Handling multiple dynamically-linked dropdowns in online applications

• US 8,572,510 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2008
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Yan, Nancy
• Primary Examiner(s): ALVESTEFFER, STEPHEN D
• Application Number:
  US12/242,693
• Publication Number:
  US 20100083183A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,855 Days
• Field of Search: 715/843
• US Class Current: 715/843
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging

Abstract

Multiple dropdowns on a graphical user interface (GUI) are dynamically linked at runtime. The dropdowns are associated with inter-related attributes of an object displayed on the GUI. The content of each dropdown includes a list of values of an attribute and is entirely or partially hidden until the dropdown is selected. The list of values of each dropdown are dynamically generated and rendered at runtime, using stored data that links the attributes to their parent attributes. The stored data can be dynamically updated to reflect currently-available attribute values and the relationship of the attributes.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

dynamically assembling, by a computer system and after a client application is invoked, dependency information for display at runtime using stored data that links a plurality of inter-related attributes of an object;

displaying the attributes on a display, the attributes including a target attribute associated with a dropdown, the content of which includes values of the target attribute and the content is entirely or partially hidden until the dropdown is selected;

in response to an indication that the dropdown associated with the target attribute is selected, displaying the content of the dropdown associated with the target attribute using the dependency information that was dynamically assembled;

displaying adjacent to the dropdown associated with the target attribute an information icon that is selected to represent the dependency information, wherein the information icon represents that the target attribute is dependent on a parent attribute of the plurality of inter-related attributes; and

displaying, in response to placement of a cursor in a predetermined vicinity over the information icon, the information, including an identifier of the parent attribute in a tooltip text.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically assembling, after a client application is invoked, the information relating to the parent attribute of the target attribute for display at runtime.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein dynamically assembling information further comprises:

loading the information into a client buffer for the client application before the placement of the cursor is detected; and

displaying a name of the parent attribute in the tooltip text in response to the placement of the cursor.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein dynamically assembling dependency information further comprises:

dynamically linking, at runtime, valid values of the target attribute based on parent attribute values; and

rendering the valid values in the dropdown associated with the target attribute for display.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein dynamically assembling dependency information comprises:

identifying a value key in the stored data, the value key uniquely identifying a chosen value of the parent attribute; and

using the value key to identify available values of the target attribute for display.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined vicinity includes the information icon.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

blanking out a chosen value of the target attribute on the display in response to a change of a chosen value of the parent attribute.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining the stored data in a data structure that includes a field containing a table of values for each of the attributes, each of the values for a given attribute associated with a unique value key and a linked value key, the linked value key uniquely identifying a value key associated with a respective parent attribute of the given attribute.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, at runtime, dependent attributes of the inter-related attributes;

displaying a respective information icon associated with each of the dependent attributes on the display; and

rendering, on the display, the information relating to a respective parent attribute of a selected dependent attribute when a cursor is placed over the respective information icon associated with the selected dependent attribute.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

setting a value of the target attribute, where a value of the target attribute does not equal a default value, to the default value in the dropdown in response to a change in a selection of one of the values of the parent attribute.

11. A system comprising:

a display to display a user interface that shows a plurality of inter-related attributes of an object, each of the attributes associated with a dropdown, the content of which includes values of the attribute and is entirely or partially hidden until the dropdown is selected; and

a computing entity coupled to the display, the computing entity including a processor to execute;

a linking module to dynamically, after a client application is invoked, assemble dependency information for display at runtime with use of stored data that links the attributes, including a target attribute and a parent attribute; and

a rendering engine coupled to the linking module to render the dependency information and load the information into a buffer associated with the client application for display and to render an indicator proximate to the dropdown associated with the target attribute in the user interface representing that the target attribute is dependent on the parent attribute, the rendering engine to render the dependency information, including an identifier of the parent attribute, for display in the user interface in a tooltip text in response to placement of a cursor in a predetermined vicinity over the indicator.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the computing entity further comprises:

an updating module, coupled to the rendering engine, to update the stored data to reflect current relationship among the attributes and available values of the attributes.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the updating module is further to set a value of the target attribute, where a value of the target attribute does not equal a default value, to the default value in the dropdown associated with the target attribute in response to a change in a selection of one of the values of the parent attribute.

14. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a plurality of remote computing entities coupled to the computing entity via a network, each of the remote computing entities to display the information dynamically assembled by the linking module of the computing entity.

15. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

data storage coupled to the computing entity to maintain the stored data in a data structure that includes a field containing a table of values for each of the attributes, each of the values for a given attribute associated with a unique value key and a linked value key, the linked value key to uniquely identify a value key associated with a parent attribute of the given attribute.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the content of the dropdown associated with the target attribute depends on a chosen parent attribute value of the target attribute.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the content of the dropdown associated with the target attribute depends on whether a target attribute value is currently available.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the dependency information includes a name of the parent attribute for the target attribute.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the rendering engine is further to render the dependency information of the target attribute for display in the user interface in response to a user interacting with the indicator.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method comprising:

dynamically assembling, by the computer system and after a client application is invoked, dependency information for display at runtime using stored data that links a plurality of inter-related attributes of an object;

displaying the attributes on a display, the attributes including a target attribute associated with a dropdown, the content of which includes values of the attribute and is entirely or partially hidden until the dropdown is selected;

in response to an indication that the dropdown associated with the target attribute is selected, displaying the content of the dropdown associated with the target attribute using the dependency information that was dynamically assembled;

displaying adjacent to the dropdown associated with the target attribute an information icon that is selected to represent the dependency information, wherein the information icon is selected to represent that the target attribute is dependent on a parent attribute of the plurality of inter-related attributes; and

displaying, in response to placement of a cursor in a predetermined vicinity over the information icon, the information, including an identifier of the parent attribute in a tooltip text.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises:

dynamically assembling, after the client application is invoked, the information relating to the parent attribute of the target attribute for display at runtime wherein the information includes a name of the parent attribute; and

loading the information into a client buffer for the client application before the placement of the cursor is detected.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein dynamically assembling dependency information further comprises:

dynamically linking, at runtime, valid values of the target attribute based on parent attribute values; and

rendering the valid values in the dropdown associated with the target attribute for display.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein dynamically assembling the information comprises:

identifying a value key in the stored data, the value key uniquely identifying a chosen value of the parent attribute; and

using the value key to identify available values of the target attribute for display.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, further comprising:

blanking out a chosen value of the target attribute on the display in response to a change of a chosen value of the parent attribute.