Method and system for graphical user interface (GUI) widget having user-selectable mass

• US 20020171675A1
• Filed: 05/15/2001
• Published: 11/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hauser, Joshua M., Fox, James E., Leah, Robert C., Mcallister, Scott J.
• Application Number:
  US09/855,365
• Publication Number:
  US 20020171675A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/701
• 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 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence

Abstract

An analog to a gravitational force field is generated mathematically to operate between a displayed selection pointer and a graphical user interface (GUI) widget. Under this scheme, the widget has an associated mass value m that is user selectable. To select the mass value, the user can trigger an event, such as a predefined mouse click or pop-up menu, that presents a user interface for entering the widget mass value. By varying the mass value of the widget, a user can vary the effective force boundary surrounding the widget on a display screen, and thus, vary the degree of interaction between the widget and selection pointer.

Claims

1. A method of defining a widget displayable by a graphical user interface (GUI), comprising:

triggering an event associated with the widget;

responsive to the event, selecting a mass m associated with the widget; and

determining an effective force boundary circumscribing the widget as a function of the mass m.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining includes:

determining a mass M associated with a selection pointer displayable by the GUI; and

calculating the value B={square root}{square root over (m/M)}, wherein B represents the effective force boundary.

3. The method of claim 1,wherein the step of triggering includes:

activating a pop-up menu for selecting the mass m.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

using a selection pointer to activate the pop-up menu.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of triggering includes:

selecting the widget with a selection pointer while the widget is being displayed by the GUI; and

clicking a mouse button to activate a pop-up menu for selecting the mass m.

6. A computer system, comprising:

a display;

a graphical user interface (GUI) presented by the display;

a widget, included in the GUI, having a user-selectable mass m associated therewith;

a selection mechanism permitting an end-user to select a value of the mass m; and

means for defining an effective force boundary of the widget as a function of the mass m.

7. The computer system of claim 6, further comprising:

a selection pointer displayable by the GUI having a mass M; and

means for calculating the value B={square root}{square root over (m/M)}, wherein B represents the effective force boundary.

8. The computer system of claim 7, further comprising:

means for determining the distance D between the center of the selection pointer and the center of the widget;

comparison means for determining if the magnitude of the value of B is greater than or equal to D; and

means for moving the selection pointer displayed by the GUI relative to the widget, responsive to the comparison means.

9. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the selection mechanism includes a pop-up menu for selecting the mass m.

10. A computer program product stored in a computer-usable medium, comprising:

means for providing trigger-event associated with a widget displayable by a graphical user interface (GUI);

means for permitting a user to select a mass m associated with the widget in response to the trigger-event; and

means for determining an effective force boundary of the widget as a function of the mass m.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the means for determining includes:

means for determining a mass M associated with a selection pointer displayable by the GUI; and

means for calculating the value B={square root}{square root over (m/M)}, wherein B represents the effective force boundary.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising:

means for determining the distance D between the center of the selection pointer and the center of the widget;

comparison means for determining if the magnitude of the value of B is greater than or equal to D; and

means for moving the selection pointer relative to the widget in the GUI, responsive to the comparison means.

13. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the means for permitting a user selection includes:

means for activating a pop-up menu for selecting the mass m.