Flexible control in resizing of visual displays

• US 9,710,884 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2016
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shalikashvili, Vladimir, Parag, Nadav, Weiss, Moshe
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Jayesh A
• Application Number:
  US15/370,050
• Publication Number:
  US 20170084003A1
• Time in Patent Office: 224 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/373 for modifying the size of the graphic pattern

Abstract

A computer processor circuit can be used to receive a resizing request that includes parameters for resizing a user interface containing a plurality of visual elements. In response to the request, the computer processor circuit can access a set of one or more data files specifying: links to binary image data files for the plurality of visual elements; a set of nodes forming a plurality of vector paths for at least one of the plurality of visual elements; and a set of rules defining different image resizing properties for different vector paths of the plurality of vector paths. The computer processor circuit can then create a resized version of the user interface by modifying the plurality of visual elements according to the set of rules and to the parameters for resizing.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a memory and a processor configured to;

receive a resizing request for a touch screen user interface that includes parameters for resizing a plurality of visual elements presented on the touch screen user interface including a first textual element and a second graphical element located in a container comprising a rectangle having a container height based on a screen size, a screen resolution, and a screen orientation of the touch screen user interface, a container length based on the screen size, the screen resolution, and the screen orientation of the touch screen user interface, and a container center, wherein parameters for resizing comprise an updated screen size, an updated screen resolution, and an updated screen orientation of the touch screen user interface;

wherein the first textual element comprises a rectangle having a first height that is 30% of the container height and a first width that is 30% of the container width, wherein the first textual element is located at a 15% left horizontal offset of the container center such that a center of the first textual element is located a number of horizontal pixels left of the container center corresponding to 15% of a number of pixels of the container length;

wherein the second graphical element is defined by at least a first node and a second node;

wherein the first node is located 20 vertical pixels below a top edge of the container and at a 10% right offset from a left edge of the container, wherein the 10% right offset comprises a number of pixels corresponding to 10% of the container length;

wherein the second node is located 10 vertical pixels below the first node and 10 horizontal pixels left of the first node;

access, in response to the resizing request, one or more Extensible Markup Language (XML) files, wherein a respective XML file of the one or more XML files contains a tag library descriptor (TLD) that identifies multiple layers for the user interface, wherein each respective layer comprises layout information for one or more visual elements of the plurality of visual elements, wherein the layers include;

a binary image layer containing links to respective binary image data files for respective visual elements, wherein the respective binary image data files further comprise respective mip-mapped bitmaps of the respective binary image data files such that a first mip-mapped bitmap stores information for the plurality of visual elements based on the updated screen resolution, and wherein the first mip-mapped bitmap is stored according to a naming convention containing a suffix indicating the updated screen resolution;

a vector layer describing positional information for respective visual elements, wherein positional information comprises respective positions of respective nodes of a respective set of nodes forming a plurality of vector paths for each respective visual element, wherein respective positions of respective nodes of respective sets of nodes are defined by a coordinate system of virtual pixels, wherein the virtual pixels are resolution independent; and

a resizing layer containing respective sets of resizing rules for respective visual elements, wherein respective resizing rules in a respective set of resizing rules for a respective visual element are based on respective vector paths for a respective set of nodes corresponding to a respective visual element;

identify, based on the vector layer of the TLD, respective paths of nodes corresponding to respective visual elements in the user interface;

identify, based on the resizing layer of the TLD and the parameters for resizing, respective resizing rules for respective paths of nodes corresponding to respective visual elements in the touch screen user interface; and

create a resized version of the touch screen user interface by modifying the plurality of visual elements according to the identified resizing rules and to the parameters for resizing;

wherein the container is resized based on the updated screen size, the updated screen resolution, and the updated screen orientation to form a resized container comprising a resized rectangle having an updated container length and an updated container width and an updated container center;

wherein the first textual element is resized such that the resized first textual element comprises a rectangle having a resized first height that is 30% of the updated container height and a resized first width that is 30% of the updated container width, wherein the first textual element is located at a 15% left horizontal offset of the updated container center such that a center of the resized first textual element is located a number of horizontal pixels left of the updated container center corresponding to 15% of a number of pixels of the updated container length;

wherein the second graphical element is resized such that the resized second graphical element is defined by an updated first node and an updated second node;

wherein the updated first node is located 20 vertical pixels below a top edge of the resized container and at a 10% right offset from a left edge of the resized container, wherein the 10% right offset comprises a number of pixels corresponding to 10% of the updated container length;

wherein the updated second node is located 10 vertical pixels below the updated first node and 10 horizontal pixels left of the updated first node;

wherein a first portion of respective visual elements are modified using a percentage of a respective original visual element size for a respective visual element in the user interface;

wherein a second portion of respective visual elements are modified using a virtual pixel value offset between a first node and a second node of a respective original path of nodes and a first node and a second node of a resized path of nodes for a respective visual element; and

wherein a third portion of respective visual elements are modified using a virtual pixel offset relative to another visual element of the user interface.