Snapping to text columns while scrolling

• US 9,086,756 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2009
• Issued: 07/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Opera Software ASA
• Original Assignee: Opera Software ASA
• Inventors: Sderstedt, Torbjrn, Schn, Johan, Barsk, Niklas
• Primary Examiner(s): Nunez, Jordany
• Application Number:
  US12/621,244
• Publication Number:
  US 20110119620A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,071 Days
• Field of Search: 715/784, 715/785, 345/173
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

A method and apparatus for scrolling a electronic document including text, which is displayed on a display screen, including processing user input received via an input device of the computer, detecting an initiating event and pointer movement for a drag operation from the processed user input, scrolling textual content in the document according to the pointer movement of the drag operation, and automatically re-scrolling the textual content to offset a horizontal component of the scrolling of the textual content according to the drag operation.

Claims

1. A method of scrolling an electronic document including multiple columns of text, which is displayed on a computing device, the method comprising:

utilizing at least one processor in the computing device to perform the following;

process user input received via an input device;

detect an initiating event and pointer movement for a drag operation from the processed user input;

scroll textual content in the document according to the pointer movement of the drag operation;

analyze semantic constructs in the underlying markup language code to identify which of the multiple columns of text is being viewed and scrolled by the user;

calculate a border width for the identified column of text, and apply a border of the calculated width on the left and/or right side of the identified column of text;

determine whether the scrolling of the textual content caused at least part of the applied left or right side border of the identified column of text to exit a viewport of a display screen of the electronic device;

decrease a horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content, which is performed in accordance with the pointer movement, when an edge of the applied left or right side border of the identified column of text exits the viewport; and

after the decrease to the horizontal speed is applied to the scrolling of the textual content,

detect the horizontal component of the scrolling of the textual content as a distance in a horizontal direction; and

determine whether the distance is within a correction threshold,

wherein the automatic re-scrolling is performed in response to a determination that the distance is less than the correction threshold,

wherein the drag operation is part of a series of one or more drag operations detected by the at least one processor from the processed user input,

wherein the at least one processor decreases the horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content by;

determining a total vertical distance and a total horizontal distance scrolled since the initiating event of the first drag operation the series; and

analyzing the total vertical and horizontal distances, and

wherein, in decreasing the horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content, the at least one processor further;

calculates a factor by which the horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content is to be decreased, such that the factor is calculated as a first preset value when the determined total horizontal distance exceeds the determined total vertical distance, and the factor is calculated as a second preset value when the determined total vertical distance exceeds the total horizontal distance, the second preset value being greater than the first preset value; and

while continuing to scroll the textual content, scales down the horizontal speed of the scrolling according to the pointer movement of the current drag operation by the calculated factor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further utilized to:

detect a vertical component of the scrolling of the textual content, the vertical component being determined as a distance in a vertical direction,

wherein the correction threshold is determined based on the horizontal and vertical components of the scrolling of the textual content.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein the automatic re-scrolling is performed based on the determination of whether the scrolling of the textual content caused at least part of the applied left or right side border to exit the viewport.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the automatic re-scrolling is performed in response to determining that a portion less than the entire left or right side border exited the viewport as a result of the scrolling of the textual content.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the border width is calculated based on the dots-per-inch (DPI) at which the document is displayed by the electronic device.

6. An apparatus comprising:

a display screen configured to display a document including multiple columns of text;

an input device configured to receive user input; and

at least one processor programmed to;

process the user input received via the input device;

detect an initiating event and pointer movement for a drag operation from the processed user input;

scroll textual content in the document according to the pointer movement of the drag operation;

analyze semantic constructs in the underlying markup language code to identify which of the multiple columns of text is being viewed and scrolled by the user;

calculate a border width for the identified column of text, and apply a border of the calculated width on the left and/or right side of the identified column of text;

determine whether the scrolling of the textual content caused at least part of the applied left or right side border of the identified column of text to exit a viewport of the display screen;

decrease a horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content, which is performed in accordance with the pointer movement, when an edge of the applied left or right side border of the identified column of text exits the viewport; and

