Chat user interface for threaded text chat systems

• US 20060090137A1
• Filed: 10/26/2004
• Published: 04/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ross, Steven I., Hupfer, Susanne C., Patterson, John, Cheng, Li-Te, Clark, Bryan W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,683,351 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/758
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A chat user interface for threaded text chat systems. The user interface can include a canvas view in which multiple portions of a threaded text tree for a chat session can be rendered separately and concurrently. The user interface further can include a chat participant view, a chat input view and an outline view of an ongoing chat session. Notably, selections of a threaded text tree rendered in the canvas view can be configured for zooming so that certain parts of the threaded text tree can be viewed more readily than other parts of the threaded text tree. Moreover, as new text entries are provided to any branch of the threaded text tree, visual indicators can be activated in the canvas view to alert an end user to the location of the new text entries. Finally, the canvas view can accommodate both imported external objects, such as graphics or links to Web pages, and also a white board region into which notations can be applied by an end user during the course of a chat session.

Claims

1. A chat user interface for threaded text chat systems, the interface comprising:

a chat input view configured to accept text input for posting to a threaded text chat session;

a chat participant view configured to display a listing of participants to said threaded text chat session;

an outline view configured to display a complete hierarchical view of said threaded text chat session; and

,

a canvas view configured to separately and concurrently display at least two branches of said threaded text chat session.

2. The chat user interface of claim 1, wherein said complete hierarchical view comprises a plurality of collapsible and expandable branches of a tree structure representing said threaded text chat session.

3. The chat user interface of claim 1, wherein at least one of said at least two branches of said threaded text chat session comprises a plurality of collapsible and expandable branches of a tree structure representing said at least one of said at least two branches of said threaded text chat session.

4. The chat user interface of claim 1, wherein each participant listed in said listing of participants in said chat participant view comprises an associated mode of presentation indicative of said participant when utilized in said canvas view and in said outline view.

5. The chat user interface of claim 1, wherein each new posting to said canvas view comprises a modified visual appearance arranged to alert an end user of said new posting.

6. The chat user interface of claim 1, wherein each new posting to said outline view comprises a modified visual appearance arranged to alert an end user of said new posting.

7. The chat user interface of claim 1, wherein said canvas view comprises logic programmed to manage a pinning up of a selected node of a branch of a chat tree.

8. The chat user interface of claim 7, wherein said pinning up comprises a graphical drag and drop manipulation of said selected node to a region of said canvas view which differs from a region of said canvas view of a branch containing said selected node.

9. The chat user interface of claim 1, wherein said canvas view further comprises a context menu providing access to a zoom operation, said zoom operation causing a visual zooming of said canvas view.

10. The chat user interface of claim 1, wherein said canvas view further comprises a context menu providing access to a zoom operation, said zoom operation causing a visual zooming of a selected portion of a branch displayed in said canvas view.

11. The chat user interface of claim 1, wherein said canvas view further comprises a context menu providing access to an import operation, said import operation causing an inserting of an external object into said canvas view.

12. The chat user interface of claim 1, wherein said canvas view further comprises a context menu providing access to a white board operation, said white board operation causing an establishment of a region of said canvas view configured to accept end user provided notes.

13. The chat user interface of claim 1, wherein said canvas view further comprises a context menu providing access to a save transcript operation, said save transcript operation causing a persisting of said threaded text chat session.

14. The chat user interface of claim 1, wherein said canvas view further comprises a context menu providing access to a save layout operation, said save layout operation causing a persisting of a visual layout of said canvas view.

15. The chat user interface of claim 14, further comprising a policy specifying participants to said chat session permitted to access said visual layout of said canvas view.

16. A method for managing a threaded text chat session in a chat session user interface, the method comprising the steps of:

rendering at least a branch of a chat tree in a canvas view of the chat session user interface;

selecting a portion of said branch; and

,

concurrently and separately rendering said selected portion along with said branch in said canvas view.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of substantially simultaneously adding a new posting to the threaded text chat session to a designated node of said branch and to a corresponding node in said separately rendered selected portion in said canvas view.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of adding an associated mode of presentation to a posted message in said chat tree which is indicative of a participant posting said posted message.

19. A machine readable storage having stored thereon a computer program for managing a threaded text chat session in a chat session user interface, the computer program comprising a routine set of instructions which when executed by a machine causes the machine to perform the steps of:

rendering at least a branch of a chat tree in a canvas view of the chat session user interface;

selecting a portion of said branch; and

,

concurrently and separately rendering said selected portion along with said branch in said canvas view.

20. The machine readable storage of claim 19, further comprising an additional set of instructions for causing the machine to additionally perform the step of substantially simultaneously adding a new posting to the threaded text chat session to a designated node of said branch and to a corresponding node in said separately rendered selected portion in said canvas view.