Aligned behavior in templated lists

• US 20060005120A1
• Filed: 06/30/2004
• Published: 01/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Peters, Ted Andrew, Cooper, Kenneth Bruce
• Granted Patent: US 7,472,347 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• 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 40/177 of tables; using ruled lines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates

Abstract

A list control allows for a harmonized display of heterogeneous list element data by using at least two templates. The templates define the layout for the list element data. The templates consult an interface while calculating the layout. The interface provides information regarding the location of at least one gridline; the layout for the list element data is based on that location. The list control implements the interface, thus allowing heterogeneous templates to rely one interface providing on one gridline location. In order to take into account the requirements of each list element for gridline location, the interface requests information regarding a preliminary gridline location for each list element and bases the final gridline location on this information.

Claims

1. A method of generating display information for a set of list data, said list data comprising at least one set of list element data, comprising:

selecting, for each set of list element data, a template from a template set of at least two possible templates, where each of said possible templates provides a corresponding layout policy for calculating a graphical layout of said subset of list element data, and where at least two of said corresponding layout policies provide for a graphical layout based on a location of a gridline; and

providing an interface for use by each of said templates, said interface providing information establishing said location of said gridline.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying said list data by displaying each of said sets of list element data according to said selected template and said corresponding layout policy.

3. The method of claim 1, where said interface establishes said location of said gridline by determining, for each set of list element data where said selected template for said set provides a corresponding layout policy for displaying list element data based on the location of at least one gridline, a preliminary calculation of a location for said gridline.

4. The method of claim 1, where said gridline comprises a column boundary for said list data.

5. The method of claim 1, where said method is implemented in a list control.

6. The method of claim 1, where said graphical layout comprises boundary information for at least one item of list element data in said set of list element data.

7. The method of claim 1, where for each set of list element data where said selected template for said set provides a corresponding layout policy for displaying list element data based on said location of said gridline, said boundary information defines a boundary for at least one item of list element data based on said gridline.

8. The method of claim 1, where at least two of said corresponding layout policies provide for a graphical layout based on a location of two or more gridlines and where said interface provides information establishing a location for each of said two or more gridlines.

9. A method for determining the graphical layout of list element data, said method comprising:

selecting a template from a template set of at least two possible templates, where each of said possible templates provides a corresponding layout policy for calculating a graphical layout of said list element data based on the location of at least one gridline;

using an interface to request a position for a selected gridline from among said at least one gridlines; and

using said position to calculate a graphical layout for said list element data.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

in response to a request from said interface, calculating preliminary location data for said at least one gridline.

11. The method of claim 9, where said selected gridline comprises a column boundary for said list data.

12. The method of claim 9, where said interface is implemented in a list control.

13. The method of claim 9, where said graphical layout comprises boundary information for at least one item of data from among said list element data.

14. The method of claim 9, where said boundary information defines a boundary for at least one item of list element data based on one of said at least one gridlines.

15. The method of claim 9, where said step of using an interface to request a position requests a position for each of said at least one gridlines.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

upon request from said interface, calculating a preliminary gridline position for said list element data.

17. A display device having rendered thereon list layout data comprising at least one set of list element layout data, each of said list element layout data corresponding to a set of list element layout data and computed by:

selecting, for each set of list element data, a template from a template set of at least two possible templates, where each of said possible templates provides a corresponding layout policy for calculating a graphical layout of said subset of list element data, and where at least two of said corresponding layout policies provide for a graphical layout based on the location of at least one gridline; and

providing an interface for use by each of said templates, said interface providing information establishing the location of said at least one gridline.

18. The list control of claim 17, where said interface establishes said location of said gridline by determining, for each set of list element data where said selected template for said set provides a corresponding layout policy for displaying list element data based on the location of at least one gridline, a preliminary calculation of a location for said gridline.

19. The list control of claim 17, where said at least one gridline comprises a column boundary for said list data.

20. The list control of claim 17, where said list layout data is computed by a list control.

21. The list control of claim 17, where said graphical layout comprises boundary information for at least one item of list element data in said set of list element data.

22. The list control of claim 17, where for each set of list element data where said selected template for said set provides a corresponding layout policy for displaying list element data based on the location of at least one gridline, said boundary information defines a boundary for at least one item of list element data based on said gridline.

23. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for generating display information for a set of list data, said list data comprising at least one set of list element data, said instructions for performing steps comprising:

selecting, for each set of list element data, a template from a template set of at least two possible templates, where each of said possible templates provides a corresponding layout policy for calculating a graphical layout of said subset of list element data, and where at least two of said corresponding layout policies provide for a graphical layout based on a location of a gridline; and

providing an interface for use by each of said templates, said interface providing information establishing said location of said gridline.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, said steps further comprising:

displaying said list data by displaying each of said sets of list element data according to said selected template and said corresponding layout policy.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, where said interface establishes said location of said gridline by determining, for each set of list element data where said selected template for said set provides a corresponding layout policy for displaying list element data based on the location of at least one gridline, a preliminary calculation of a location for said gridline.

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, where said at least one gridline comprises a column boundary for said list data.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, where said graphical layout comprises boundary information for at least one item of list element data in said set of list element data.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, where for each set of list element data where said selected template for said set provides a corresponding layout policy for displaying list element data based on the location of at least one gridline, said boundary information defines a boundary for at least one item of list element data based on said gridline.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, where at least two of said corresponding layout policies provide for a graphical layout based on a location of two or more gridlines and where said interface provides information establishing a location for each of said two or more gridlines.

30. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for determining the graphical layout of list element data, said instructions for performing steps comprising:

selecting a template from a template set of at least two possible templates, where each of said possible templates provides a corresponding layout policy for calculating a graphical layout of said list element data based on the location of at least one gridline;

using an interface to request a position for a selected gridline from among said at least one gridlines; and

using said position to calculate a graphical layout for said list element data.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 30, said steps further comprising:

in response to a request from said interface, calculating preliminary location data for said at least one gridline.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 30, where said selected gridline comprises a column boundary for said list data.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 30, where said interface is implemented in a list control.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 30, where said graphical layout comprises boundary information for at least one item from among said set of list element data.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 30, where said boundary information defines a boundary for at least one item of list element data based on one of said at least one gridlines.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 30, where said step of using an interface to request a position requests a position for each of said at least one gridlines.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 30, said steps further comprising:

upon request from said interface, calculating a preliminary gridline position for said list element data.