System and methods for previewing alternative compositions and arrangements when composing a strictly-structured flow diagram

• US 8,607,147 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2005
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dames, Dwayne, Kobal, Jeffrey S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sax, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOI, DAVID E
• Application Number:
  US11/298,897
• Publication Number:
  US 20070136351A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,923 Days
• Field of Search: 715/764, 715/765, 715/769, 715/810, 715/853, 704/1, 345/440
• US Class Current: 715/764
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2111/12 Symbolic schematics
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]

Abstract

A system (102) for previewing changes to a structured flow diagram is provided. The system includes a user interface (110) that displays a structured flow diagram according to a predetermined visual format. The system (100) further includes a preview module (112) for generating a modified display of a portion of the structured flow diagram displayable with the user interface (110). The modified display shows a user-directed modification to the structured flow diagram by displaying the user-directed modification in a different visual format juxtaposed with portions of the structured flow diagram that remain unchanged by the user-directed modification. The modification to the structured flow diagram can thus be previewed prior to determining whether to incorporate the modification into the structured flow diagram if the system user elects to do so.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of previewing proposed modifications to a structured flow diagram, the method comprising:

presenting a display of the structured flow diagram with a user interface, the structured flow diagram being displayed according to a predetermined visual format;

dragging an object to a drop target where it is proposed that the object be inserted into the structured flow diagram;

upon the object hovering over the proposed drop target, generating an alternative construct of the structured flow diagram that would result from the insertion of the object at the drop target in the display, wherein generating comprises showing a modification comprising one or more modified portions of the structured flow diagram due to the inserting the object at the proposed drop target in a first different visual format juxtaposed with other portions of the structured flow diagram that would not be modified by dropping the object at the proposed drop target so that the alternative construct of the structured flow diagram can be previewed prior to determining whether to incorporate the modification into the structured flow diagram at the drop target, wherein the other portions of the structured flow diagram that would not be modified by dropping the object at the proposed drop target remain being displayed in the predetermined visual format, and wherein portions of the structured flow diagram that would be modified by dropping the object at the proposed drop target are displayed in unmodified form in a second different visual format and concurrently with the modification;

dragging the object to an alternative drop target and repeating the generating step if the modification is not desired;

incorporating the modification into the structured flow diagram if the modification is desired;

wherein the predetermined visual format, the first different format, and second different visual format are of different kinds of lines or different color schemes; and

wherein the structured flow diagram is a grammar builder that visually represents speech responses for a voice application defined by at least one grammar rule represented by a token icon and at least one connector linking the token icon and another token icon.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating comprises performing at least one drag-and-drop operation whereby an object from a predetermined set of objects is selected and moved in relation to other objects in the displayed structured flow diagram.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating comprises generating a preview of an insertion of a token by positioning a token icon over a selected connector.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the token icon corresponds to a list of selectable words, and wherein the step of generating comprises generating a preview of an addition to the list of selectable words by positioning an additional word over the token icon.

5. A computer-implemented system for previewing changes to a structured flow diagram, the system comprising:

a display within a user interface configured to display a structured flow diagram to a user according to a predetermined visual format;

a drag-and-drop module for dragging an object to a drop target where it is proposed that the object be inserted into the structured flow diagram; and

a preview module for generating, upon the object hovering over the proposed drop target, an alternative construct of the structured flow diagram that would result from the insertion of the object at the drop target in the display, wherein the generating comprises showing a modification comprising one or more modified portions of the structured flow diagram due to the inserting the object at the proposed drop target in a first different visual format juxtaposed with other portions of the structured flow diagram that would not be modified by dropping the object at the proposed target so that the alternative construct of the structured flow diagram can be previewed prior to determining whether to incorporate the modification into the structured flow diagram at the drop target, wherein the other portions of the structured flow diagram that would not be modified by dropping the object at the proposed drop target remain being displayed in the predetermined visual format, and wherein portions of the structured flow diagram that would be modified by dropping the object at the proposed drop target are displayed in unmodified form in a second different visual format and concurrently with the modification;

wherein the drag-and-drop module drags the object to an alternative drop target and the preview module generates another modification if the modification is not desired;

