Gestures for Selecting Text

• US 20120306772A1
• Filed: 07/11/2011
• Published: 12/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Tan, Weihua, Chen, Qiliang
• Granted Patent: US 8,896,552 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

In general, the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods, systems, and program products for selecting text using a touchscreen display of a computing device. A computing device identifies physical contact between multiple fingers and the touchscreen display at a starting location, wherein the identifying is in distinction to identifying physical contact between a single finger and the touchscreen display. The computing device determines that the physical contact persists during movement of the physical contact from the starting location to an ending location. The computing device determines that the physical contact was interrupted at the ending location. The computing device identifies that text displayed between the starting location and the ending location is text that has been selected by a user of the computing device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for selecting text using a touchscreen display of a computing device, the method comprising:

identifying, by a computing device, physical contact between multiple fingers and the touchscreen display at a starting location, wherein the identifying is in distinction to identifying physical contact between a single finger and the touchscreen display;

determining, by the computing device, that the physical contact persists during movement of the physical contact from the starting location to an ending location;

determining, by the computing device, that the physical contact was interrupted at the ending location; and

identifying, by the computing device, text displayed between the starting location and the ending location as being text that has been selected by a user of the computing device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the computing device, an intermediate location that is offset a predetermined distance from the starting location.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:

displaying, by the computing device and during the movement of the physical contact from the starting location to the ending location after the physical contact has reached or passed the intermediate location, an indication that text between a location of the physical contact and the starting location has been selected; and

wherein, before the physical contact reached or passed the intermediate location, the computing device did not display the indication that text between the location of the physical contact and the starting location had been selected.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the computing device is configured so that:

(i) interruption of the physical contact after the physical contact has reached or passed the intermediate location causes the computing device to identify that text has been selected; and

(ii) interruption of the physical contact before the physical contact has reached or passed the intermediate location causes text selection to be cancelled.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising determining that the movement of the physical contact reaches or passes the intermediate location, so that the physical contact is not located between the starting location and the intermediate location, and that the movement of the physical contact thereafter returns to the ending location, the ending location being between the starting location and the intermediate location.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the computing device is configured to not identify that text has been selected by a user of the computing device if the computing device determines that the movement of the physical contact moves a determined tangential distance from a shortest route between the starting location and the intermediate location before the physical contact reaches or passes the intermediate location.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the computing device is configured to identify that text of at least portions of multiple displayed lines of text on the touchscreen display has been selected by the user of the device if the physical contact moves the predetermined tangential distance after the physical contact passes the intermediate location.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:

displaying, by the touchscreen display and at the intermediate location during the movement of the physical contact, a graphical interface element that was not displayed at the intermediate location before identifying the physical contact at the starting location.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the multiple fingers remained adjacent during the movement of the physical contact from the starting location to the ending location.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

indicating, by the computing device and on the touchscreen display during the movement of the physical contact, that text between a location of the physical contact and the starting location is selected using a first text selection mode based on the physical contact including a first quantity of one or more fingers;

determining, by the computing device and during the movement of the physical contact, that the first quantity of one or more fingers has changed to a second quantity of one or more fingers; and

indicating, by the computing device and on the touchscreen display and during the movement of the physical contact in response to determining that the first quantity of one or more fingers has changed to a second quantity of one or more fingers, that text between the location of the physical contact and the starting location is selected using a second text selection mode.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein:

the first text selection mode is a text selection mode selected from a group consisting of;

(i) a text selection mode that causes text between the location of the physical contact and the starting location to be selected as whole words so that partial words are not indicated as selected during the movement, and

(ii) a text selection mode that causes text between the location of the physical contact and the starting location to be selected as individual characters so that partial words are indicated as selected during the movement; and

the second text selection mode is the other text selection mode from the group.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein:

the first text selection mode is a text selection mode selected from a group consisting of;

(i) a text selection mode that causes text between the location of the physical contact and the starting location to be selected as whole words so that partial sentences are indicated as selected during the movement, and

(ii) a text selection mode that causes text between the location of the physical contact and the starting location to be selected as whole sentences so that partial sentences are not indicated as selected during the movement; and

the second text selection mode is the other text selection mode from the group.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying text displayed between the starting location and the ending location as being text that has been selected includes identifying:

(i) if the physical contact includes a first quantity of fingers, a first partial word that corresponds to the starting location as selected and a second partial word that corresponds to the ending location as selected; and

(ii) if the physical contact includes a second quantity of fingers, a first whole word that corresponds to the starting location as selected, even though the starting location corresponds to an intermediate location in the first whole word, and a second whole word that corresponds to the ending location as selected, even though the ending location corresponds to an intermediate location in the second whole word.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, by the computing device and after determining that the physical contact was interrupted, an indication that text between the starting location and the ending location has been selected;

and

wherein the computing device is configured so that, subsequent to determining that the physical contact was interrupted;

(i) user physical contact at a location of the displayed indication using a single finger causes the computing device to perform a first action; and

(ii) user physical contact at a location of the displayed indication using multiple fingers causes the computing device to perform a second action.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein:

the first action is one action from a group consisting of;

(i) copying the selected text, (ii) deleting the selected text, (iii) cutting the selected text, (iv) pasting over the selected text, and (v) displaying a menu of multiple actions that can be performed using the selected text; and

the second action is another action from the group.

16. A computer-implemented method for selecting text using a touchscreen display of a computing device, the method comprising:

identifying, by a computing device, physical contact at a starting location with a touchscreen display;

determining, by the computing device, an intermediate location that is offset a predetermined distance from the starting location, wherein the computing device is configured so that;

(i) interruption of the physical contact with the touchscreen display after the physical contact has reached or passed the intermediate location causes the computing device to identify that text has been selected, and

(ii) interruption of the physical contact with the touchscreen display before the physical contact has reached or passed the intermediate location causes the computing device to cancel text selection;

determining, by the computing device, that the physical contact with the touchscreen display has reached or passed the intermediate location without interruption of the physical contact with the touchscreen display;

determining, by the computing device, that the physical contact with the touchscreen display was interrupted at the ending location for a first instance greater than a threshold time during a movement of the physical contact;

identifying, by the computing device, text displayed between the starting location and the ending location as being text that has been selected by a user of the computing device; and

displaying, by the computing device, an indication that the text that is between the starting location and the ending location is text that has been selected by a user of the computing device.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising:

indicating, by the computing device and on the touchscreen display during the movement of the physical contact, that text between a location of the physical contact and the starting location is selected using a first text selection mode based on the physical contact including a first quantity of one or more fingers;

determining, by the computing device and during the movement of the physical contact, that the first quantity of one or more fingers has changed to a second quantity of one or more fingers; and

indicating, by the computing device and on the touchscreen display and during the movement of the physical contact in response to determining that the first quantity of one or more fingers has changed to a second quantity of one or more fingers, that text between the location of the physical contact and the starting location is selected using a second text selection mode.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein:

the first text selection mode is a text selection mode selected from a group consisting of;

(i) a text selection mode that causes text between the location of the physical contact and the starting location to be selected as individual characters so that partial words are indicated as selected during the movement,

(ii) a text selection mode that causes text between the location of the physical contact and the starting location to be selected as whole words so that partial words are not indicated as selected during the movement and so that partial sentences are indicated as selected during the movement, and

(iii) a text selection mode that causes text between the location of the physical contact and the starting location to be selected as whole sentences so that partial sentences and partial words are not indicated as selected during the movement; and

the second text selection mode is another text selection mode from the group.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising:

displaying, by the touchscreen display and at the intermediate location during the movement of the physical contact, a graphical interface element that was not displayed at the intermediate location before identifying the physical contact at the starting location.

20. A computing device, comprising:

one or more programmable processors; and

a computer-readable storage device coupled to the one or more programmable processors and having instructions stored therein, which when executed by the one or more programmable processors, causes the one or more programmable processors to perform operations including;

identifying physical contact at a starting location between multiple fingers and a touchscreen display;

determining that the physical contact persists without interruption during movement of the physical contact from the starting location to the ending location;

determining that the physical contact with the touchscreen display was interrupted at the ending location; and

identifying text displayed between the starting location and the ending location as being text that has been selected by a user of the computing device.