Semantic navigation through object collections

• US 9,268,848 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2011
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Glaza, Ted G., Mahmood, Hamid, Adams, Terry A., Sibal, Vincent Paul, Devatha, Vijay, Hillberg, Michael John, Hohn, Matthew Jake
• Primary Examiner(s): Sax, Steven
• Application Number:
  US13/287,627
• Publication Number:
  US 20130111413A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,574 Days
• Field of Search: 715854-855, 715709-712, 715765-767, 715863-864
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/145 related to small screens

Abstract

Embodiments are directed to semantically navigating a data collection and to providing custom data mappings for a semantic group of data items. In one scenario, a computer system displays various data items of a data collection on a data presentation interface of a software application user interface. The user interface receives a first user input indicating that a semantic interface is to be displayed in the software application user interface, and displays the semantic interface which includes semantic headers that identify groups of data items. The user interface then receives a second user input that selects at least one of the semantic headers to display its corresponding group of data items and navigates the data presentation interface to the group of data items corresponding to the selected semantic header.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for controlling an interface to permit replacement of a data presentation interface with a semantic interface in order to facilitate semantically navigating a data collection, the computer-implemented method being performed by one or more processors of a mobile computing device when executing computer-executable instructions, and comprising the following acts:

for an application interface, providing (i) a data presentation interface that is a default interface for an associated software application, the data presentation interface presenting individual data items as laid out by the default interface of the associated software application, and (ii) a plurality of semantic interfaces that use a plurality of semantic headers to represent higher level semantic groupings of the individual data items;

displaying, at a multi-touch display of the mobile computing device, the data presentation interface with a plurality of the individual data items of the data collection;

identifying from a user input that the individual data items from the data presentation interface are mapped to the plurality of semantic headers for flail grouping of the individual data items in the plurality of semantic interfaces;

receiving, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing device, a first multi-touch gesture that is configured to switch from the data presentation interface to the plurality of semantic interfaces;

in response to receiving the first multi-touch gesture, determining the individual data items that were being displayed at the data presentation interface when the second user input was received, and switching from the data presentation interface to the plurality of semantic interfaces;

displaying, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing device, a first of the plurality of semantic interfaces, which includes the plurality of semantic headers grouping the individual data items that were being displayed at the data presentation interface when the first multi-touch gesture was received, the individual data items being displayed at a first detail level as defined by the first of the plurality of semantic interfaces;

receiving, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing device, a second multi-touch gesture that is different from the first multi-touch gesture, and that is configured to zoom among the plurality of semantic interfaces; and

in response to receiving the second multi-touch gesture, displaying, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing device, a second of the plurality of semantic interfaces, which includes the plurality of semantic headers grouping the individual data items that were being displayed at the data presentation interface when the first multi-touch gesture was received, the individual data items being displayed at a second detail level as defined by the second of the plurality of semantic interfaces.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein switching from the data presentation interface to the plurality of semantic interfaces comprises displaying the plurality of semantic interfaces in place of the data presentation interface.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein switching from the data presentation interface to the plurality of semantic interfaces comprises superimposing the plurality of semantic interfaces over the data presentation interface.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of semantic interfaces are provided by a semantic navigation extension that is separate from the software application.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the individual data items are organized hierarchically.

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

receiving selection of at least one of the plurality of semantic headers;

navigating the data presentation interface to the grouping of individual data items corresponding to the selected at least one of the plurality of semantic headers; and

receiving a user input that dynamically selects a new criteria on which the individual data items are to be sorted in the plurality of semantic interfaces.

7. A computer program product comprising one or more hardware storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a mobile computing system, configure the mobile computing system to control an interface to permit replacement of a data presentation interface with a semantic interface in order to facilitate semantically navigating a data collection, including computer-executable instructions that configure the mobile computing system to perform at least the following:

for an application interface, provide (i) a data presentation interface that is a default interface for an associated software application, the data presentation interface presenting individual data items as laid out by the default interface of the associated software application, and (ii) a plurality of semantic interfaces that use a plurality of semantic headers to represent higher level semantic groupings of the individual data items;

display, at a multi-touch display of the mobile computing system, the data presentation interface with a plurality of the individual data items of the data collection;

identify from a user input that the individual data items from the data presentation interface are mapped to the plurality of semantic headers for grouping of the individual data items in the plurality of semantic interfaces;

receive, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing system, a first multi-touch gesture that is configured to switch from the data presentation interface to the plurality of semantic interfaces;

in response to receiving the first multi-touch gesture, determine the individual data items that were being displayed at the data presentation interface when the second user input was received, and

switch from the data presentation interface to the plurality of semantic interfaces;

display, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing system, a first of the plurality of semantic interfaces, which includes the plurality of semantic headers grouping the individual data items that were being displayed at the data presentation interface when the first multi-touch gesture was received, the individual data items being displayed at a first detail level as defined by the first of the plurality of semantic interfaces;

receive, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing system, a second multi-touch gesture that is different from the first multi-touch gesture, and that is configured to zoom among the plurality of semantic interfaces; and

in response to receiving the second multi-touch gesture, display, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing system, a second of the plurality of semantic interfaces, which includes the plurality of semantic headers grouping the individual data items that were being displayed at the data presentation interface when the first multi-touch gesture was received, the individual data items being displayed at a second detail level as defined by the second of the plurality of semantic interfaces.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the individual data items are virtualized such that only a portion of a grouping of individual data items is loaded into memory.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein only individual data items from the data presentation interface that are mapped to a header are loaded into memory.

10. A mobile computing system comprising:

one or more processors;

a multi-touch display; and

a memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the one or more processors to control an interface to permit replacement of a data presentation interface with a semantic interface in order to facilitate semantically navigating a data collection, including computer-executable instructions that configure the one or more processors to perform at least the following;

for an application interface, provide (i) a data presentation interface that is a default interface for an associated software application, the data presentation interface presenting individual data items as laid out by the default interface of the associated software application, and (ii) a plurality of semantic interfaces that use a plurality of semantic headers to represent higher level semantic groupings of the individual data items;

display, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing system, the data presentation interface with a plurality of the individual data items of the data collection;

identify from a user input that the individual data items from the data presentation interface are mapped to the plurality of semantic headers for flail grouping of the individual data items in the plurality of semantic interfaces;

receive, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing system, a first multi-touch gesture that is configured to switch from the data presentation interface to the plurality of semantic interfaces;

in response to receiving the first multi-touch gesture, determine the individual data items that were being displayed at the data presentation interface when the second user input was received, and switch from the data presentation interface to the plurality of semantic interfaces;

display, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing system, a first of the plurality of semantic interfaces, which includes the plurality of semantic headers grouping the individual data items that were being displayed at the data presentation interface when the first multi-touch gesture was received, the individual data items being displayed at a first detail level as defined by the first of the plurality of semantic interfaces;

receive, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing system, a second multi-touch gesture that is different from the first multi-touch gesture, and that is configured to zoom among the plurality of semantic interfaces; and

in response to receiving the second multi-touch gesture, display, at the multi-touch display of the mobile computing system, a second of the plurality of semantic interfaces, which includes the plurality of semantic headers grouping the individual data items that were being displayed at the data presentation interface when the first multi-touch gesture was received, the individual data items being displayed at a second detail level as defined by the second of the plurality of semantic interfaces.