CA1313420C - Dynamicallly extending selection choices - Google Patents
Dynamicallly extending selection choicesInfo
- Publication number
- CA1313420C CA1313420C CA000594553A CA594553A CA1313420C CA 1313420 C CA1313420 C CA 1313420C CA 000594553 A CA000594553 A CA 000594553A CA 594553 A CA594553 A CA 594553A CA 1313420 C CA1313420 C CA 1313420C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- selection
- choice
- items
- input device
- operator
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
- G06F3/048—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
- G06F3/0481—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] 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
- G06F3/0482—Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
Abstract
DYNAMICALLY EXTENDING SELECTION CHOICES
Abstract An extended selection field is disclosed for use in selecting one or more choices from a list on an information system display. The extended selection field exhibits the behavior and appearance of a standard single choice field, with the additional capability to switch into a multiple choice mode to override the single choice restriction. A single choice is selected using the standard technique of moving the selection bar to the desired choice and pressing the Enter key. However, the single choice restriction may be overridden by using the standard multiple choice selection technique of moving the selection bar to a first desired choice and pressing (instead of the Enter key) a choice selection key such as the space bar. The field then exhibits the behav-ior and appearance of a standard multiple choice field. The single choice selection bar immediately changes to a multiple choice indicator and the opera-tor receives immediate visual feedback that the system is enabled to accept multiple choices. At the conclu-sion of the multiple choices, the Enter key is de-pressed to submit all of the selected choices for processing. The single choice mode can be reestab-lished by deselecting all of the selected choices.
Abstract An extended selection field is disclosed for use in selecting one or more choices from a list on an information system display. The extended selection field exhibits the behavior and appearance of a standard single choice field, with the additional capability to switch into a multiple choice mode to override the single choice restriction. A single choice is selected using the standard technique of moving the selection bar to the desired choice and pressing the Enter key. However, the single choice restriction may be overridden by using the standard multiple choice selection technique of moving the selection bar to a first desired choice and pressing (instead of the Enter key) a choice selection key such as the space bar. The field then exhibits the behav-ior and appearance of a standard multiple choice field. The single choice selection bar immediately changes to a multiple choice indicator and the opera-tor receives immediate visual feedback that the system is enabled to accept multiple choices. At the conclu-sion of the multiple choices, the Enter key is de-pressed to submit all of the selected choices for processing. The single choice mode can be reestab-lished by deselecting all of the selected choices.
Description
~ B~-00~
~3~3~
Description DYNA~lIC~LI.Y EXTE~DING SELECT O~ CHOICES
Technical Field .
This invention relates to data processing systems in general and more particularly to a data processing system in which an operator is presented with a list of items fro~ which to choose one or multiple ones o4 the items for an action ~o be performed thereon.
Background Art ~ lany computer programs e~ist in which an operator is presented with a list of items from which to choose one or multiple ones of the items for an action to be performed thereon. Such programs have become popular because human factors studies have shown that it is ea~ier for users to recognize and select desired items from a list on the display screen, rather than having to rsmember the items (or make reference to another list) and type them. For example, consider the many programs available for maintaining the organi~ation of program and data files on the hard disk of a personal computer. Such programs exist which allow an operator to mark one or more files to be, for example, copied, erased, or moved to another directory, disk or disk ette. Alternatively, instead of choosing one or more files on which an action is to be taken, the operator may be presented with a list of actions to be per-formed on ona or more files.
It is a common practice to allow an operator toselect a desired choice in a list of choices by moving a highlight bar to the choice (with the aid of cursor direction keys or a pointing device such as a mouse) and pressing a keyboard key or mouse button to enter ,{7.
~l`n~ QO'J ~.,~
~3~3~
the choice. In programs in which only one choice at a time may be made, the sclected choice may be submitted immediately to the system for processing, since no other choices are allowed. In programs in which a plurality of choices are allowed before processing of the choices takes place 9 thc f irst selection cannot be immediately submitted because the user may need to make additional selections before submitting the field.
Accordingly, these two types of selection ~ields - the single choice field and multiple choice fields -have been mutually exclusive. While it is immediately obvious that multiple choices are not allowed when only a single choice is permitted, it must also be understood that where multiple choices are permitted, systems have been unable to recognize a single choice as being the only choice intended, since additional choices were allowed.
The single choice selection field provides better ease-of~use characteristics, because the choice i5 submit~ed to the system for processing just as soon as the choice is made. The operator does not sit and wonder if other necessary actions have been completed, because processing with the ~ingle choice can be ~ndertaken as soon as the choice has ~een made, since only one choice is allowed. There are many applica-tions in which selection of one choice at a time will be most typical, with onl~ a occasional need for the selection of multiple choices. For example, consider a list of file names wherein the operator can select the name of a file and an action to be performed on it, such as "Erase". The typical situation will require erasing a single file. E~owever there are also situations in which it is desirable to select several file names and request "~rase" for all of the files at ,~a ~ oo~ ".,. ,,~,.
13~3~2~
once. The novice and casual users need the benefits of single choice field characteristics, while the more experienced user desires the capabilities of multiple choice fields.
As an e~ample the IB~l*DisplayWri~e*1 program allows a directory of f ile5 to be listed. The user may pic~ one o~ several choices of actions to be performed on a single file. Assume then that the user chooses "Erase" and moves the movable bar up or down the list of files and stops this movable bar on a file intended to be erased. When the Enter key is de-pressed the action to erase this chosen file begins.
~s another example consider a file manager program i which multiple files may be chosen for erasure. If the operator depresses the Enter key after choosing only one file (following the procedure of the Display~rite 1 program) the erasure process does not begin. Instead, the operator is prompted to use the space bar to select the files to be erased and then to depress the Enter key at the completion of selecting all of the choices. The operator is, therefore, not allowed to use the intuitively obvious technique of processing the single choice as is employed in the program which allows only single choices.
It would, therefore be of great benefit and utility to provide the ability within one program or system to make multiple choice selections while simultaneously allowing a single choice to be as immediately processed as in programs or systems which allow only single selections.
,~
5ummary of the Invention Accordingly, the ease of use of the single choice selection field is combined with the additional capability of the multiple choice selection field hy * Registered trade marks ~, ~
,~ .,, ~l 8~ 00 ~ 7~D
1313~?J~
use of an exterlded selection field which e~:hihits the behavior of a single choice field, to the benefit of novice and casual users, but allows the more experi-enced us~r to override the single choice restriction.
E~tended selection fields initially app~ar as single choice fields, for example, with a highlighted, color or reverse video, selection bar on one of the choices.
In addition, the selection bar in a list in which extended selection is provided also has the appearance of allowing multiple choices by having, for example, an outline box around the selection bar. A single choice is sel~cted using the normal techni~ue of moving the selection bar to the desired choice and pressing a function key such as the Enter key.
However, the more experienced user can override the single choice restriction by moviny the selection bar to a first desired choice and pressing (instead of the Enter key~ a choice selection key such as the alphanu-meric space bar or slash mark. The single choice selection bar immediately changes to a multiple choice indicator and the operator receives immediate visual feedback that the system is enabled to accept multiple choices. At the conclusion of the multiple choices, the Enter key is depressed to submit all of the selected choices for processing.
The foregoing and other objects, features, eYtensions, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular descrip-tion of preferred embodiments of th~ invention as illus~rated in the accompanying drawings.
Brief Description of Drawing Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a data processing system which includes a stored program for per~orming . ~. .
i~'i`9-S ~-no~
~3~2 the functioll of thls invention in conjunction with the data processing system.
Fis. 2 shows a list of sel~ctions and a movable, reverse video selection bar overlying one of the selections.
Fig. 3 shows a list o~ selections in which multiple choices are possible, as indicated by the check mark adjacent two of the selections.
~ ig. 4 shows a list of selections and a movable selection bar which indicates to an operator the e~.tended selection field capability of this invention.
Fig. 5 shows the list of selections of Fig. 4 after the operator has invoked the multiple choice selec~ion option of the extended selection field capability oE this invention.
Fig. 6 shows the list of selections of Fig. 4 after the operator has made three choices using the multiple choice selection option of the extended selection field capability of this invention.
Figs. 7-9 are flow charts of the logical opera~
tions performed in the operation of the preferred embodiment of this invention.
Description of the Preferred Embodiments ~eginning with referellce to the block diagram of Fig. 1, a typical personal computer architecture is shown, such as the configuration used in the IBM
Personal Computer. The focal poin~ ~f this architec-ture comprises a microprocessor 1 which may, for example, be an Intel*80286 or similar microprocessor.
The microprocessor 1 is connected to a bus 2 which comprises a set of data lines, a set of address lines and a set of control lines. A plurality of I/O
devices or memory or storage devices 3-8 and 16 are connected to the bus '' through separate adapters 9-14 * Trade mark ~~r ~T9~ G0~
~3~2~
and 17, respectivelyO ~or example, the display 4 may be the XB~I Personal Computer Color Di~play and the adapter 10 may, accordingly, be the IBM Color/Graphics Adapter. The other devices 3 and 5-8 and adapters 9 and 11-14 are either included as part of an IBM
Personal Computer or are available as plug-in options from the IBM Corporation. The Mouse 16 and adapter 17 are available from the Microsoft Corporation as the Microsoft Mouse, bus version. The random access memory (RAM) 6 and the read-only memory ~ROM) 8 and their corresponding adapters 12 and 14 are încluded as standard equipment in the IBM Personal Computer, although additional random access memory to supplement memory 6 may be added via a plug-in memory expansion option.
Within the read-only memory 8 are stored a plurality of instructions, known as the basic in-put/output operating system, or BIOS, for execution by the microprocessor 1. The BIOS controls the fundamen-tal operations of the computer. An operating systemsuch as the IBM Personal Computer Series Disk Operat-ing System by Microsoft Corporation, or DOS, most commonly used with the IBM Personal Computer family, is loaded inko the memory 6 and runs in conjunction ~ith the BIOS stored in the RO~5 8. I~ will be under-stood by those skilled in the art that the personal computer system could b~ configured so that parts or all of the BIOS are stored in the memory 6 rather than in the RO~I 8 so as to allow modifications to the basic svstem operations by changes made to the BIOS program, which would then ke readily loadable into the random access memory 6.
An application program such as the aforementioned IB~I Disp7ayWrite 1 word processing program may also be lGaded into the memor~ 6 to provide instructions to . ~...
r 3~3~
th~ microprocessor 1 to enable a comprehensive set of ~ord processing tasks, including the cr~ation and revision of text documents, to be performed by the personal computer system shown in FigO l~ An applica-tion program loaded into the memory 5 is said to runin conjunction with the disk operatina system previ-ously loaded into the memory 6.
~ lhile the IB~I Display~rite 1 program is used as an example of the type of program for which the present invention would represent a great enhancement, those skilled in the art will realize that this invention would enhance a wide variety of types of application programs. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that, although the aforementioned hardware system is well known in the art this inven-tion comprises the combination of a hardware system which is configured or progra~ned according to the teaching of this invention, as d~scribed in detail below.
; 20 Referring now to Fig. 2 ! a common technique for selecting one from a list of choices presented on a screen 20 of a visual display device uses a movable reverse video bar 21 hereafter called the selection cursor. The selection cursor is moved over the list of choices 22 using cursor direction keys such as Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys on a computer keyboard.
When the selection cursor is on the desired choice the user signals the computer by pressing another ~:ey such as an Enter key.
1~ benefit of this techni~ue is that it is very easy for novice computer users to learn and use.
disadvantage is that it allows a single choice at a time to be made, although the user may wish to repeat the same processing on more than one item in the list.
3~
"~';~,7"
,~T~-c,~-00~
1~3~J~
Users frequently need to be able to select more than Gne choice at a time.
Fis. 3 shows a common technique for selecting several items from a list of choices. This technique uses a selection curs^r 23 identical in appearance to the selection cursor 21 Fig. 2. The selection cursor 23 is moved over the lisk of choices using cursor direction keys. When ~he cursor is on a desired choice a selection key such as the space bar is pressed. An indication such as a check mark 24 is displayed beside the selected choice. These steps can be repeated until all desired choices have been selected. Pressing the space bar with the selection cursor on a choice that is already selected results in Lhe choice's becoming deselected and the disappearance of the check mark. Thus, the selection process toggles the state of each choic~ from dcselected to selected and back to to deselected if the toggling is continued. After all desired choices have been selected the user signals the computer to submit ~he choices to processing by pressing another key such as an Enter key.
A benefit of this Fig. 3 technique is that it allows multiple choices to be selected and conveyed to the computer for processing collectively. Disadvantag-es are that the user must learn an additional and different technique from the one used for single choice lists, and there is no visual cue as to whether the lis~ allows one or more choices to be selected.
The present in~ention pro~ides the benefits of both single and multiple choice fields and provides visual cues to the user. The invention consists of a modal list of choices, two forms of the selection cursor, and a technique for switching between the two modes of single choice selections and multiple choice ~r t -~
.;19-~6-OO~ ~
~ ,,~,..
~L3~3~2~
selections. Referrlng now to Fis. 4, in its initial mode the list is used in a single cho.ce mode. Note that the appearance and behavior of the selection cursor is almost identical to that of the selection cursor ~1 in Fig. ~. The selection cursor appears as an outline box 25 surrounding a reverse video bar 26.
This appearance is a visual cue ~hat extended selec-tion is possible, thereby providing the user with the options of treating the selection cursor as identify-ing a single choice field or one of a plurality ofmultiple choices.
With the options indicated by Fig. 4, khe user can move the selection bar up and down the list and treat the list as a single choice list, for example, by pressing the Enter key or clicking the mouse on a single choice for causing an action to be immediately taken relative to the single, selected name on the list. If, instead of pressing the Enter key, the user presses the space bar, the field switches into multi-2~ ple choice mode. The selection cursor changes appear-ance, such as ~o an outline box 27 in Fig. 5, and a selected indication such as a check mark 24 appears beside the selected choice. The user may mov~ the outline box cursor to other choices and press the space bar to select more than one choice, as depicted in FigO 6. Pressing the space bar with the selection cursor on a choice that is already selected results in the choice's becomin~ deselected and the disappearance of the check mark. After all desired choices have been selected the user signals the computer by press-ing another key such as an Enter key. Xf the user deselects all of the selected choices prior to press-ing Enter, the Lield reverts to a single choice mode as depicted in Fig. 4.
,~.r~-~fi-O(`' ~,,~ .v<
13~3~i2~
The advantage of this invention is that it provldes visual cues to the rr,odes of operation avail-able (e.g., single choice and multiple choice) and uses standard single choice and multip:Le selection techniques. Thus, novice users can continue to use the simple single choice technique whi:Le more ~xperi-enced users call take advantage of more concurrent processing with the multlple choice mode.
In practice, the appearances o~ the selection lQ cursor are chosen to be consistent across the three types of lists: single choice, multiple choice, and extendecl choice. For example, ln single choice it is a reverse video bar or lt may be a color bar. In multiple choice it is an outline box. In extended choice it starts as an outline box surrounding a reverse vldeo or color bar in single choice mode and changes to only an outline box in multiple choice mode. Thus the appearance of the selection cursor provides a consistent visual cue as to the type of list and how many choices may be selected.
Refer now to the flowchar~ depicted in Fig. 7 for a description of the logical operations which are executed by a computer or logically driven system in carrying out this invention.
In Fig. 7 at .lO0 a program variable is set to indlcate that the irst item on the list ~such as the list of choices 22 in Fig. 2) will be the item on which the cursor i5 to be initially located. At 101 the number of multiple choices is initialized to zero, since the operation beglns in a single choice mode.
~t 102 the initial cursor appearance i5 established as a ingle choice selection cursor capable of e~tended selection, as in the selection cursor shown in Fi~. 4.
~t 103 the list of choices is displayed. The result ~9~ 0~ ~
~3~2~
of these subroutine calls is depicted in ~ig. 4. The operation then continues at "A" in Fig. 8.
Referring now to Fig. 8, at 105 a key is read fro~ the keyboard~ At 106, 108, and 110 the key is tested to determine if the key is an Up arrow, down arrow or space bar. If the depressed key is an up arrow a branch is taken at 106 to move the selection cursor upwardly at 107 and thence to 114 as will be descxibed below. Similarl~, if the pressed key is a down arrow a branch is taken at 108 to move the selection cursor downwardly at lO9 and thence to 114.
The purpose of these cursor direction actions is to move the selection cursor from the currént choice to the next choice in the direction indicated by the depressed key.
At 110 a test is made for the space bar. The space bar key is an example of a key that may be used in making multiple choice selections. The space bar is but one example of the keys that may be used in making multiple choice selections and those skilled in the art will recogniæe that the use of this key is not critical to the invention. Any key not already used for another purpose would suffice. I~ the pressed key is not the space bar the program may continue to test for other keys, not relevant to the invention, at 112.
If the depressed key is the space bar the operation continues to "B" in Fig. 9.
With reference to Fig. 9, at 118 a test is made to determine if the choice associated with the selec~
tion cursor has been selected. If not, at 126 a test is made to determine if the number of choices selected is equal to zero. IL so, at 120 the multiple choice cursor appearanc~ is set and at 122 a check mark is displayed beside the selected choice . The appearallce 35 is now as shown in Fig. 5. At 124 a program ~ariable ~,i~. ..
,~l'J-8~3-00~
..,~,,. , ~,...
~ 313 ~?~
indicating the number o multiple choices is incre-mented by one. If, at 126 the number ~f choices selected is not equal to zero, the action at 120 is skipped and a check mar~; is displayed in association with the current cho~c~.
If at 118 the current choice is already selected, then the operation continues to 119 wherein the check mark beside the selected choice is removed~ At 1~1 a test is made to determine if the number of multiple choices is greater ~han one. If so, at 125 the number of nultiple choices is decremented by one. Otherwise, only one choice is selected and at 123 the cursor's appearance i5 changed bacl; to single choice appearance as shown at the top of the list in Pig. 4. Followiny this cursor appearance change, the number of multiple choices is decremented by one, at 125 (which makes the number of multiple choices now zero).
The operation then returns to "C" in Fig. 8. At 114 a test is made for the Enter key (or other key that indicates completion of choice selection). If the depressed key is not the Enter key the operation reverts back to 105 and another key is read from the keyboard. If the pressed key is Enter processing of the selected choices takes place at 115.
The following programming design languag~ listing is another form of the description of the above described logical operations performed for dynamically extending selection choices. This listing parallels the operation described above for Figs. 7-9.
; 30 , ~T9-8~-009 '~
1?a~3~2J~
~urrentC}loice:=l;
MultipleChoices:=0;
SetCursorShape (Sin~leChoice):
Display~hoices (ChoiceLis~,XCoordinate,YCoordinate);
Repeat, GetRey (~eyChar);
Case ~evChar of UpArrow: MoveCursorUp; ~moves cursor up and~
[decrements current choicel DownArrow: MoveCursorDown; ~moves cur~,o.r down andl {increments current choicel SpaceBar: Begin I~ IsSelected (CurrentChoice) = 0 then Begin I MultipleChoices - 0 then SetCursorShape (MultipleChoice~;
DisplayCheck (CurrentChoice) MultipleChoices:=MultipleChoices+l;
End;
Elxe RemoveCheck (CurrentChoice) If MultipleChoices > 1 then SetC~r~.orShape (SingleChoice);
MultipleChoices:=MultipleChoices-l End;
End;
Until Rey=Enter;
process selections 1 In summarv, a techniaue has been shown in which 30 the ease of use of the single chcice selection field is combined with the additional capabilitv of the ~' multiple choice selection field by use of an extended selection field which exhibits the behavior of a ; single choice Lield, but al.so allo~-~s the more a~ ~;.Jj~
~T9-88-0~
~3~31~ ~
e~perienced user to overri~e the single choice re-striction. Extended selection fields initially appear as single choice fields, for example, with a high-]ighted, color or reverse video, selection cursor bar on one of the choices. In addition, the selection cursor in a list in which ex~ended se:Lect~on is provided als~ has the appearance of a:Llowing multiple choices by having, for example, an outline box around the selection cursor. A single choice is selected using tha standard single choice technique of moving the selection cursor to the desired choice and press-ing the Enter key. However, the user can override the single choice restriction by moving the selection cursor to a first desired choice and, using the standard multiple choice technique, pressing (instead of the Enter key) a choice selection key such as the space ~ar. The single choice selection cursor immedi-ately changes to the standard multiple choice indica-tor and the operator receives immediate visual feed-back that the system is enabled to accept multiplechoices. At the conclusion of the multiple choices, the Enter key is depressed to submit all of the selected choices for processing.
