Screen magnifier panning model with dynamically resizable panning regions
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for panning a magnified view of a computer screen, the method comprising:
- detecting an update event that indicates a time for updating the contents and position of the view;
retrieving a current cursor position of a displayed cursor;
determining whether the retrieved current cursor position lies within a work area encompassing the middle of the view or in a panning region located at the outer edges of the view, wherein the panning region is invisible to a user and encompasses an area of the view in addition to the edges; and
if the retrieved current cursor position is in the panning region, updating the view to magnify a different portion of the computer screen, such that movements of the displayed cursor outside of the panning region and within the work area do not pan the view, wherein the panning region has a dynamic size determined by a closeness of the view to each edge of the computer screen, such that when the magnified view is at the center of the computer screen, each side of the panning region is the same size based on a default value, as the magnified view gets closer to an edge of the computer screen one side of the panning region parallel to that edge of the computer screen gets smaller and an opposite side of the panning region parallel to that edge of the computer screen gets larger by scaling the default value, and when the magnified view is all the way at an edge of the computer screen there is no panning region at that edge.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A magnifier panning system is described that creates a panning region at the edges of a magnified view. When a user moves the cursor into the panning region, the system pans the magnified view. When the user is not in the panning region, the user can interact with objects in the magnified view without the view shifting around. The objects appear magnified, but they do not behave or move any differently than they would if they were not magnified, providing the user with a familiar and comfortable user experience. Thus, the magnifier panning system provides the user with a much more natural view for interacting with the displayed objects while still allowing an efficient way to pan the view to move the magnified view to a different area of the screen.
47 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for panning a magnified view of a computer screen, the method comprising:
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detecting an update event that indicates a time for updating the contents and position of the view; retrieving a current cursor position of a displayed cursor; determining whether the retrieved current cursor position lies within a work area encompassing the middle of the view or in a panning region located at the outer edges of the view, wherein the panning region is invisible to a user and encompasses an area of the view in addition to the edges; and if the retrieved current cursor position is in the panning region, updating the view to magnify a different portion of the computer screen, such that movements of the displayed cursor outside of the panning region and within the work area do not pan the view, wherein the panning region has a dynamic size determined by a closeness of the view to each edge of the computer screen, such that when the magnified view is at the center of the computer screen, each side of the panning region is the same size based on a default value, as the magnified view gets closer to an edge of the computer screen one side of the panning region parallel to that edge of the computer screen gets smaller and an opposite side of the panning region parallel to that edge of the computer screen gets larger by scaling the default value, and when the magnified view is all the way at an edge of the computer screen there is no panning region at that edge. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer system for determining when to move a magnified view produced by a computer screen magnifier, the system comprising:
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an input device configured to receive input from a user and communicate the input to an operating system; a cursor tracking component configured to track movement of a cursor around the screen; a panning region detecting component configured to detect whether the cursor is within a work area at the center of the magnified view within which movement of the cursor does not move the magnified view or within a panning region within which movement of the cursor pans the magnified view, wherein a boundary between the work area and panning region is invisible to the user and wherein the panning region has a dynamic size determined by a closeness of the view to each edge of the computer screen, such that when the magnified view is at the center of the computer screen, each side of the panning region is the same size based on a default value, as the magnified view gets closer to an edge of the computer screen one side of the panning region parallel to that edge of the computer screen gets smaller and an opposite side of the panning region parallel to that edge of the computer screen gets larger by scaling the default value, and when the magnified view is all the way at an edge of the computer screen there is no panning region at that edge; a panning component configured to move the magnified view to a new location when the cursor is detected within the panning region; a rendering component configured to receive input about one or more items on the screen and render a portion of the screen at a larger size in the magnified view; and a display device configured to display the contents of the magnified view. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer-readable storage device encoded with instructions for controlling a computer system to determine the dimensions of a panning region for moving a magnified view of a computer desktop, by a method comprising:
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receiving a size of the computer desktop; receiving a location of a magnified view relative to the computer desktop, wherein the magnified view includes a work area in the middle of the magnified view and the panning region around the edges of the work area, such that movement of a cursor within the work area does not move the magnified view and movement of the cursor to the panning region pans the magnified view to a new location of the computer desktop, wherein the panning region for moving the magnified view is invisible to a user; and for at least one side of the panning region, receiving a default value for a width of the side of the panning region; and scaling the received default value by an amount based on the received location of the magnified view, wherein the panning region has a dynamic size determined by a closeness of the view to each edge of the computer desktop, such that when the magnified view is at the center of the computer desktop, each side of the panning region is the same size based on the default value, as the magnified view gets closer to an edge of the computer desktop one side of the panning region parallel to that edge of the computer desktop gets smaller and an opposite side of the panning region parallel to that edge of the computer desktop gets larger by scaling the default value, and when the magnified view is all the way at an edge of the computer desktop there is no panning region at that edge. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification