Multi-display system and method supporting differing accesibility feature selection

• US 8,839,105 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2006
• Issued: 09/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Banerjee, Dwip N., Das, Ranadip, Patil, Sandeep Ramesh, Venkatsubra, Venkat
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, TING ZHOU
• Application Number:
  US11/565,678
• Publication Number:
  US 20080134061A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,846 Days
• Field of Search: 715/717, 715/751, 715/730, 715/700, 715/764, 715/867, 345/1.1, 345/3.1
• US Class Current: 715/700
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/06 Adjustment of display parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T

Abstract

A multi-display system and method supporting differing accessibility feature selection provides a suitable display for a user with limited visual acuity, while providing a second display having a different accessibility feature set to a second user. An application or operating system checks selected accessibility features and display settings corresponding to each graphical display device and generates multiple graphical outputs in conformity with program output and the corresponding accessibility features and display settings for each device. One graphical display may be a personal computer display and the other a projector, so that an accessible desktop can be presented to the presenter, while the presentation can be shown with a desired set of attributes. The operating system may support the above-described operation by generating the multiple display outputs from the accessibility settings and a single program output. Alternatively, an application can generate two display outputs in conformity with accessibility selections.

Claims

1. A computer-performed method for providing program output having separately selectable accessibility features for each graphical display device of a computer system supporting multiple display devices, comprising:

first reading a first set of accessibility settings from a memory of said computer system corresponding to a first graphical display device;

second reading a second set of accessibility settings from a memory of said computer system corresponding to a second graphical display device;

first generating first graphical output for display on said first graphical display device in accordance with program output information and in conformity with a first desktop color scheme or a first contrast setting stored in said first set of accessibility settings;

second generating second graphical output for display on said second graphical display device in accordance with said program output information and in conformity with a second desktop color scheme or a second contrast setting stored in said second set of accessibility settings, wherein the second graphical output is identical to the first graphical output excepting differences between the first and second desktop color scheme and differences between the first and second contrast settings;

first displaying said first graphical output on said first graphical display device; and

second displaying said second graphical output on said second graphical display device, simultaneous with said first displaying, whereby the same program output information is displayed with different accessibility settings on the first and second graphical display devices.

2. The computer-performed method of claim 1, wherein said first generating and said second generating are performed by an application program managed by an operating system of said computer system.

3. The computer-performed method of claim 1, wherein said first generating and said second generating are performed by an operating system of said computer system.

4. The computer-performed method of claim 3, wherein said first reading and said second reading read separate sets of desktop settings, whereby a first set of desktop settings is specified for a first user viewing said first graphical display device and a second set of desktop settings is specified for a second user viewing said second graphical display device.

5. The computer-performed method of claim 3, further comprising providing said program output information set from an application managed by said operating system, wherein said first reading and said second reading are performed by said operating system, and wherein said first and second generating are performed by said operating system.

6. The computer-performed method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether or not multi-display support is enabled on said computer system, wherein in response to determining that said multi-display support is not enabled, said first reading reads a default set of accessibility settings, and wherein said second generating and said second displaying are performed only in response to determining that said multi-display support is enabled.

7. The computer-performed method of claim 1, wherein said first graphical display device is a personal computer display and said second display is a presentation projector display, whereby a presenter having limited visual acuity is provided with an accessible graphical user interface while a presentation made to an audience is provided with a different set of display characteristics.

8. A computer system including a memory for storing program instructions and data, a processor for executing said program instructions, a first graphical display device and a second graphical display device, wherein said program instructions comprise program instructions for providing separate accessibility features for each of said first and second graphical display devices, said program instructions comprising:

first reading a first set of accessibility settings from a memory of said computer system corresponding to said first graphical display device;

second reading a second set of accessibility settings from a memory of said computer system corresponding to said second graphical display device;

first generating first graphical output for display on said first graphical display device in accordance with program output information and in conformity with a first desktop color scheme or a first contrast setting stored in said first set of accessibility settings;

second generating second graphical output for display on said second graphical display device in accordance with said program output information and in conformity with a second desktop color scheme or a second contrast setting stored in said second set of accessibility settings, wherein the second graphical output is identical to the first graphical output excepting differences between the first and second desktop color scheme and differences between the first and second contrast settings;

first displaying said first graphical output on said first graphical display device; and

second displaying said second graphical output on said second graphical display device, simultaneous with said first displaying, whereby the same program output information is displayed with different accessibility settings on the first and second graphical display devices.

