Accessing a menu utilizing a drag-operation

• US 8,296,670 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2008
• Issued: 10/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Matthews, David A, Miner, Patrice L, Silvis, Jason, Sareen, Chaitanya D, Anderson, Bret P
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu, Tadeese
• Application Number:
  US12/123,196
• Publication Number:
  US 20090288044A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,618 Days
• Field of Search: 715/863, 715/769, 715/762, 715/764, 715/770
• US Class Current: 715/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

Computer-readable media, computerized methods, and computer systems for intuitively invoking a presentation action (e.g., rendering a menu) by applying a drag-operation at a top-level control button rendered at a touchscreen display are provided. Initially, aspects of a user-initiated input applied at the top-level control button are detected. These aspects may include an actuation location and a distance of a drag-movement therefrom. If a distance of the drag-movement at the touchscreen display is greater than a threshold distance in a particular radial direction from the actuation location, the user-initiated input is considered a drag-operation. Typically, a set of trigger boundaries are constructed based on system metrics to assist in disambiguating the drag-operation from a tap-type operation. If a drag-operation is identified, the presentation action is invoked; otherwise, a principle action associated with the top-level control button (e.g., manipulating content of an application) may be invoked.

Claims

1. One or more computer-storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for initiating a presentation action, alternate action, or principal action utilizing a drag-operation on a graphical user interface (GUI) rendered at a touchscreen display, the method comprising:

detecting a user-initiated input applied at a top-level control button;

providing a first set of trigger boundaries and a second set of trigger boundaries, wherein the first and second set of trigger boundaries are visually hidden from a user of the touchscreen display, wherein providing comprises;

(1) establishing the first set of trigger boundaries at a first threshold distance in at least one radial direction from a location of actuation of the input; and

(2) establishing the second set of trigger boundaries at a second threshold distance in at least one radial direction from location of actuation of the input;

detecting a drag-operation within the user-initiated input, wherein the drag-operation comprises an uninterrupted drag-movement from the location of actuation at the touchscreen display to a location of release from the touchscreen display, wherein a distance and a radial direction of the drag-movement are determined as a function from the location of actuation;

if the distance and the radial direction of the drag-movement intersects one of the first set of trigger boundaries, invoking a presentation action mapped to the top-level control button;

if the distance and the radial direction of the drag-movement intersects one of the second set of trigger boundaries, invoking an alternate action, which is mapped to the top-level control button, that is unrelated to a principle action; and

otherwise, invoking the principal action mapped to the top-level control button, wherein the presentation action, the alternate action, and the principal action each representing a distinct operation, one of which resulting from the input.

2. The media of claim 1, the method further comprising presenting, on the GUI, the top-level control button that comprises a visual element designed to express a representation of the principle action.

3. The media of claim 2, wherein detecting a user-initiated input at a top-level control button comprises detecting the actuation location of the user-initiated input within a command region associated with the top-level control button, wherein the visual element resides within the command region.

4. The media of claim 3, the method further comprising recognizing the user-initiated input is a drag-operation by disambiguating the drag-operation from a tap-type operation based on a distance of an uninterrupted drag-movement from a location of actuation of the user-initiated input at the touchscreen display.

5. The media of claim 4, wherein establishing the first set of trigger boundaries at a first threshold distance in at least one radial direction from the location of actuation comprises establishing one or more vertical trigger lines each at a horizontal threshold distance from the actuation location, and wherein establishing the second set of trigger boundaries at a second threshold distance in at least one radial direction from the location of actuation comprises establishing one or more horizontal trigger lines each at a vertical threshold distance from the actuation location, wherein the horizontal threshold distance is distinct from the vertical threshold distance.

6. The media of claim 5, the method further comprising dynamically varying the threshold distance of each of the set of trigger boundaries upon detecting a change in system metrics, wherein the vertical threshold distance and the horizontal threshold distance are based, in part, on the system metrics of the touchscreen display, and wherein the system metrics comprise at least one or more of screen size, pixel density, parameters of the touchscreen display, or resolution of the GUI.

7. The media of claim 6, wherein rendering an indication of the presentation action at the GUI comprises revealing a menu that comprises a list of selectable options, wherein the selectable options relate to the principle action.

8. The media of claim 7, the method further comprising:

detecting the uninterrupted drag-movement of the drag-operation crossing one or more of the horizontal trigger lines; and

revealing the menu at the GUI in spatial proximity to the top-level control button.

9. The media of claim 8, the method further comprising:

detecting a release of the uninterrupted drag-movement of the drag-operation upon crossing one or more of the horizontal trigger lines;

maintaining revealing the menu at the GUI;

detecting a second user-initiated input indicating one of the selectable options; and

invoking a corollary action to the principle action associated with the selectable option indicated by the second user-initiated input.

10. The media of claim 7, the method further comprising:

detecting the uninterrupted drag-movement of the drag-operation crossing one or more of the vertical trigger lines; and

invoking an alternate action that is unrelated to the principal action.

