User interface for data comparison

• US 10,545,643 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2015
• Issued: 01/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: Kraut, Joel
• Primary Examiner(s): Sax, Steven P
• Application Number:
  US14/965,757
• Publication Number:
  US 20160098177A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,510 Days
• 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 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/543 User-generated data transfer, e.g. clipboards, dynamic data exchange [DDE], object linking and embedding [OLE]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]

Abstract

Systems and methods perform comparison of data represented as charts, for example, bar graphs, pie charts, line charts or stacked bar charts. The charts present visual representations mapping source values to target values. A user can select charts associated with a data records for comparison from an index of data records. The user selects a chart and a particular source value from the reference chart. The target values corresponding to the source value from other charts are compared against the target value from the reference chart. An aggregate of the target values associated with the source value from each chart may be presented to the user. The user can also use multi-touch input to select object representing data and drag them to perform actions associated with the objects. The actions performed on the objects depend on the locations of the objects as the user drags them.

Claims

1. A method for performing actions associated with objects on a screen using multi-touch input, the method comprising:

displaying a plurality of objects on a display device, each object having a displayed first position on the display device;

receiving a multi-touch input selecting at least a first object and a second object from the plurality of objects, wherein, based on the multi-touch input, the first object and the second object are simultaneously dragged from its first position to a first destination position and the second object from its first position to a second destination position;

determining, during the multi-touch simultaneous dragging of at least the first object and the second object, a distance between the first destination position of the first object and the second destination position of the second object, wherein the distance is compared based on a threshold distance;

upon determining that the determined distance exceeds the threshold distance, performing a first action on the first object, the first action determined according to the first destination position, wherein the first destination position corresponds to a first region on the display device associated with the first action, and wherein the first action defines computations to be performed over a first data record associated with the first object;

upon determining that the determined distance is less than the threshold distance, performing a second action on the second selected object, the second action determined according to the second destination position, wherein the second destination position corresponds to a second region on the display device different from the first region and associated with the second action, and wherein the second action defines computations to be performed over a second data record associated with the second object; and

upon determining that the first destination position and the second destination position overlap while simultaneously dragging the first object and the second object correspondingly towards the first destination position and the second destination position,

performing a first predefined action on the first object and the second object, wherein the predefined action is different than the first action and the second action, and wherein the first predefined action is performed to merge the first data record associated with the first object and the second data record associated with the second object, and the first predefined action is determined based on the first destination position and the second destination position matching a third region on the display device, the third region being associated with the first predefined action, and

displaying a resultant data object comprising data received through performing the first predefined action by merging the data records associated with the first object and the second object.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first action and the second action is determined based on a distance between the first destination position of the first object and the second destination position of the second object.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first action and the second action are combined into a single action based on the first object and the second object.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the single action determines an aggregate of a value associated with the first object and a value associated with the second object.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the single action comprises a comparison of a value associated with the first object and a value associated with the second object.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein a metric used for determining the aggregate value depends on a position of the first object and a position of the second object.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein a metric used for determining the aggregate value depends on a distance between the first object and the second object.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to the first selected object being continued to be dragged from the first to a third position, performing a third action on the first selected object; and

responsive to the second selected object being continued to be dragged from the second position to a fourth position, performing a fourth action on the second selected object.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for:

displaying a plurality of objects on a display device, each object having a displayed position on the display device;

receiving a multi-touch input selecting at least a first object and a second object from the plurality of objects, wherein, based on the multi-touch input, the first object and the second object are simultaneously dragged from its first position to a first destination position and the second object from its first position to a second destination position;

determining, during the multi-touch simultaneous dragging of at least the first object and the second object, a distance between the first destination position of the first object and the second destination position of the second object, wherein the distance is compared based on a threshold distance;

upon determining that the determined distance exceeds the threshold distance, performing a first action on the first object, the first action determined according to the first destination position, wherein the first destination position corresponds to a first region on the display device associated with the first action, and wherein the first action defines computations to be performed over a first data record associated with the first object;

upon determining that the determined distance is less than the threshold distance, performing a second action on the second selected object, the second action determined according to the second destination position, wherein the second destination position corresponds to a second region on the display device different from the first region and associated with the second action, and wherein the second action defines computations to be performed over a second data record associated with the second object; and

upon determining that the first destination position and the second destination position overlap while simultaneously dragging the first object and the second object correspondingly towards the first destination position and the second destination position,

performing a first predefined action on the first object and the second object, wherein the predefined action is different than the first action and the second action, and wherein the first predefined action is performed to merge the first data record associated with the first object and the second data record associated with the second object, and the first predefined action is determined based on the first destination position and the second destination position matching a third region on the display device, the third region being associated with the first predefined action, and

displaying a resultant data object comprising data received through performing the first predefined action on the data records associated with the first object and the second object.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the first action and the second action is determined based on a distance between the first destination position of the first object and the second destination position of the second object.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the first action and the second action are combined into a single action based on the first object and the second object.

12. A computer-implemented system for performing actions associated with objects on a screen using multi-touch input, the system comprising:

a computer processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by the computer processor, the instructions for;

displaying a plurality of objects on a display device, each object having a displayed position on the display device;

receiving a multi-touch input selecting at least a first object and a second object from the plurality of objects, wherein, based on the multi-touch input, the first object and the second object are simultaneously dragged from its first position to a first destination position and the second object from its first position to a second destination position;

determining, during the multi-touch simultaneous dragging of at least the first object and the second object, a distance between the first destination position of the first object and the second destination position of the second object, wherein the distance is compared based on a threshold distance;

upon determining that the determined distance exceeds the threshold distance, performing a first action on the first object, the first action determined according to the first destination position, wherein the first destination position corresponds to a first region on the display device associated with the first action, and wherein the first action defines computations to be performed over a first data record associated with the first object;

upon determining that the determined distance is less than the threshold distance, performing a second action on the second selected object, the second action determined according to the second destination position, wherein the second destination position corresponds to a second region on the display device different from the first region and associated with the second action, and wherein the second action defines computations to be performed over a second data record associated with the second object; and

upon determining that the first destination position and the second destination position overlap while simultaneously dragging the first object and the second object correspondingly towards the first destination position and the second destination position,

performing a first predefined action on the first object and the second object, wherein the predefined action is different than the first action and the second action, and wherein the first predefined action is performed to merge the first data record associated with the first object and the second data record associated with the second object, and the first predefined action is determined based on the first destination position and the second destination position matching a third region on the display device, the third region being associated with the first predefined action, and

displaying a resultant data object comprising data received through performing the first predefined action on the data records associated with the first object and the second object.

13. The computer-implemented system of claim 12, wherein the first action and the second action is determined based on a distance between the first position of the first object and the second position of the second object.

14. The computer-implemented system of claim 12, wherein the first action and the second action are combined into a single action based on the first object and the second object.