9. The computer system of claim 8, wherein said program instructions for first generating and second generating comprise program instructions within an application program managed by an operating system of said computer system.

10. The computer system of claim 8, wherein said program instructions for first generating and second generating comprise program instructions within an operating system of said computer system.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein said program instructions for first reading and second reading read separate sets of desktop settings, whereby a first set of desktop settings is specified for a first user viewing said first graphical display device and a second set of desktop settings is specified for a second user viewing said second graphical display device.

12. The computer system of claim 10, further comprising program instructions, within an application program managed by said operating system, for providing said program output information set, and wherein said program instructions for first reading, second reading, first generating and second generating are program instructions of said operating system.

13. The computer system of claim 8, further comprising program instructions for determining whether or not multi-display support is enabled on said computer system, wherein in response to determining that said multi-display support is not enabled, said program instructions for first reading read a default set of accessibility settings, and wherein said program instructions for second generating and said second displaying are executed only in response to determining that said multi-display support is enabled.

14. The computer system of claim 8, wherein said first graphical display device is a personal computer display and said second display is a presentation projector display, whereby a presenter having limited visual acuity is provided with an accessible graphical user interface while a presentation made to an audience is provided with a different set of display characteristics.

15. A computer program product, comprising a computer readable storage medium encoding program instructions for execution within a general-purpose computer system, wherein said program instructions comprise program instructions for providing separate accessibility features in a graphical display system of a computer system, said program instructions comprising:

first generating first graphical output for display on a first graphical display device in accordance with a program output information and in conformity with a first desktop color scheme or a first contrast setting stored in a first set of accessibility settings;

second generating second graphical output for display on said second graphical display device in accordance with said program output information and in conformity with a second desktop color scheme or a second contrast setting stored in said second set of accessibility settings, wherein the second graphical output is identical to the first graphical output excepting differences between the first and second desktop color scheme and differences between the first and second contrast settings;

first displaying said first graphical output on said first graphical display device; and

second displaying said second graphical output on said second graphical display device, simultaneous with said first displaying, whereby the same program output information is displayed with different accessibility settings on the first and second graphical display devices.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein said program instructions are program instructions of an operating system for operating said general-purpose computer system.

17. The computer program product of system of claim 16, wherein said program instructions further comprise program instructions for receiving said program output information set from an application program.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein said program instructions of said operating system further comprise program instructions for generating said program output information set.

19. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising program instructions for:

determining whether or not multi-display support is enabled on said computer system; and

in response to determining that said multi-display support is not enabled reading a default set of accessibility settings, and wherein said program instructions for performing second generating and said second displaying are executed only in response to determining that said multi-display support is enabled.

20. A computer program product, comprising a computer readable storage medium encoding program instructions for execution within a general-purpose computer system, wherein said program instructions comprise application program instructions for generating two graphical display outputs on separate first and second graphical display devices of said computer system to provide separate accessibility features on each of said graphical display devices, said program instructions comprising:

first reading a first set of accessibility settings from a memory of said computer system corresponding to said first graphical display device;

second reading a second set of accessibility settings from a memory of said computer system corresponding to said second graphical display device;

first generating first graphical output for display on said first graphical display device in accordance with program output information and in conformity with a first desktop color scheme or a first contrast setting stored in said first set of accessibility settings; and

second generating second graphical output for display on said second graphical display device in accordance with said program output information and in conformity with a second desktop color scheme or a second contrast setting stored in said second set of accessibility settings, wherein the second graphical output is identical to the first graphical output excepting differences between the first and second desktop color scheme and differences between the first and second contrast settings, whereby the same program output information is represented with different accessibility settings in the first and second graphical output.