Efficient workspace management using content groups

• US 20060248469A1
• Filed: 04/29/2005
• Published: 11/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Hutchings, Dugald R. II, Czerwinski, Mary P., Robbins, Daniel C., Robertson, George G., Meyers, Brian R., Smith, Gregory R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,624,354 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/764
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04897 Special input arrangements or commands for improving display capability

Abstract

A system and method for efficiently managing desktop content is presented. A plurality of content groups are defined on a computer system. Upon activating the content management system on the computer, representative views are displayed on an associated display device. Each representative view corresponds to a defined content group, and also corresponds to a key on an input device. The system obtains a management action to be completed on the displayed content and further obtains a keypress corresponding to one of the representative views (and its corresponding content group.) The system identifies the content group corresponding to the keypress and carries out the management action on the display content of that content group.

Claims

1. A display management system, operating on a computer system having a display device, a memory, a graphics display system, and an input device having a plurality of keys for inputting data to the computer system, for efficiently managing displayable content on the computer system, wherein the display management system is configured such that:

the display management system defines a plurality of content groups, wherein a content group is a grouping of content that can be displayed on the display device via the graphics display system; and

upon detecting a display management trigger event, the display management system;

displays a plurality of representative views on the display device, wherein each representative view corresponds to one of the defined content groups, and wherein each representative view is associated with a key on the input device;

obtains a display management action event identifying a management action to be taken by the content management system;

obtains a keypress input from the input device;

identifies a content group corresponding to the keypress input; and

carries out the identified management action on the identified content group.

2. The display management system of claim 1, wherein the display management system displays a value in each representative view that corresponds to the key on the input device that is associated with the representative view.

3. The display management system of claim 2, wherein the display management system displays the plurality of representative views on the display device in a grid arrangement.

4. The display management system of claim 3, wherein the display management system defines nine content groups, and wherein the grid arrangement of the representative views corresponds to the key arrangement of keys 1-9 on a numeric keypad.

5. The display management system of claim 4, wherein one of the defined content groups is defined as a working group through which management actions on content in the content groups is effectuated.

6. The display management system of claim 5, wherein display content can be associated with a content group, and display content associated with a content group other than the working group is only temporarily displayed with the working group.

7. The display management system of claim 5, wherein the display management action event is obtained as a result of a single key or combination of a typical key keypress, a function key keypress, a typical key keypress and a modifier key keypress, or a function key keypress and a modifier key keypress.

8. The display management system of claim 7, wherein the management action to be taken by the content management system is a stow action that removes content associated with the identified content group being temporarily displayed with the working group.

9. The display management system of claim 7, wherein the management action to be taken by the content management system is a retrieve action that retrieves content associated with the identified content group to be temporarily displayed with the working group.

10. The display management system of claim 7, wherein the management action to be taken by the content management system is a swap action that removes content associated with a content group other than the working group from being temporarily displayed with the working group and retrieves content associated with the identified content group to be temporarily displayed with the working group.

11. The display management system of claim 7, wherein the management action to be taken by the content management system is an association action that associates identified content currently displayed in the working group with the identified content group.

12. The display management system of claim 7, wherein the management action to be taken by the content management system is a disassociation action that disassociates identified content currently displayed with the working group from the identified content group.

13. A computer-readable medium bearing computer-executable instructions which, when executed on a computer including a display device, a graphics display system, a memory, and an input device having a plurality of keys for inputting data into the computer, carry out a method for managing display content on the computer, the method comprising:

defining a plurality of content groups, wherein a content group is a grouping of content that can be displayed on the display device via the graphics display system; and

upon detecting a display management trigger event;

displaying a plurality of representative views on the display device, wherein each representative view corresponds to one of the defined content groups, and wherein each representative view is associated with a key on the input device;

obtaining a display management action event identifying a management action to be taken by the content management system;

obtaining a keypress input from the input device;

identifying a content group corresponding to the keypress input by identifying the representative view associated to the key of the keypress input, and identifying the content group corresponding to the identified representative view; and

implementing the identified management action on the identified content group.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 further comprising displaying a value in each representative view that corresponds to the key on the input device that is associated with the representative view.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein defining the plurality of content groups comprises defining nine content groups, and wherein the plurality of representative views are displayed on the display device in a grid arrangement corresponding to the key arrangement of keys 1-9 on a numeric keypad.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein one of the defined content groups is designated as a working group through which display management actions on content in the content groups is effectuated.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein display content can be associated with a defined content group, and display content associated with a content group other than the working group can only be temporarily displayed with the working group.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the display management action event is obtained as a result of a single keypress combination of a typical key keypress, a function key keypress, a typical key keypress and a modifier key keypress, or a function key keypress and a modifier key keypress.

19. A computer system for efficiently managing the display of content to a computer user, the computer system comprising:

a display device for displaying content to the computer user;

an input device having a plurality of keys for inputting data into the computer system;

a memory storing a plurality of content groups defined on the computer system, each content group comprising a group of displayable content; and

a graphics display system configured to render displayable content onto the display device;

wherein the computer system is configured to detect a content management event, and upon detecting the content management event, the computer system;

displays a plurality of representative views in a grid arrangement, wherein each representative view corresponds to a defined content group, wherein each representative view also corresponds to one of the keys on the input device and further displays the value of the corresponding key on the representative view, and wherein the grid arrangement corresponds to the arrangement of keys on the input device;

obtains a management action event identifying a content group management action to be taken by the computer system;

obtains a key input from the input device that identifies a content group upon which the content group management action is to be taken; and

carries out the content group management action on the identified content group.

20. The computer system of claim 19, wherein one of the defined content groups is designated as a working group through which management actions are effectuated.