Context sensitive menu system/menu behavior

• US 5,664,133 A
• Filed: 04/30/1996
• Issued: 09/02/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Elsbree, John E., Butler, Laura J., Malamud, Mark A., Barnes, David A. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung, Kee M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHAUHAN, ULKA J
• Application Number:
  US08/648,807
• Time in Patent Office: 490 Days
• Field of Search: 395/326, 395/333, 395/335, 395/339, 395/340-343, 395/346-348, 395/352-354, 345/146, 345/145
• US Class Current: 715/816
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/902 Menu display

Abstract

A method and system are described for a computer system for retrieving and presenting a set of commands in the form of a pop up context menu for a selected object. The context menu is displayed in the proximity of the selected object and is determined primarily by the class of the selected object and secondarily by the particular container in which the selected object resides at the time of selection. The context menu displays a number of useful features which enable the user to quickly and easily invoke commands upon the selected object.

Claims

1. In a computer system having a central processing unit (CPU), a graphical user interface including a display and a user interface selection device communicatively coupled to the CPU, a method for providing, and selecting from, a menu for a selected computer resource, said method comprising the steps of:

generating a set of menu selections for the selected computer resource in response to receiving, by the CPU, a context menu generation signal from the user interface selection device, the generating step comprising the steps of;

retrieving a menu selection relating to a class of objects to which the selected computer resource belongs; and

retrieving a menu selection associated with a container in which the selected computer resource resides; and

displaying upon the display the set of menu selections in a menu positioned in the proximity of a graphical representation of the selected computer resource.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating a set of menu selections further comprises the step of:

retrieving a label based menu selection based upon a label contained within the selected computer resource.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of generating a set of menu selections further comprises the step of retrieving a label name menu selection for the label contained within the selected computer resource, and wherein the displaying step further comprises displaying a cascade menu adjacently to the label name menu selection, the cascade menu including the label based menu selection.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface selection device includes a default execution button and a separate and distinct context button, and wherein the context menu generation signal comprises a context button up signal transmitted by the user interface selection device.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

visually tracking, in a first mode, the positioning of a display pointer within the set of displayed menu selections; and

receiving, by the CPU, a first signal while visually tracking in the first mode and, in response thereto, visually tracking, in a second mode visually distinguishable from the first mode, the positioning of the display pointer within the set of displayed menu selections.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of:

receiving, by the CPU, a second signal while visually tracking in the second mode and, in response thereto, performing the steps of;

identifying a one of the set of displayed menu selections on which the display pointer is positioned; and

performing an operation associated with the one of the set of displayed menu selections.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the first signal comprises a button down signal transmitted by a mouse, and the second signal comprises a button up signal transmitted by the mouse.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the set of displayed menu selections includes a file system object menu selection corresponding to a file system object, and wherein said method further comprises the steps of receiving, by the CPU, an execution signal while a display pointer is positioned on the file system object menu selection and, in response thereto, performing a default command associated with the file system object menu selection.

9. In a computer system having a central processing unit (CPU), a graphical user interface including a display and a user interface selection device communicatively coupled to the CPU, a method for providing, and selecting from a menu associated with a second selected computer resource, said method comprising the steps of:

selecting a first computer resource in response to receiving, by the CPU, a first signal from the user interface selection device;

generating a set of menu selections for a second computer resource associated with a transfer of the first computer resource to the second computer resource in response to receiving, by the CPU, a second signal from the user interface selection device after selecting the first computer resource; and

displaying upon the display the set of menu selections in a menu positioned in the proximity of a graphical representation of the second computer resource.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the first computer resource is a document and the second computer resource is a folder.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the user interface selection device includes a default execution button and a separate and distinct context button, further comprising the steps of:

transmitting by the user interface selection device a context button down signal comprising the first signal; and

transmitting by the user interface selection device a context button up signal comprising the second signal.

