Easy word selection and selection ahead of finger

• US 8,704,783 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2010
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Davis, Shawna Julie, Chin, Peter G., Sengupta, Tirthankar, Singhal, Priyanka, Carter, Benjamin F., Davis, Peter Gregory
• Primary Examiner(s): Tzeng, Fred
• Application Number:
  US12/819,062
• Publication Number:
  US 20110310026A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,404 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 341/22, 715/784, 715/780, 715/816, 715/863
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

The described embodiments allow for the selection of content in a touch screen display. The method includes detecting a single tap on a word of text in a text editing field in a touch screen, and responsive to the single tap selecting the word of text in whole. In another embodiment additional content can be selected. Contact with selected content displayed in a touch screen can be detected. The contact with the touch screen can be detected moving in a direction along the selected content. Additional content is selected by selecting a word of text adjacent to the selected content being contacted.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for selecting content displayed in a touch screen, the method comprising:

detecting a single tap on a word of text in a text editing field displayed in the touch screen;

responsive to the detecting the single tap, selecting, in whole, the word of text creating an area of selected content;

detecting contact, with the touch screen, on the selected word of text displayed in the touch screen;

detecting the contact, with the touch screen, moving in a direction along the selected word of text in the touch screen; and

relative to the direction of contact movement, increasing the area of selected content by selecting a next word, in a line of text, adjacent to the selected word of text being contacted;

wherein detecting the contact, with the touch screen, moving in the direction comprises;

storing a plurality of points of contact with the touch screen while the contact is moving along the touch screen;

calculating a vector based on the plurality of points; and

determining the direction based on the vector.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the word of text comprises characters of text;

and

wherein the selecting, in whole, the word of text comprises selecting, at the same time, all of the characters of text in the word.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein selecting the word of text comprises highlighting the word of text.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein selecting the next word comprises highlighting the entire next word before the contact moving in the touch screen is on the word.

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

detecting contact movement in a second direction along the area of selected content displayed in the touch screen; and

relative to the second direction of contact movement, decreasing the area of selected content by deselecting, in whole, a selected word after the contact moves off of the selected word.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the deselecting a selected word comprises unhighlighting the selected word.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the selected word of text comprises characters of text;

and

wherein the deselecting, in whole, the selected word comprises deselecting, at the same time, all of the characters of text in the selected word.

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

detecting contact with the touch screen on a selected portion of content displayed in the touch screen;

detecting the contact, with the touch screen, moving along the touch screen in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the portion of content, wherein the content comprises lines of text; and

increasing the area of selected content by selecting wrapping text and a final selection word;

wherein wrapping text comprises text from the selected portion of content to a word the contact, with the touch screen, moves on, in a line of text;

wherein the final selection word is in the line of text that the contact, with the touch screen, moves on; and

wherein the final selection word is next to the word that the contact, with the touch screen, moves on and passed the wrapping text.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the contact, with the touch screen, is made with one of:

a stylus, and a finger.

10. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions that when executed cause a computing device coupled to a touch screen to perform a method, the method comprising:

detecting contact with the touch screen on selected content displayed in the touch screen;

detecting the contact moving in a first direction along the selected content in the touch screen;

relative to the first direction of contact movement, selecting first additional content displayed in the touch screen by selecting a next word of text, in a first line of text adjacent to the selected content being contacted;

detecting the contact moving along the touch screen in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first line of text that includes the selected first additional content; and

responsive to the contact moving along the touch screen in the second direction, selecting second additional content by selecting wrapping text and a final selection word;

wherein the wrapping text comprises text from the selected first additional content to a contacted word that the contact moves on in a second line of text; and

wherein the final selection word is adjacent to the contacted word that the contact moves on and the final selection word is past the wrapping text in the second line of text.

11. The computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions of claim 10, the method further comprising:

wherein the selecting the first additional content comprises highlighting the next word of text before the contact moving in the touch screen is on the next word of text.

12. The computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions of claim 10, the method further comprising:

wherein the selecting the first additional content comprises selecting the next word of text as the contact movement approaches the end of a selected word, that comprises the selected content, being contacted.

13. The computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions of claim 10, the method further comprising:

detecting contact movement in a third direction along selected content displayed in the touch screen; and

relative to the third direction of contact movement, decreasing the selected content by deselecting, in whole, a selected word after the contact moves off of the selected word.

14. The computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions of claim 10, the method further comprising:

wherein the next word of text comprises characters of text; and

wherein the selecting the next word of text comprises selecting, at the same time, all of the characters of text in the next word of text.

15. The computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions of claim 10, wherein detecting the contact, with the touch screen, moving along the touch screen in the first direction comprises:

storing a plurality of points of contact with the touch screen while the contact is moving along the touch screen;

calculating a vector based on the plurality of points; and

determining the first direction based on the vector.

16. The computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions of claim 15, the method further comprising:

wherein determining the first direction based on the vector comprises;

determining a directional sector that the vector is in to determine the first direction the contact is moving in;

wherein the directional sector comprises a range of angles from a reference angle.

17. A computer-implemented method for selecting content displayed in a touch screen, the method comprising:

detecting a single tap on a word of text in a text editing field displayed in the touch screen, wherein the detecting the single tap comprises detecting contact with the touch screen and then detecting removal of the contact within a predetermined period of time;

wherein text can be added to and deleted from the text editing field at a position indicated by a cursor in the field;

responsive to the detecting the single tap on the word of text, selecting the word of text in the display by highlighting the word of text, wherein the word of text comprises characters of text, and all of the characters of text of the word are highlighted at the same time;

detecting contact, with the touch screen, on the selected word of text;

detecting the contact, with the touch screen, moving in a direction along the selected word in the touch screen; and

relative to the direction of contact movement, selecting additional content displayed in the touch screen;

wherein detecting the contact, with the touch screen, moving in a direction along the selected word in the touch screen comprises;

storing a plurality of points of contact with the touch screen while the contact is moving along the touch screen;

calculating a vector based on the plurality of points; and

determining a direction based on the vector; and

wherein selecting additional content displayed in the touch screen comprises;

selecting a next word, in a line of text, adjacent to the selected word of text as the contact moving along the selected word of text approaches the end of the selected word of text;

wherein the next word of text comprises characters of text; and

wherein the selecting the next word comprises highlighting, at the same time, all of the characters of text in the next word.