User interface for managing master and layout relationships

• US 8,166,402 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2005
• Issued: 04/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Collins, Nathalie S., Levine, Rebecca S., Coh, Dennis
• Primary Examiner(s): Pesin, Boris
• Assistant Examiner(s): HEFFINGTON, JOHN M
• Application Number:
  US11/129,517
• Publication Number:
  US 20060259875A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,538 Days
• Field of Search: 715/853, 715/723, 715/724, 715/725, 715/731, 715/732, 715/764, 715/769, 715/835
• US Class Current: 715/732
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/137 Hierarchical processing, e.g. outlines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

A user interface within a presentation program manages hierarchical relationships. A master view includes a thumbnail view that shows the hierarchical relationship between slide masters and layouts used within the presentation. In one example, the thumbnail view is a series of thumbnail tree-controls where each slide master is the top node of the tree control and the layouts are the children of the slide master. A user may copy, move, delete, and edit slide masters, layouts, and slides using the user interface. A contextual representation of slide master and layout commands may be shown in the same overall user interface space.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for managing slide master and layout relationships in a user interface, comprising:

determining a slideshow slide hierarchy associated with a slideshow presentation, wherein the slideshow slide hierarchy includes at least a slide master level, a layout level, and a slide level;

wherein the slide master level includes global settings for the slideshow presentation that are inherited by the layout level and the slide level;

wherein each layout at the layout level specifies a predefined number of placeholders at specific locations; and

wherein each slide at the slide level inherits its slide-level properties and layout information from the layout level and the slide master level;

wherein changes made at the slide master level propagate to the layout level and then propagate to the slide level;

wherein each slide master is associated with a default list of predefined layouts; and

generating a user interface to be rendered that visually differentiates between the slide master and the layout as a place to set global settings as compared to layout-specific settings, the user interface including;

a slideshow slide hierarchy tree-control configured to display branch relationships between child levels and parent levels, the tree-control including a master slide thumbnail depicting a slide at the master level and a layout slide thumbnail depicting a slide at the layout level such that the layout slide thumbnail is displayed as a child of the master slide thumbnail within the tree-control,

a slide canvas configured to display detail of a thumbnail selected within the slideshow slide hierarchy tree-control,

a controls interface configured to display slide command controls based on a level of the selected thumbnail within the slideshow slide hierarchy tree-control; and

rendering the slideshow slide hierarchy tree-control, the slide canvas and the controls interface;

displaying detail of the slide associated with the selected thumbnail within the slide canvas; and

in response to selection of the thumbnail within the slideshow slide hierarchy tree-control, displaying slide command controls based on the level of the selected thumbnail;

wherein

displaying the slideshow slide hierarchy tree-control comprises showing at least one slide master on the slide master level and showing a user interface element indicating whether there are layouts on the layout level that are children of the slide master.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface element indicating whether there are layouts that are children of the slide master comprises displaying an expand/collapse user interface element.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising determining when the expand/collapse user interface element is acted upon, and in response to the action, expanding the slideshow slide hierarchy tree-control when the slideshow slide hierarchy tree-control is displayed in a collapsed form and collapsing the slideshow slide hierarchy tree-control when the slideshow slide hierarchy tree-control is displayed in an expanded form.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the slideshow slide hierarchy tree-control is displayed in an expanded form.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising determining when a thumbnail is selected and performing an operation in response to a command associated with the selection.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the command is at least one of:

a move;

a copy;

a drag;

a drop;

a delete;

a rename; and

a preserve command.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising displaying the layout slide thumbnail offset from the master slide thumbnail.

8. A tangible computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for managing hierarchical relationships using a user interface within a presentation program, comprising:

determining a slideshow slide hierarchy associated with a slideshow presentation for presenting slides, wherein determining the slideshow slide hierarchy includes determining slide masters on a slide master level and determining layouts that are children of the slide masters on a layout level;

wherein each slide master includes global settings for the slideshow presentation that are inherited by the layouts hierarchically below the slide master;

wherein each layout specifies a predefined number of placeholders at specific locations; and

wherein each slide within the presentation inherits properties and layout information from a layout and a slide master;

wherein changes made to one of the slide masters propagates to at least one of the layouts and then propagates to at least one of the slides; and

displaying a user interface that visually differentiates between the slide master level and the layout level as a place to set global settings as compared to layout-specific settings, the user interface including;

a slide hierarchy tree-control, the tree-control configured to display relationships between slide masters and layouts, the tree-control including slide masters on a slide master level and an indication of whether each of the slide masters includes any layouts that are children,

a controls interface configured to display slide command controls based on a level of a selected item; and

rendering the slide hierarchy tree-control and the controls interface of the user interface;

wherein

displaying within the user interface the slide masters on the slide master level and the indication of whether each of the slide masters includes any layouts that are children comprises showing a user interface element indicating whether there are layouts on the layout level that are children of the slide master.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, further comprising determining when the user interface element is acted upon, and in response to the action, expanding a hierarchical structure when the hierarchical structure is displayed in a collapsed form and collapsing the hierarchical structure when the hierarchical structure is displayed in an expanded form.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein displaying the user interface comprises displaying the slide masters and layouts as thumbnails within a thumbnail view.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, further comprising determining when a thumbnail is selected and performing an operation in response to a command associated with the selection.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the command is at least one of:

a move;

a copy;

a drag;

a drop;

a delete;

a rename; and

a preserve command.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, further comprising displaying the layouts offset from the slide master.

14. An apparatus for managing slide master and layout relationships in a user interface, comprising:

means for determining a slideshow slide hierarchy associated with a slideshow presentation, wherein the slideshow slide hierarchy includes at least a slide master level, a layout level, and a slide level;

wherein the slide master level includes theme information associated with layout content of a slide;

the layout level defines properties related to the slideshow presentation, and the slide level includes content to be presented in the slideshow presentation; and

wherein changes made to the slide master level propagates to the layout level and then propagates to the slide;

means for displaying at least two levels of the slideshow slide hierarchy within the user interface such that the hierarchical relationship between the at least two levels of the slideshow slide hierarchy is shown and that the user interface visually differentiates between the slide master level and the layout level as a place to set global settings as compared to layout-specific settings; and

means for displaying a controls interface configured to display slide command controls based on a level of an element selected within the slideshow slide hierarchy;

means for displaying within the user interface slide masters on the slide master level and showing a user interface element indicating whether there are layouts on the layout level that are children of the slide master.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising means for determining when to display the slideshow slide hierarchy in an expanded form and when to display the slideshow slide hierarchy in a collapsed form.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the means for displaying the slideshow slide hierarchy, comprises means for displaying the slide masters and layouts as thumbnails within a thumbnail view.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising means for determining when a thumbnail is selected and performing an operation in response to a command associated with the selection.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising means for displaying the layouts offset from the slide master.