Graphical user interface for graphically representing, organizing, and selecting application programs and documents

• US 5,731,813 A
• Filed: 06/06/1994
• Issued: 03/24/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: xSides Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ark Interface II, Inc.
• Inventors: O'Neill, Brian T., Cook, Rodney C., Taner, Kuntay O., Snyder, Steven P., Joyner, Adam R., O'Rourke, Thomas C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayerl, Raymond J.
• Application Number:
  US08/254,602
• Time in Patent Office: 1,387 Days
• Field of Search: 395/161, 395/155, 395/157, 395/159, 395/160, 395/156, 395/145, 395/146, 395/349-351, 395/348, 395/339, 395/346, 395/354, 395/356, 395/357, 395/776-778, 395/792, 395/680, 395/682
• US Class Current: 715/810
• 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

A graphical user interface for a computer system that includes a memory for storing application programs and application files. The user interface permits the user to initiate execution of a selected application program, and produces a snapshot that graphically represents a screen produced during the execution of the application program. The snapshot may be displayed after execution of the application program is terminated, and provides a visual reference for the application file that was opened when the snapshot was taken. Snapshots and their corresponding application files may be organized in a project format, and new documents opened by an application program may be automatically placed in the opened project. The user interface provides an improved technique for initiating execution of application programs.

Claims

1. In a computer user interface system including a display, a method of graphically representing a screen produced by an application program wherein the application program provides a document window for editing application data and stores or provides the application data in an internal format unknown to the computer user interface system, the method comprising the steps of:

allowing the application program to be executed such that the screen is produced on the display showing the application data in the document window;

automatically recording, separately from the application data and in a manner independent of the internal format, an image in an accessible format different from the internal format used by the application program, wherein the image is graphically representative of at least a portion of the screen showing the application data produced by the application program during execution of the application program;

terminating the execution of the application program such that the screen and the application data in the document window are no longer produced on the display; and

accessing the recorded imaging in the accessible format and displaying the image on the display outside of the document window after execution of the application program has terminated without accessing the application data in the internal format.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the image comprises a reduced-scale image of at least a portion of the screen produced by the application program during execution of the application program.

3. In a computer user interface system including a display, a method of graphically representing a screen produced by an application program wherein the application program provides a document window for editing application data and stores or provides application data in an internal format unknown to the computer user interface system, the method comprising the steps of:

executing the application program;

causing the screen showing the application data in the document window to be displayed by the application program on the display during execution of the application program;

automatically recording, in a manner independent of the internal format, a snapshot in an accessible format different from the internal format used by the application program, wherein the snapshot is graphically representative of the screen showing the application data produced by the application program during execution of the application program;

storing the snapshot separately from the application data;

terminating execution of the application program such that the screen and the application data in the document window are no longer produced on the display; and

accessing the recorded snapshot in the accessible format and displaying the snapshot on the display outside of the document window after execution of the application program has terminated without accessing the application data in the internal format.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the snapshot comprises a reduced-scale image of the screen produced by the application program during execution of the application program.

5. In a computer user interface system including a display, a method of graphically representing a document produced by an application program wherein the application program provides a document window for editing the document and stores or provides the document in an internal format unknown to the computer user interface system, the method comprising the steps of:

allowing the application program to be executed such that a screen of the document is produced on the display showing the document in the document window;

automatically recording, separately from the document and in a manner independent of the internal format, an image in an accessible format different from the internal format used by the application program, wherein the image is graphically representative of at least a portion of the screen of the document in the document window during execution of the application program;

terminating the execution of the application program such that the screen and the document in the document window are no longer produced on the display; and

accessing the recorded image in the accessible format and displaying the image on the display outside of the document window after execution of the application program has terminated without accessing the document in the internal format.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the image comprises a reduced-scale image of at least a portion of the screen of the document displayed by the application program.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the image is recorded separately from the document such that the image may be displayed without accessing the document.

8. In a computer user interface system including a display, a method of graphically representing a document produced by an application program wherein the application program provides a document window for editing the document and stores or provides the document in an internal format unknown to the computer user interface system, the method comprising the steps of:

executing the application program;

causing a screen of the document to be displayed by the application program on the display showing the document in the document window during execution of the application program;

automatically recording, separately from the document and in a manner independent of the internal format, a snapshot in an accessible format different from the internal format used by the application program, wherein the snapshot is graphically representative of the screen of the document in the document window during execution of the application program;

terminating execution of the application program such that the screen and the document in the document window are no longer produced on the display; and

accessing the snapshot in the accessible format and displaying the snapshot on the display outside of the document window after execution of the application program has terminated without accessing the document in the internal format.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the snapshot comprises a reduced-scale image of the screen of the document displayed by the application program.

