METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTS FOR NAVIGATING BETWEEN VISUAL COMPONENTS

• US 20120054648A1
• Filed: 08/26/2010
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cypress Lake Software, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sitting Man LLC
• Inventors: Morris, Robert Paul
• Granted Patent: US 8,661,361 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/764
• 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

Methods and systems are described for navigating between visual components. A first visual component, of a first operating application in a plurality of operating applications, is detected in a first application region of a presentation space of a display device. A first navigation control is presented, in a first navigation region determined based on the first application region, for navigating to a second visual component, of a second application in the plurality, in a second application region in the presentation space. A user input corresponding to the first navigation control is detected. In response to the detected user input, navigation information is sent to navigate to the second visual component.

Claims

1. A method for navigating between visual components, the method comprising:

detecting, in a first application region of a presentation space of a display device, a first visual component of a first operating application in a plurality of operating applications;

presenting a first navigation control, in a first navigation region determined based on the first application region, for navigating to a second visual component, of a second application in the plurality, in a second application region in the presentation space;

detecting a user input corresponding to the first navigation control; and

sending, in response to detecting the user input, navigation information to navigate to the second visual component.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first application is represented by a first program generated from first source code and the second application is represented by a second program generated from second source code.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein detecting the first visual component includes detecting that the first visual component is assigned input focus for an input device.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first navigation control is automatically presented in response to a presenting of the first visual component.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first navigation control is presented in response to a navigation-activate input received from a user.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first navigation control is presented in response to a change detected in a visually detectable attribute of the first visual component.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the first navigation region is determined based on a location of at least one of the first visual component, a parent visual component of the first visual component, and a child visual component of the first visual component.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first navigation control is at least partially transparent.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein a transparency attribute of the first navigation control is responsive to a change in at least one of a position of a visual representation of an input pointer, a change in an input focus attribute associated with at least one of the first navigation control and the first visual component, and a transparency attribute of the first visual component.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein presenting the first navigation control comprises:

detecting the first navigation control presented in a previous navigation region, determined based on the first application region;

detecting a move indication; and

determining the first navigation region based on the first application region and based on at least one of the previous navigation region and the move indication.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein presenting the first navigation control further comprises:

presenting at least one of a second application control corresponding to the second application and a second visual component control corresponding to the second visual component; and

detecting the user input includes determining that the user input corresponds to at least one of the second application control and the second visual component control.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the at least one of the second application control and the second visual component control is presented based on a state of at least one of the second application and the second visual component.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the state indicates that the at least one of the second application and the second visual component is at least one of minimized, hidden, at least partially hidden, suspended, blocked, and configured so that access is not authorized.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein at least one of the second application control and the second visual component control is presented in a plurality including at least one of a plurality of application controls and a plurality of visual component controls based on a specified order of at least one of a plurality of applications corresponding to the plurality of application controls and a plurality of visual components corresponding to the plurality of visual component controls.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the specified order is based on at least one of a time attribute, an application identifier, a z-order attribute, a size attribute, a color attribute, a font, a state of a process context for an application, a state of a thread context in a process context, and a user-assigned order.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein sending the navigation information includes sending via at least one of invoking at least one of a function, a method, and a subroutine;

sending a message via a network;

sending a message via an inter-process communication (IPC), and exchanging information via a shared data area.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the navigation information includes information for changing at least one of a z-order, input focus, size, location, font, color, and transparency level of at least one of the first visual component and the second visual component.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting, based on the navigation information, a second navigation control, in a second navigation region determined based on the second application region, for navigating away from the second visual component to another visual component of another application in the plurality.

19. A system for navigating between visual components, the system comprising:

a presentation space monitor component, an application navigator component, a navigation element handler component, and a navigation director component adapted for operation in an execution environment;

the presentation space monitor component configured for detecting, in a first application region of a presentation space of a display device, a first visual component of a first operating application in a plurality of operating applications;

the application navigator component configured for presenting a first navigation control, in a first navigation region determined based on the first application region, for navigating to a second visual component, of a second application in the plurality, in a second application region in the presentation space;

the navigation element handler component configured for detecting a user input corresponding to the first navigation control; and

the navigation director component configured for sending, in response to detecting the user input, navigation information to navigate to the second visual component.

20. A computer-readable medium embodying a computer program, executable by a machine, for navigating between visual components, the computer program comprising executable instructions for:

detecting, in a first application region of a presentation space of a display device, a first visual component of a first operating application in a plurality of operating applications;

presenting a first navigation control, in a first navigation region determined based on the first application region, for navigating to a second visual component, of a second application in the plurality, in a second application region in the presentation space;

detecting a user input corresponding to the first navigation control; and

sending, in response to detecting the user input, navigation information to navigate to the second visual component.