12. In a computer system having a central processing unit (CPU), a graphical user interface including a display and a user interface selection device communicatively coupled to the CPU, a method for providing, and selecting from, a menu for a set of selected computer resources said method comprising the steps of:

generating a set of menu selections for the set of selected computer resources in response to receiving, by the CPU, a context menu generation signal and a multiple select mode signal from the user interface selection device, the generating step comprising the steps of;

retrieving a menu selection obtained by taking the intersection of sets of object specific commands associated with the set of selected computer resources; and

retrieving a menu selection associated with a container in which the set of selected computer resources resides; and

displaying upon the display the set of menu selections in a menu.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of generating a set of menu selections further comprises the step of:

retrieving a label based menu selection based upon a label contained within each computer resource of the set of selected computer resources.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the step of generating a set of menu selections further comprises the step of retrieving a label name menu selection for the label contained within each selected computer resource, and wherein the displaying step further comprises displaying a cascade menu adjacently to the label name menu selection, the cascade menu including the label based menu selection.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the context menu generation signal comprises a context button up signal transmitted by a mouse.

16. The method of claim 12 further comprising the steps of:

visually tracking, in a first mode, the positioning of a display pointer within the set of displayed menu selections; and

receiving, by the CPU, a first signal while visually tracking in the first mode and, in response thereto, visually tracking, in a second mode visually distinguishable from the first mode, the positioning of the display pointer within the set of displayed menu selections.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of:

receiving, by the CPU, a second signal while visually tracking in the second mode and, in response thereto, performing the steps of;

identifying a one of the set of displayed menu selections on which the display pointer is positioned; and

performing an operation corresponding to the one of the set of displayed menu selections.

18. A graphical user interface providing context sensitive menu options to a user for a selected computer resource in a computer system having a central processing unit (CPU), a display, and a user interface selection device communicatively coupled to the CPU, the graphical user interface comprising:

means for generating a set of menu selections for the selected computer resource in response to receiving, by the CPU, a context menu generation signal from the user interface selection device, the means for generating comprising;

means for retrieving a menu selection relating to a class of computer objects to which the computer resource belongs, and

means for retrieving a menu selection associated with a container in which the computer resource resides; and

means for displaying upon the display the set of menu selections in a menu positioned in the proximity of a graphical representation of the selected computer resource.

19. The graphical user interface of claim 18 wherein the means for generating a set of menu selections further comprises means for retrieving a label based menu selection based upon a label contained within the selected computer resource.

20. The graphical user interface of claim 19 wherein the means for generating a set of menu selections further comprises means for retrieving a label name menu selection for the label contained within the selected computer resource, and wherein the means for displaying further comprises means for displaying a cascade menu adjacently to the label name menu selection, the cascade menu including the label based menu selection.

21. The graphical user interface of claim 18, wherein the user interface selection device includes a default execution button and a separate and distinct context button, and wherein the context menu generation signal comprises a context button up signal transmitted by the user interface selection device.

22. The graphical user interface of claim 18 further comprising:

a first visual tracking mode for highlighting on the display in a first manner the positioning of a display pointer within the set of displayed menu selections;

a second visual tracking mode for highlighting on the display in a second manner, visually distinguishable from the first manner, the positioning of the display pointer within the set of displayed menu selections; and

means for switching from the first visual tracking mode to the second visual tracking mode in response to receiving, by the CPU, a first signal.

23. The graphical user interface of claim 22 further comprising:

selection execution means for identifying a one of the set of displayed menu selections on which the display pointer is positioned and performing an operation corresponding to the one of the set of displayed menu selections in response to receiving, by the CPU, a second signal while the second visual tracking mode is actively tracking the positioning of the display pointer.

24. The graphical user interface of claim 23 wherein the first signal comprises a button down signal transmitted by a mouse, and the second signal comprises a button up signal transmitted by the mouse.

25. The graphical user interface of claim 18 wherein the set of displayed menu selections includes a file system object menu selection corresponding to a file system object, and wherein the graphical user interface further comprises means for executing a default command associated with the file system object when the CPU receives an execution signal while a display pointer is positioned on the file system object menu selection.

