Controlled interaction with heterogeneous data
First Claim
1. A method for providing an extensible canvas for use in interfacing with heterogenic objects, the method comprising:
- an act of formulating a two-dimensional canvas onto which may be positioned a plurality of heterogenic objects of a plurality of types, each of the plurality of types having associated therewith a set of one or more controls that are at least collectively distinct, wherein the two-dimensional canvas is fixed in a first dimension, but extensible in a second dimension, at least in a first direction in the second dimension, such that if an object is to be placed in the first direction in the second dimension beyond a boundary of the two-dimensional canvas, the boundary is extended in the first direction such that the two-dimensional canvas includes the object;
an act of displaying a miniaturized version of the two-dimensional canvas along with a miniaturized representation of at least one of one or more heterogeneous objects that are contained within the at least a portion of the two-dimensional canvas; and
an act of providing a selectable scroll control with the miniaturized version of the two-dimensional canvas which, when selected, causes scrolling of the miniaturized representation in the first direction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A two-dimensional canvas onto which heterogenic objects of various types may be arranged side-by-side. Each type of object has an associated set of control(s), the control(s) at least partially differing from one type to the next. The two-dimensional canvas is fixed in one dimension, but extensible in a second dimension. The canvas may be displayed in miniaturized for with a view box superimposed upon the canvas. As the view box is moved over the miniaturized canvas, the enlarged editable portion of the corresponding canvas is displayed in an edit view. The canvas may also display clusters of objects that are arranged in dashboards. In that case, the display might include a dashboard review area that allows a user to select the appropriate dashboard to display.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for providing an extensible canvas for use in interfacing with heterogenic objects, the method comprising:
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an act of formulating a two-dimensional canvas onto which may be positioned a plurality of heterogenic objects of a plurality of types, each of the plurality of types having associated therewith a set of one or more controls that are at least collectively distinct, wherein the two-dimensional canvas is fixed in a first dimension, but extensible in a second dimension, at least in a first direction in the second dimension, such that if an object is to be placed in the first direction in the second dimension beyond a boundary of the two-dimensional canvas, the boundary is extended in the first direction such that the two-dimensional canvas includes the object; an act of displaying a miniaturized version of the two-dimensional canvas along with a miniaturized representation of at least one of one or more heterogeneous objects that are contained within the at least a portion of the two-dimensional canvas; and an act of providing a selectable scroll control with the miniaturized version of the two-dimensional canvas which, when selected, causes scrolling of the miniaturized representation in the first direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computing system comprising:
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at least one processor; and system memory storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, implement a method for providing an extensible canvas for use in interfacing with heterogenic objects, the method comprising; an act of formulating a two-dimensional canvas onto which may be positioned a plurality of heterogenic objects of a plurality of types, each of the plurality of types having associated therewith a set of one or more controls that are at least collectively distinct, wherein the two-dimensional canvas is fixed in a first dimension, but extensible in a second dimension, at least in a first and second direction in the second dimension, such that if an object is to be placed in the first direction in the second dimension beyond a boundary of the two-dimensional canvas in the first direction, the boundary is extended in the first direction to include the object and such that if the object is to be placed in the second direction in the second dimension beyond a boundary of the two-dimensional canvas in the second direction, the boundary is extended in the second direction to include the object; an act of displaying a miniaturized version of the two-dimensional canvas along with a miniaturized representation of at least one of one or more heterogeneous objects that are contained within the at least a portion of the two-dimensional canvas; an act of providing a selectable scroll controls with the miniaturized version of the two-dimensional canvas which, when selected, causes scrolling of the miniaturized representation in the first and second directions; and an act of displaying a view box superimposed on the miniaturized version of the two-dimensional canvas and which displays at least one of the objects within the view box, the view box having a zoom control for resizing the view box and which causes resizing of any objects displayed within the view box when the view box is resized by the zoom control. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer storage device storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a computing system, implement a method for providing an extensible canvas for use in interfacing with heterogenic objects, the method comprising:
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an act of formulating a two-dimensional canvas onto which may be positioned a plurality of heterogenic objects of a plurality of types, each of the plurality of types having associated therewith a set of one or more controls that are at least collectively distinct, wherein the two-dimensional canvas is fixed in a first dimension, but extensible in a second dimension, at least in a first and second direction in the second dimension, such that if an object is to be placed in the first direction in the second dimension beyond a boundary of the two-dimensional canvas in the first direction, the boundary is extended in the first direction to include the object and such that if the object is to be placed in the second direction in the second dimension beyond a boundary of the two-dimensional canvas in the second direction, the boundary is extended in the second direction to include the object; an act of displaying a miniaturized version of the two-dimensional canvas along with a miniaturized representation of at least one of one or more heterogeneous objects that are contained within the at least a portion of the two-dimensional canvas; an act of providing a selectable scroll controls with the miniaturized version of the two-dimensional canvas which, when selected, causes scrolling of the miniaturized representation in the first and second directions; an act of displaying a view box superimposed on the miniaturized version of the two-dimensional canvas and which displays at least one of the objects within the view box, the view box having a zoom control for resizing the view box and which causes resizing of any objects displayed within the view box when the view box is resized by the zoom control; and an act of providing a control that initiates a richer preview display of a particular object displayed on the miniaturized version of the two-dimensional canvas when selected. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification