Managing display windows on small screens

• US 20080163101A1
• Filed: 01/03/2007
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Hubbard, Dustin von, Fischer, Michael H., Rimas-Ribikauskas, Emily
• Application Number:
  US11/649,040
• Publication Number:
  US 20080163101A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/781
• 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

Abstract

A technique and apparatus are provided for managing display windows that are too large for viewing on a screen. A screen manager via a re-positioning apparatus, such as a scroll bar, hardware keys, a separate user-interface widget, or the like, re-positions a display window on the screen. The re-positioning apparatus is not part of the display window. The re-positioning apparatus may be manually or automatically initiated. The screen manager is configured to move a portion or the entire display window to a location that is inaccessible to a cursor on the screen.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for managing display windows on a screen, comprising:

obtaining a location of a display window on the screen, the entire display window being too large to be viewed at one time on the screen;

receiving user input via a re-positioning apparatus that is not a part of the display window; and

moving the location of the display window on the screen based on the user input.

2. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 1, further comprising manually initiating the re-positioning apparatus.

3. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 2, wherein manually initiating the re-positioning apparatus comprises selecting a toolbar associated with the re-positioning apparatus in a taskbar displayed on the screen.

4. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 1, further comprising automatically initiating the re-positioning apparatus.

5. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 4, wherein automatically initiating the re-positioning apparatus comprises monitoring the location of the display window in relation to the size of the screen and initiating the re-positioning apparatus when a pre-determined portion of the display window is not viewable on the screen.

6. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 1, wherein the re-positioning apparatus comprises a scroll bar displayed in a child window on the screen.

7. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 6, wherein movement of the scroll bar and the display window are in unison.

8. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 1, wherein the re-positioning apparatus comprises a set of keys on a keypad of a computing device.

9. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 1, wherein moving the display window comprises moving a portion of the display window where a cursor can not access the display window.

10. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 1, further comprising terminating the re-positioning apparatus when the display window closes.

11. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 1, further comprising manually terminating the re-positioning apparatus.

12. The computer-readable medium recited in claim 1, wherein the re-positioning apparatus moves another display window on the screen instead of the display window.

13. A computer-executable method comprising:

creating a child window with a scroll bar;

displaying the child window on a screen;

receiving user input via the scroll bar; and

re-positioning a display window on the screen based on the user input, the child window not being a part of the display window.

14. The computer-executable method recited in claim 13, wherein the child window is manually initiated by selecting a toolbar displayed in a taskbar on the screen.

15. The computer-executable method recited in claim 13, wherein the child window is automatically initiated when a pre-determined portion of the display window is not viewable on the screen.

16. The computer-executable method recited in claim 13, wherein re-positioning the display window comprises moving a portion of the display window to a location that is inaccessible to a cursor.

17. A computing device configured to manage display windows on a screen, the computing device comprising:

a processing unit;

a screen; and

a memory into which a plurality of instructions are loaded, the plurality of instructions comprising;

a screen manager configured to re-position a display window on the screen in a manner that allows previously hidden portions of the display window to be viewable on the screen;

a re-positioning apparatus this is configured to receive user input and to communicate the user input to the screen manager to guide the re-positioning of the display window, the re-positioning apparatus not being a part of the display window.

18. The computing device recited in claim 17, wherein the re-positioning apparatus comprises a scroll bar displayed in a child window on the screen.

19. The computing device recited in claim 18, wherein movement of the scroll bar and the display window are in unison.

20. The computing device recited in claim 17, wherein the re-positioning apparatus comprises a set of keys on a keypad of the computing device and a left, right, up, and down direction is associated with a respective key in the set.