10. In a computer user interface system including a display, a method of graphically representing a document produced by an application program wherein the application program provides a document window for editing the document and stores or provides the document in an internal format unknown to the computer user interface system, the method comprising the steps of:

allowing the application program to be executed;

allowing the application program to open the document during execution of the application program and display at least one screen while the document is open in the document window;

automatically recording, in a memory separately from the document and in a manner independent of the internal format, a snapshot of the screen in an accessible format different from the internal format used by the application program;

closing the document such that the screen and the document in the document window are no longer displayed; and

maintaining the snapshot in the memory after the document has been closed such that the snapshot may be accessed in the accessible format and displayed without accessing the document in the internal format.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of automatically recording said snapshot further comprises the step of storing the snapshot in the memory in association with a reference to the document.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of:

creating a data structure in the memory for referencing a plurality of projects and for each project, one or more associated documents, and for each document, an associated snapshot;

and wherein said step of storing said snapshot further comprises the step of storing and associating said snapshot and said document in the data structure in association with at least one of said projects.

13. The method of claim 12, funher comprising the step of displaying a plurality of snapshots associated with a single project.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

allowing a user to select a project and initiate execution of an application program in association with the project; and

providing a measure of the period of time during which application programs associated with the project are executed.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

displaying said snapshot on the display after execution of said application program has terminated;

allowing a user to select an image on the display;

initiating execution of the application program in response to selection by the user of said snapshot; and

automatically causing said application program to open said document.

16. In a computer system including a display, a memory for storing one or more application programs and one or more documents, and a subdirectory file organizing system for locating documents in the memory, each application program permitting the user to create a document in a document window and place it in a file in a specified subdirectory, a method of associating documents with projects, the method comprising the steps of:

creating a data structure referencing a plurality of said projects and, for each project, a plurality of associated documents located in files in a plurality of different subdirectories;

enabling a user to select a project;

monitoring the execution of an application program to detect when a new document is created in the document window shown on the display and placed in a corresponding file in a subdirectory;

automatically associating the new document with the selected project in the data structure by incorporating a reference to the corresponding file into the data structure when the document is placed in the corresponding file;

terminating the execution of the application program such that the new document and the document window are no longer displayed; and

using the data structure to generate a document listing for the selected project independent of the document window, wherein the document listing provides a list of references to the plurality of associated documents for the selected project, including the new document, which are selectable to access a desired document in the selected project.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of displaying a representation of all of the documents associated with the selected project.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

associating each respective document with the application program used to cream said document;

allowing a user to select one of said representations;

initiating execution of the associated application program in response to selection by the user of one of said representations; and

automatically causing said application program to open the respective document.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of measuring the period of time during which a project is opened.

20. In a computer system including a display, a memory for storing one or more application programs and one or more documents, and a subdirectory file organizing system for locating documents in the memory, each application program permitting the user to create a document in a document window and place it in a file in a specified subdirectory, a method of associating documents, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a data structure having a plurality of entries, each entry capable of referencing a plurality of associated documents located in files in a plurality of different subdirectories;

enabling a user to select an entry;

monitoring the execution of an application program to detect when a new document is created in a document window shown on the display and placed in a corresponding file in a subdirectory;

associating the new document with the selected entry by incorporating a reference to the corresponding file into the data structure when the document is placed in the corresponding file;

terminating the execution of the application program such that the new document and the document window are no longer displayed; and

using the data structure to generate a document listing for the selected entry independent of the document window, wherein the document listing provides a list of references to the plurality of associated documents for the selected entry, including the new document, which are selectable to access a desired document associated with the selected entry.

21. A method for permitting a user to initiate execution of an application program, said method comprising the steps of:

enabling a user to control the position of a cursor on the display and to generate a selection signal;

providing a plurality of application programs wherein each of the application programs is capable of retrieving, editing and storing information in a defined format;

providing a data structure having an entry for each of the application programs;

grouping the application programs into a plurality of groups in said data structure based upon functional features of the application programs wherein each group contains more than one application program;

designating an application program in each group of application programs as the default application program for the group;

defining an area on the display for each group which represents the plurality of application programs in the respective group; and

initiating execution of the default application program in response to the generation of a selection signal by the user while the cursor is anywhere within the area forthe respective group.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising the steps of:

displaying a representation of each application program in the group in response to the generation of a second selection signal by the user while the cursor is anywhere within the area; and

allowing the user to select any of the application programs in the group for execution when the representation of each application program in the group is displayed.

