Deleting annotations of paginated digital content

• US 9,792,272 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2013
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Barnes & Noble College Booksellers LLC (Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Barnes & Noble College Booksellers LLC (Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hicks, Kourtny M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bennion, Aaron
• Application Number:
  US14/145,129
• Publication Number:
  US 20150186350A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,386 Days
• Field of Search: 715230
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes

Abstract

Features and techniques are disclosed for interacting with paginated digital content, including a multi-purpose tool and an annotation mode. The multi-purpose tool, which may be represented by a graphic (e.g., a movable interactive graphic), can provide access to multiple modes (e.g., copy, define, note, and/or highlight modes) that a user can invoke. The mode invoked determines the functions performed by the tool when interacting with the paginated digital content. The annotation mode, which may be invoked using the multi-purpose tool or independently thereof, can allow a user to create and edit annotations, such as highlights and notes (e.g., sticky notes, margin notes, and/or highlight notes), for paginated digital content. Editing the annotations may include selecting a desired color for the annotation, for example. The annotation mode may also allow a user to intuitively merge and delete annotations previously added to paginated digital content.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a display for presenting paginated digital content to a user; and

a user interface including an annotation mode, the annotation mode allowing a user to add highlights to paginated digital content to associate a portion of the paginated digital content with the highlight, wherein an added highlight can be deleted from the paginated digital content without deleting the portion of the paginated digital content associated with the highlight by collapsing the highlight into a shape displayed on the paginated digital content in response to a press-and-hold input on the highlight to select the highlight followed by a flick input provided on the shape of the collapsed highlight before the press-and-hold input is released to remove the collapsed highlight from the paginated digital content.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the highlight can also be deleted by selecting a deletion graphic associated with the highlight.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the deletion graphic that can be used to delete the highlight is located on a currently selected color option from a color picker tool associated with the highlight.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the shape of the collapsed highlight is maintained while the press-and-hold input is performed on the highlight to enable the flick input to be provided on the shape of the collapsed highlight.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein in response to releasing the press-and-hold input on the highlight prior to providing a flick input to delete the highlight, the shape of the collapsed highlight expands and thereby causes the highlight to return to the text it was originally associated with.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the highlight includes a note, such that if the highlight is deleted the note remains in the paginated digital content.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the shape of the collapsed highlight is at least one of a circle, ball, teardrop shape, and upside down teardrop shape.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein a deletion of the highlight can be undone using an undo input.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein the undo input includes at least one of a shake input and a Z-shaped gesture input.

10. The device of claim 1 wherein a dialog requesting to undo a deletion of the highlight appears in response to deleting the highlight.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein notes associated with the highlight are deleted when the highlight is deleted.

12. A mobile computing device, comprising:

a processor;

a touch screen display for displaying paginated digital content to a user and allowing user input; and

a user interface executable by the processor and including an annotation mode, the annotation mode configured to

add a sticky note to a first location within the paginated digital content without selecting a portion of the paginated digital content at that location in response to a tap gesture at the first location, wherein the sticky note is represented by a movable graphic at the first location, and selection of the graphic in response to a tap gesture performed on the movable graphic causes contents of the sticky note to be presented in an edit box,

move the sticky note from the first location in the paginated digital content to a second location in the paginated digital content, in response to a press-and-hold input on the sticky note to grab the sticky note followed by dragging the grabbed sticky note to the second location and dropping the grabbed sticky note at the second location,

move the sticky note to maintain the sticky note in the first location within the paginated digital content, in response to a change in viewing preference of the paginated digital content, and

delete the sticky note from the paginated digital content; and

wherein the sticky note can be deleted in response to a press-and-hold input on the sticky note to grab the sticky note, followed by a flick input provided on the sticky note before the press-and-hold input is released, and

wherein the sticky note can also be deleted in response to a deletion input on a deletion graphic displayed with the edit box.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein the deletion graphic is located on a currently selected color option of a color picker tool for the edit box associated with the sticky note.

14. The device of claim 12 wherein deletion of the sticky note can be undone by shaking the mobile computing device.

15. The device of claim 12 wherein at least one of visual, aural, and tactile feedback is provided in response to the press-and-hold input performed on the sticky note to indicate that the sticky note has been grabbed.

16. A computer program product comprising one or more non-transitory machine readable mediums encoding a plurality of instructions that when executed by one or more processors facilitate operation of an electronic device according to a process, the process comprising:

in response to a press-and-hold input performed on a highlight previously added to paginated digital content and associated with a portion of the paginated digital content, collapse the highlight into a shape displayed on the paginated digital content; and

in response to a flick gesture performed on the shape of the collapsed highlight before releasing the press-and-hold input, delete the highlight by removing the collapsed highlight from the paginated digital content without deleting the portion of the paginated digital content associated with the highlight.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the process is further configured to undo the deletion of the highlight in response to an undo input.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the undo input includes at least one of a shake input and a Z-shaped gesture input.

19. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the process is further configured to present a dialog requesting to undo a deletion of the highlight in response to deleting the highlight.

20. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the process is further configured to provide at least one of visual, aural, and tactile feedback in response to the press-and-hold input performed on the highlight to indicate that the highlight has been grabbed.