Selective window exclusion for captured content

• US 7,689,926 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Issued: 03/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Santiago, Pravin K., Wright, Stephen H., de Souza, Jeremy
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo; Weilun
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chuong; Truc T
• Application Number:
  US11/395,077
• Publication Number:
  US 20070234212A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,460 Days
• Field of Search: 715/786, 715/787, 715/833, 715/855, 715/757, 715/766, 715790-794, 715/796, 715/800, 715/838, 715/859
• US Class Current: 715/781
• 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

Described is the selective exclusion of content returned in a requested screen capture operation, wherein exclusion may be determined by a window category and the requesting application program. For example, a magnification program will not received content captured from its own layered window or from any other layered magnification windows. A registration mechanism obtains and maintains a window handle for any window registered for exclusion. A screen capture mechanism uses the information to determine whether to exclude the content of windows when returning the captured screen content. Exclusion may be accomplished by enumerating areas that are not covered by any layered window and copying those areas to a screen representation buffer or the like, and separately enumerating areas that are covered by at least one layered window. A covered area is only copied to the screen representation when it does not correspond to an excluded window.

Claims

1. In a computing environment, a method for avoiding recursive magnification problems and without excluding content of non-magnifier windows from screen content that is magnified, the method comprising:

maintaining data that identifies whether each window of a plurality of windows corresponds to a set of at least two properties, including a layered property and a magnification-type property, wherein at least one of the plurality of windows is identified as corresponding to both the layered property and the magnification-type property;

receiving a request to capture an area of screen content; and

after maintaining data identifying the at least one of the plurality of windows as corresponding to both the layered property and the magnification-type property, and after receiving the request to capture screen content, returning screen content in a magnification program, the screen content returned to the magnification program;

excluding all content of the one or more windows corresponding to both the layered property and the magnification-type property, as stored in the maintained data;

including all content from the area that is within any windows of the plurality of windows that correspond to only the layered property; and

including all content from that area that is within any windows of the plurality of windows that correspond to neither the layered property, nor the magnification type property.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one window corresponds to a layered window of an accessibility program, and wherein maintaining the data comprises maintaining a window handle for the layered window of the accessibility program.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one window corresponds to a layered window of a magnifier program, and wherein maintaining the data comprises maintaining a window handle for the layered window of the magnifier program.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one window corresponds to a set of windows that includes layered magnification-type windows, including a layered window of a first magnifier program and a layered window for each of at least one other magnifier program, wherein receiving the request to capture an area of screen content comprises receiving the request from the first magnifier program, and wherein returning the screen content comprises excluding the content of each layered window of the first magnifier program and each of the at least one other magnifier programs.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein maintaining the data comprises receiving a registration request that identifies windows via a window handle.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein returning the screen content comprises, enumerating first areas that are not covered by any layered window, copying those first areas to a screen representation, enumerating second areas that are covered by at least one layered window, copying those second areas to the screen representation only when those areas do not correspond to a magnification-type window, and returning the copied screen representation.

7. In a computing environment, a system comprising:

a registration mechanism that maintains information comprising an identifier of at least one window that is registered as belonging to an exclusion category corresponding to windows having a category combination that includes;

a magnification-type category; and

a layered category;

a screen capture mechanism that determines whether a request to capture screen content is to exclude each window of the exclusion category corresponding to windows having both a magnification-type category and a layered category; and

an exclusion mechanism that selectively copies screen content for capture by copying screen content corresponding to windows that do not belong to the exclusion category, such that the exclusion mechanism;

selectively excludes screen content for windows corresponding to both the magnification-type type property and the layered category;

selectively copies screen content for windows corresponding to only the layered category; and

selectively copies screen content for windows corresponding to neither the magnification type category nor the layered category.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein at least one window corresponding to the layered and magnification-type categories corresponds to a magnification program that magnifies a full screen of a display device.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein at least window corresponding to the layered and magnification-type categories corresponds to a window of a magnification program that moves automatically with a screen pointer/cursor position.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein at least one of the windows that do not belong to the exclusion category comprise layered transparent and/or semi-opaque user interface elements.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein each identifier comprises a window handle.

12. The system of claim 7 wherein the exclusion mechanism is incorporated into a kernel mode component.

13. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, which when executed by a processor, perform a method for avoiding recursive magnification problems and without excluding content of non-magnifier windows from screen content that is magnified, the method comprising:

receiving a registration request to register a first window;

registering the first window, including maintaining information about the registered first window, including information regarding the first window being categorized as a magnification-type layered window;

receiving a registration request to register a second window;

registering the second window, including maintaining information about the registered second window, including information regarding the second window being categorized as a layered window, but not being a magnification-type layered window;

identifying a third window, wherein the third window is not registered as any type of layered window;

receiving a request to capture screen content with a full-screen magnification program, the full-screen magnification program being adapted to content of windows positioned within the screen of a display device;

when the request to capture screen content is received, and that corresponds to the full screen, making a determination from the information as to whether the first window, second window, and third window include content for display within the magnification program, wherein making the determination includes;

for the second window registered as a layered window not corresponding to a magnification-type layered window, including content of the second window in the screen content capture;

for the third window not registered as any type of layered window, including content of the third window in the screen content capture; and

for the first window registered as a magnification-type layered window, excluding all content of the first window from the screen content capture, such that the full-screen magnification program excludes content from all, and only all, windows registered as magnification-type layered windows; and

within the full-screen magnification program, displaying all content included in the screen content capture, and abstaining from displaying all content excluded from the screen content capture.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 having further computer-executable instructions comprising, receiving a request to de-register the first window, and in response, de-registering the first window.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein the registration request for the first window is received via a magnification API call.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein the registered first window and any other similarly registered magnification-type layered window or windows correspond to a category of layered magnifier program windows.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 wherein the category corresponds to a set of at least two layered windows, wherein the first window is contained in the set, and wherein returning the screen content comprises excluding the content of each magnification-type layered window of the category.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein displaying the content comprises, enumerating first areas that are not covered by any layered window, copying those first areas to a screen representation, enumerating second areas that are covered by at least one layered window, copying those second areas to the screen representation only when those areas do not correspond to a registered magnification-type layered window, and returning the copied screen representation.