Application launcher sizing

• US 9,916,059 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2014
• Issued: 03/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Tedesco, Megan L., Rawat, Anshul, Machalani, Henri-Charles, Sareen, Chaitanya Dev, Knapp, Jaclyn C., Akers, Matthew N., Singal, Poorva, Arnold, Jeff G., Uphoff, Brian E., Duncan, Richard Jennings, Vranjes, Miron, Doan, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Phantana Angkool, David
• Application Number:
  US14/448,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20160034154A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,321 Days
• Field of Search: 715789
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

Application launcher sizing techniques are described. In one or more implementations, a likely usage context is determined, by a computing device, of a user in interacting with the computing device. An application launcher is dynamically sized within a display area of the user interface by the computing device based on the determined likely usage context of the user. The application launcher is configured for output responsive to an input received from a user and includes a plurality of representations of applications that are selectable to navigate to a user interface corresponding with a respective said application.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a likely usage context, by a computing device, of a user in interacting with the computing device, wherein the determining of the likely usage context comprises;

when the computing device is configured to support user interaction using gestures via a touchscreen of the computing device, selecting a content consumption context as the likely usage context; and

when the computing device is configured to support user interaction using a cursor control peripheral device or keyboard, selecting a productivity usage context as the likely usage context; and

dynamically sizing an application launcher within a display area of the user interface by the computing device based on the determined likely usage context of the user, wherein the application launcher is;

configured for output responsive to an input received from a user; and

including a plurality of representations of applications that are selectable to navigate to a user interface corresponding with a respective said application.

2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the application launcher is configured as a home screen at a root level of a file hierarchy managed by an operating system of the computing device, the home screen being continuously scrollable by a user.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the application launcher is configured to include one or more representations of functions of the computing device.

4. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the application launcher is configured for output responsive to the input received from a user that involves selection of a representation of the application launcher in a taskbar.

5. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the application launcher is configured for display as a layer over one or more user interfaces of applications that are executable by the computing device, the application launcher viewable concurrently with the one or more user interfaces.

6. A method as described in claim 1, wherein at least one of the representations of the applications are configured to display notifications associated with respective said applications without launching the respective said applications.

7. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the dynamically sizing of the application launcher includes dynamically sizing a size of the plurality of representations.

8. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the determining is based on attachment of a peripheral device to the computing device, physical arrangement of another device in relation to the computing device, orientation or movement of the computing device in three-dimensional space, or size of the display area of a display device that is used to display the user interface.

9. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the application launcher is managed as part of an operating system of the computing device.

10. A computing device comprising:

a display device having an available display area to display a user interface; and

one or more modules implemented at least partially in hardware, the one or more modules configured to expose an application launcher configured to;

determine a likely usage context of a user in interacting with the computing device, wherein determining the likely usage context comprises;

when the computing device is configured to support user interaction using gestures via a touchscreen of the computing device, selecting a content consumption context as the likely usage context;

when the computing device is configured to support user interaction using a cursor control peripheral device or keyboard, selecting a productivity usage context as the likely usage context; and

dynamically size the application launcher within the display area of the user interface based on the determined likely usage context of the user, wherein the application launcher is dynamically resizable in both horizontal and vertical directions within the display area of the display device;

wherein the application launcher includes a plurality of representations of applications that are selectable to navigate to a user interface corresponding with a respective said application.

11. A computing device as described in claim 10, wherein the application launcher is dynamically resizable in both horizontal and vertical directions automatically and without user intervention by the one or more modules responsive to receipt of a user input to add or remove at least one of the plurality of representations of applications.

12. A computing device as described in claim 11, wherein the user input is a pinning or unpinning operation.

13. A computing device as described in claim 10, wherein at least one of the representations of the applications are configured to display notifications associated with respective said applications without launching the respective said applications.

14. A computing device as described in claim 10, wherein a user input specifies a number of rows or columns of groups of the plurality of representations to be included in the application launcher as a basis of the dynamic resizing.

15. A computing device as described in claim 10, wherein a user input is a drag and drop operation involving user interaction with a border of the application launcher to size the application launcher in the horizontal and vertical directions.

16. A computing device as described in claim 10, wherein the dynamic resizing of the application launcher of an operating system is based at least in part on a user'"'"'s interaction with an application launcher of another operating system.

17. A computing device as described in claim 16, where the other operating system is:

a previous version of the operating system that is executed on the computing device;

executed on another computing device on behalf of a user of the computing device;

or

executed on another computing device that is associated with a user of the computing device.

18. A computing device comprising:

a display device;

a processing system; and

memory configured to maintain an operating system that is executable by the processing system to cause output of an application launcher on the display device, the operating system configured to;

determine a likely usage context of a user in interacting with the computing device, wherein determining the likely usage context comprises;

when the computing device is configured to support user interaction using gestures via a touchscreen of the computing device, selecting a content consumption context as the likely usage context; and

when the computing device is configured to support user interaction using a cursor control peripheral device or keyboard, selecting a productivity usage context as the likely usage context;

cause a switch between the content consumption context of the application launcher and the productivity usage context of the application launcher responsive to determining the likely usage context of the user in interacting with the computing device; and

dynamically size the application launcher within a display area of a user interface by the computing device based on the determined likely usage context of the user.

19. A computing device as described in claim 18, wherein the determining is based on attachment of a peripheral device to the computing device, physical arrangement of a peripheral device in relation to the computing device, orientation or movement of the computing device in three-dimensional space, or size of the display area of a display device that is used to display the user interface.