WO2001069368A2

WO2001069368A2 - Graphic displays

Info

Publication number: WO2001069368A2
Application number: PCT/GB2001/001038
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nigel Readhead
Original assignee: Practical Software Limited
Priority date: 2000-03-11
Filing date: 2001-03-09
Publication date: 2001-09-20
Also published as: GB2360184B; AU3761901A; GB0005835D0; WO2001069368A3; GB2360184A

Abstract

A cluster of features are plotted against x and y axes to produce a graph. In order toview an area of the display which is of particular interest the user clicks the mousepointer at a point on the x axis which causes a vertical cursor line to be displayed, asshown. Moving the mouse to the left or right causes a second vertical cursor line tobe dragged along the x axis to select a section which is to be displayed in greaterdetail. The display is then redrawn with the x axis re-scaled to the selected section. At the same time, the y axis is re-scaled to include all the features within the selectedsection plus a small margin 5% above and below the maximum and minimum yvalues. The display can be re-scaled an unlimited number of times, and theparameters of each zoom are stored in memory so that any of the enlargements canbe undone by clicking the right mouse button. By clicking an Up button the user canadd 10% to the margin at the top of the display, and clicking the Down button adds 10% to the bottom of the display.

Description

GRAPHIC DISPLAYS

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to graphic displays.

BACKGROUND

In a conventional zoom facility such as is provided on most image editing packages the user is able to use a pointing device (e.g. a mouse, trackball etc.) to drag a box around an area which they wish to see in more detail. Whilst the user has a certain amount of control over the area which is displayed when the image is redrawn, in some images there may be areas lying just outside the zoomed area which contain important detail. The user then has to scroll around the screen to locate a particular area of interest. In some known programs the user can simply select a zoom facility and then click on an area of the displayed image which is enlarged at a fixed reproduction ratio. In this case the user has very little control over the area which is displayed in the zoomed image, and it is still possible to overlook important features in the image.

The present invention seeks to provide a new and inventive form of graphic display facility which allows the user to have control over the area to be displayed without risk that important areas will be omitted from the redrawn display.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention proposes a graphic display facility in which a cluster of graphic features are displayed against mutually perpendicular first and second axes, and by selecting a section of the first axis the display is redrawn on an enlarged scale to display the features which lie within the selected section, and whereupon the second axis is re-scaled in accordance with the distribution of the displayed features along said second axis.

Thus, by allowing the user to select the portion of the first axis to be displayed in greater detail they have control over the area to be displayed. The automatic reseating of the second axis ensures that important features cannot be omitted from the displayed area.

The first axis on which the section to be enlarged is selected may be horizontal (i.e. the x axis) or it may be vertical (the y axis). Where the features of interest occur in clearly defined areas of the display, as in the case of a graph for example, the second axis will be rescaled to include all of the displayed features plus a percentage above the highest feature and below the lowest feature. In some kinds of display however, where the features are more widely scattered, it might be more appropriate to rescale the second axis according to other criteria, e.g to display an area where the features occur most frequently. Preferably the parameters of the display are saved each time the display is redrawn and means are provided to allow the user to step back through the displays, e.g. by clicking on a screen button or clicking a mouse button.

Preferably there is also provision for achieving a stepwise expansion of the scale of the second axis after the display has been redrawn, i.e. to progressively expand the display along the second axis. Preferably, the area which is shown at the top and bottom of the display can be increased separately.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description and the accompanying drawings referred to therein are included by way of non-limiting example in order to illustrate how the invention may be put into practice. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is part of a graphic display as provided by a display facility in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 shows a section of the graphic display which has been redrawn on an increased scale;

Figure 3 shows a section of the display of Fig. 2 which has been redrawn on an even larger scale; and

Figure 4 shows the display of Fig. 2 which has been redrawn with the y axis expanded. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The display shown in the drawings is taken from the screen of a computer monitor. In Fig. 1 a cluster of features are plotted against x and y axes to produce a graph which, in this example, happens to occupy the left half of the display. The graph represents the movement of shares over a fixed period of time, but this is for illustrative purposes only. At the left of the graph the distribution of features is in the range 175 to 200 as plotted on the y axis, but at the right end the values rise steeply towards 700 on the y axis.

In order to view an area of the display which is of particular interest the user first clicks the left mouse button with the mouse pointer at a point on the x axis which lies at one end of the band which is of interest. This causes a vertical cursor line to be displayed, as shown. The location of the mouse cursor on the y axis is not important. Still holding down the left mouse button the user moves the mouse to the left or right, which causes a second vertical cursor line to be dragged along the x axis, again shown in Fig. 1. When the second cursor line reaches the other end of the band the mouse button is released. The two vertical lines thus define the section of the x axis which is to be displayed in greater detail.

As soon as the mouse button is released the display is redrawn as shown in Fig. 2, in which the x axis is rescaled to occupy the selected section. At the same time, the y axis is rescaled to include all the features within the selected section plus a small margin, in this case approximately 5% above the maximum y value (about 273) and 5% below the minimum value (about 233). As a result, the user is guaranteed that all of the features of interest within the selected band have been displayed.

It is possible to repeat the selection process on an area of the new display. For example, by clicking and dragging the two cursor lines in the positions shown in Fig. 2 the display is redrawn and rescaled as shown in Fig. 3. This can be repeated an unlimited number of times.

The parameters of each zoom can be stored in memory so that any of the enlargements can be undone by clicking the right mouse button anywhere on the screen, which causes the display to be redrawn with the previous parameters. For example, by clicking the mouse twice the display of Fig. 3 can be undone firstly to Fig. 2 and then to Fig. 1. A further section of either display can, or course, be enlarged if desired so that the user can easily and quickly examine different areas of the display at will.

Another useful feature of the graphics display is provided by the buttons which carry Up and Down symbols in the top right hand corner of the display. By clicking on the Up button the user can add to the margin at the top of the display which, for example, adds 10% to the top of the y scale. Thus, if the Up button is clicked when displaying the screen shown in Fig. 2, in which the y axis scale is 229-276, the scale is redrawn to 229-281 as shown in Fig. 4. Similarly, clicking on the Down button adds about 10% to the bottom of the y scale. This process can be repeated a number of times to expand the y scale as desired.

Clicking on the Reset button between the Up and Down buttons will reset the display to the original scale, i.e. as shown in Fig. 2. It will be appreciated that the features disclosed herein may be present in any feasible combination. Whilst the above description lays emphasis on those areas which, in combination, are believed to be new, protection is claimed for any inventive combination of the features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A graphic display in which a cluster of graphic features are mapped relative to mutually perpendicular first and second axes, and by selecting a section of the display relative to the first axis the display is redrawn on an enlarged scale to display features within the selected section, and whereupon the second axis is re-scaled depending on the distribution of said features within the selected section relative to the second axis.

2. A graphic display according to Claim 1 , in which the second axis is re-scaled to include all of the features within the selected section.

3. A graphic display according to Claim 1 , in which the second axis is re-scaled to include a margin on each side of the range of features within the selected section.

4. A graphic display according to Claim 3, in which the margins are calculated as a percentage of the range of displayed features.

5. A graphic display according to Claim 1, which includes provision for executing a stepwise expansion of the second axis.

6. A graphic display according to Claim 5, in which the second axis is re-scaled to include a margin on each side of the range of features within the selected section.

7. A graphic display according to Claim 6, in which said stepwise expansion is achieved by expanding the margins.

8. A graphic display according to Claim 7, in which the two margins can be expanded separately.

9. A graphic display according to Claim 1 , in which the parameters of the display are saved each time the display is redrawn and means are provided to allow the user to move back through the displays.