Graphical user interface that emulates a multi-fold physical file folder

• US 10,754,510 B1
• Filed: 02/03/2019
• Issued: 08/25/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jordan M. Becker
• Original Assignee: Jordan M. Becker
• Inventors: Becker, Jordan M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pitaro, Ryan F
• Application Number:
  US16/266,103
• Time in Patent Office: 569 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/16 File or folder operations, e.g. details of user interfaces specifically adapted to file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/168 Details of user interfaces specifically adapted to file systems, e.g. browsing and visualisation, 2d or 3d GUIs query results presentation G06F16/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/285 Clustering or classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/287 Visualization; Browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/413 Classification of content, e.g. text, photographs or tables

Abstract

A Document Integration and Viewing System (DIVS) can perform a method that comprises accessing a plurality of electronic documents, assigning each of the electronic documents to an appropriate category of a plurality of user-specified document categories, establishing a sequence for the electronic documents in each of the user-specified document categories, and generating a graphical user interface that includes a plurality of panes. Each of the user-specified document categories is assigned to a different pane of the plurality of panes so that each of the electronic documents is assigned to a corresponding one of the panes. Within each pane, all of the electronic documents assigned to the pane are viewable sequentially in response to user inputs according to the sequence determined for the electronic documents of the corresponding category, with seamless visual transitions between contents of the electronic documents assigned to each pane.

Claims

1. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storing instructions, execution of which by a computer system causes the computer system to perform operations comprising:

assigning each of a plurality of electronic documents to a category of a plurality of user-specified document categories, wherein two or more electronic documents can be assigned to each of the user-specified document categories;

establishing a sequence for the electronic documents in each of the user-specified document categories; and

generating a graphical user interface (GUI) for display by a display device to a user, the GUI including an application window that includes a plurality of displayable panes, wherein said generating includes assigning each of the user-specified document categories to a different pane of the plurality of panes and assigning each of the electronic documents to the pane or panes assigned to the document category or categories, respectively, to which the electronic document is assigned, the GUI being such that within each pane, contents of the electronic documents assigned to the corresponding user-specified document category can be viewed by a user by random access or sequentially according to the determined sequence, and wherein the electronic documents associated with each pane are viewable in said pane sequentially without a user having to open or select individually said documents assigned to the corresponding user-specified document category.

2. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the GUI is such that the documents within each pane are scrollable by the user so as to have the appearance collectively of being a single multi-page document.

3. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein said assigning each of the electronic documents to a category is at least partially in response to user inputs assigning one of the documents to one of the categories.

4. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein said assigning each of the electronic documents to a category comprises assigning one of the electronic documents to the category without user inputs indicating that said one of the documents should be assigned to the category.

5. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein said assigning each of the electronic documents to a category comprises automatically assigning one of the electronic documents to a category based on metadata of the document.

6. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein said assigning each of the electronic documents to a category comprises automatically assigning one of the electronic documents to the category based on content of the document.

7. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the plurality of document categories are based on types of content in the plurality of documents.

8. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, said operations further comprising:

receiving, from a user input device, user inputs that specify at least one of the plurality of categories, wherein said assigning comprises assigning each of the electronic documents to a category at least partially in response to the user inputs that specify at least one of the plurality of categories.

9. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, said operations further comprising:

assigning a particular document of the plurality of electronic documents to at least two categories of the plurality of categories; and

enabling the particular document to be independently and concurrently viewable by the user in each pane that corresponds to one of the at least two categories.

10. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, said operations further comprising:

storing the plurality of documents in a single user-defined logical data container; and

in response to a user command for opening the logical container, automatically loading at least some of the plurality of documents into a working memory.

11. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein said generating comprises enabling the user to scroll continuously through contents of all of the electronic documents assigned to any of the panes without requiring the user to individually open or identify the electronic documents assigned to said pane.

12. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, said operations further comprising:

generating at least one of the panes to include an index of the electronic documents assigned to that pane.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein said establishing the sequence for the electronic documents in each category comprises establishing a display sequence for the electronic documents in one of the categories, without requiring user input, based on time/date stamps associated with the documents in the category.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

said assigning includes

assigning a first document of the plurality of electronic documents to one of the plurality of categories, based on user inputs assigning the first document to a category; and

assigning a second document of the plurality of electronic documents to one of the plurality of categories without user inputs specifying a category for the second document; and

said establishing the sequence for the electronic documents comprises establishing the sequence for the electronic documents in one of the categories automatically based on time/date stamps associated with the documents in the category.

15. A computer-implemented method comprising:

accessing, by a computer system, a plurality of stored electronic documents, each of which has been assigned to a category of a plurality of user-specified categories;

associating, by the computer system, each of the user-specified categories with a different pane of a plurality of panes to be displayed;

generating, by the computer system, a graphical user interface (GUI) for display on a display device, so that the GUI displays the plurality of panes concurrently, wherein each of the electronic documents is associated with and displayable in a corresponding pane associated with a category to which the electronic document has been assigned; and

enabling both random access viewing of, and sequential visual scrolling between, the electronic documents within each pane of the plurality of panes, by a user, so that for each pane of the plurality of panes, the user does not have to individually request each electronic document associated with the pane to view contents of each electronic document associated with the pane.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein said generating comprises enabling the user to scroll continuously through contents of all of the electronic documents assigned to any of the panes without requiring the user to individually open or identify the electronic documents assigned to any of the panes.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising establishing, without requiring user input, a display sequence for the electronic documents in each category.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising establishing, without requiring user input, a display sequence for the electronic documents in at least one category of the plurality of categories, based on time/date stamps associated with the documents in the category.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising:

generating at least one of the panes to include an index of the electronic documents assigned to that pane.

20. An apparatus comprising:

means for assigning each of a plurality of electronic documents to a category of a plurality of user-specified document categories, wherein two or more electronic documents can be assigned to each of the user-specified document categories;

means for establishing a sequence for the electronic documents in each of the user-specified document categories; and

means for generating a graphical user interface (GUI) for display by a display device to a user, such that the GUI includes an application window that includes a plurality of displayable panes, the generating includes assigning each of the user-specified document categories to a different pane of the plurality of panes and assigning each of the electronic documents to the pane or panes assigned to the document category or categories, respectively, to which the electronic document is assigned, the GUI being such that within each pane, contents of the electronic documents assigned to the corresponding user-specified document category can be viewed by a user by random access or sequentially according to the determined sequence, and wherein the electronic documents associated with each pane are viewable in said pane sequentially without a user having to open or select individually said documents assigned to the corresponding user-specified document category.