Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Reordering the Front-to-Back Positions of Objects

• US 20120030569A1
• Filed: 07/30/2010
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Migos, Charles J., Capela, Jay Christopher, Weeldreyer, Christopher Douglas, Thimbleby, William John, Reid, Elizabeth Gloria Guarino
• Granted Patent: US 8,972,879 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/702
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

At a multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, a plurality of objects are displayed on the display. The plurality of objects have a first layer order. A first contact is detected at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a location of a respective object of the plurality of objects. While detecting the first contact, a gesture that includes a second contact is detected on the touch-sensitive surface. In response to detecting the gesture, the plurality of objects are reordered in accordance with the gesture to create a second layer order that is different from the first layer order. In some embodiments, the position of the respective object within the first order is different from the position of the respective object within the second order.

Claims

1. A multifunction device, comprising:

a display;

a touch-sensitive surface;

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 plurality of objects on the display, wherein the plurality of objects have a first layer order;

detecting a first contact at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a location of a respective object on the display;

while detecting the first contact, detecting a gesture that includes a second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture, reordering the plurality of objects in accordance with the gesture to create a second layer order that is different from the first layer order.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the position of the respective object within the first layer order is different from the position of the respective object within the second layer order.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the gesture meets predetermined object-reordering criteria, the predetermined object reordering criteria including that:

the second contact is maintained for more than a predetermined threshold amount of time at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a portion of the display that is apart from any objects in the plurality of objects; and

,

after the second contact is maintained for more than the predetermined threshold amount of time, movement of the second contact is detected on the touch-sensitive surface that is above a threshold amount of movement.

4. The device of claim 1, including instructions for displaying, for each respective object in at least a subset of the plurality of objects, a respective object order indicator, wherein the respective object order indicator for a respective object provides a visual indication of a position of the respective object within the first layer order.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the object order indicators are displayed in response to detecting an input that meets object order indicator display criteria.

6. The device of claim 4, including instructions for, in response to detecting the gesture, updating the respective object order indicator for the respective object, so that the respective object order indicator provides a visual indication of a position of the respective object within the second layer order.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein multiple objects, including the respective object, are selected objects when the gesture is detected, and a position of each of the selected objects within the first layer order is different from a position of each of the selected objects within the second layer order.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein:

in the first layer order, each of the selected objects has a relative position with respect to the other selected objects; and

in the second layer order, each of the selected objects has the same relative position with respect to the other selected objects.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein:

in the first layer order, an object in the plurality of objects that is not selected has a position that is between two of the selected objects; and

in the second layer order, the two selected objects are consecutively ordered.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein:

the gesture includes movement of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; and

the second layer order is determined in accordance with a component of the movement of the second contact that corresponds to a predetermined axis of the display.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein:

when the component of movement of the second contact that corresponds to the predetermined axis of the display is in a first direction, a position of the respective object in the second layer order is higher than a position of the respective object in the first layer order; and

,

when the component of movement of the second contact that corresponds to the predetermined axis of the display is in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction, a position of the respective object in the second layer order is lower than the position of the respective object in the first layer order.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein:

when the component of movement of the second contact has a respective magnitude in the first direction, the position of the respective object within the second layer order is a respective number of positions higher than the position of the respective object within the first layer order; and

,

when the vertical component of movement of the second contact has the same respective magnitude in the second direction, the position of the respective object within the second layer order is the same respective number of positions lower than the position of the respective object within the first layer order.

13. The device of claim 10, wherein the position of the respective object in the second layer order is determined in accordance with:

a magnitude of the component of movement of the second contact that corresponds to the predetermined axis of the display;

a distance between an initial location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface and an edge of the touch-sensitive surface; and

a quantity of objects that are included in the plurality of objects.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein:

regions in a space between a first edge of the touch-sensitive surface and a second edge of the touch-sensitive surface are mapped to positions in the first layer order so that;

the regions are arranged along a predefined axis of the touch-sensitive surface between the first edge of the touch-sensitive surface and the second edge of the touch-sensitive surface in accordance with the first layer order;

an initial region that corresponds to the initial location of the second contact is mapped to a current position of the respective object;

each of the positions above the current position of the respective object is mapped to a region between the initial region and the first edge;

each of the positions below the current position of the respective object is mapped to a region between the initial region and the second edge; and

a size and location of each of the regions is determined in accordance with predefined criteria;

the gesture includes movement of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; and

the position of the respective object within the second layer order is a position that is mapped to the region that corresponds to an updated location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface.

15. A method, comprising:

at a multifunction device with a touch-sensitive surface and a display;

displaying a plurality of objects on the display, wherein the plurality of objects have a first layer order;

detecting a first contact at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a location of a respective object on the display;

while detecting the first contact, detecting a gesture that includes a second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture, reordering the plurality of objects in accordance with the gesture to create a second layer order that is different from the first layer order.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the position of the respective object within the first layer order is different from the position of the respective object within the second layer order.

17. The method of claim 15, including displaying, for each respective object in at least a subset of the plurality of objects, a respective object order indicator, wherein the respective object order indicator for a respective object provides a visual indication of a position of the respective object within the first layer order.

18. 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 and a touch-sensitive surface, cause the device to:

display a plurality of objects on the display, wherein the plurality of objects have a first layer order;

detect a first contact at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a location of a respective object on the display;

while detecting the first contact, detect a gesture that includes a second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture, reorder the plurality of objects in accordance with the gesture so as to create a second layer order that is different from the first layer order.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the position of the respective object within the first layer order is different from the position of the respective object within the second layer order.

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

a plurality of objects;

wherein;

the plurality of objects have a first layer order;

a first contact is detected at a location on the touch-sensitive surface that corresponds to a location of a respective object on the display;

while detecting the first contact, a gesture that includes a second contact is detected on the touch-sensitive surface; and

,

in response to detecting the gesture, the plurality of objects is reordered in accordance with the gesture to create a second layer order that is different from the first layer order.