23. In a user interface system for a computer, the computer including a memory for storing an application program and a plurality of documents, an operating system for providing a subdirectory file organizing system for locating the documents in the memory and for providing a system routine for closing the documents in the subdirectory file organizing system, the application program storing or providing the application data in an internal format unknown to the computer user interface system and being capable of closing a specified document by requesting execution of the system routine, a method of graphically representing the specified document comprising:

allowing the application program to be executed;

allowing the application program to open the specified document in a document window during execution of the application program and display at least one screen while the specified document is open in the document window;

intercepting execution of the application program after the application program requests execution of the system routine in order to close the specified document and prior to completion of the execution of the system routine;

recording a snapshot of the screen in the memory, separately from the specified document and in an accessible format different from the internal format used by the application program, during the interception of the execution of the application program such that the snapshot may be displayed without accessing the specified document in the internal format;

closing the specified document such that the screen and the document in the document window are no longer displayed; and

accessing the recorded snapshot in the accessible format and displaying the snapshot after the specified document has been closed.

24. A computer user interface system comprising:

means for executing an application program;

means for allowing the application program to open a document in a document window during execution of the application program and display at least one screen while the document is open in the document window;

means for saving the document in a memory as a first file in an internal format of the application program;

means for automatically recording a snapshot of the screen during the execution of the application program in the memory as a second file in an accessible format different from the internal format separately from the first file such that the snapshot may be displayed without accessing the first file in the internal format;

means for closing the document such that the screen and the document in the document window are no longer displayed; and

means for accessing the recorded snapshot in the accessible format and displaying the snapshot after the document has been closed without accessing the document in the internal format.

25. The computer user interface system of claim 24, further comprising:

means for displaying the snapshot after execution of the application program has terminated;

means for selecting the displayed snapshot;

means for initiating execution of the application program in response to the selection of the displayed snapshot; and

means for automatically causing the application program to open the document.

26. A user interface system for a computer, the computer including a memory for storing an application program and a plurality of documents, an operating system for providing a subdirectory file organizing system for locating the documents in the memory and for providing a system routine for closing the documents in the subdirectory file organizing system, the application program storing or providing the application data in an internal format unknown to the user interface system and being capable of closing a specified document by requesting execution of the system routine, the user interface system comprising:

means for executing the application program;

means for allowing the application program to open the specified document in a document window during execution of the application program and display at least one screen while the specified document is open in the document window;

means for intercepting execution of the application program after the application program requests execution of the system routine in order to close the specified document and prior to completion of the execution of the system routine;

means for recording a snapshot of the screen in the memory, separately from the specified document and in an accessible format different from the internal format used by the application program, during the interception of the execution of the application program such that the snapshot may be displayed without accessing the specified document in the internal format;

means for closing the document such that the screen and the document in the document window are no longer displayed; and

means for accessing the recorded snapshot in the accessible format and displaying the snapshot after the specified document has been closed.

27. The user interface system of claim 26 wherein the means for recording the snapshot further comprises:

means for determining whether the snapshot has been recorded for a current event loop; and

means for recording the snapshot when the snapshot has not been recorded for the current event loop.

28. The user interface system of claim 26 wherein the means for intercepting execution of the application program comprises a patch to the system routine.

29. The user interface system of claim 26 wherein the means for intercepting execution of the application program comprises a filter for intercepting the request for execution of the system routine.

