User Interface for Providing Task Management and Calendar Information

• US 20100223575A1
• Filed: 05/11/2010
• Published: 09/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Frankel, Glenn L., Jensen, Stephen D., Leukart, Richard H., Williams, Cheryl L., Savastano, Hernan
• Granted Patent: US 8,839,139 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/779
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1093 Calendar-based scheduling for persons or groups
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/963 Calendar or scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/967 Visual or iconic programming
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/968 interface for database querying and retrieval

Abstract

An electronic “To-Do” bar is provided in which displayed upcoming tasks, meetings, appointments and the like. The electronic To-Do bar is displayed in a lightweight menu of tasks, meetings and appointments and is displayed persistently in addition to other software functionality or user interfaces displayed on a user'"'"'s computer display screen according to other software applications or other software functionality in use. A user is presented with an always-visible list of upcoming tasks, meetings and appointments without the need to launch a separate tasks application or calendar application to view upcoming tasks, meetings or appointments.

Claims

1. A method for providing a persistently displayed user interface portion within a multi-functionality application interface, the method comprising:

providing, by a computer, a multi-functionality application;

displaying, within the multi-functionality application, a user interface bar having at least one component associated with at least one application of the multi-functionality application, the user interface bar being persistently visible regardless of which application of the multi-functionality application is currently running; and

providing, within the user interface bar, a task component for displaying at least one task item associated with a task application of the multi-functionality application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, within the user interface bar, a date picker component associated with at least one of a calendar application of the multi-functionality application and an appointment application of the multi-functionality application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein providing, within the user interface bar, the date picker component comprises displaying, within the user interface bar, a calendar for allowing a selection of a date.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising displaying, within the user interface bar, at least one appointment item associated with a date selected at the date picker component.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising associating the at least one task item provided in the task component of the user interface bar with a date provided by the date picker component of the user interface bar, wherein associating the at least one task item with the date comprises associating the at least one task item with the date in response to a dragging of the at least one task item to the date picker component and a dropping of the at least one task item at the date provided by the date picker component.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising, in response to a dragging of a mail item provided in a mail application of the multi-functionality application and a subsequent dropping of the mail item at the date picker component provided in the user interface bar:

establishing the mail item as a task item for provision in at least one of the following;

the task application of the multi-functionality application and the task component of the user interface bar, and

associating the task item with a date provided by the date picker component.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, within the user interface bar, an appointments component for displaying at least one appointment item associated an appointment application of the multi-functionality application.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

executing at least one operation associated with the appointment application of the multi-functionality application in response to a primary selection of the at least one appointment item, and

displaying a menu for providing selections of additional operations associated with the appointment application of the multi-functionality application in response to a secondary selection of the at least one appointment item.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, within the user interface bar, a task input panel for adding tasks, the tasks being associated with at least one of the following:

the task component of the user interface bar and the task application of the multi-functionality application.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating a category with the at least one task item, wherein associating the category with the at least one task item comprises assigning a color to be associated with the at least one task item.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising deploying a menu associated with the at least one task item, the menu comprising at least one of the following:

flagging properties, date properties, and category properties of the at least one task item.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising arranging, within the user interface bar, the at least one task item provided by the at task component according to at least one of the following:

date properties associated with the at least one task item and category properties associated with the at least one task item.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising arranging, with the user interface bar, the at least one task item under a first dated heading corresponding to a date property of the at least one task item.

14. The method of claim 13, modifying the date property of the at least one task item in response to a dragging of the at least one task item from the first dated heading and a subsequent dropping of the at least one task item at a second dated heading.

15. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a set of instructions which when executed by a computer perform a method for providing a persistently displayed user interface portion within a multi-functionality application interface, the method executed by the set of instructions comprising:

providing a multi-functionality application;

displaying, within the multi-functionality application interface, a persistently visible user interface bar having components associated with at least one application of the multi-functionality application, wherein displaying, within the multi-functionality application interface, the persistently visible user interface comprises displaying the user interface bar within the multi-functionality application interface regardless of which application of the multi-functionality application is also displayed in the multi-functionality application interface; and

providing, within the user interface bar, a task component for displaying at least one task item associated with a task application of the multi-functionality application.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising providing, within the user interface bar, an appointments component for displaying at least one appointment item associated an appointment application of the multi-functionality application.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising associating a category with the at least one task item, wherein associating the category with the at least one task item comprises assigning a color to be associated with the at least one task item.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising deploying, in response to a selection of the at least one task item, a menu associated with the at least one task item, the menu comprising at least one of the following:

flagging properties, date properties, and category properties of the at least one task item.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising arranging, within the user interface bar, the at least one task item provided by the at task component according to at least one of the following:

date properties associated with the at least one task item and category properties associated with the at least one task item.

20. A system for providing a persistently displayed user interface portion within a multi-functionality application interface, the system comprising:

a memory storage; and

a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to;

provide a multi-functionality application comprising at least one of the following;

an email application, a contacts application, an appointments application and a tasks application,

persistently display, within the multi-functionality application, a user interface bar comprising at least one of the following;

a task component for displaying at least one task item associated with the task application of the multi-functionality application, wherein the at least one task item comprises modifiable, within the user interface bar, date properties and category properties,

an appointments component for displaying at least one appointment item associated with the appointment application of the multi-functionality application,

assign a color to be associated with the at least one task item based on the category properties of the at least one task item,

arrange, within the user interface bar, the at least one task item under a date heading corresponding to the date properties of the at least one task item, and

deploy a context menu for modifying the date properties and the category properties of the at least one task item.