While the invention has been shown and described ~ith refererlce to particular embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled iQ the art that the îoregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
.j~;.
.:Y.
~3~3~
Description DYNA~lIC~LI.Y EXTE~DING SELECT O~ CHOICES
Technical Field .
This invention relates to data processing systems in general and more particularly to a data processing system in which an operator is presented with a list of items fro~ which to choose one or multiple ones o4 the items for an action ~o be performed thereon.
Background Art ~ lany computer programs e~ist in which an operator is presented with a list of items from which to choose one or multiple ones of the items for an action to be performed thereon. Such programs have become popular because human factors studies have shown that it is ea~ier for users to recognize and select desired items from a list on the display screen, rather than having to rsmember the items (or make reference to another list) and type them. For example, consider the many programs available for maintaining the organi~ation of program and data files on the hard disk of a personal computer. Such programs exist which allow an operator to mark one or more files to be, for example, copied, erased, or moved to another directory, disk or disk ette. Alternatively, instead of choosing one or more files on which an action is to be taken, the operator may be presented with a list of actions to be per-formed on ona or more files.
It is a common practice to allow an operator toselect a desired choice in a list of choices by moving a highlight bar to the choice (with the aid of cursor direction keys or a pointing device such as a mouse) and pressing a keyboard key or mouse button to enter ,{7.
~l`n~ QO'J ~.,~
~3~3~
the choice. In programs in which only one choice at a time may be made, the sclected choice may be submitted immediately to the system for processing, since no other choices are allowed. In programs in which a plurality of choices are allowed before processing of the choices takes place 9 thc f irst selection cannot be immediately submitted because the user may need to make additional selections before submitting the field.
Accordingly, these two types of selection ~ields - the single choice field and multiple choice fields -have been mutually exclusive. While it is immediately obvious that multiple choices are not allowed when only a single choice is permitted, it must also be understood that where multiple choices are permitted, systems have been unable to recognize a single choice as being the only choice intended, since additional choices were allowed.
The single choice selection field provides better ease-of~use characteristics, because the choice i5 submit~ed to the system for processing just as soon as the choice is made. The operator does not sit and wonder if other necessary actions have been completed, because processing with the ~ingle choice can be ~ndertaken as soon as the choice has ~een made, since only one choice is allowed. There are many applica-tions in which selection of one choice at a time will be most typical, with onl~ a occasional need for the selection of multiple choices. For example, consider a list of file names wherein the operator can select the name of a file and an action to be performed on it, such as "Erase". The typical situation will require erasing a single file. E~owever there are also situations in which it is desirable to select several file names and request "~rase" for all of the files at ,~a ~ oo~ ".,. ,,~,.
13~3~2~
once. The novice and casual users need the benefits of single choice field characteristics, while the more experienced user desires the capabilities of multiple choice fields.
As an e~ample the IB~l*DisplayWri~e*1 program allows a directory of f ile5 to be listed. The user may pic~ one o~ several choices of actions to be performed on a single file. Assume then that the user chooses "Erase" and moves the movable bar up or down the list of files and stops this movable bar on a file intended to be erased. When the Enter key is de-pressed the action to erase this chosen file begins.
~s another example consider a file manager program i which multiple files may be chosen for erasure. If the operator depresses the Enter key after choosing only one file (following the procedure of the Display~rite 1 program) the erasure process does not begin. Instead, the operator is prompted to use the space bar to select the files to be erased and then to depress the Enter key at the completion of selecting all of the choices. The operator is, therefore, not allowed to use the intuitively obvious technique of processing the single choice as is employed in the program which allows only single choices.
It would, therefore be of great benefit and utility to provide the ability within one program or system to make multiple choice selections while simultaneously allowing a single choice to be as immediately processed as in programs or systems which allow only single selections.
,~
5ummary of the Invention Accordingly, the ease of use of the single choice selection field is combined with the additional capability of the multiple choice selection field hy * Registered trade marks ~, ~
,~ .,, ~l 8~ 00 ~ 7~D
1313~?J~
use of an exterlded selection field which e~:hihits the behavior of a single choice field, to the benefit of novice and casual users, but allows the more experi-enced us~r to override the single choice restriction.
E~tended selection fields initially app~ar as single choice fields, for example, with a highlighted, color or reverse video, selection bar on one of the choices.
In addition, the selection bar in a list in which extended selection is provided also has the appearance of allowing multiple choices by having, for example, an outline box around the selection bar. A single choice is sel~cted using the normal techni~ue of moving the selection bar to the desired choice and pressing a function key such as the Enter key.
However, the more experienced user can override the single choice restriction by moviny the selection bar to a first desired choice and pressing (instead of the Enter key~ a choice selection key such as the alphanu-meric space bar or slash mark. The single choice selection bar immediately changes to a multiple choice indicator and the operator receives immediate visual feedback that the system is enabled to accept multiple choices. At the conclusion of the multiple choices, the Enter key is depressed to submit all of the selected choices for processing.
The foregoing and other objects, features, eYtensions, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular descrip-tion of preferred embodiments of th~ invention as illus~rated in the accompanying drawings.
Brief Description of Drawing Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a data processing system which includes a stored program for per~orming . ~. .
i~'i`9-S ~-no~
~3~2 the functioll of thls invention in conjunction with the data processing system.
Fis. 2 shows a list of sel~ctions and a movable, reverse video selection bar overlying one of the selections.
Fig. 3 shows a list o~ selections in which multiple choices are possible, as indicated by the check mark adjacent two of the selections.
~ ig. 4 shows a list of selections and a movable selection bar which indicates to an operator the e~.tended selection field capability of this invention.