26. A graphical user interface for providing, and selecting from a menu associated with a second selected computer resource in a computer system having a central processing unit (CPU), a display and a user interface selection device communicatively coupled to the CPU, said graphical user interface comprising:

means for selecting a first computer resource in response to receiving, by the CPU, a first signal from the user interface selection device;

means for generating a set of menu selections for a second computer resource associated with a transfer of the first computer resource to the second computer resource in response to receiving, by the CPU, a second signal from the user interface selection device after selecting the first computer resource; and

means for displaying upon the display the set of menu selections in a menu positioned in the proximity of a graphical representation of the second computer resource.

27. The graphical user interface of claim 26 wherein the first computer resource is a document and the second computer resource is a folder.

28. The graphical user interface of claim 26 wherein the user interface selection device includes a default execution button and a separate and distinct context button, and wherein the first signal comprises a context button down signal transmitted by the user interface selection device, and the second signal comprises a context button up signal transmitted by the user interface selection device.

29. A graphical user interface for providing, and selecting from, a menu for a set of selected computer resources in a computer system having a central processing unit (CPU), a display and a user interface selection device communicatively coupled to the CPU, said graphical user interface comprising:

means for generating a set of menu selections for the set of selected computer resources in response to receiving, by the CPU, a context menu generation signal and a multiple select mode signal from the user interface selection device, the means for generating comprising;

means for retrieving a menu selection obtained by taking the intersection of sets of object specific commands associated with the set of selected computer resources, and

means for retrieving a menu selection associated with a container in which the set of selected computer resources resides; and

means for displaying upon the display the set of menu selections in a menu.

30. The graphical user interface of claim 29 wherein the means for generating a set of menu selections further comprises means for retrieving a label based menu selection based upon a label contained within each computer resource of the set of selected computer resources.

31. The graphical user interface of claim 30 wherein the means for generating a set of menu selections further comprises means for retrieving a label name menu selection for the label contained within each selected computer resource, and wherein the means for displaying further comprises means for displaying a cascade menu adjacently to the label name menu selection, the cascade menu including the label based menu selection.

32. The graphical user interface of claim 29 wherein the context menu generation signal comprises a context button up signal transmitted by a mouse.

33. The graphical user interface of claim 29 further comprising:

a first visual tracking mode for highlighting on the display in a first manner the positioning of a display pointer within the set of displayed menu selections;

a second visual tracking mode for highlighting on the display in a second manner, visually distinguishable from the first manner, the positioning of the display pointer within the set of displayed menu selections; and

means for switching from the first visual tracking mode to the second visual tracking mode in response to receiving, by the CPU, a first signal.

34. The graphical user interface of claim 33 further comprising:

selection execution means for identifying a one of the set of displayed menu selections on which the display pointer is positioned and performing an operation corresponding to the one of the set of displayed menu selections in response to receiving, by the CPU, a second signal while the second visual tracking mode is actively tracking the positioning of the display pointer.

35. A computer-readable storage medium for use in a computer system having a display device, a selected object having a visual representation stored in storage, and a container object in which the selected object is contained, said medium holding instructions for:

adding a menu selection, related to the class of objects to which the selected object belongs, to a menu;

adding a menu selection that is associated with the container in which the selected object is stored to the menu; and

displaying the menu with the menu selections on the display device in proximity to the visual representation of the selected object.

36. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 35 wherein the selected object is a document.

37. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 35 wherein the container object is a folder.

38. A computer-readable storage medium for use in a computer system having a display device and a selected set of computer resources and a container object in which the selected set of computer resources resides stored in a storage device, the medium holding instructions for:

calculating an intersection of object-specific commands for the selected set of objects;

adding menu items for the calculated intersection of object-specific commands to a menu;

adding a menu item that is associated with the container to the menu; and

displaying the menu with the menu items on the display device.