User interface with visual tracking feature

• US 7,506,268 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2005
• Issued: 03/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Gioconda, Thomas G., Jennings, Claire Anna, McLees, Lorraine R, Brawley, Zoe, Jarrard, Brian, Boyce, Douglas A.
• Primary Examiner(s): BONSHOCK, DENNIS G
• Application Number:
  US11/102,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20060230361A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,436 Days
• Field of Search: 715/786, 715/787, 715/784, 715/973, 715/830, 715/833, 345/684
• 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 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

A user interface having a persistent graphical interface element is disclosed. The element may have an appearance of a mechanical structure that traverses one or more displayed tracks. Movement along the tracks may be animated in response to navigation commands. Selectable menu panels may be included in the interface, and may overlay displayed contents of documents being viewed and/or edited to ensure that certain menu options are always available. The menu may be given multiple distinct appearances corresponding to different display sizes.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions for generating a user interface, said interface comprising:

a document content portion displaying contents of a document, wherein the document includes information defining a displayed path along which scrolling of the document by a viewing interface is permitted, the displayed path including a graphical track having a positional relationship to the document, where the graphical track defines a display path stretching the extent of the document, the display path giving an indication of a relative position within the document; and

a stationary guide element different from and intersecting the graphical track, wherein, during scrolling, the document content portion and the track are each moved while the guide element remains stationary on a display screen and continues to intersect the graphical track, thereby limiting scrolling to a direction and duration of the graphical track.

2. The medium of claim 1, wherein the displayed path includes a plurality of tracks aligned in a common direction, and the stationary guide element includes a plurality of guide elements each intersecting one of the tracks.

3. The medium of claim 1, wherein the displayed path includes one or more travel progress indicators at fixed positions on the document.

4. The medium of claim 3, wherein the travel progress indicators include a plurality of diagonal lines.

5. The medium of claim 3, wherein the travel progress indicators are moved in accordance with the movement of the content portion.

6. The medium of claim 1, wherein the document is an Internet page.

7. The medium of claim 1, wherein the interface element further includes a feedback region, and a menu adjacent to the feedback region.

8. The medium of claim 7, wherein the menu includes a plurality of highlightable panels, and in response to a highlighting of one of the panels, the feedback region displays an indicia corresponding to the highlighted panel.

9. The medium of claim 1, further including computer-executable instructions to limit scrolling of documents to one or more directions permitted by the viewed documents.

10. The medium of claim 1, wherein the displayed path extends in a diagonal direction for at least a portion of the document.

11. The medium of claim 1, including instructions to allow different documents to define custom scrolling directions for said documents.

12. A method of providing a user interface to a user, comprising the steps of:

retrieving a document to be displayed, the document including a scroll direction interface element defining a permitted scroll direction path along which the document'"'"'s content is moved during scrolling, the scroll direction interface element including a graphical track having a positional relationship to the document, where the graphical track defines a display path stretching the extent of the document, the display path giving an indication of a relative position within the document;

displaying contents of the document on a screen, including the scroll direction interface element;

displaying an interface guide portion intersecting the graphical track of the scroll direction interface element;

scrolling the contents in response to a navigation command while maintaining the interface guide portion at a stationary position on the screen; and

maintaining an intersection between the interface guide portion and the graphical track of the scroll direction interface element during the scrolling such that scrolling is limited to a direction and duration of the graphical track.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the interface guide portion is a persistent element and obscures a portion of the document'"'"'s contents.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising examining the document'"'"'s scroll direction interface element to determine a custom direction in which the document'"'"'s contents are to be scrolled when viewing the document.

15. A method, comprising the steps of:

displaying a persistent user interface element on a predetermined portion of a display area on a computer screen, the persistent user interface element including a guide element;

retrieving a document to be displayed, the document including a scroll direction interface element, the scroll direction interface element including at least one travel progress indicator and a graphical track having a positional relationship to the retrieved document, where the graphical track defines a display path stretching the extent of the document, the display path giving an indication of a relative position within the document;

displaying the scroll direction interface element on the screen such that the guide element and the scroll direction interface element are optically coordinated;

displaying contents of said document on the screen above the interface element; and

scrolling the displayed contents, wherein the scrolling is constrained by the scroll direction interface element and the guide element such that the scrolling is limited to a direction and duration of the graphical track, and during the scrolling, the persistent user interface element and the guide element maintain fixed positions on the screen.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of reusing the interface element when a second document having a different scroll direction interface element is displayed.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of displaying a menu adjacent to the user interface element, the menu having a plurality of menu panels in a first state, and in response to user request, replacing the menu panels with corresponding menu panels in a second state, the first and second states differing in size.