Computer system with graphical user interface including spring-loaded enclosures
First Claim
1. An apparatus for finding objects in a computer including a display and a pointing device with which a user drags a pointer on the display, comprising:
- an input that receives an input signal to indicate a drag operation, the drag operation comprising associating an object with the pointer, the input being coupled to the computer;
memory that stores a plurality of objects including enclosures in the memory, wherein the enclosures comprise objects which may enclose other objects, the memory being coupled to the computer;
window opening logic, coupled with the display, that draws windows on the display corresponding to opened enclosures, wherein a window for an opened enclosure includes identifiers within the window corresponding to objects enclosed by the opened enclosure;
a particular enclosure, the particular enclosure displayed within one of the windows, the particular enclosure representing a folder in a storage system hierarchy; and
temporary window logic, coupled to the display and the pointing device, that opens a temporary window for the particular enclosure to display identifiers within the temporary window corresponding to objects enclosed by the particular enclosure, in response to a drag during the drag operation of the pointer over an identifier corresponding to the particular enclosure.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A new behavior in a graphical user interface allows the user to open and close enclosures, while dragging an object. When the user pauses, gestures, or rolls over a hot spot on top of an icon or text representing a closed enclosure, a temporary window for the closed enclosure is "sprung open" to allow the user to browse inside the enclosure and possible open another enclosure contained within the temporary window. This process can be carried on throughout a hierarchy of windows as the user browses for a destination window for the drag operation. All of the temporary windows except the destination are closed when the mouse button is released, signaling the end of a drag. The user may close sprung open windows by simply moving the cursor out of the sprung open window, or by making some other gesture. If an enclosure to be sprung open was previously open on the desktop, the previously opened window may zoom over to the current mouse position, and then return to its original position when the user mouse is out of the window.
118 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus for finding objects in a computer including a display and a pointing device with which a user drags a pointer on the display, comprising:
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an input that receives an input signal to indicate a drag operation, the drag operation comprising associating an object with the pointer, the input being coupled to the computer; memory that stores a plurality of objects including enclosures in the memory, wherein the enclosures comprise objects which may enclose other objects, the memory being coupled to the computer; window opening logic, coupled with the display, that draws windows on the display corresponding to opened enclosures, wherein a window for an opened enclosure includes identifiers within the window corresponding to objects enclosed by the opened enclosure; a particular enclosure, the particular enclosure displayed within one of the windows, the particular enclosure representing a folder in a storage system hierarchy; and temporary window logic, coupled to the display and the pointing device, that opens a temporary window for the particular enclosure to display identifiers within the temporary window corresponding to objects enclosed by the particular enclosure, in response to a drag during the drag operation of the pointer over an identifier corresponding to the particular enclosure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A machine readable medium containing executable program instructions which when executed cause a digital processing system to perform a method comprising:
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performing a drag operation comprising associating an object with a pointer on a display; storing in a memory a plurality of objects including enclosures that comprise objects that may enclose other objects; displaying windows on the display corresponding to open enclosures wherein a window for an opened enclosure includes identifiers within the window corresponding to objects enclosed by the opened enclosure; and opening a temporary window for a particular enclosure displayed within one of the windows to display identifiers within the temporary window corresponding to objects enclosed by the particular enclosure in response to a drag operation of the pointer over an identifier corresponding to the particular enclosure. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A machine readable medium containing executable program instructions which when executed cause a digital processing system to perform a method comprising:
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associating an object with a pointer on a display in response to a drag operation; storing in a memory a plurality of objects including enclosures that comprise objects that may enclose other objects; in response to a drag operation, displaying windows on the display corresponding to open enclosures wherein a window for an opened enclosure includes identifiers within the window corresponding to objects enclosed by the opened enclosure; opening a temporary window for a particular enclosure to display identifiers within the temporary window corresponding to objects enclosed by the particular enclosure; determining whether the display includes an existing window; and removing the existing window for the particular enclosure during the drag operation to open the temporary window. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification