Sections of a presentation having user-definable properties

• US 8,108,777 B2
• Filed: 08/11/2008
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Penner, Nathan, Villaron, Shawn, Zhang, Dachuan
• Primary Examiner(s): HAILU, TADESSE
• Application Number:
  US12/189,583
• Publication Number:
  US 20100037140A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,268 Days
• Field of Search: 715730-732
• US Class Current: 715/730
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/168 Details of user interfaces specifically adapted to file systems, e.g. browsing and visualisation, 2d or 3d GUIs query results presentation G06F16/156
• 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 3/04817 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

In general, this disclosure describes techniques that employ user-defined values of properties of sections of an electronic presentation. As described herein, a user may configure a presentation to include a plurality of sections. Each of the sections includes zero or more slides of the electronic slide presentation. In addition to the slides associated with each section, each of the sections is associated with one or more properties having values that can be defined by an author of the presentation. Because the values of the properties of the sections are user-definable, these properties may, in some implementations of these techniques, enable the author of the presentation to use the sections in ways not possible in presentation applications that merely use sections as a means of grouping thumbnail images of slides for navigation among slides in an authoring interface.

Claims

1. A method for organizing slides of an electronic slide presentation, the method comprising:

accessing, by a computing device, a presentation file for the electronic slide presentation, the presentation file stored on a computer-readable storage medium, the presentation file containing;

a first set of section data, the first set of section data defining a first section of the electronic slide presentation, the first set of section data identifying slides in the first section of the electronic slide presentation and identifying a user-defined title of the first section, and

a second set of section data, the second set of section data defining a second section of the electronic slide presentation, the second set of section data identifying slides in the second section of the electronic slide presentation and identifying a user-defined title of the second section;

generating, by the computing device, a graphical interface including the title of the first section, thumbnail images of the slides in the first section, the title of the second section, and thumbnail images of the slides in the second section; and

displaying the graphical interface on an output device;

wherein the first set of section data identifies a first set of access control data, the first set of access control data specifying that the user has a right to perform an action with respect to the first section;

wherein the second set of section data identifies a second set of access control data, the second set of access control data specifying that the user does not have a right to perform the action with respect to the second section; and

wherein the method further comprises;

receiving, at the computing device, a request from the user to perform the action with respect to the first section;

in response to receiving the request from the user to perform the action with respect to the first section;

determining, by the computing device, that the first set of access control data specifies that the user has the right to perform the action with respect to the first section; and

after determining that the user has the right to perform the action with respect to the first section, performing, by the computing device, the action with respect to the first section;

receiving, at the computing device, a request from the user to perform the action with respect to the second section; and

in response to receiving the request from the user to perform the action with respect to the second section;

determining, by the computing device, that the second set of access control data specifies that the user does not have the right to perform the action with respect to the second section; and

after determining that the user does not have the right to perform the action with respect to the second section, denying, by the computing device, the request to perform the action with respect to the second section.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the presentation file contains a third set of section data, the third set of section data defining a third section of the electronic slide presentation, the third section of the electronic slide presentation not including any slides.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, at the computing device, section selection input that indicates that the user wants the output device to display a sequentially first slide in the second section by selecting the title of the second section included in the graphical interface;

in response to receiving the section selection input, updating, by the computing device, the graphical interface such that the graphical interface includes an image of the sequentially first slide in the second section; and

displaying the updated graphical interface on the output device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, at the computing device, section concealment input that indicates that the user wants to conceal the thumbnail images of the slides in the first section;

in response to receiving the section concealment input, updating, by the computing device, the graphical interface such that the graphical interface does not include any thumbnail images of the slides in the first section; and

displaying the updated graphical interface on the output device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, at the computing device, section selection input that indicates that the user has selected the first section by selecting the title of the first section on the graphical interface;

in response to receiving the section selection input, updating, by the computing device, the graphical interface such that the thumbnail images of the slides in the first section are visually differentiated from the thumbnail images of the slides in the second section; and

displaying the updated graphical interface on the output device.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

after displaying the updated graphical interface, receiving, at the computing device, copy command input;

after receiving the copy command input, receiving, at the computing device, paste command input; and

in response to receiving the paste command input, copying the first set of presentation data to a location indicated by the paste command input.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the location indicated by the paste command input is in a second electronic presentation.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the action is selected from a group of actions that consists of:

viewing slides and editing slides.

9. The method of claim 1,

wherein the user is a first user;

wherein the computing device is a first computing device;

wherein the method further comprises enabling, by the first computing device, the first user to edit slides in the first section at the same time that a user of the second computing device is editing slides in the second section.

10. The method of claim 1,

receiving, at the computing device, section selection input that indicates the first section as a selected section;

and

printing, by a printing device, the slides associated with the selected section.

