Directional focus navigation

• US 8,332,769 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2010
• Issued: 12/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Celik, Tantek, Chan, Ada Y., Pettit, Bradley R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Belousov, Andrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong, William
• Application Number:
  US12/784,755
• Publication Number:
  US 20100299623A1
• Time in Patent Office: 935 Days
• Field of Search: 715/767, 715/858, 715/802
• US Class Current: 715/767
• 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 rendering engine that supports directional focus navigation, in response to a directional input, shifts the focus to an appropriate focusable element. The rendering engine determines one or more focusable elements that are candidates to receive the focus based on the received directional input and based on the relative display locations of the focusable elements. The rendering engine selects the most appropriate candidate focusable element based on each candidate element'"'"'s display location in relation to the display location of the element that currently has focus.

Claims

1. A method executed via one or more processors on a client device, the method comprising:

identifying a first focusable element in a rendered document;

receiving a first directional input;

moving focus from the first focusable element to a second focusable element located in the rendered document based at least in part on a location of the first focusable element, a location of the second focusable element, and the first directional input,

wherein subsequent to the moving focus from the first focusable element to the second focusable element, the first focusable element no longer has focus;

receiving a second directional input sequential to the first directional input, the second directional input being a single input;

identifying one or more candidate elements in response to receiving the second directional input; and

moving the focus from the second focusable element to a third focusable element in the rendered document, the third focusable element being selected from the one or more candidate elements based at least in part on the location of the second focusable element, a distance relationship between a location of the third focusable element and the location of the first focusable element that no longer has focus, and the second directional input.

2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein moving the focus from the second focusable element to the third focusable element is further based on a relationship between the location of the third focusable element and the location of the second focusable element.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the location of the second focusable element is along a direction indicated by the first directional input in relation to the location of the first focusable element.

4. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the rendered document is a scrollable document, and identifying the second focusable element comprises scrolling the rendered document until the second focusable element is within a displayable area.

5. A method as described in claim 3, wherein the location of the third focusable element is along another direction indicated by the second directional input and the direction indicated by the first directional input and the another direction indicated by the second directional input are a same direction.

6. A method as described in claim 5, wherein the same direction is a downward direction.

7. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the first focusable element is not one of the one or more candidate elements at least because the first focusable element is not located along a direction indicated by the second directional input.

8. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a third directional input sequential to the first directional input and the second directional input; and

moving the focus from the third focusable element to a fourth focusable element in the rendered document based at least in part on the location of the third focusable element, a distance relationship between a location of the fourth focusable element and the location of the first focusable element that no longer has focus, and the third directional input.

9. A method executed via one or more processors on a client device, the method comprising:

determining a first element that currently has focus;

receiving a first directional input corresponding to a first direction;

identifying a second element located a distance along the first direction from the first element;

moving focus from the first element that currently has focus to the second element,

wherein after the moving, the first element no longer has focus;

receiving a second directional input sequential to the first directional input, the second directional input corresponding to a second direction, wherein the second directional input is a single input;

identifying a third element and a fourth element as candidate focusable elements based at least in part on the second directional input and a location of the second element;

determining a first directional distance between a location of the first element and a location of the third element;

determining a second directional distance between the location of the first element and a location of the fourth element, wherein the second directional distance is shorter than the first directional distance; and

moving the focus from the second element to the fourth element based at least in part on the second directional distance being shorter than the first directional distance.

10. A method as described in claim 9, wherein identifying the third element and the fourth element as candidate focusable elements is further based at least in part on a relationship between the locations of the third and fourth elements and the location of the second element.

11. A method as described in claim 9, wherein the first element, the second element, the third element, and the fourth element are displayed within a scrollable rendered document.

12. A method as described in claim 9, wherein the first element is not identified as one of the candidate focusable elements at least because the first element is not displayed along the second direction in accordance with the second directional input.

13. A method as described in claim 9, wherein the first direction and the second direction are both a downward direction.

14. One or more computer storage media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, direct the one or more processors to perform the method as described in claim 9.

15. One or more computer storage media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, direct a computing device to perform operations comprising:

determining a first element that currently has focus;

receiving a first directional input corresponding to a first direction;

identifying a second element located along the first direction;

moving the focus from the first element to the second element such that the first element no longer has focus;

receiving a second directional input sequential to the first directional input, the second directional input corresponding to a second direction, wherein the second directional input is a single input;

identifying a third element and a fourth element as candidate focusable elements based at least in part on the second directional input and proximity of the third element and the fourth element to the second element along the second direction;

determining a first distance between a location of the first element and a location of the third element along a direction perpendicular to the second direction;

determining a second distance between the location of the first element and a location of the fourth element along the direction perpendicular to the second direction, wherein the second distance is shorter than the first distance; and

moving the focus from the second element to the fourth element based at least in part on the second distance being shorter than the first distance.

16. One or more computer storage media as described in claim 15, wherein the first element is not identified as one of the candidate focusable elements at least because the first element is not displayed along the second direction in accordance with the second directional input.

17. One or more computer storage media as described in claim 15, wherein the first direction and the second direction are both a downward direction.