Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-09
2003-01-28
Cabeca, John (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S467000, C345S215000, C345S215000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06512531
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to computer implemented methods for enabling users to select a font having a desired set of visual characteristics from a collection of available fonts.
A set of characters with a particular design is called a “typeface”. Digital typefaces, such as the PostScript® products available from Adobe Systems Incorporated of San Jose, Calif., generally include instructions for rendering characters in a particular font. The term “font” refers to an instance of a typeface, e.g., a particular weight and point size. In the following discussion, however, the terms “typeface” and “font” are used interchangeably to refer to a set of characters having a set of particular visual characteristics.
Many thousands of digital typefaces are available for use with computer implemented word processing and desktop publishing applications, although most users have access to far fewer due to memory constraints and cost. Even so, a user may have access to a large number of individual fonts on a given system; the proliferation of the World Wide Web and electronic commerce has given users immediate access to even more.
To use a font other than a system's default font, the user must select the font from the collection of available fonts installed on the user's computer. To use fonts other than those already installed the user must identify the desired font—for example by locating the font in a font database stored on local or remote memory devices, including locations on the World Wide Web—and install it for use. In some environments, the particular program, or even the user's computer, must be restarted before the newly installed font is available for use.
Traditional font selection programs typically require users to select fonts from alphabetical listings that display only the name of each available font. To find a desired font, the user must therefore either know the name of the desired font or examine a sample of each available font to determine its visual characteristics. One such selection tool is the Motif Font Selection Panel, which is available as part of the Display PostScript Toolkit for X from Adobe Systems Incorporated of San Jose, Calif.
A more visual font selection tool allows the user to apply a set of filters to the collection of available fonts and view a font or group of fonts having characteristics selected by those filters. An example of this kind of tool is the Motif Font Sampler, also part of the Display PostScript Toolkit for X. Like the alphabetical listings described above, however, such tools rely on font names to describe the visual attributes of available fonts, and do not offer the user the opportunity to navigate visually the universe of available fonts to locate a font or fonts having desired visual characteristics.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides methods for enabling a user to select a font from a collection of available fonts, and apparatus (including computer program products) implementing or embodying the methods of the invention.
In general, in one aspect, the invention features a method of enabling a user to select a font from a collection of available fonts. The method includes receiving font data identifying each font in a collection of available fonts and identifying a location in a navigation space for each available font, where the navigation space is defined by a set of navigation attributes corresponding to font characteristics and each location is defined by a set of navigation attribute values for all navigation attributes defining the navigation space; receiving from the user interactively a first navigation input that specifies a first input value for each of the navigation attributes, where the first input values define a first target location in the navigation space; and using the first target location to identify a first candidate font in the collection of available fonts by identifying a font with a location in the navigation space identical to the first target location if there is such a font in the collection of available fonts, and, if the collection of available fonts does not contain such a font, identifying a font in the collection of available fonts that is close to the first target location in the navigation space.
Implementations of the invention can include one or more of the following advantageous features. The method also includes receiving from the user interactively a second navigation input that specifies a second input value for one or more navigation attributes, where the second input values and the first input values define a second target location in the navigation space; and using the second target location to identify a second candidate font in the collection of available fonts. The first input value is obtained by determining the navigation space location of a current font; receiving a first input value designating a desired change in an attribute value of the current font; and using the navigation space location of the current font and the first input value designating the desired change to define the first target location. The first target location defines a volume in the navigation space and the font with a location in the navigation space identical to the first target location includes a font with a location within the volume defined by the first target location. The method also includes enabling the user to select the first candidate font for use in an application running on a computer. The collection of available fonts includes a collection of installed fonts. The collection of available fonts includes a collection of fonts stored at a location on the World Wide Web. The method also includes downloading the new font from the location on the World Wide Web and installing the new font in the computer. The navigation attributes are selected from the group consisting of family type, serif style, weight, proportion, contrast, stroke variation, arm style, letter form, midline and X height.
In general, in another aspect, the invention features a method of enabling a user to select a font from a collection of available fonts. The method includes receiving font information identifying each font in a collection of available fonts, the font information including a set of attribute values describing the appearance of each font; identifying a set of navigation attributes defining a navigation space, where each font in the collection of available fonts has a location in the navigation space defined by the font's attribute values; identifying the attribute values of a current font; receiving from the user one or more first input values designating a desired change in the appearance of the current font and corresponding to a change in one or more attribute values of the current font; using one or more attribute values of the current font and the first input values to define a first target location; and using the first target location to identify a first candidate font in the collection of available fonts by identifying a font with a location in the navigation space identical to the first target location if there is such a font in the collection of available fonts, and, if the collection of available fonts does not contain such a font, identifying a font in the collection of available fonts that is close to the first target location in the navigation space.
Implementations of the invention can include one or more of the following advantageous features. The method also includes receiving from the user one or more second input values designating a desired change in the appearance of the current font or the first candidate font; using the second input values to define a second target location in the navigation space; and using the second target location to identify a second candidate font in the collection of available fonts by identifying a font with a location in the navigation space identical to the second target location if there is such a font in the collection of available fonts, and, if the collection of available fonts does not contain such a fon
Adobe Systems Incorporated
Bautista X. L.
Cabeca John
Fish & Richardson P.C.
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