Fig. 5 shows the list of selections of Fig. 4 after the operator has invoked the multiple choice selec~ion option of the extended selection field capability oE this invention.
Fig. 6 shows the list of selections of Fig. 4 after the operator has made three choices using the multiple choice selection option of the extended selection field capability of this invention.
Figs. 7-9 are flow charts of the logical opera~
tions performed in the operation of the preferred embodiment of this invention.
Description of the Preferred Embodiments ~eginning with referellce to the block diagram of Fig. 1, a typical personal computer architecture is shown, such as the configuration used in the IBM
Personal Computer. The focal poin~ ~f this architec-ture comprises a microprocessor 1 which may, for example, be an Intel*80286 or similar microprocessor.
The microprocessor 1 is connected to a bus 2 which comprises a set of data lines, a set of address lines and a set of control lines. A plurality of I/O
devices or memory or storage devices 3-8 and 16 are connected to the bus '' through separate adapters 9-14 * Trade mark ~~r ~T9~ G0~
~3~2~
and 17, respectivelyO ~or example, the display 4 may be the XB~I Personal Computer Color Di~play and the adapter 10 may, accordingly, be the IBM Color/Graphics Adapter. The other devices 3 and 5-8 and adapters 9 and 11-14 are either included as part of an IBM
Personal Computer or are available as plug-in options from the IBM Corporation. The Mouse 16 and adapter 17 are available from the Microsoft Corporation as the Microsoft Mouse, bus version. The random access memory (RAM) 6 and the read-only memory ~ROM) 8 and their corresponding adapters 12 and 14 are încluded as standard equipment in the IBM Personal Computer, although additional random access memory to supplement memory 6 may be added via a plug-in memory expansion option.
Within the read-only memory 8 are stored a plurality of instructions, known as the basic in-put/output operating system, or BIOS, for execution by the microprocessor 1. The BIOS controls the fundamen-tal operations of the computer. An operating systemsuch as the IBM Personal Computer Series Disk Operat-ing System by Microsoft Corporation, or DOS, most commonly used with the IBM Personal Computer family, is loaded inko the memory 6 and runs in conjunction ~ith the BIOS stored in the RO~5 8. I~ will be under-stood by those skilled in the art that the personal computer system could b~ configured so that parts or all of the BIOS are stored in the memory 6 rather than in the RO~I 8 so as to allow modifications to the basic svstem operations by changes made to the BIOS program, which would then ke readily loadable into the random access memory 6.
An application program such as the aforementioned IB~I Disp7ayWrite 1 word processing program may also be lGaded into the memor~ 6 to provide instructions to . ~...
r 3~3~
th~ microprocessor 1 to enable a comprehensive set of ~ord processing tasks, including the cr~ation and revision of text documents, to be performed by the personal computer system shown in FigO l~ An applica-tion program loaded into the memory 5 is said to runin conjunction with the disk operatina system previ-ously loaded into the memory 6.
~ lhile the IB~I Display~rite 1 program is used as an example of the type of program for which the present invention would represent a great enhancement, those skilled in the art will realize that this invention would enhance a wide variety of types of application programs. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that, although the aforementioned hardware system is well known in the art this inven-tion comprises the combination of a hardware system which is configured or progra~ned according to the teaching of this invention, as d~scribed in detail below.
; 20 Referring now to Fig. 2 ! a common technique for selecting one from a list of choices presented on a screen 20 of a visual display device uses a movable reverse video bar 21 hereafter called the selection cursor. The selection cursor is moved over the list of choices 22 using cursor direction keys such as Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys on a computer keyboard.
When the selection cursor is on the desired choice the user signals the computer by pressing another ~:ey such as an Enter key.
1~ benefit of this techni~ue is that it is very easy for novice computer users to learn and use.
disadvantage is that it allows a single choice at a time to be made, although the user may wish to repeat the same processing on more than one item in the list.
3~
"~';~,7"
,~T~-c,~-00~
1~3~J~
Users frequently need to be able to select more than Gne choice at a time.
Fis. 3 shows a common technique for selecting several items from a list of choices. This technique uses a selection curs^r 23 identical in appearance to the selection cursor 21 Fig. 2. The selection cursor 23 is moved over the lisk of choices using cursor direction keys. When ~he cursor is on a desired choice a selection key such as the space bar is pressed. An indication such as a check mark 24 is displayed beside the selected choice. These steps can be repeated until all desired choices have been selected. Pressing the space bar with the selection cursor on a choice that is already selected results in Lhe choice's becoming deselected and the disappearance of the check mark. Thus, the selection process toggles the state of each choic~ from dcselected to selected and back to to deselected if the toggling is continued. After all desired choices have been selected the user signals the computer to submit ~he choices to processing by pressing another key such as an Enter key.
A benefit of this Fig. 3 technique is that it allows multiple choices to be selected and conveyed to the computer for processing collectively. Disadvantag-es are that the user must learn an additional and different technique from the one used for single choice lists, and there is no visual cue as to whether the lis~ allows one or more choices to be selected.
The present in~ention pro~ides the benefits of both single and multiple choice fields and provides visual cues to the user. The invention consists of a modal list of choices, two forms of the selection cursor, and a technique for switching between the two modes of single choice selections and multiple choice ~r t -~
.;19-~6-OO~ ~
~ ,,~,..
~L3~3~2~
selections. Referrlng now to Fis. 4, in its initial mode the list is used in a single cho.ce mode. Note that the appearance and behavior of the selection cursor is almost identical to that of the selection cursor ~1 in Fig. ~. The selection cursor appears as an outline box 25 surrounding a reverse video bar 26.
This appearance is a visual cue ~hat extended selec-tion is possible, thereby providing the user with the options of treating the selection cursor as identify-ing a single choice field or one of a plurality ofmultiple choices.
With the options indicated by Fig. 4, khe user can move the selection bar up and down the list and treat the list as a single choice list, for example, by pressing the Enter key or clicking the mouse on a single choice for causing an action to be immediately taken relative to the single, selected name on the list. If, instead of pressing the Enter key, the user presses the space bar, the field switches into multi-2~ ple choice mode. The selection cursor changes appear-ance, such as ~o an outline box 27 in Fig. 5, and a selected indication such as a check mark 24 appears beside the selected choice. The user may mov~ the outline box cursor to other choices and press the space bar to select more than one choice, as depicted in FigO 6. Pressing the space bar with the selection cursor on a choice that is already selected results in the choice's becomin~ deselected and the disappearance of the check mark. After all desired choices have been selected the user signals the computer by press-ing another key such as an Enter key. Xf the user deselects all of the selected choices prior to press-ing Enter, the Lield reverts to a single choice mode as depicted in Fig. 4.
