List authoring surface

• US 8,370,767 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2010
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kotler, Matthew J., Friend, Ned B., Kikin-Gil, Erez, Parker, Charles W., Satterfield, Jesse Clay, Zaika, Igor, Rey-Babarro, Marta
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Maikhanh
• Application Number:
  US12/820,676
• Publication Number:
  US 20110314418A1
• Time in Patent Office: 959 Days
• Field of Search: 715/200, 715/201, 715/202, 715/203, 715/205, 715/206, 715/207, 715/208, 715/209, 715/210, 715/226, 715/229, 715/234, 715/253, 715/256, 715/265, 715/273, 715/700, 715/705, 715/731, 715/760, 715/762, 715/763, 715/204, 715/231, 715/243, 715/739, 715/744, 715/752, 715/780, 715/810, 707/705, 707/708, 707/739, 707/771, 707/778, 707/790, 707/805, 707/912, 707/953, 707/956, 707/964, 707/999.001, 707/999.1
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

A list authoring surface (LAS) is provided that includes a lightweight user interface component for entering, displaying, manipulating, and providing reminders for one or more tasks that takes the place of hand-written notes, scraps of paper, or “sticky” notes. The list authoring surface may be deployed across a multitude of software applications and may be readily accessed anywhere on a stationary or mobile desktop or display screen. Information may be manually or automatically entered into the list authoring surface user interface. An event timeline that uses a “fuzzy” reminder method allows for reminders to be associated with tasks where some tasks must be accomplished or must occur at hard dates/times, but where other tasks may be accomplished or may occur during soft or “fuzzy” date/time ranges.

Claims

1. A method for populating a list user interface, comprising:

at a computing device, importing the list user interface from a remote server;

displaying the list user interface at the computing device;

receiving into the list user interface a first list item;

receiving a first text entry into the list user interface, the first text entry including a first metadata tag associated with the first list item;

automatically parsing the first list item to determine whether the first list item should receive an application of the first metadata tag, and if the first list item should receive the application of the first metadata tag, then applying the first metadata tag to the first list item;

applying a first list item attribute to the first list item;

associating the first list item with the first metadata tag and the first list item attribute;

generating in the list user interface a first task for the first list item based on the association of the first list item with the first metadata tag and the first list item attribute;

generating in the list user interface a second task for a second list item based on an association of the second list item with the first metadata tag and the first list item attribute;

displaying an instantiation of the first and second tasks within the list user interface on the computing device; and

revising the first and second tasks in the list user interface in response to changes to the first and second tasks that are received from the remote server.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the list user interface in association with any of a plurality of software application user interfaces for displaying the first task and for receiving any other list items regardless of any particular software application user interface with which the list user interface is displayed.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying the second task in the list user interface relative to the first task to represent a hierarchical relationship of the second task with the first task.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

prior to generating the second task in the list user interface from the second list item, receiving a second text entry into the list user interface, the second text entry including a second metadata tag associated with the second list item;

applying the second metadata tag to the second list item; and

associating the second task with the first task based on an association of the first metadata tag applied to the first list item with the second metadata tag applied to the second list item.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising manipulating the first and second tasks displayed in the list user interface based on the first and second metadata tags applied to the first and second tasks displayed in the list user interface.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein manipulating tasks displayed in the list user interface includes filtering tasks, editing tasks, searching tasks, sorting tasks and pivoting tasks.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the first task for the first list item includes generating the first task for a first list user interface and further comprising:

generating the second task for the second list item in a second list user interface; and

automatically exporting the second task from the second list user interface to the first list user interface.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically completing generation of the second list item during entry of the first list item based on an association of the being entered second list item with a previously entered list item.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving into the list user interface the first list item includes receiving a manual input of the first list item into the list user interface.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving into the list user interface the first list item includes receiving an automatic input of the first list item into the list user interface.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the automatic input of the first list item into the list user interface includes capturing and exporting to the list user interface the first list item from an electronic file.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein capturing and exporting to the list user interface the first list item from the electronic file includes capturing and exporting to the list user interface the first list item from one of a word processing document, a spreadsheet application document, a slide presentation application slide, Internet browser content, social media site content, a video file, an audio file, an electronic inking file, a digital photograph, an electronic mail item, an electronic calendar item, and an electronic task application item.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the first list item attribute to the first list item including applying the first list item attribute to the first list item from one of a group attribute, a person attribute, a date attribute, a time attribute, a location attribute, a name attribute, an address attribute, a telephone number attribute, an alphanumeric attribute, an audio attribute, a video attribute, and one or more customized attributes.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising arranging the first task for the first list item in the list user interface relative to an arrangement of other tasks in the list user interface based on a specified arrangement.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising arranging tasks in the list user interface relative to one another such that any of one or more tasks that must be performed at a particular time are arranged according to the particular time and such that any of the one or more tasks that may be performed at any time are arranged at other available times not including the particular time.

16. A computer readable storage medium containing computer-executable instructions which when executed by a computer perform a method for populating a list user interface, comprising:

importing the list user interface to a computing device from a remote server;

displaying the list user interface at the computing device;

receiving into the list user interface a first list item;

receiving a first text entry into the list user interface, the first text entry including a first metadata tag associated with the first list item;

automatically parsing the first list item to determine whether the first list item should receive an application of the first metadata tag, and if the first list item should receive the application of the first metadata tag, then applying the first metadata tag to the first list item;

applying a first list item attribute to the first list item;

associating the first list item with the first metadata tag and the first list item attribute;

generating in the list user interface a first task for the first list item based on the association of the first list item with the first metadata tag and the first list item attribute;

generating in the list user interface a second task for a second list item based on an association of the second list item with the first metadata tag and the first list item attribute;

receiving changes made to the first and second tasks from the remote server; and

revising the first and second tasks in the list user interface in response to the changes made to the first and second tasks.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, the method further comprising arranging tasks in the list user interface relative to one another such that any of one or more tasks that must be performed at a particular time are arranged according to the particular time and such that any of the one or more tasks that may be performed at any time up to a particular ending time are arranged according to one or more different times as long as the one or more different times are not past the particular ending time.

18. A system for populating a list user interface, comprising:

a processor;

a memory storage coupled to the processor; and

a list user interface application stored in the memory storage, the list user interface application is executed by the processor to;

import the list user interface to a computing device from a remote server;

display the list user interface at the computing device;

receive into the list user interface a first list item;

receive a first text entry into the list user interface, the first text entry including a first metadata tag associated with the first list item;

automatically parse the first list item to determine whether the first list item should receive an application of the first metadata tag, and if the first list item should receive the application of the first metadata tag, then applying the first metadata tag to the first list item;

apply a first list item attribute to the first list item;

associate the first list item with the first metadata tag and the first list item attribute;

generate in the list user interface a first task for the first list item based on the association of the first list item with the first metadata tag and the first list item attribute;

generate in the list user interface a second task for a second list item based on an association of the second list item with the first metadata tag and the first list item attribute;

receive changes made to the first and second tasks from the remote server;

revise the first and second tasks in the list user interface in response to changes made to the first and second tasks.