Information processing apparatus and control method thereof, and computer program

• US 8,112,716 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2008
• Issued: 02/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Kiwamu
• Primary Examiner(s): Queler, Adam M
• Assistant Examiner(s): LONG, ANDREA NATAE
• Application Number:
  US12/170,994
• Publication Number:
  US 20090024956A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,307 Days
• Field of Search: 715/784, 715/786, 715/788, 715/800
• US Class Current: 715/784
• 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

An information processing apparatus comprising display unit configured to display a window, accepting unit configured to accept a resize instruction of the displayed window together with a scroll instruction indicating whether or not to scroll display contents within the window, and control unit configured to control a size of the window and a scrolling of the display contents within the window based on contents of the resize instruction and the scroll instruction, wherein when the scroll instruction indicates that the display contents are to be scrolled, the control unit changes the window to a size indicated by the resize instruction, and scrolls the display contents according to a change amount of the window, and when the scroll instruction indicates that the display contents are not to be scrolled, the control unit changes the window to a size indicated by the resize instruction, and suppresses a scrolling of the display contents.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a display unit configured to display a window;

an accepting unit configured to accept a resize instruction of the displayed window together with a scroll instruction indicating whether or not to scroll display contents within the window; and

a control unit configured to control a size of the window and a scrolling of the display contents within the window based on contents of the resize instruction and the scroll instruction,

wherein when the scroll instruction indicates that the display contents are to be scrolled, said control unit changes the window to a size indicated by the resize instruction, and scrolls the display contents according to a change amount of the window, and

when the scroll instruction indicates that the display contents are not to be scrolled, said control unit changes the window to a size indicated by the resize instruction, and suppresses a scrolling of the display contents; and

wherein the window is configured to include a border having a first region and a second region, and

when said accepting unit accepts the resize instruction using the first region of the border, said accepting unit accepts the scroll instruction indicating that the display contents are to be scrolled, and

when said accepting unit accepts the resize instruction using the second region of the border, said accepting unit accepts the scroll instruction indicating that the display contents are not to be scrolled.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said accepting unit accepts the resize instruction as an instruction to further resize the window during resizing of that window.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when only one border of four borders configuring the window has the first region of the border and the second region of the border,

said accepting unit accepts only a resize instruction of the window in a direction perpendicular to the one border, and

said control unit controls the size of the window based on a display position of the one border on said display unit.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

a first operation unit configured to accept a first instruction operation from a user; and

a second operation unit configured to accept a second instruction operation from the user,

wherein when said second operation unit accepts the second operation instruction after said accepting unit accepts the resize instruction using a part of the window based on the first instruction operation, said accepting unit accepts the scroll instruction indicating that the display contents are to be scrolled, and

when said second operation unit does not accept the second operation instruction after said accepting unit accepts the resize instruction using a part of the window based on the first instruction operation, said accepting unit accepts the scroll instruction indicating that the display contents are not to be scrolled.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the part of the window is a border or a corner of the window.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said first operation unit is the left button of a mouse connected to said information processing apparatus, and said second operation unit is the right button of the mouse.

7. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said first operation unit is a tip switch of a digital pen connected to said information processing apparatus, and said second operation unit is a side switch of the digital pen.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

a first operation unit configured to accept a first instruction operation from a user; and

a second operation unit configured to accept a second instruction operation from the user,

wherein the window includes a plurality of sub-windows divided by a boundary, and the boundary is configured to have a first region and a second region,

when said second operation unit accepts the second operation instruction after said accepting unit accepts the resize instruction using the first region of the boundary based on the first instruction operation, said accepting unit accepts a scroll instruction indicating that display contents within the sub-window on a first side of the boundary and display contents within the sub-window on a second side of the boundary are to be scrolled,

when said second operation unit does not accept the second operation instruction after said accepting unit accepts the resize instruction using the first region of the boundary based on the first instruction operation, said accepting unit accepts a scroll instruction indicating that display contents within the sub-window on the first side are to be scrolled, and display contents within the sub-window on the second side are not to be scrolled,

