Context-sensitive views

• US 9,921,734 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2017
• Issued: 03/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Palantir Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Palantir Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Goldenberg, Joshua, Ngo, Brian, Dwyer, Bill, Menon, Parvathy, Martin, Gregory, Bush, Zach, Chang, Allen, Boland, Mike
• Primary Examiner(s): PHANTANA ANGKOOL, DAVID
• Application Number:
  US15/398,092
• Publication Number:
  US 20170115865A1
• Time in Patent Office: 440 Days
• Field of Search: 715781
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/904 Browsing; Visualisation therefor for navigating the web G06F16/954; browsing optimisation for the web G06F16/957
• 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 3/04812 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: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars

Abstract

A context-sensitive viewing system is disclosed in which various data visualizations, also referred to a contextual views, of a common set of data may be viewed by a user on an electronic device. Data in the system may comprise data objects and associated properties and/or metadata, and may be stored in one or more electronic data stores. As a user of the system views and manipulates a first contextual view of a set of data objects, one or more other contextual views of the same set of data objects may be updated accordingly. Updates to the secondary contextual views may, in various embodiments, happen real-time. Further, the secondary contextual views may be visible to the user simultaneously with the primary contextual view. A user may switch from one view to another, and may manipulate data in any view, resulting in updates in the other views.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

an electronic database configured to store a plurality of data objects and properties associated with each of the data objects; and

one or more hardware processors in communication with a computer readable medium storing software instructions that are executable by the one or more hardware processors in order to cause the one or more hardware processors to;

generate a primary contextual view including a primary visualization of a set of data objects and associated properties, wherein the primary contextual view is interactive;

generate one or more secondary contextual views distinct from the primary contextual view, wherein;

each secondary contextual view includes respective secondary visualizations of the set of data objects,

each of the secondary visualizations is distinct from the primary visualization, and

the one or more secondary contextual views are interactive;

provide a user input mechanism useable for causing display of different ones of the one or more secondary contextual views and/or the primary contextual view, wherein the user input mechanism includes at least one of;

a scrollbar, a scroll input, or a swipe input; and

in response to receiving a user input interacting with a data object in the primary contextual view, cause a corresponding interaction with a corresponding data object in one or more of the secondary contextual views.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the user input interacting with the data object comprises a selection of the data object, and wherein the corresponding interaction comprises a selection of the corresponding data object.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the data object and the corresponding data object comprise two visual representations of a same data object.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the software instructions that are executable by the one or more hardware processors in order to cause the one or more hardware processors to further:

further in response to receiving the user input, determine the one or more of the secondary contextual views in which to cause the corresponding interaction.

5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein causing the corresponding interaction comprises causing the corresponding interaction in all of the secondary contextual views.

6. The computer system of claim 4, wherein causing the corresponding interaction comprises causing the corresponding interaction in any of the secondary contextual views that are currently viewable by a user.

7. The computer system of claim 4, wherein causing the corresponding interaction comprises causing the corresponding interaction in any of the secondary contextual views that are immediately adjacent to the primary contextual view.

8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein each of the primary visualization and/or the secondary visualizations include at least one of:

a graph, a map, a table, a timeline, a histogram, a list, a reader interface, or a postboard interface.

9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the one or more secondary contextual views are substantially the same size as the primary contextual view.

10. The computer system of claim 1, wherein a user input interacting with the data object in the primary contextual view comprises at least one of:

adding the data object, removing the data object, modifying the data object, moving the data object, modifying properties associated with the data object, or modifying and/or manipulating links between the data object and one or more other data objects.

11. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the one or more secondary contextual views comprise two or more secondary contextual views, and wherein the software instructions that are executable by the one or more hardware processors in order to cause the one or more hardware processors to further:

cause the two or more secondary contextual views to be positioned side-by-side one another in a user interface.

12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the software instructions that are executable by the one or more hardware processors in order to cause the one or more hardware processors to further:

cause the primary contextual view to be positioned side-by-side the two or more secondary contextual views in the user interface.

13. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the user input mechanism comprises a scrollbar, and wherein the scrollbar includes indications corresponding to each of the primary contextual view and the one or more secondary contextual views.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the indications comprise at least one of:

tick marks or thumbnail previews.

15. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the user input mechanism comprises a scrollbar, and wherein the software instructions that are executable by the one or more hardware processors in order to cause the one or more hardware processors to further:

provide the one or more secondary contextual views in the scrollbar.

16. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the software instructions that are executable by the one or more hardware processors in order to cause the one or more hardware processors to further:

provide the one or more secondary contextual views in an interactive drawer of a user interface.

17. The computer system of claim 16, wherein the one or more secondary contextual views comprise at least one of previews or thumbnails.

18. The computer system of claim 16, wherein the interactive drawer may be opened and closed in the user interface.

19. The computer system of claim 1, wherein each of the secondary visualizations is distinct from one another.