User interface with preview transitions

• US 8,650,501 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2010
• Issued: 02/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Arnold, Jeff, Fong, Jeffrey Cheng-Yao, Bodalia, Pritesh, Bogdan, Jeffrey L., Clark, Lee Dicks
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, THANH T
• Application Number:
  US12/721,420
• Publication Number:
  US 20110225543A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,434 Days
• Field of Search: 715/772, 715/864
• US Class Current: 715/772
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations

Abstract

A user interface is described that temporarily displays portions of a page that reside outside of the viewable area of the screen. An animated transition creates a brief preview of at least one user interface feature. Additionally, the user interface feature is then animated out of the viewable area in a way to suggest a location of the feature. In one embodiment, a target page that is being opened controls the transition and animates features into and out of the viewable area to create the temporary preview. In another embodiment, the target page includes user interface elements that can asynchronously control the preview animation independent from the main content of the target page. In yet another embodiment, a transition coordinator can coordinate the timing between animating out a foreground application while animating in a target application.

Claims

1. A method for displaying a page in a graphical user interface of a computing device, comprising:

receiving user input to open a target page on a display, wherein the target page includes an exposed portion and an unexposed portion, the exposed portion being displayed in a viewable area of the graphical user interface when the target page is in an opened state and the unexposed portion being outside of the viewable area;

animating a transition to the target page so that a feature of the unexposed portion is temporarily displayed in the viewable area to preview the feature to the user;

automatically removing the temporarily displayed feature from the viewable area during the transition; and

displaying the exposed portion of the target page in an opened state.

2. The method of claim 1, further including moving the feature into the viewable area in response to user input.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the feature includes content.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the animating indicates a direction for a user to move within the target page to view the feature.

5. The method of claim 1, further including animating out a source page prior to animating in the target page.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the source page is associated with a foreground application and the target page is associated with a destination application.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the feature includes an animation control used for animating the feature asynchronously from a remainder of the page.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the target page is associated with a destination application and the method further includes querying the destination application whether a transition coordinator will control the animation or the destination application will control the animation.

9. The method of claim 1, further including obtaining motion behavior associated with the animation from an animation library.

10. The method of claim 1, further including passing transition information from a transition coordinator to the target page.

11. An apparatus for displaying a page in a graphical user interface, comprising:

a transition coordinator for coordinating transitions that occur when a target page is opened in the graphical user interface, the transition coordinator for querying a destination application associated with the target page as to whether the destination application is handling a transition to display the target page or whether a system animation will be used to display the target page; and

the graphical user interface for displaying one or more user interface elements associated with the target page, the one or more user interface elements having controls for their animation as the target page is being opened, the controls for temporarily displaying user interface features as the target page is opened so as to indicate their location outside of a viewable area of the graphical user interface.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, further including an animation library coupled to the target page for defining motion behavior for the page as it is being opened.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the apparatus is a mobile phone.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the user interface features include a toolbar or a checkbox.

15. A computer-readable storage having instructions thereon for implementing a method of displaying a page, the method comprising:

receiving a navigation event and target application information from a foreground application;

animating out the foreground application;

requesting the target application whether the target application is handling a transition to display a first page or whether a system animation will be used to display the first page;

if a system animation is used, obtaining transition information from an animation library in order to display the first page;

if the target application is handling the transition, then using animation information provided by the target application in order to temporarily animate in a user interface feature and animate the user interface feature off of a visible display so as to indicate a location of the user interface feature on the first page.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the user interface feature includes a checkbox or a toolbar.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the first page has a portion within the visible display and a portion outside of the visible display and the user interface feature resides outside of the visible display upon opening the target application.

18. The method of claim 17, furthering including receiving flick input and moving the user interface feature into the visible display.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the first page uses a first animation and the user interface feature uses a second animation that is asynchronous from the first animation.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein a transition coordinator is used to control motion behavior of animating out the foreground application.