Providing a context-aware help content using a transparent overlay on a touch sensitive screen

• US 9,727,348 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2011
• Issued: 08/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Sean Y H, Liu, Jeffrey C H, Tseng, Joey H Y
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Tuyetlien T
• Application Number:
  US13/097,395
• Publication Number:
  US 20110271185A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,293 Days
• Field of Search: 715705, 715708, 715709, 715712, 715714, 715715, 715768
• 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: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/56 including a user help function

Abstract

Objects shown on a display interface can be collected for a running application. Identifications (IDs) representing the objects can also be collected. A determination can be made concerning whether there are object identifications of objects with help contents associated. A transparent layer can be displayed on the display interface. All the objects associated with help contents of the layer can be visually indicated in the transparent layer. The visual indicators can indicate that help is available for a corresponding object. When no help is available, no visual indicator is shown in the transparent layer proximate to corresponding object.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

after a help mode is triggered and before a transparent layer is displayed, collecting objects shown on a display interface for a running application and identifications (IDs) representing the objects, wherein a state of the display interface at the time of the collecting does not show a help indicia next to all of the objects for which help contents are available;

for each of the objects for which identifications were collected and before the transparent layer is displayed, determining whether there are object identifications of the objects with help contents associated; and

without modifying a positioning of element in the display interface from that of the state, displaying the transparent layer over the display interface and visually indicating in the transparent layer all the objects with help contents associated to prompt a user to select a desired object, wherein at a time that the visual indicating occurs via the transparent layer, the help contents are not displayed in either the transparent layer or the display interface, wherein displayed transparent layer is configured to receive and handle events associated with the objects in the underlying layer of display interface;

receiving a user selection of one of the objects that is visually indicated as having help contents associated, responsive to the receiving, displaying help contents associated with the one of the objects, wherein displaying the help contents causes the help indicator to no longer be presented.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of determining further comprises:

checking a lookup table which is stored in advance to determine whether there are identifications (IDs) of objects with help contents associated.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

once an object is selected, directly displaying a help content of the object on the transparent layer, beside the target object.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the visual indicating in the transparent layer is performed by highlighting.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the highlighting refers to altering a background coloration of the objects with help contents.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the objects are UI components on a layout of the display interface.

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein the object is one of a set of words, terms, sentences or paragraphs which require further explanations.

8. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising:

computer usable program code configured to after a help mode is triggered and before a transparent layer is displayed, collect objects shown on a display interface for a running application and identifications (IDs) representing the objects, wherein a state of the display interface at the time of the collecting does not show a help indicia next to all of the objects for which help contents are available;

computer usable program code configured to determine ,for each of the objects for which identifications were collected and before a transparent layer is displayed, whether there are object identifications of the objects with help contents associated;

computer usable program code configured to without modifying a positioning of element in the display interface from that of the state, display the transparent layer over the display interface and visually indicating in the transparent layer all the objects with help contents associated to prompt a user to select a desired object, wherein displayed transparent layer is configured to receive and handle events associated with the objects in the underlying layer of display interface and wherein at a time that the visual indicating occurs via the transparent layer, the help contents are not displayed in either the transparent layer or the display interface; and

computer usable program code configured to receive a user selection of one of the objects that is visually indicated as having help contents associated, responsive to the receiving, displaying help contents associated with the one of the objects, wherein displaying the help contents causes the help indicator to no longer be presented.

9. The computer program product according to claim 8, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to check a lookup table which is stored in advance to determine whether there are identifications (IDs) of objects with help contents associated.

10. The computer program product according to claim 8, further comprising:

computer usable program code configured to, once an object is selected, directly display a help content of the object on the transparent layer, beside the target object.

11. The computer program product according to claim 10, wherein the visual indicating in the transparent layer is performed by highlighting.

12. The computer program product according to claim 9, wherein the help content is retrieved from external websites.

13. The computer program product according to claim 10, wherein the objects are UI components on a layout of the display interface.

14. The computer program product according to claim 10,

wherein the object is one of a set of words, terms, sentences or paragraphs which require further explanations.

