Method and apparatus for improving visibility and selectability of icons

• US 5,565,888 A
• Filed: 02/17/1995
• Issued: 10/15/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Selker, Edwin J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): WU, XIAO MIN
• Application Number:
  US08/390,323
• Time in Patent Office: 606 Days
• Field of Search: 345/157, 345/156, 345/163, 345/168, 345/173, 345/158, 345/162, 345/145, 345/146, 345/127, 345/128, 345/129, 345/130, 345/131, 395/156, 395/157, 395/159
• US Class Current: 715/823
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04895 Guidance during keyboard input operation, e.g. prompting

Abstract

Enhanced visibility of icons and other types of menu items is provided by increasing size and or skew or both of one or more icons or menu items in a generally inverse relation to proximity of a cursor image address to particular icons or menu items. Increase of size enhances user recognition of an ordinarily small menu item or icon and simultaneously provides the effect of stabilizing cursor position during selection without affecting linearity of response to a graphic input device. Skew and repeated expansion may be used to attract user attention while repeated expansion simplifies icon manipulation by the user in determining a response to a mandatory input demand from an application.

Claims

1. A computer method for visually enhancing a display of menu items comprising steps of:

establishing a location of at least one of said menu items on a display;

establishing a location of a cursor image on a display;

determining a proximity between said location of said menu item and said location of said cursor image;

associating a size attribute to said menu item, said attribute substantially inversely proportional to said proximity determined by said determining step;

displaying said menu item in accordance with said attribute;

detecting a presence of said cursor location within a selection zone of said menu item;

limiting a size of said menu item in response to said step of detection of said cursor location within said detection zone of said menu item; and

repeating, periodically, said step of detecting presence and said step of limiting size.

2. A computer method for visually enhancing a display of menu items, comprising steps of:

establishing a location of at least one of said menu items on a display;

establishing a location of a cursor image on a display;

determining a proximity between said location of said menu item and said location of said cursor image;

associating an attribute to at least one of said menu items, said attribute substantially inversely proportional to said proximity determined by said determining step;

displaying said at least one menu item in accordance with said attribute;

detecting a cursor location within a selection zone of a menu item;

controlling selection of said menu item in accordance with said detected cursor location;

detecting an onset of said step of controlling selection; and

compensating a change of cursor location during said step of controlling location.

3. A computer method for visually enhancing a display of menu items comprising steps of:

establishing a location of at least one of said menu items on a display;

establishing a location of a cursor image on a display;

determining a proximity between said location of said menu item and said location of said cursor image;

associating an attribute to at least of said menu items, said attribute substantially inversely proportional to said proximity determined by said determining step;

displaying said at least one menu item in accordance with said attribute;

altering a selection zone of said at least one menu item in a substantially inverse proportion to said proximity determined in said determining step;

detecting a cursor location within said selection zone of said at least one menu item;

controlling selection of said menu item in accordance with said detected cursor location;

detecting an onset of said step of controlling selection; and

compensating a change of cursor location during said step of controlling selection.