wherein the modification is incorporated into the structured flow diagram if the modification is desired;

wherein the predetermined visual format, the first different format, and second different visual formats are of different kinds of lines or different color schemes;

wherein the structured flow diagram is generated by a pre-selected grammar builder that generates a graphical representation of speech responses in a voice application; and

wherein the voice application is defined by at least one grammar rule, the at least one grammar rule being graphically represented by a token icon and at least one connector linking the token icon and another token icon.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the drag-and-drop interface allows a user to sequentially construct and modify the structured flow diagram by selecting an object from a predetermined set of objects and moving the selected object in relation to other objects displayed with the user interface.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the preview module comprises an event handler that tracks drag-and-drop operations performed by a user using the drag-and-drop interface.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the structured flow diagram comprises a plurality of objects and a plurality of connectors that connect different ones of the plurality of objects to one another, and wherein the preview module is configured to generate the modified display by showing a rearrangement of objects and connections when a user selects a modification to the structured flow diagram.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein objects and connections of the structured flow diagram are displayed as a plurality of solid lines, and wherein rearranged objects and connections are displayed as a plurality of broken lines.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein objects and connections of the structured flow diagram are displayed according to a pre-selected color scheme, and wherein rearranged objects and connections are displayed according to a different color scheme.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein the preview module is configured to preview an insert of a user-selected token in response to the user positioning a token icon over a selected connector.

12. The system of claim 5, wherein the token icon corresponds to a list of selectable words, and wherein the preview module is configured to preview an addition to the list of selectable words in response to the user positioning an additional word over the token icon.

13. The system of claim 5, wherein the structured flow diagram is generated by a circuit simulator that generates visual display of a circuit in response to the user selecting a plurality of circuit elements and specifying a plurality of connections between the circuit elements, and wherein the preview module is configured to preview a modification to the circuit diagram by displaying at least one textbox indicating a circuit parameter change resulting from the modification.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the storage medium storing computer instructions for:

presenting a display of the structured flow diagram with a user interface, the structured flow diagram being displayed according to a predetermined visual format;

dragging an object to a drop target where it is proposed that the object be inserted into the structured flow diagram;

upon the object hovering over the proposed drop target, generating an alternative construct of the structured flow diagram that would result from the insertion of the object at the drop target in the display, wherein generating comprises showing a modification comprising one or more modified portions of the structured flow diagram due to the inserting the object at the proposed drop target in a first different visual format juxtaposed with other portions of the structured flow diagram that would not be modified by dropping the object at the proposed drop target so that the alternative construct of the structured flow diagram can be previewed prior to determining whether to incorporate the modification into the structured flow diagram at the drop target, wherein the other portions of the structured flow diagram that would not be modified by dropping the object at the proposed drop target remain being displayed in the predetermined visual format, and wherein portions of the structured flow diagram that would be modified by dropping the object at the proposed drop target are displayed in unmodified form in a second different visual format and concurrently with the modification;

dragging the object to an alternative drop target and repeating the generating step if the modification is not desired;

incorporating the modification into the structured flow diagram if the modification is desired;

wherein the predetermined visual format, the first different format, and second different visual format are of different kinds of lines or different color schemes, and

wherein the structured flow diagram is a grammar builder that graphically represents speech responses in a voice application defined by at least one grammar rule represented by a token icon and at least one connector connected to the token icon and another token icon, and wherein the instruction for generating comprises an instruction for generating a preview of an insertion of a token by positioning a token icon over a selected connector.

15. The storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instruction for generating comprises an instruction for performing at least one drag-and-drop operation whereby an object from a predetermined set of objects is selected and moved in relation to other objects in the displayed structured flow diagram.

16. The storage medium of claim 14, wherein the structured flow diagram is a grammar builder that graphically represents speech responses in a voice application defined by at least one grammar rule represented by a token icon and at least one connector connected between the token icon and at least one other token icon, wherein the token icon corresponds a list of words, and wherein the instruction for generating comprises an instruction for generating a preview of an addition to the list of words by positioning a selected word over the token icon.