Method and system for implementing enhanced buttons in a graphical user interface

• US 8,108,798 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2004
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Sauermann, Volker
• Primary Examiner(s): Pillai, Namitha
• Application Number:
  US11/026,247
• Publication Number:
  US 20060143575A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,589 Days
• Field of Search: 715/840, 715/517, 715/710, 715/708, 715/808, 715/811, 715/835, 715/765, 715/767, 715/809, 715/772, 715/766
• US Class Current: 715/840
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• 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

Abstract

A method and system are provided for implementing enhanced buttons in graphical user interface of a software application running on computer system. The enhanced buttons allow additional options to be presented to the user in a context-sensitive manner in the same graphical user interface screen that the user is interacting with. The enhanced buttons are context-sensitive buttons that appear on a graphical user interface window as a result of an initiating action or operation selected from the screen. The initiating operation may be linked to a field, button, or other graphical element or object on the screen and the context-sensitive buttons are associated with this linked graphical element. The context-sensitive buttons may be displayed on the graphical user interface screen in relation to the associated graphical element.

Claims

1. A method of displaying a first subordinate button and a second subordinate button in a graphical user interface of a software application viewable on a display device, comprising:

displaying in a current window of the graphical user interface a stationary primary button for initiating a delete action on a highlighted data item;

responsive to receiving an indication of a selection of the stationary primary button by a user in order to delete the highlighted data item,

changing the current window by only adding the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button adjacent to the stationary primary button in the current window without obscuring the highlighted data item and the stationary primary button;

responsive to receiving an indication of a selection of the first subordinate button by the user to cancel the delete action, removing the display of the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button;

responsive to receiving an indication of a selection of the second subordinate button by the user to continue the delete action,

performing the delete action on the highlighted data item, and

removing the display of the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button, leaving the stationary primary button displayed in the current window.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button are displayed with the stationary primary button to form a single graphic shape similar in shape to a tongue.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first subordinate button horizontally scrolls from the stationary primary button.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button are animated to appear to scroll from underneath the stationary primary button, and the first subordinate button, the second subordinate button, and the stationary primary button are displayed substantially as one icon.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first subordinate button is displayed with animations and the second subordinate button is displayed without animation.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving an indication of clicking on an area of the user interface other than the stationary primary button, the first subordinate button, or the second subordinate button, canceling the selection of the primary button.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a displayed text description of the stationary primary button is changed to an interrogatory, and the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button form the answer to the interrogatory.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection of the first subordinate button means to cancel the selection of the stationary primary button and the selection of the second subordinate button means to confirm the selection of the stationary primary button.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the color of the first subordinate button indicates the meaning of selecting the first subordinate button is to cancel, and wherein the color of the second subordinate button indicates the meaning to confirm the selection of the stationary primary button.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the color of the first subordinate button is red and the color of the second subordinate button is green.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the shape of the first subordinate button indicates the meaning of selecting the subordinate button is to cancel, and wherein the shape of the second subordinate button indicates the meaning is to confirm the selection of the stationary primary button.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first subordinate button is highlighted to indicate that pressing a key on the keyboard will select the first subordinate button.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying further comprises:

animating the displaying of the first subordinate button so that the first subordinate button appears to come out from behind the stationary primary button.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

inactivating the graphical user interface other than the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button so that no action can be taken other than selecting one of the subordinate buttons;

reactivating the graphical user interface after at least one of the subordinate buttons is selected by a user action and a designated interval of time has passed; and

removing the subordinate button from the graphical user interface as a function of reactivating the graphical user interface.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein a size and a shape of the stationary primary button is maintained during the changing of the current window.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button match the stationary primary button in shape and configuration.

17. A method of displaying a first subordinate button and a second subordinate button in a graphical user interface of a software application viewable on a display device, comprising:

displaying in a current window of the graphical user interface a stationary primary button for initiating an action on a highlighted data item;

responsive to receiving an indication of a selection of the stationary primary button by a user,

adding only to the current window a display of the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button adjacent to the primary button in the current window without obscuring the highlighted data item and the stationary primary button;

responsive to receiving an indication of a selection of the first subordinate button by the user to cancel the action, removing the display of the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button;

responsive to receiving an indication of a selection of the second subordinate button by the user to continue performance of the action,

performing the action on the displayed data item,

removing the display of the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button, leaving the stationary primary button displayed in the current window.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the buttons can only be selected with a click of a mouse.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the action to be preformed is a delete action.

20. A method of displaying a first subordinate button and a second subordinate button in a graphical user interface of a software application viewable on a display device, comprising:

displaying in a current window of the graphical user interface a stationary primary button for initiating a computer processing action on a highlighted data item;

responsive to receiving an indication of a selection of the stationary primary button by a user in order to perform a computer processing action to the highlighted data item,

changing the current window by only adding the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button adjacent to the stationary primary button in the current window without obscuring the highlighted data item and the stationary primary button, while maintaining a size and a shape of the stationary primary button, wherein the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button match the stationary primary button in shape and configuration;

responsive to receiving an indication of a selection of the first subordinate button by the user to cancel the computer processing action, removing the display of the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button;

responsive to receiving an indication of a selection of the second subordinate button by the user to continue the computer processing action,

performing the computer processing action on the highlighted data item, and

removing the display of the first subordinate button and the second subordinate button, leaving the stationary primary button display in the current window.