,~.r~-~fi-O(`' ~,,~ .v<
13~3~i2~
The advantage of this invention is that it provldes visual cues to the rr,odes of operation avail-able (e.g., single choice and multiple choice) and uses standard single choice and multip:Le selection techniques. Thus, novice users can continue to use the simple single choice technique whi:Le more ~xperi-enced users call take advantage of more concurrent processing with the multlple choice mode.
In practice, the appearances o~ the selection lQ cursor are chosen to be consistent across the three types of lists: single choice, multiple choice, and extendecl choice. For example, ln single choice it is a reverse video bar or lt may be a color bar. In multiple choice it is an outline box. In extended choice it starts as an outline box surrounding a reverse vldeo or color bar in single choice mode and changes to only an outline box in multiple choice mode. Thus the appearance of the selection cursor provides a consistent visual cue as to the type of list and how many choices may be selected.
Refer now to the flowchar~ depicted in Fig. 7 for a description of the logical operations which are executed by a computer or logically driven system in carrying out this invention.
In Fig. 7 at .lO0 a program variable is set to indlcate that the irst item on the list ~such as the list of choices 22 in Fig. 2) will be the item on which the cursor i5 to be initially located. At 101 the number of multiple choices is initialized to zero, since the operation beglns in a single choice mode.
~t 102 the initial cursor appearance i5 established as a ingle choice selection cursor capable of e~tended selection, as in the selection cursor shown in Fi~. 4.
~t 103 the list of choices is displayed. The result ~9~ 0~ ~
~3~2~
of these subroutine calls is depicted in ~ig. 4. The operation then continues at "A" in Fig. 8.
Referring now to Fig. 8, at 105 a key is read fro~ the keyboard~ At 106, 108, and 110 the key is tested to determine if the key is an Up arrow, down arrow or space bar. If the depressed key is an up arrow a branch is taken at 106 to move the selection cursor upwardly at 107 and thence to 114 as will be descxibed below. Similarl~, if the pressed key is a down arrow a branch is taken at 108 to move the selection cursor downwardly at lO9 and thence to 114.
The purpose of these cursor direction actions is to move the selection cursor from the currént choice to the next choice in the direction indicated by the depressed key.
At 110 a test is made for the space bar. The space bar key is an example of a key that may be used in making multiple choice selections. The space bar is but one example of the keys that may be used in making multiple choice selections and those skilled in the art will recogniæe that the use of this key is not critical to the invention. Any key not already used for another purpose would suffice. I~ the pressed key is not the space bar the program may continue to test for other keys, not relevant to the invention, at 112.
If the depressed key is the space bar the operation continues to "B" in Fig. 9.
With reference to Fig. 9, at 118 a test is made to determine if the choice associated with the selec~
tion cursor has been selected. If not, at 126 a test is made to determine if the number of choices selected is equal to zero. IL so, at 120 the multiple choice cursor appearanc~ is set and at 122 a check mark is displayed beside the selected choice . The appearallce 35 is now as shown in Fig. 5. At 124 a program ~ariable ~,i~. ..
,~l'J-8~3-00~
..,~,,. , ~,...
~ 313 ~?~
indicating the number o multiple choices is incre-mented by one. If, at 126 the number ~f choices selected is not equal to zero, the action at 120 is skipped and a check mar~; is displayed in association with the current cho~c~.
If at 118 the current choice is already selected, then the operation continues to 119 wherein the check mark beside the selected choice is removed~ At 1~1 a test is made to determine if the number of multiple choices is greater ~han one. If so, at 125 the number of nultiple choices is decremented by one. Otherwise, only one choice is selected and at 123 the cursor's appearance i5 changed bacl; to single choice appearance as shown at the top of the list in Pig. 4. Followiny this cursor appearance change, the number of multiple choices is decremented by one, at 125 (which makes the number of multiple choices now zero).
The operation then returns to "C" in Fig. 8. At 114 a test is made for the Enter key (or other key that indicates completion of choice selection). If the depressed key is not the Enter key the operation reverts back to 105 and another key is read from the keyboard. If the pressed key is Enter processing of the selected choices takes place at 115.
The following programming design languag~ listing is another form of the description of the above described logical operations performed for dynamically extending selection choices. This listing parallels the operation described above for Figs. 7-9.
; 30 , ~T9-8~-009 '~
1?a~3~2J~
~urrentC}loice:=l;
MultipleChoices:=0;
SetCursorShape (Sin~leChoice):
Display~hoices (ChoiceLis~,XCoordinate,YCoordinate);
Repeat, GetRey (~eyChar);
Case ~evChar of UpArrow: MoveCursorUp; ~moves cursor up and~
[decrements current choicel DownArrow: MoveCursorDown; ~moves cur~,o.r down andl {increments current choicel SpaceBar: Begin I~ IsSelected (CurrentChoice) = 0 then Begin I MultipleChoices - 0 then SetCursorShape (MultipleChoice~;
DisplayCheck (CurrentChoice) MultipleChoices:=MultipleChoices+l;
End;
Elxe RemoveCheck (CurrentChoice) If MultipleChoices > 1 then SetC~r~.orShape (SingleChoice);
MultipleChoices:=MultipleChoices-l End;
End;
Until Rey=Enter;
process selections 1 In summarv, a techniaue has been shown in which 30 the ease of use of the single chcice selection field is combined with the additional capabilitv of the ~' multiple choice selection field by use of an extended selection field which exhibits the behavior of a ; single choice Lield, but al.so allo~-~s the more a~ ~;.Jj~
~T9-88-0~
~3~31~ ~
e~perienced user to overri~e the single choice re-striction. Extended selection fields initially appear as single choice fields, for example, with a high-]ighted, color or reverse video, selection cursor bar on one of the choices. In addition, the selection cursor in a list in which ex~ended se:Lect~on is provided als~ has the appearance of a:Llowing multiple choices by having, for example, an outline box around the selection cursor. A single choice is selected using tha standard single choice technique of moving the selection cursor to the desired choice and press-ing the Enter key. However, the user can override the single choice restriction by moving the selection cursor to a first desired choice and, using the standard multiple choice technique, pressing (instead of the Enter key) a choice selection key such as the space ~ar. The single choice selection cursor immedi-ately changes to the standard multiple choice indica-tor and the operator receives immediate visual feed-back that the system is enabled to accept multiplechoices. At the conclusion of the multiple choices, the Enter key is depressed to submit all of the selected choices for processing.
While the invention has been shown and described ~ith refererlce to particular embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled iQ the art that the îoregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
.j~;.
.:Y.