when said second operation unit accepts the second operation instruction after said accepting unit accepts the resize instruction using the second region of the boundary based on the first instruction operation, said accepting unit accepts a scroll instruction indicating that display contents within the sub-window on the first side are not to be scrolled, and display contents within the sub-window on the second side are to be scrolled, and

when said second operation unit does not accept the second operation instruction after said accepting unit accepts the resize instruction using the second region of the boundary based on the first instruction operation, said accepting unit accepts a scroll instruction indicating that display contents within the sub-window on the first side and display contents within the sub-window on the second side are not to be scrolled.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first side and the second side are the left side and the right side or the upper side and the lower side with respect to the boundary.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display contents include an object,

when the scroll instruction indicates that the display contents are to be scrolled, and when the object is in contact with a border or a boundary of the window, said control unit suppresses the scrolling of the object which is in contact, and

when the scroll instruction indicates that the display contents are not to be scrolled, and when the object is in contact with a border or a boundary of the window, said control unit scrolls the object which is in contact.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein when the scroll instruction indicates that the display contents are to be scrolled, and when the object is in contact with another scroll-suppressed object, said control unit also suppresses the scrolling of the object which is in contact, and

when the scroll instruction indicates that the display contents are not to be scrolled, and when the object is in contact with another object which has already been scrolled, said control unit also scrolls the object which is in contact.

12. A method of controlling an information processing apparatus comprising:

displaying a window on a display unit;

accepting a resize instruction of the displayed window together with a scroll instruction indicating whether or not to scroll display contents within the window; and

controlling a size of the window and a scrolling of the display contents within the window based on contents of the resize instruction and the scroll instruction,

wherein when the scroll instruction indicates that the display contents are to be scrolled, the window is changed to a size indicated by the resize instruction, and the display contents are scrolled according to a change amount of the window, and

when the scroll instruction indicates that the display contents are not to be scrolled, the window is changed to a size indicated by the resize instruction, and scrolling of the display contents is suppressed; and

wherein the window is configured to include a border having a first region and a second region, and

when said accepting step accepts the resize instruction using the first region of the border, said accepting step accepts the scroll instruction indicating that the display contents are to be scrolled and

when said accepting step accepts the resize instruction using the second region of the border, said accepting unit accepts the scroll instruction indicating that the display contents are not to be scrolled.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the resize instruction is accepted as an instruction to further resize the window during resizing of the displayed window.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the information processing apparatus further comprises first operation unit configured to accept a first instruction operation from a user, and second operation unit configured to accept a second instruction operation from the user,

the window includes a plurality of sub-windows divided by a boundary, and the boundary is configured to have a first region and a second region,

when the second operation instruction is accepted via the second operation unit after the resize instruction using the first region of the boundary based on the first instruction operation is accepted, a scroll instruction indicating that display contents within the sub-window on a first side of the boundary and display contents within the sub-window on a second side of the boundary are to be scrolled is accepted,

when the second operation instruction is not accepted via the second operation unit after the resize instruction using the first region of the boundary based on the first instruction operation is accepted, a scroll instruction indicating that display contents within the sub-window on the first side are to be scrolled and display contents within the sub-window on the second side are not to be scrolled is accepted,

when the second operation instruction is accepted via the second operation unit after the resize instruction using the second region of the boundary based on the first instruction operation is accepted, a scroll instruction indicating that display contents within the sub-window on the first side are not to be scrolled and display contents within the sub-window on the second side are to be scrolled is accepted, and

when the second operation instruction is not accepted via the second operation unit after the resize instruction using the second region of the boundary based on the first instruction operation is accepted, a scroll instruction indicating that display contents within the sub-window on the first side and display contents within the sub-window on the second side are not to be scrolled is accepted.

15. A computer program stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium for making a computer function as the method of controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 12.