30. In a computer user interface system for a computer, the computer including a display, a memory for storing a plurality of application programs and a plurality of documents, an operating system for providing a subdirectory file organizing system for locating the documents in the memory and for providing a system routine for creating and placing new documents in files in the subdirectory file organizing system, each application program capable of creating a new document in a document window and placing it in a corresponding file in a specified subdirectory by requesting execution of the system routine, a method for associating the documents comprising the steps of:

providing a data structure specifying a plurality of projects;

providing at least one field in the data structure for each project, wherein each field is capable of storing a reference to an associated document located in a file in any subdirectory;

enabling a user to select a project;

executing a selected one of said plurality of application programs;

intercepting execution of the selected application program after the selected application program requests execution of the system routine in order to create the new document in the document window and place it in the corresponding file in the specified subdirectory and prior to completion of the execution of the system routine;

automatically storing a reference to the new document in the field for the selected project by obtaining a reference to the corresponding file during the interception of the execution of the selected application program and incorporating the reference to the corresponding file into the data structure, thereby associating the new document with the selected project;

terminating the execution of the application program such that the new document and the document window are no longer displayed; and

using the data structure to generate a document listing for the selected project independent of the document window, wherein the document listing provides a list of references to the plurality of associated documents for the selected project, including the new document, which are selectable to access a desired document in the project.

31. A user interface system for a computer, the computer including a memory for storing a plurality of application programs and a plurality of documents, an operating system for providing a subdirectory file organizing system for locating the documents in the memory and for providing a system routine for creating and placing new documents in files in the subdirectory file organizing system, each application program capable of creating a new document in a document window and placing it in a corresponding file in a specified subdirectory by requesting execution of the system routine, the computer user interface system comprising:

a data structure formed within the memory specifying a plurality of projects;

means for providing at least one field in the data structure for each project, wherein each field is capable of storing a reference to an associated document located in a file in any subdirectory;

means for enabling a user to select a project;

means for executing a selected one of said plurality of application programs;

means for intercepting execution of the selected application program after the selected application program requests execution of the system routine in order to create the new document in the document window and place it in the corresponding file in the specified subdirectory and prior to completion of the execution of the system routine;

means for automatically storing a reference to the new document in the field for the selected project by obtaining a reference to the corresponding file during the interception of the execution of the selected application program and incorporating the reference to the corresponding file into the data structure, thereby associating the new document with the selected project;

terminating the execution of the application program such that the new document and the document window are no longer displayed; and

using the data structure to generate a document listing for the selected project independent of the document window, wherein the document listing provides a list of references to the plurality of associated documents for the selected project, including the new document, which are selectable to access a desired document in the project.

32. The computer user interface system of claim 31 wherein the means for automatically storing the reference to the new document further comprises:

means for retrieving a reference to a field in a first dialog box;

means for tracking nested dialog boxes to determine when the first dialog box is closed; and

means for retrieving a name for the new document from the field in the first dialog box.

33. The user interface system of claim 31 wherein the means for intercepting execution of the application program comprises a patch to the system routine.

34. The user interface system of claim 31 wherein the means for intercepting execution of the application program comprises a filter for intercepting the request for execution of the system routine.

35. The user interface system of claim 31, further comprising timer means for measuring a cumulative period of time that the selected project is selected by the user.

36. The user interface system of claim 35, further comprising means for resetting the timer means.

37. The user interface system of claim 35, further comprising means for automatically suspending the timer means in the absence of activity for a predetermined period of time.

38. A user interface system for a computer system including a memory, the user interface system comprising:

means for grouping application programs into a plurality of groups based upon functional features of the application programs by creating in the memory a table comprising a table entry for each of a plurality of application programs, wherein each group contains more than one application program;

means for designating an application program in each group of application programs as the default application program for the group;

for each group, means for defining an area on the display which represents the corresponding plurality of application programs; and

means for initiating execution of the respective default application program in response to the generation of a first selection signal by the user while the cursor is anywhere within the area for the respective group;

means for displaying a representation of each application program in the respective group in response to the generation of a second selection signal by the user while the cursor is anywhere within the area for the respctive group; and

means for allowing the user to select any of the application programs in the respective group for execution when the representation of each application program in the respective group is displayed.

39. In a computer user interface system including a display, a method of graphically representing a screen produced by an application program wherein the application program provides a document window for editing application data and stores or provides the application data in an internal format unknown to the computer user interface system, the method comprising the steps of:

allowing the application program to be executed such that the screen is produced on the display showing the application data in the document window;

automatically creating, in a manner independent of the internal format, an icon in an accessible format different from the internal format used by the application program, wherein the icon has the appearance of at least a portion of the screen showing the application data produced by the application program during execution of the application program;

storing the icon separately from the application data;

terminating execution of the application program such that the screen and the application data in the document window are no longer produced on the display; and

accessing the icon in the accessible format and displaying the icon outside of the document window after execution of the application program has terminated without accessing the application data in the internal format.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the icon comprises a reduced-scale image of at least a portion of the screen produced by the application program during execution of the application program.