Message window display control apparatus, method, and program product

• US 8,266,541 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2007
• Issued: 09/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Ishibashi, Yuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Rinehart, Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): Takele, Meseker
• Application Number:
  US11/684,728
• Publication Number:
  US 20070234221A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,010 Days
• Field of Search: 715/781, 715/759
• US Class Current: 715/781
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A disclosed technology is for controlling the operation of displaying message windows. Plural message windows are not displayed at the same time in response to plural requests being made to start displaying the same message window.

Claims

1. A message window display control apparatus, comprising:

a display configured to display, in a message window, a message indicating that a corresponding process of a computer is in progress;

a message counter configured to count a number of messages;

a request unit configured to make a request to start or end displaying a message;

a request counter configured to count a number of the requests to start displaying the messages;

a display control unit configured to control the display based on the number of messages indicated by the message counter and the number of requests indicated by the request counter, wherein the display control unit automatically controls the display not to display plural message windows at a same time in response to the request unit making plural message display requests, so that only a single message window having a single message indicating that the corresponding process of the computer is in progress is displayed at a time, even when plural message display requests are made, and the display control unit controls the display not to close the message window in response to the request unit making the request to end displaying the message, when the number of messages indicated by the message counter is two or more; and

a display requirement table indicating whether the message window needs to be displayed,

wherein the display control unit refers to the display requirement table so that an error does not occur in response to the request unit making the request for which the message window does not need to be displayed.

2. The message window display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the request unit makes the request to forcibly start or forcibly end displaying the message window.

3. The message window display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit is configured

to increment the number of messages indicated by the message counter in response to the request unit making a message display request, and

not to control the display to display a message window corresponding to the message display request when the number of messages indicated by the message counter is one or more.

4. A message window display control method, comprising:

displaying, in a message window on a display, a message indicating that a corresponding process of a computer is in progress;

counting a number of messages;

making a request to start or end displaying a message;

counting a number of the requests to start displaying the messages; and

controlling the display based on the number of counted messages and the number of counted requests, wherein the displaying step includes controlling the display not to display plural message windows at a same time in response plural message display requests, so that only a single message window having a single message indicating that the corresponding process of the computer is in progress is displayed at a time, even when plural message display requests are made, and the displaying step includes controlling the display not to close the message window in response to a request to end displaying the message, when the number of counted messages is two or more,

wherein the displaying step includes referring to a display requirement table, which indicates whether the message window needs to be displayed, so that an error does not occur in response to a request for which the message window does not need to be displayed

displaying a message in a message window;

requesting another message be displayed;

refraining from displaying plural message windows at the same time in response to the requesting of said another message be displayed such that only one message window having only the another message indicating that a corresponding process of a computer is in progress is displayed, even when plural message display requests are made; and

terminating the display of said another message without closing the message window, in response to a request to terminate the display of said another message, and displaying said message.

5. The message window display control method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of:

making a request to forcibly start or forcibly end displaying the message window.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program that causes a computer to execute the steps of claim 4.

7. The computer-readable medium according to claim 6, wherein the program further causes the computer to execute the steps of:

counting a number of the message windows being displayed;

counting a number of the requests being made to start displaying the message window; and

reducing the number of the counted message windows and the number of the counted requests in response to the error.

8. The computer-readable medium according to claim 6, wherein the program further causes the computer to execute the step of:

making the request to forcibly start or forcibly end displaying the message window.