HIGHLIGHTING OF TAPPABLE WEB PAGE ELEMENTS

• US 20130151944A1
• Filed: 12/13/2011
• Published: 06/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lin, Jeffrey Tzu-Heng
• Granted Patent: US 9,092,131 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

Methods for highlighting tappable web page elements in response to a touch detect a touch to a touchscreen display, determine that a touched element displayed at the touch location, and determine whether and how the touched element is to be highlighted. Highlighting can be based on various touched element properties. In one embodiment, if a touched element is not tappable, the element is not highlighted. If the touched element is editable, the element is highlighted. A region around the touch location is highlighted if the touched element is an image map or SVG element and a portion of the element at the touch location is tappable. A touched element is also highlighted if the element has an inline display style or is a highlight element type. The touched element is not highlighted if its size and complexity exceed size and complexity thresholds.

Claims

1. A method of highlighting tappable web page elements on a touchscreen display, the method comprising:

displaying at least a portion of a web page on the touchscreen display, the web page comprising a plurality of elements;

detecting a touch to the touchscreen display at a touch location;

determining, from the plurality of elements, a touched element displayed on the touchscreen display at the touch location;

determining whether the touched element is to be highlighted based at least on a touched element size, a touched element complexity or a touched element display style; and

highlighting the touched element on the touchscreen display if the touched element is to be highlighted.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the touched element is to be highlighted is based at least on the touched element size.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the touched element size comprises a touched element height.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the touched element size comprises a touched element width.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the touched element is to be highlighted is based at least on the touched element complexity.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the touched element complexity comprises a number of characters in the touched element.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the touched element complexity comprises a number of tags in the touched element.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the touched element complexity comprises a number of characters and a number of tags in the touched element.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the touched element is to be highlighted is based at least on the touched element size and the touched element complexity.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the touched element is to be highlighted comprises determining that the touched element is not to be highlighted if the touched element size exceeds a size threshold and the touched element complexity exceeds a complexity threshold.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising adjusting the size threshold and/or the complexity threshold in response to a change in a magnification factor of the web page.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the size threshold and/or the complexity threshold is based on a size of the touchscreen display.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the touched element is to be highlighted is based at least in part on the touched element display style.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the determining whether the touched element is to be highlighted comprises determining the touched element is to be highlighted if the touched element display style is an inline display style.

15. A computing device programmed to carry out a method of highlighting tappable web page elements displayed on a touchscreen display, the method comprising:

detecting a touch to the touchscreen display at a touch location;

determining, from a plurality of elements of a web page displayed on the touchscreen display, a touched element displayed on the touchscreen display at the touch location;

determining that the touched element comprises;

an image or code used by a web browser to render a dings drawing; and

at least one touch event handler associated with a region of the image or drawing within the touched element displayed at the touch location, or an object or element within the touched element displayed at the touch location; and

highlighting a region of the touchscreen display around the touch location.

16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the determining that the touched element comprises an image or code used by a web browser to render a drawing comprises determining whether the touched element is an image map element.

17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the determining that the touched element comprises an image or code used by a web browser to render a drawing comprises determining whether the touched element is an SVG element.

18. One or more computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions for causing a computing device to perform a method of highlighting tappable web page elements displayed on a touchscreen display, the method comprising:

displaying a web page on the touchscreen display, the web page comprising a plurality of elements;

detecting a touch to the touchscreen display at a touch location;

determining, from the plurality of elements, a touched element displayed at the touch location;

determining whether to highlight the touched element, the determining comprising;

if the touched element is not tappable, determining not to highlight the touched element;

if the touched element is editable, determining to highlight the touched element;

if the touched element comprises an image and defines one or more regions that are tappable, determining to highlight a region of the image around the touch location;

if the touched element has an inline display style or a type of the touched element is a highlight element type, determining to highlight the touched element;

if a touched element size exceeds a size threshold and a touched element complexity exceeds a complexity threshold, determining not to highlight the touched element; and

otherwise, determining to highlight the touched element; and

highlighting the touched element according to the determining whether to highlight the touched element.

19. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 18, wherein the determining that the touched element comprises an image or code used by a web browser to render a drawing comprises determining whether the touched element is an image map element.

20. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 18, wherein the determining that the touched element comprises an image or code used by a web browser to render a drawing comprises determining whether the touched element is an SVG element.