Claims (26)
1. A method of providing operator selection of one or more items in a list of items displayed to said operator on a computer system having a display and an input device comprising:
displaying a selection cursor in association with one of said items and having a first appearance indicating a choice of at least two different selection modes;
operating said system in a first selection mode in response to an entry input from said input device; and displaying said selection cursor with a second appearance indicating a change of system opera-tion to a second selection mode in response to a first selection input from said input device.
displaying a selection cursor in association with one of said items and having a first appearance indicating a choice of at least two different selection modes;
operating said system in a first selection mode in response to an entry input from said input device; and displaying said selection cursor with a second appearance indicating a change of system opera-tion to a second selection mode in response to a first selection input from said input device.
2. The method of Claim 1 wherein said first selec-tion mode is a single choice mode.
3. The method of Claim 2 wherein said second selec-tion mode is a multiple choice mode.
4 . The method of Claim 3 wherein said first selec-tion input marks said one of said items as an operator selection in addition to causing said change of system operation to said multiple choice mode.
5. The method of Claim 4 further comprising continu-ing system operation in said multiple choice mode in response to repeated selection inputs from said input device.
6. The method of Claim 5 further comprising process-ing the first of one or more operator selected items on said list in response to a last selec-tion input followed by an entry input from said input device.
7. The method of Claim 6 wherein said input device is a keyboard.
8. The method of Claim 7 wherein said entry input is the operator depression of a function key on said keyboard.
9. The method of Claim 8 wherein said function key on said keyboard is an Enter key.
10. The method of Claim 7 wherein said choice selec-tion input is the operator depression of an alphanumeric key on said keyboard.
11. The method of Claim 10 wherein said alphanumeric key is a space bar on said keyboard.
12. The method of Claim 6 wherein said input device is a pointing device.
13. The method of Claim 12 wherein said pointing device is a mouse.
14. The method of Claim 13 wherein said entry and choice selection inputs are operator depressions of one or more buttons on said mouse.
15. The method of Claim 1 wherein said first appear-ance comprises a shaded bar which overlies said one of said items.
16. The method of Claim 15 wherein said shaded bar is a reverse video bar.
17. The method of Claim 15 wherein said shaded bar is a color bar.
18. The method of Claim 15 wherein said second appearance comprises an outline box surrounding said one of said items.
19. A method of providing operator selection of one or more items in a list of items displayed to said operator on a computer system having a display and an input device comprising:
displaying a list of items to said operator from which one or more of the items are to be selected by said operator for processing;
displaying an input device movable, selection cursor having a first visual characteristic in association with one of said items;
immediately responding to an entry input from said input device by causing immediate processing of a single operator selected item in said list associated with a position or said selection cursor having said first visual characteristic;
displaying a selection cursor having a second visual characteristic responsive to a choice selection input from said input device;
responding to an entry input from said input device by causing immediate processing of the first of one or more operator selected items in said list, each of said items having been opera-tor selected by making one or more choice selec-tion inputs with said input device.
displaying a list of items to said operator from which one or more of the items are to be selected by said operator for processing;
displaying an input device movable, selection cursor having a first visual characteristic in association with one of said items;
immediately responding to an entry input from said input device by causing immediate processing of a single operator selected item in said list associated with a position or said selection cursor having said first visual characteristic;
displaying a selection cursor having a second visual characteristic responsive to a choice selection input from said input device;
responding to an entry input from said input device by causing immediate processing of the first of one or more operator selected items in said list, each of said items having been opera-tor selected by making one or more choice selec-tion inputs with said input device.
20. A system for providing operator selection of one or more items in a list of items displayed to said operator on a computer system having a display and an input device comprising:
means for displaying a selection cursor in association with one of said items and having a first appearance indicating a choice of at least two different selection modes;
means for operating said system in a first selection mode in response to an entry input from said input device; and means for displaying said selection cursor with a second appearance indicating a change of system operation to a second selection mode in response to a first selection input from said input device.
means for displaying a selection cursor in association with one of said items and having a first appearance indicating a choice of at least two different selection modes;
means for operating said system in a first selection mode in response to an entry input from said input device; and means for displaying said selection cursor with a second appearance indicating a change of system operation to a second selection mode in response to a first selection input from said input device.
21. The system of Claim 20 further comprising means for continuing system operation in said multiple choice mode in response to repeated selection inputs from said input device.
22. The system of Claim 21 further comprising means for processing the first of one or more operator selected items on said list in response to a last selection input followed by an entry input from said input device.
23. The system of Claim 22 wherein said input device is a keyboard.
24. The system of Claim 22 wherein said input device is a mouse.
25. The system of Claim 22 wherein said first appear-ance comprises a shaded bar which overlies said one of said items.
26. The system of Claim 22 wherein said second appearance comprises an outline box surrounding said one of said items.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US17647688A | 1988-03-31 | 1988-03-31 | |
| US07/176,476 | 1988-03-31 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1313420C true CA1313420C (en) | 1993-02-02 |
Family
ID=22644510
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000594553A Expired - Fee Related CA1313420C (en) | 1988-03-31 | 1989-03-23 | Dynamicallly extending selection choices |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US5276797A (en) |
| JP (1) | JPH0213015A (en) |
| BR (1) | BR8901485A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1313420C (en) |
Families Citing this family (29)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5450539A (en) * | 1992-07-09 | 1995-09-12 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Apparatus and method of dynamically displaying a graphic button on a monitor |
| US6031534A (en) | 1993-04-28 | 2000-02-29 | Microsoft Corporation | Operating system function for specifying a checked image representation and an unchecked image representation of a menu item |
