Target element zoom

• US 8,312,387 B2
• Filed: 08/10/2009
• Issued: 11/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Williams, Harel M., Manthos, Brian E., Cutsinger, Paul L., Drislane, Helen E., Singh, Prashant, Martinez, Louis A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Thanh
• Application Number:
  US12/538,754
• Publication Number:
  US 20110035702A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,191 Days
• Field of Search: 715/800, 715/767, 715/798, 715/801, 715/802
• US Class Current: 715/800
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• 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 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Various embodiments provide a target element zoom component that is configured to perform a focal point zoom operation on a target element using an appropriate zoom factor. In at least some embodiments, the target element zoom component receives a request to perform a zoom operation at a focal point of a target element in a page displayed in a display area. In at least some embodiments, the request is received via two-finger tap input on a screen of a touch enabled device. The target element zoom component then determines an appropriate zoom factor for the zoom operation. Responsive to determining the appropriate zoom factor, the target element zoom component performs the zoom operation on the page using the appropriate zoom factor so that the target element remains within the display area with the focal point retained.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a request to perform a zoom operation at a focal point of a target element in a page displayed in a display area, wherein the target element comprises a portion of the page;

determining an appropriate zoom factor for the zoom operation based on a height and a width of the target element in the page; and

performing the zoom operation on the page using the appropriate zoom factor so that the target element remains within the display area with the focal point of the target element retained relative to the target element and relative to the display area.

2. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein the request is received via two-finger tap input on a screen of a touch enabled device, and wherein the focal point comprises a midpoint between positions of two fingers on the screen.

3. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

receiving an additional two-finger tap input on the screen of the touch enabled device; and

performing an additional zoom operation on the page responsive to receiving the additional two-finger tap input.

4. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein the zoom operation comprises a layout zoom operation.

5. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein the appropriate zoom factor is determined using information corresponding to a location of the focal point relative to the target element and information corresponding to a location of the target element relative to the display area.

6. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein the appropriate zoom factor comprises a maximum zoom factor that the target element can be zoomed to remain entirely within the display area with the focal point retained.

7. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, wherein determining the appropriate zoom factor further comprises:

determining a maximum zoom factor that the target element can be zoomed to remain within the display area with the focal point retained for left, right, top, and bottom edges of the display area; and

selecting a minimum of the maximum zoom factors for the left, right, top and bottom edges of the display area as the appropriate zoom factor.

8. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

comparing the appropriate zoom factor to a minimum threshold zoom factor and a maximum threshold zoom factor responsive to determining the appropriate zoom factor; and

performing the zoom operation on the page using the minimum threshold zoom factor responsive to determining that the appropriate zoom factor is less than the minimum threshold zoom factor;

or

performing the zoom operation on the page using the maximum threshold zoom factor responsive to determining that the appropriate zoom factor is greater than the maximum threshold zoom factor.

9. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

determining that at least a part of the target element will be located outside of the display area after the zoom operation is performed; and

repositioning the target element, after performing the zoom operation, to place the target element entirely within the display area.

10. One or more computer-readable storage media embodying computer executable instructions, which when executed by one or more processors perform a method, comprising:

receiving a request to perform a zoom operation at a focal point of a target element in a page displayed in a display area, wherein the request is received via two-finger tap input on a screen of a touch enabled device and the target element comprises a portion of the page;

determining an appropriate zoom factor for the zoom operation based on a distance from an edge of the display area to an edge of the target element; and

performing the zoom operation on the page using the appropriate zoom factor so that the target element remains within the display area with the focal point of the target element retained relative to the target element and relative to the display area.

11. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 10, further comprising:

receiving an additional two-finger tap input on the screen of the touch enabled device; and

performing an additional zoom operation on the page responsive to receiving the additional two-finger tap input.

12. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 10, wherein the zoom operation comprises a layout zoom operation.

13. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 10, wherein the appropriate zoom factor is determined using information corresponding to a location of the focal point relative to the target element and information corresponding to a location of the target element relative to the display area.

14. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 10, wherein the appropriate zoom factor comprises a maximum zoom factor that the target element can be zoomed to remain entirely within the display area with the focal point retained.

15. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 10, wherein determining the appropriate zoom factor further comprises:

determining a maximum zoom factor that the target element can be zoomed to remain within the display area with the focal point retained for left, right, top, and bottom edges of the target element; and

selecting a minimum of the maximum zoom factors for the left, right, top and bottom edges of the display area as the appropriate zoom factor.

16. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 10, further comprising:

comparing the appropriate zoom factor to a minimum threshold zoom factor and a maximum threshold zoom factor responsive to determining the appropriate zoom factor; and

performing the zoom operation on the page using the minimum threshold zoom factor responsive to determining that the appropriate zoom factor is less than the minimum threshold zoom factor;

or

performing the zoom operation on the page using the maximum threshold zoom factor responsive to determining that the appropriate zoom factor is greater than the maximum threshold zoom factor.

17. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 16, further comprising:

determining that at least a part of the target element will be located outside of the display area after the zoom operation is performed; and

repositioning the target element, after performing the zoom operation, to place the target element back within the display area.

18. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a request to perform a layout zoom operation via two-finger tap input on a screen of a touch enabled device;

selecting a target element that is located at a midpoint between positions of two fingers on the screen from the two-finger tap input and that comprises a portion of a page displayed via the screen of the touch enabled device;

determining a zoom factor for the layout zoom operation based, at least in part, on a height and a width of the target element; and

performing the layout zoom operation on the page containing the target element using the zoom factor so that the target element remains within the display area with a focal point of the target element appearing to be retained relative to the target element and relative to the display area.

19. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

receiving an additional two-finger tap input on the screen of the touch enabled device; and

performing an additional layout zoom operation so that the target element is displayed at a default zoom level.

20. The computer-implemented method as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

determining that at least part of the target element will be located outside of the display area after the zoom operation is performed; and

repositioning the target element, after performing the zoom operation, to place the target element entirely within the display area.