Identifying remote objects on a client system

• US 9,501,757 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2006
• Issued: 11/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Would, Daniel Edward, Clee, Scott John, Masters, Peter Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): NANO, SARGON N
• Application Number:
  US11/462,059
• Publication Number:
  US 20070183389A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,764 Days
• Field of Search: 709/202, 709/203, 709/204, 709/217, 715/751, 715/753
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A method and system for identifying remote objects on a client system is provided. A client system (101) has a connection means (302) to access a component (310) on a remote system (103). The client system (101) has a graphical user interface (308) including a user interface object (306) representing the component (310) at the remote system (103). Means (304) are provided for applying a theme to the object (306) to distinguish it as representing a remote component (310). The graphical user interface (308) also includes user interface objects (307) for components local to the client system (101), and the means for applying a theme (304) applies distinguishing themes to the local objects (307) and the remote objects (306).

Claims

1. A method for distinguishing user interface objects that represent remote interfaces on a client system comprising:

establishing a connection at the client system to a remote system to access a remote operational component on the remote system;

providing a user interface object at the client system that represents an interface to the remote operational component on the remote system; and

applying a graphical theme to the user interface object, the graphical theme distinguishing the user interface object as representing the interface to the remote operational component.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a graphical theme to user interface objects at the client system for components local to the client system, where graphical themes for the local and remote components are distinguished.

3. The method of claim 1, where the graphical theme distinguishing the user interface object as representing the interface to the remote operational component represents:

one or more remote systems, a type of remote system, a type of component on a remote system, a type of operating system, a sub-network of remote systems, or a physical location of a remote system.

4. The method of claim 1, where the graphical theme has a plurality of aspects and each aspect represents a feature of a component.

5. The method of claim 1, where the graphical theme has a hierarchy of aspects representing features of a component.

6. The method of claim 5, where a group of components have a common graphical theme in the form of a color applied to the user interface object and an individual component is represented by a shade of the color.

7. The method of claim 1, where the user interface object is a window object.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining details of the connection to the remote system and determining the graphical theme based on the determined details of the connection to the remote system.

9. The method of claim 1, where the remote operational component on the remote system comprises one of an application, a database system, and a service.

10. The method of claim 1, where the graphical theme comprises control features based on a type of the remote operational component on the remote system.

11. A system for distinguishing user interface objects that represent remote interfaces on a client system comprising:

a client system having a graphical user interface;

a connection means at the client system to access a remote operational component on a remote system;

the graphical user interface of the client system comprising a user interface object that represents an interface to the remote operational component on the remote system; and

means for applying a graphical theme to the user interface object, the graphical theme distinguishing the user interface object as representing the interface to the remote operational component.

12. The system of claim 11, where the graphical user interface comprises user interface objects for components local to the client system, where the means for applying a graphical theme applies distinguishing graphical themes to the local components and remote components.

13. The system of claim 11, where the graphical theme distinguishing the user interface object as representing the interface to the remote operational component represents:

one or more remote systems, a type of remote system, a type of component on the remote system, a type of operating system, a sub-network of remote systems, or the physical location of a remote system.

14. The system of claim 11, where the means for applying the graphical theme comprises means for creating and modifying graphical themes.

15. The system of claim 11, where the means for applying the graphical theme comprises means for determining details of the connection to the remote system and means for determining the graphical theme based on the determined details of the connection to the remote system.

16. The system of claim 11, where the graphical theme has a plurality of aspects and each aspect represents a feature of a component.

17. The system of claim 11, where the graphical theme has a hierarchy of aspects representing features of a component.

18. The system of claim 17, where a group of components have a common graphical theme in the form of a color applied to the user interface object and an individual component is represented by a shade of the colour color.

19. The system of claim 11, where the graphical user interface is a window-based interface.

20. The system of claim 11, where the remote operational component on the remote system comprises one of an application, a database system, and a service.

21. The system of claim 11, where the graphical theme comprises control features based on a type of the remote operational component on the remote system.

22. A computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, comprising computer readable program code means for performing the steps of:

establishing a connection at a client system to a remote system to access a remote operational component on the remote system;

providing a user interface object at the client system that represents an interface to the remote operational component on the remote system; and

applying a graphical theme to the user interface object, the graphical theme distinguishing the user interface object as representing the interface to the remote operational component.