11. The media of claim 2, the method further comprising:

surfacing a split-button upon detecting a commencement of the user-initiated input, wherein the split-button exposes an option of invoking the presentation action; and

hiding the top-level control button.

12. The media of claim 11, wherein the split-button is divided into an icon portion that comprises the visual element designed to express the representation of the principle action, and a split portion that comprises an indicator that exposes functionality of invoking the presentation action, and wherein the icon portion and the split portion are spatially orientated in a side-by-side configuration.

13. The media of claim 4, wherein recognizing the user-initiated input as a drag-operation further comprises:

identifying contact between a physical object and the touchscreen display within the command region of the top-level control button;

detecting the uninterrupted drag-movement of the physical object across the touchscreen display from the location of actuation to a location of release;

determining the distance, measured in pixels, and a radial direction between the location of actuation and the location of release; and

comparing the distance against the threshold distance associated with one of the set of trigger boundaries selected from the set of trigger boundaries based on the determined radial direction.

14. The media of claim 1, wherein the top-level control button comprises an icon that represents an application, the icon resides on a taskbar, wherein the principle action that is mapped to the top-level control button comprises launching the application, and wherein invoking the presentation action comprises at least one of revealing a menu with a tasklist having selectable tasks associated with the application, or revealing a menu with a list of recently viewed documents that are accessible from the application.

15. A computer system embodied on one or more computer storage-media having computer-executable instructions provided thereon for presenting a menu associated with a top-level control button upon receiving an indication of a user-initiated drag-operation applied thereto, the system comprising:

an input device to receive a user-initiated input that has a location of actuation applied at the top-level control button presented at a GUI, wherein the input device is capable of accepting multi-directional inputs;

a processing component to detect a distance and radial direction of an uninterrupted drag-movement from the location of actuation of the user-initiated input, as provided by the input device, and to recognize the user-initiated input as a drag-operation upon the distance of the uninterrupted drag-movement meeting a threshold distance in a predefined Cartesianal direction, the processing component further capable of invoking the actions comprising;

(a) invoking a presentation action mapped to the top-level control button, if the distance and the radial direction of the drag-movement intersects one of a first set of trigger boundaries, wherein the first set of trigger boundaries are established at a first threshold distance from the location of actuation;

(b) invoking an alternate action, which is mapped to the top-level control button, that is unrelated to a principle action, if the distance and the radial direction of the drag-movement intersects one of a second set of trigger boundaries, wherein the second set of trigger boundaries are established at a second threshold distance from the location of actuation; and

(c) otherwise, invoking the principal action mapped to the top-level control button;

an operating system embodied on the processing component that provides system metrics, wherein the system metrics are based on, in part, resolution of the GUI, and wherein the system metrics dictate the threshold distance upon actuation of the top-level control button; and

a presentation component to render a menu, mapped to the top-level control button, that represents the presentation action at the GUI.

16. The computer system of claim 15, further comprising an application component running on the operating system that is manipulated by the user-initiated input applied at the top-level control button.

17. A computerized method for accessing a menu associated with a top-level control button, the method comprising:

detecting a location of actuation of a user-initiated input at a touchscreen component, wherein the location of actuation indicates the top-level control button by occurring within a command region associated with the top-level control button;

accessing system metrics, wherein the system metrics are based on, in part, parameters of the touchscreen component;

constructing a first set of trigger boundaries and a second set of trigger boundaries derived from the system metrics;

wherein deriving comprises;

(1) establishing the first set of trigger boundaries at a first threshold distance in at least one radial direction from the location of actuation; and

(2) establishing the second set of trigger boundaries at a second threshold distance in at least one radial direction from the location of actuation;

detecting a drag-operation within the user-initiated input, wherein the drag-operation comprises an uninterrupted drag-movement from the location of actuation at the touchscreen display to a location of release from the touchscreen display, wherein a distance and a radial direction of the drag-movement are determined as a function from the location of actuation;

if the distance and the radial direction of the drag-movement intersects one of the first set of trigger boundaries, invoking a presentation action mapped to the top-level control button;

if the distance and the radial direction of the drag-movement intersects one of the second set of trigger boundaries, invoking an alternate action, which is mapped to the top-level control button, that is unrelated to a principle action;

otherwise, invoking the principal action mapped to the top-level control button; and

rendering an indication of invoking at least one of the presentation action, the alternate action, or the principle action at a graphical user interface (GUI).

18. The computerized method of claim 17, wherein invoking the presentation action comprises revealing a list of selectable options, wherein invoking the principle action comprises initiating a first subroutine, and wherein invoking the alternate action comprises relocating the top-level control button on the GUI from a first position to a second position.

19. The computerized method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving an indication of a selection of one of the list of selectable options; and

amending functionality of the principle action to invoke a second subroutine, associated with the selected one of the list of selectable options, upon detecting an appropriate user-initiated input at the top-level control button.

20. The computerized method of claim 17, further comprising:

modifying the top-level control button to visually indicate functionality for invoking the presentation action upon detecting the user-initiated input; and

hiding the visual indication upon cessation of the user-initiated input.