| US5581670A (en) * | 1993-07-21 | 1996-12-03 | Xerox Corporation | User interface having movable sheet with click-through tools |
| CA2124505C (en) * | 1993-07-21 | 2000-01-04 | William A. S. Buxton | User interface having simultaneously movable tools and cursor |
| CA2124624C (en) * | 1993-07-21 | 1999-07-13 | Eric A. Bier | User interface having click-through tools that can be composed with other tools |
| US6018345A (en) * | 1997-02-18 | 2000-01-25 | International Business Machines Corporation | Cursor change indication of links in document interface |
| US5920304A (en) * | 1997-02-18 | 1999-07-06 | International Business Machines Corporation | Random bounce cursor mode after cessation of user input |
| US6208340B1 (en) * | 1998-05-26 | 2001-03-27 | International Business Machines Corporation | Graphical user interface including a drop-down widget that permits a plurality of choices to be selected in response to a single selection of the drop-down widget |
| US6417870B1 (en) * | 1999-04-28 | 2002-07-09 | General Electric Company | Method and apparatus for simultaneous construction of multiple data objects for image transfer |
| US8510668B1 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2013-08-13 | Google Inc. | Indicating potential focus in a user interface |
| US20040001109A1 (en) * | 2002-06-27 | 2004-01-01 | International Business Machines Corporation | Drop down checklist control |
| US8315975B2 (en) * | 2002-12-09 | 2012-11-20 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Symbiotic wide-area file system and method |
| US8850327B2 (en) * | 2003-04-30 | 2014-09-30 | Lenovo (Singapore) Pte Ltd. | Method and apparatus for dynamic sorting and displaying of listing data composition and automating the activation event |
| US20040217990A1 (en) * | 2003-04-30 | 2004-11-04 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for dynamic sorting and displaying of listing data composition and automating the activation event |
| US20040217991A1 (en) * | 2003-04-30 | 2004-11-04 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and apparatus for dynamic sorting and displaying of listing data composition and automating the activation event |
| US7565622B2 (en) * | 2003-07-10 | 2009-07-21 | Lenovo (Singapore) Pte Ltd. | Method and apparatus for modification of pointing device functions in conjunction with dynamic sorting, displaying, listing, and activation |
| US8321813B2 (en) * | 2003-11-06 | 2012-11-27 | Lenovo (Singapore) Pte Ltd. | Pointing device operation modification program |
| WO2005119419A1 (en) * | 2004-06-04 | 2005-12-15 | Research In Motion Limited | Scroll wheel with character input |
| JP2007172252A (en) * | 2005-12-21 | 2007-07-05 | Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications Co Ltd | Device, method, and program for displaying information |
| US7676763B2 (en) * | 2006-02-21 | 2010-03-09 | Sap Ag | Method and system for providing an outwardly expandable radial menu |
| US7971155B1 (en) | 2006-10-22 | 2011-06-28 | Hyoungsoo Yoon | Dropdown widget |
| US8365097B2 (en) * | 2007-11-08 | 2013-01-29 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Interface for selection of items |
| JP4930577B2 (en) * | 2009-12-03 | 2012-05-16 | 船井電機株式会社 | Display method and display program |
| KR20130052743A (en) * | 2010-10-15 | 2013-05-23 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Method for selecting menu item |
| US9176645B1 (en) * | 2011-06-29 | 2015-11-03 | Amazon Technologies, Inc. | Manipulating collections of items in a user interface |
| US10469897B2 (en) * | 2012-03-19 | 2019-11-05 | Sonos, Inc. | Context-based user music menu systems and methods |
| US20150143289A1 (en) * | 2013-11-21 | 2015-05-21 | International Business Machines Corporation | Automatic check box interaction |
| DE102014103900A1 (en) | 2014-03-21 | 2015-09-24 | Krones Ag | Transport device and transport method for container treatment plant |
| CN110704446A (en) * | 2019-10-09 | 2020-01-17 | 网易（杭州）网络有限公司 | Multi-option list selection control method and device, storage medium and electronic equipment |
Family Cites Families (10)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPS55147677A (en) * | 1979-05-08 | 1980-11-17 | Canon Kk | Electronic device |
| US4559615A (en) * | 1982-09-15 | 1985-12-17 | Goo Atkin Y | Method and apparatus for encoding, storing and accessing characters of a Chinese character-based language |
| JPS59149526A (en) * | 1983-01-28 | 1984-08-27 | Fujitsu Ltd | Intra-field document editing processor |
| US4611306A (en) * | 1983-05-11 | 1986-09-09 | International Business Machines Corp. | Display menu/chart key |
| JPS60254227A (en) * | 1984-05-30 | 1985-12-14 | Ascii Corp | Display controller |
| US4646250A (en) * | 1984-10-18 | 1987-02-24 | International Business Machines Corp. | Data entry screen |
| US4698624A (en) * | 1985-04-16 | 1987-10-06 | International Business Machines Corp. | Definition of line unit size |
| US4899136A (en) * | 1986-04-28 | 1990-02-06 | Xerox Corporation | Data processor having a user interface display with metaphoric objects |
| JP2516387Y2 (en) * | 1987-08-19 | 1996-11-06 | 三洋電機株式会社 | Information file device |
| US4975690A (en) * | 1988-11-07 | 1990-12-04 | Ibm Corporation | Method for concurrent data entry and manipulation in multiple applications |
-
1989
- 1989-01-20 JP JP1010109A patent/JPH0213015A/en active Pending
- 1989-03-23 CA CA000594553A patent/CA1313420C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1989-03-30 BR BR898901485A patent/BR8901485A/en unknown
-
1991
- 1991-05-24 US US07/708,078 patent/US5276797A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| BR8901485A (en) | 1989-11-14 |
| US5276797A (en) | 1994-01-04 |
| JPH0213015A (en) | 1990-01-17 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| CA1313420C (en) | Dynamicallly extending selection choices | |
| US5832528A (en) | Method and system for selecting text with a mouse input device in a computer system | |
| US4586035A (en) | Display terminal with a cursor responsive virtual distributed menu | |
| US5900869A (en) | Information processor system allowing multi-user editing | |
| US5699534A (en) | Multiple display pointers for computer graphical user interfaces | |
| US6606101B1 (en) | Information pointers | |
| US6307574B1 (en) | Graphical user interface with hierarchical structure for customizable menus and control objects | |
| US5515497A (en) | Method and apparatus for selecting and displaying items in a notebook graphical user interface | |
| EP0427264B1 (en) | An automatic icon generation system | |
| US6606082B1 (en) | Navigation graphical interface for small screen devices | |
| US5668962A (en) | Window managing system for selecting a window in a user designated identifier list | |
| US4755808A (en) | Automatic capture of pointing device actions in a keystroke program | |
| US5598522A (en) | Command processing system used under graphical user interface utilizing pointing device for selection and display of command with execution of corresponding process | |
| EP0192022A2 (en) | Method for interactive rotation of displayed graphic objects | |
| JPH04316125A (en) | Apparatus for displaying a plurality of two- dimensional display regions on display device | |
| US5287502A (en) | Computer system for executing application programs by a combination of picture symbols | |
| US5376945A (en) | Portable terminal device | |
| JPH07129363A (en) | Document preparing device | |
| US5874963A (en) | Method and system for cursor applied processing within a data processing system | |
| AU594109B2 (en) | Menu management system | |
| US5377358A (en) | Character processing device adapted to perform document-editing processing and typewriting processing | |
| US6300934B1 (en) | Method and apparatus for entering Hangul (Korean) characters | |
| JPS63298433A (en) | Selection system for operation subject | |
| EP0433206B1 (en) | Combined keyboard and mouse computer entry | |
| JPH03256116A (en) | Information processor |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKLA | Lapsed |