by a first object and a second object displayed in a layer of a design application, the design application provided by a computing system, wherein said shared edge includes two or more individual edges corresponding to said first and second objects due to the first and second objects being horizontally adjacent, vertically adjacent, or the second object being positioned inside the first object;

visibly separating said two or more individual edges in a localized exploded view responsive to said receiving;

allowing said user to modify two or more of said individual edges; and

allowing said user to place an additional object between two of said individual edges.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said individual edges appear as a single edge object and are not individually selectable before said individual edges are visibly separated.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said individual edges and one or more spaces between said individual edges are selectable.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said input is generated by said user hovering a cursor over the area containing said shared edge.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising replacing said localized exploded view with a default view on command from said user.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving additional input from said user indicating that said localized exploded view should be turned off, wherein said additional input is generated by said user clicking on a close button of said localized exploded view.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the design application comprises:

a Computer Aided Design (CAD) program;

an Integrated Development Environment (IDE);

a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) editor;

or

a graphical design application.

8. A method for providing an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), the method comprising:

receiving input from a user identifying a boundary shared by two or more objects horizontally adjacent to one another, vertically adjacent to one another, or positioned so that one object is inside another within a layer in a design canvas, wherein said design canvas is a design canvas of said IDE, wherein said boundary includes two or more individual object edges; and

presenting said two or more individual object edges with spaces therebetween in a localized view that is superimposed on a portion of said design canvas, said localized view including magnification of at least portions of said two or more objects.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said input is generated by the user dragging a visual object over said area of said design canvas.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein said localized view is a window superimposed on one or more of said objects.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein said localized view includes a portion of the length of said shared boundary not constrained to a window.

12. A computer program product having a computer readable storage medium having computer logic recorded thereon for implementing an Integrated Development Environment, the computer program product comprising:

code for providing a user with a design canvas including two or more objects positioned horizontally adjacent to one another, vertically adjacent to one another, or in a relationship in which one object is inside another in a layer of the design canvas so that individual edges of said objects form at least one common boundary;

code for receiving input from said user identifying said at least one common boundary;

code for rendering a view of said identified at least one common boundary, wherein one or more spaces are added between said individual edges, and wherein said view is constrained to a portion of said design canvas;

code for receiving input instructing the inclusion of an additional object between two of said individual edges; and

code for recalculating said view to include at least a portion of said additional object.

13. The computer program product of claim 12 wherein said view is limited to said common boundary.

14. The computer program product of claim 12 wherein said view comprises a pop-up window allowing said user to view said individual edges and said objects at the same time, said pop-up window providing magnification.

15. The computer program product of claim 12 wherein said view is semi-opaque and overlaps a portion of said design canvas.

16. The computer program product of claim 12 wherein said code for rendering a view of said common boundary includes code for presenting an animation of said individual edges separating from one another.

17. A computing system comprising a processor and a tangible computer-readable medium embodying program components, the program components comprising:

a design component that configures the computing system to present a design canvas comprising a first and second object within the same layer of the design canvas, the first and second object positioned horizontally adjacent to one another, vertically adjacent to one another, or positioned with the second object inside the first object, so that the first and second object share a common boundary including two or more object edges depicted in the design canvas as a single line;

an interface component that configures to computing system to receive input identifying the common boundary; and

a localized exploded view component that configures the computing system to render a localized and exploded view of at least a portion of the common boundary on a portion of the design canvas, the view depicting the two or more object edges separated from one another by a space, the localized view component further configuring the computing system to allow placement of an additional object between two of said object edges.