Method and system for controlling an application displayed in an inactive window

• US 7,114,129 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2002
• Issued: 09/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Burkes, Philip Bernard, Awada, Faisal M., Brown, Joe Nathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo, Weilun
• Assistant Examiner(s): ENGLAND, SARA M
• Application Number:
  US10/112,484
• Publication Number:
  US 20030184592A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,643 Days
• Field of Search: 715/788, 715/804, 715/864, 715/802, 715/803, 715/805, 715/784, 715/786, 715/761, 715/816, 715/740
• US Class Current: 715/786
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars

Abstract

A view controller, such as a scroll bar, for a first application which is currently displayed within an inactive window is detached and remotely displayed within an active window in addition to the view controller associated with the content of that active window. A Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) link is then established between the remotely displayed view controller and the first application such that user inputs to the remotely displayed view controller can be utilized to modify the display of the first application without requiring the user to activate the inactive window. In this manner data within the first application can be scrolled and visually accessed by the user while the user is working within an active window, without requiring the user to toggle the focus back and forth between two windows.

Claims

1. A method for manipulating an inactive window displayed on a computer display screen, said method comprising:

displaying at least a portion of an application program display area of the inactive window on the computer display screen; and

controlling a display of the application program display area of the inactive window with a remote scroll bar controller, wherein said remote scroll bar controller is displayed within an active window in addition to a local scroll bar controller that controls the display within the application program display area of the active window, and wherein actuation of said remote scroll bar controller controls the display within the application program display area of said inactive window and does not control the display within the application program display area of said active window.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling said remote scroll bar controller from a keyboard connected to the computer display screen.

3. The meted of claim 1, wherein the computer display screen has less than forty square inches of viewable area.

4. A system for manipulating an inactive window displayed on a computer display screen, said system comprising:

means for displaying at least a portion of an application program display area of the inactive window on the computer display screen, and

means for controlling a display of the application program display area of the inactive window with a remote scroll bar controller, wherein said remote scroll bar controller is displayed within an active window in addition to a local scroll bar controller that controls the display within the application program display area of the active window, and wherein actuation of the remote scroll bar controller controls the display within the application program display area of said inactive window and does not control the display within the application program display area of said active window.

5. The computer system of claim 4, further comprising means for controlling said remote scroll bar controller from a keyboard connected to the computer display screen.

6. The computer system of claim 4, wherein said computer display screen has less than forty square inches of viewable area.

7. A computer-readable medium having encoded thereon computer-executable instructions for manipulating an inactive window displayed on a computer display screen, said computer-executable instructions performing a method comprising:

displaying at least a portion of an application program display area of the inactive window on the computer display screen; and

controlling a display of the application program display area of the inactive window with a remote scroll bar controller, wherein said remote active viewing controller is displayed within an active window in addition to a local scroll bar controller that controls the display within the application program display area of the active window, and wherein actuation of said remote scroll bar controller controls the display within the application program display area of said inactive window and does not control the display within the application program display area of said active window.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising computer program code for controlling said remote scroll bar controller from a keyboard connected to the computer display screen.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the computer display screen has less than forty square inches of viewable area.