11. The method of claim 1,

wherein the presentation file is a first presentation file;

and

wherein the first set of section data identifies the slides in the first section and the title of the first section by specifying a link to a third set of section data contained in a second presentation file, the third set of section data containing data that directly represents the slides in the first section and containing data that directly represents the title of the first section.

12. The method of claim 1,

wherein the first set of section data includes a property of the first section, a value of the property specifying whether the slides in the first section are to be displayed during a presentation of the electronic slide presentation, the value of the property defined by the user;

and

wherein the method further comprises;

receiving, at the computing device, input that indicates that the user wants to present the electronic presentation;

after receiving the input, using the value of the property to determine whether to display the slides of the first section;

generating, by the computing device, a presentation graphical interface that includes a slide in the first section after determining that the value of the property indicates that the slides in the first section are to be displayed in the presentation of the electronic presentation; and

displaying the presentation graphical interface on the output device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first section is a child section of the second section.

14. The method of claim 1,

wherein the computing device comprises:

a processing unit implemented as a set of integrated circuits that includes at least one integrated circuit;

an output device interface that facilities communication with the output device; and

an input device interface that receives input from an input device used by the user.

15. A computing device comprising:

an output device; and

a storage medium comprising;

a presentation file stored on a computer-readable storage medium, the presentation file containing;

a first set of section data, the first set of section data defining a first section of the electronic slide presentation, the first set of section data identifying slides in the first section of the electronic slide presentation and identifying a user-defined title of the first section, and

a second set of section data, the second set of section data defining a second section of the electronic slide presentation, the second set of section data identifying slides in the second section of the electronic slide presentation and identifying a user-defined title of the second section; and

computer-executable instructions; and

a processing unit that reads the computer-executable instructions from the storage medium and executes the computer-executable instructions, execution of the computer-executable instructions by the processing unit causing the processing unit to;

access the presentation file;

generate a graphical interface, the graphical interface including the title of the first section, thumbnail images of the slides in the first section, the title of the second section, and thumbnail images of slides in the second section; and

display the graphical interface on the output device;

wherein the first set of section data identifies a first set of access control data, the first set of access control data specifying that the user has a right to perform an action with respect to the first section;

wherein the second set of section data identifies a second set of access control data, the second set of access control data specifying that the user does not have a right to perform the action with respect to the second section; and

wherein execution of the computer-executable instructions by the processing unit further causes the processing unit to;

in response to receiving a request from the user to perform the action with respect to the first section;

determine that the first set of access control data specifies that the user has the right to perform the action with respect to the first section; and

after determining that the user has the right to perform the action with respect to the first section, perform the action with respect to the first section; and

in response to receiving a request from the user to perform the action with respect to the second section;

determine that the second set of access control data specifies that the user does not have the right to perform the action with respect to the second section; and

after determining that the user does not have the right to perform the action with respect to the second section, deny the request to perform the action with respect to the second section.

16. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:

a presentation file stored on a computer-readable storage medium, the presentation file containing;

a first set of section data, the first set of section data defining a first section of an electronic slide presentation, the first set of section data identifying slides in the first section of the electronic slide presentation, the first set of section data identifying a user-defined title of the first section, and the first set of section data identifying a first set of access control data, the first set of access control data specifying that a first user has a right to perform an action with respect to the first section, the first set of access control data defined by a second user, and

a second set of section data, the second set of section data defining a second section of the electronic slide presentation, the second set of section data identifying slides in the second section of the electronic slide presentation, the second set of section data identifying a user-defined title of the second section, and the second set of section data identifying a second set of access control data, the second set of access control data specifying that the first user does not have a right to perform the action with respect to the second section, the second set of access control data defined by the second user; and

instructions that, when executed by a processing unit of a computing device, cause the processing unit to;

access the presentation file;

generate a graphical interface that displays the title of the first section, the slides in the first section, the title of the second section, and the slides in the second section;

receive a request from the first user to perform the action with respect to the first section;

in response to receiving the request from the first user to perform the action with respect to the first section;

determine that the first set of access control data specifies that the first user has the right to perform the action with respect to the first section; and

perform the action with respect to the first section after determining that the first user has the right to perform the action with respect to the first section;

receive a request from the first user to perform the action with respect to the second section; and

in response to receiving the request from the first user to perform the action with respect to the second section;

determine that the second set of access control data specifies that the first user does not have the right to perform the action with respect to the second section; and

deny the request to perform the action with respect to the second section after determining that the first user does not have the right to perform the action with respect to the second section.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16,

wherein the action with respect to the first section comprises editing one of the slides in the first section;

and

wherein the action with respect to the second section comprises editing one of the slides in the second section.