EP0635780A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
User interface having clicktrough tools that can be composed with other tools
Assignee: Xerox Corp
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Filing: 1994-07-20
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2014-07-20
Abstract
Abstract A user interface technique operates in the environment of a processor-controlled machine for executing a program that operates on a set of underlying data and displays a visible representation (50,52) thereof. The system further provides a visual depiction (60) of a set of tools. The tools include clickthrough tools that can be combined with other tools (including other click-through tools) to provide composite tools. A click-through tool includes a generally transparent delineated active area (e.g. by using a cursor (55)), that is movable so that it can be placed over a desired portion of the visible representation. When the user interacts with the visible representation through the active area, the action takes on an attribute of the particular clickthrough tool. A click-through tool can be superimposed on another click-through tool, whereupon an action taken through the two click-through tools onto the visible representation takes on attributes of both tools.
Inventors
- 👤 Eric A. Bier
- 👤 William Buxton
- 👤 Maureen C. Stone
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 09:20
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F3/00; G06F3/01; G06F3/048; G06F3/0484; G06F3/04845; G06F3/0481; G06F2203/00; G06F2203/038; G06F2203/0382; G06F2203/048; G06F2203/04804; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S345/00; Y10S345/902
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
110 words
A computer system in which a program displays data and a user interacts with the data through the use of displayed tools and a displayed cursor, wherein: at lest one of the tools is a click-through tool having the property that the result of an operation on the data depends on the location of a cursor event within the tool boundary; and the result of positioning the click-through tool so as to at least partially overlap another tool and having a cursor event within a region of overlap of the tools is a composite operation that is specified at least in part by the click-through tool and the other tool.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
265 words
A method of operating a processor-based machine, the machine including a user input facility, a display device, a processor coupled to the user input facility and the display device, a storage system for storing information including instructions defining at least one program to be executed by the processor and a set of associated data, the method comprising operating the processor to perform the steps of: executing the program to operate on the data and display a visible representation thereof on the display device; displaying on the display device a visual depiction of a plurality of tool-defining regions thereon, each tooldefining region specifying at least in part a particular operation that is performed on the data in response to a cursor event within the tool-defining region, each tool-defining region and its specified operation being referred to as a tool; at least one of the tools, referred to as a clickthrough tool, having the property that the result of the operation on the data depends on the location of the cursor event within the tool-defining region; positioning a first tool-defining region relative to the visible representation; positioning a second tool-defining region corresponding to a click-through tool so as to at least partially overlap the first tool-defining region; positioning a cursor relative to the visible representation in response to a set of signals from the user input facility; and performing an operation, referred to as a composite operation, that is specified at least in part by a the first and second tool-defining regions in response to a cursor event within a region of overlap of the tool-defining region.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of claim 2 wherein: the first tool is a click-through tool; the composite operation is performed on the data in response to the cursor event in the region of overlap; and the composite operation includes the operation specified by the first tool and the operation specified by the second tool.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
65 words
The method of claim 2 wherein: the first tool is a click-through tool that specifies an object property; the second tool is a click-through tool that specifies the creation of a particular type of object; and the composite operation results in the creation of an object of the type specified by the second tool where the object has the property specified by the first tool.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
78 words
The method of claim 2 wherein: the first tool is a click-through tool that specifies a first object property; the second tool is a click-through tool that specifies a second object property; the cursor event in the region of overlap is characterized by position information that specifies a particular existing object; and the composite operation results in the existing object having the first property specified by the first tool and the second property specified by the second tool.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
133 words
The method of claim 2 wherein: the first tool is referred to as a conventional tool and has the property that the result of the operation does not depend on the location of the cursor event within the first tool's tool-defining region; the result of a cursor event in the first tool's tool-defining region places the cursor in a mode wherein a subsequent set of cursor events results in the creation of a particular type of object; the second tool is a click-through tool that specifies a particular object property; and the composite operation places the cursor in a mode wherein a subsequent set of cursor events results in the creation of an object of the type specified by the first tool with the object having the property specified by the second tool.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
247 words
A method for applying a software tool to a workpiece in an interactive computer system, the software tool having certain properties, the system comprising a processor coupled to a display screen and to at least one input device suitable for positioning an object with respect to the display screen, and user interface software that the processor executes, that controls at least a portion of the display screen, and that is responsive to the input device, the method comprising the steps of: using the processor, the user interface software, and the display screen to display a window whose contents represent the workpiece; using the processor, the user interface software, and the display screen to display a first transparent object that represents a first tool and a second transparent object that represents a second tool, the second tool at least partially overlapping the first tool; using the processor, the user interface software, and the input device to select at least a portion of the workpiece for interaction with the first and second tools by positioning a region of overlap of the tools with respect to the window representing the workpiece; and using the processor, the user interface software, and the input device to selectively apply the overlapping tools to the portion of the workpiece thus selected, in such manner as to alter the contents of, the selected portion of the workpiece, the nature of the alteration being determined at least in part by the properties of the overlapping tools.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
EP0533424A1
Cited
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