Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Managing Folders

• US 20110252346A1
• Filed: 09/22/2010
• Published: 10/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Chaudhri, Imran
• Granted Patent: US 9,170,708 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/765
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72469 for operating the device by selecting functions from two or more displayed items, e.g. menus or icons
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A multifunction device displays a plurality of selectable user interface objects on the display. In response to detecting the first input, the device moves a first object in the plurality of selectable user interface objects across the display to a location on the display that is proximate to a second object in the plurality of selectable user interface objects. In response to detecting that the first input meets predefined folder-creation criteria while the first object is proximate to the second object, the device creates a folder that contains the first object and the second object.

Claims

1. A multifunction device, comprising:

a display;

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

displaying a dynamic folder icon, wherein the dynamic folder icon includes a visual indication of current content in a folder that is associated with the dynamic folder icon;

detecting an input that corresponds to a request to modify content in the folder;

in response to detecting the input;

modifying the content in the folder; and

updating the dynamic folder icon to include a visual indication of a spatial arrangement of the modified content within the folder.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the content includes a plurality of action icons, the spatial arrangement is a predefined grid of action icons, and a plurality of respective action icons each has one or more horizontally adjacent neighboring action icons.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the dynamic folder icon includes reduced scale representations of at least a subset of the plurality of action icons, and the reduced scale representations are arranged so that, for a plurality of the reduced scale representations, each reduced scale representation of a respective action icon is horizontally adjacent to a reduced scale representation of one of the neighboring action icons for the respective action icon.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein:

the folder includes a plurality of action icons having a first scale; and

displaying the dynamic folder icon includes displaying reduced scale representations of one or more of action icons in the plurality of action icons at a second scale within the dynamic folder icon, the second scale being smaller than the first scale.

5. The device of claim 4, including instructions for:

detecting a repositioning input that corresponds to a request to reposition a first action icon within the folder; and

in response to detecting the repositioning input;

repositioning the first action icon within the folder in accordance with the repositioning input; and

repositioning a reduced scale representation of the action icon within the dynamic folder icon in accordance with the repositioning of the first action icon within the folder.

6. The device of claim 4, including instructions for:

detecting an icon removal input that corresponds to a request to remove a first action icon from the folder; and

in response to detecting the icon removal input;

removing the first action icon from the folder; and

removing a reduced scale representation of the first action icon from the dynamic folder icon.

7. The device of claim 4, including instructions for:

detecting an icon addition input that corresponds to a request to add a first action icon to the folder; and

in response to detecting the icon removal input;

adding the first action icon to the folder; and

adding a reduced scale representation of the first action icon to the dynamic folder icon.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the content of the folder includes an action icon and the dynamic folder icon changes when there is a notification from an application that corresponds to the action icon.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the dynamic folder icon changes by displaying a status indicator on the dynamic folder icon.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the dynamic folder icon changes by displaying a status indicator on a reduced scale version of the action icon within the dynamic folder icon.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the appearance of the dynamic folder icon changes when the multifunction device is in a user interface reconfiguration mode.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the folder has limited space for displaying selectable user interface objects and the appearance of the dynamic folder icon in user interface reconfiguration mode indicates whether the folder has space to display any additional selectable user interface objects.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the dynamic folder icon indicates a number of action icons that are contained within the folder associated with the dynamic folder icon.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein:

the folder is an automatically created folder; and

detecting an input that corresponds to a request to modify content in the folder includes detecting an input associated with a respective application such that a respective action icon associated with the respective application is added to, removed from or moved within the folder.

15. A method comprising:

at a multifunction device with a display;

displaying a dynamic folder icon, wherein the dynamic folder icon includes a visual indication of current content in a folder that is associated with the dynamic folder icon;

detecting an input that corresponds to a request to modify content in the folder;

in response to detecting the input;

modifying the content in the folder; and

updating the dynamic folder icon to include a visual indication of a spatial arrangement of the modified content within the folder.

16. A graphical user interface on a multifunction device with a display, a memory, and one or more processors to execute one or more programs stored in the memory, the graphical user interface comprising:

a dynamic folder icon, wherein the dynamic folder icon includes a visual indication of current content in a folder that is associated with the dynamic folder icon;

wherein;

an input that corresponds to a request to modify content in the folder is detected;

in response to detecting the input;

the content in the folder is modified; and

the dynamic folder icon is updated to include a visual indication of a spatial arrangement of the modified content within the folder.

17. A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by a multifunction device with a display, cause the device to:

display a dynamic folder icon, wherein the dynamic folder icon includes a visual indication of current content in a folder that is associated with the dynamic folder icon;

detect an input that corresponds to a request to modify content in the folder;

in response to detecting the input;

modify the content in the folder; and

update the dynamic folder icon to include a visual indication of a spatial arrangement of the modified content within the folder.

18. A multifunction device, comprising:

a display;

means for displaying a dynamic folder icon, wherein the dynamic folder icon includes a visual indication of current content in a folder that is associated with the dynamic folder icon;

means for detecting an input that corresponds to a request to modify content in the folder;

means, responsive to detecting the input, for;

modifying the content in the folder; and

updating the dynamic folder icon to include a visual indication of a spatial arrangement of the modified content within the folder.

19. An information processing apparatus for use in a multifunction device with a display, comprising:

means for displaying a dynamic folder icon, wherein the dynamic folder icon includes a visual indication of current content in a folder that is associated with the dynamic folder icon;

means for detecting an input that corresponds to a request to modify content in the folder;

means, responsive to detecting the input, for;

modifying the content in the folder; and

updating the dynamic folder icon to include a visual indication of a spatial arrangement of the modified content within the folder.