15. A data processing system comprising:

a bus;

a memory connected to said bus, in which said memory comprises a set of instructions; and

a processor connected to said bus, in which said processor executes said set of instructions to;

after a help mode is triggered and before a transparent layer is displayed, collect objects shown on a display interface for a running application and identifications (IDs) representing the objects, wherein a state of the display interface at the time of the collecting does not show a help indicia next to all of the objects for which help contents are available;

for each of the objects for which identifications were collected and before the transparent layer is displayed, determine whether there are object identifications of objects with help contents associated;

without modifying a positioning of element in the display interface from that of the state, display a transparent layer over the display interface and visually indicating in the transparent layer all the objects with help contents associated to prompt a user to select a desired object, wherein at a time that the visual indicating occurs via the transparent layer, the help contents are not displayed in either the transparent layer or the display interface, wherein displayed transparent layer is configured to receive and handle events associated with the objects in the underlying layer of display interface; and

receive a user selection of one of the objects that is visually indicated as having help contents associated, responsive to the receiving, displaying help contents associated with the one of the objects, wherein displaying the help contents causes the help indicator to no longer be presented.

16. The data processing system according to claim 15, in which said processor executes said set of instructions to:

check a lookup table which is stored in advance to determine whether there are identifications (IDs) of objects with help contents associated.

17. The data processing system according to claim 15, in which said processor executes said set of instructions to:

once an object is selected, directly display a help content of the object on the transparent layer, beside the target object.

18. The data processing system according to claim 17, wherein the visual indicating in the transparent layer is performed by highlighting.

19. The data processing system according to claim 16, wherein the help content is retrieved from external websites.

20. The data processing system according to claim 17, wherein the objects are UI components on a layout of the display interface.

21. The data processing system according to claim 17, wherein the object is one of a set of words, terms, sentences or paragraphs which require further explanations.

22. The data processing system according to claim 15, wherein the data processing system is a handheld, mobile device.

23. A method comprising:

before a help mode is triggered, presenting a plurality of graphical objects on a touch-sensitive screen, wherein a state of the tough-sensitive screen at the time of the presenting of the graphical objects does not show a help indicia next to all of the graphical objects for which help contents are available;

after the help mode is triggered and in response to the help mode being triggered, presenting a graphical overlay on the touch-sensitive screen, having a level of transparency that permits the graphical objects to be seen, wherein the graphical overlay presents a help indictor proximate to the graphical objects for which help content is available and does not present a help indicator proximate to graphical objects to which help content is not available, wherein when the graphical overlay is active, the graphical objects in underlying display interface are not able to receive any events, wherein the presenting of the graphical overlay occurs without modifying a positioning of graphical objects from that of the state;

receiving a touch input on the touch-sensitive screen for one of the help indicators and a corresponding one of the graphical objects still visible through the graphical overlay;

responsive to the touch input, determining help content for the one of the graphical objects; and

presenting the help content on the graphical overlay on the touch-sensitive screen in responsive to receiving the touch input, wherein the presenting the help content causes the help indicator to no longer be presented, and wherein the presenting of the help content at least partially obscures the underlying graphical objects, wherein the help content is not concurrently displayed with the help indicator, wherein the graphical overlay is presented responsive to an activation of a help function, wherein in absence of the help indicators being presented on the graphical overlay, no visual indication exists to indicate that selective ones of the graphical objects have help content associated with them and other ones of the graphical objects do not have help content associated with them.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein each of the graphical objects are objects for a running application, which is instantiated and displayed on the touch-sensitive screen, wherein each of the objects has a corresponding identification unique to that object and the running application;

determining at runtime, responsive to a selection of a help function, whether each of the objects has help contents associated with that object, wherein the graphical overlay is a transparent layer on the touch-sensitive screen upon which a display interface is presented; and

highlighting all the objects with help associated on the transparent layer to prompt a user to select a desired object, wherein the highlighting is the help indicator, wherein the highlighting refers to altering a background coloration of the objects with help contents.