after the decrease to the horizontal speed is applied to the scrolling of the textual content,

detect a horizontal component of the scrolling of the textual content as a distance in a horizontal direction;

determine whether the distance is within a correction threshold; and

perform automatic re-scrolling to offset the horizontal component in response to a determination that the distance is less than the correction threshold,

wherein the drag operation is part of a series of one or more drag operations detected by the at least one processor from the processed user input,

wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to decrease the horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content by;

determining a total vertical distance and a total horizontal distance scrolled since the initiating event of the first drag operation in the series; and

analyzing total vertical and horizontal distances, and

wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to in decreasing the horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content,

calculate a factor by which the horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content is to be decreased, such that the factor is calculated as a first preset value when the determined total horizontal distance exceeds the determined total vertical distance, and the factor is calculated as a second preset value when the determined total vertical distance exceeds the total horizontal distance, the second preset value being greater than the first preset value; and

while continuing to scroll the textual content, scale down the horizontal speed of the scrolling according to the pointer movement of the current drag operation by the calculated factor.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to:

detect a vertical component of the scrolling of the textual content, the vertical component being determined as a distance in a vertical direction,

wherein the correction threshold is determined based on the horizontal and vertical components of the scrolling of the textual content.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the automatic re-scrolling is performed based on the determination of whether the scrolling of the textual content caused at least part of the applied left or right side border to exit the viewport.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the automatic re-scrolling is performed in response to the at least one processor determining that a portion less than the entire applied left or right side border exited the viewport as a result of the scrolling of the textual content.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the border width is calculated based on the dots-per-inch (DPI) at which the document is displayed on the display screen.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program that, when executed by a computer, causes it to perform a method of scrolling an electronic document including multiple columns of text, which is displayed on a display screen of the computer, the method comprising:

processing user input received via an input device of the computer;

detecting an initiating event and pointer movement for a drag operation from the processed user input;

scrolling textual content in the document according to the pointer movement of the drag operation;

analyzing semantic constructs in the underlying markup language code to identify which of the multiple columns of text is being viewed and scrolled by the user;

calculating a border width for the identified column of text, and apply a border of the calculated width on the left and/or right side of the identified column of text;

determining whether the scrolling of the textual content caused at least part of the applied left or right side border of the identified column of text to exit a viewport of a display screen of the electronic device;

decreasing a horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content, which is performed in accordance with the pointer movement, when an edge of the applied left or right side border of the identified column of text exits the viewport; and

after the decreasing of the horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content,

detecting a horizontal component of the scrolling of the textual content as a distance in a horizontal direction;

determining whether the distance is within a correction threshold; and

performing automatic re-scrolling to offset the horizontal component in response to a determination that the distance is less than the correction threshold,

wherein the drag operation is part of a series of one or more drag operations detected by the at least one processor from the processed user input,

wherein the method decreases the horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content by;

determining a total vertical distance and a total horizontal distance scrolled since the initiating event of the first drag operation in the series; and

analyzing the total vertical and horizontal distances, and

wherein, in decreasing the horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content, the method further comprises;

calculating a factor by which the horizontal speed of the scrolling of the textual content is to be decreased, such that the factor is calculated as a first preset value when the determined total horizontal distance exceeds the determined total vertical distance, and the factor is calculated as a second preset value when the determined total vertical distance exceeds the total horizontal distance, the second preset value being greater than the first preset value; and

while continuing to scroll the textual content, scaling down the horizontal speed of the scrolling according to the pointer movement of the current drag operation by the calculated factor.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises:

detecting a vertical component of the scrolling of the textual content, the vertical component being determined as a distance in a vertical direction,

wherein the correction threshold is determined based on the horizontal and vertical components of the scrolling of the textual content.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the automatic re-scrolling is performed based on the determination of whether the scrolling of the textual content caused at least part of the applied left or right side border to exit the viewport.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the automatic re-scrolling is performed in response to determining that a portion less than the entire applied left or right side border exited the viewport as a result of the scrolling of the textual content.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the border width is calculated based on the dots-per-inch (DPI) at which the document is displayed by the computer.