Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Utility Patent
1998-04-01
2001-01-02
Butler, Dennis M. (Department: 2787)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000, C700S017000
Utility Patent
active
06169546
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to User Interface (UI) controls, and in particular, to an automatic global mechanism to ensure maximum visibility of the rendering of a component within an component family hierarchy. UI controls in the context of this document are the underlying mechanisms and/or processes that facilitate and/or supplement visual and operational UI features
PROBLEM
The problem addressed by the present invention is how to maximize the visibility of a component within a component family hierarchy that includes at least one embedded viewer. The following definitions are provided for clarity of terms used throughout this document. A component is a visual object on a display screen. Examples of components can include, but are not limited to, buttons, list boxes, viewers, and a window generally. A container is a component that contains one or more other components within its bounds. A container is also referred to as a parent or parent component, and a component within a container is also referred to as a child or child component. A viewer is a container that has the additional responsibility of dynamically offsetting component contents or renderings on a display screen. Scrolling is the process executed by a viewer or other capable parent component to reposition a child component so that it is substantially within the bounds of the parent component.
One reason ensuring component visibility is a problem is because individual containers presently implement their own viewer scrolling features so that there is no continuity of viewer features or controls from one container to the next. Each individual implementation requires that each container expend significant resources to independently create duplicative functions that are also not necessarily compatible from one container to the next. One additional problem is that the independent controls for individual components inhibit viewer scrolling among embedded components of a component family hierarchy. Because a parent component viewer has no control over child component's viewer controls, it is impossible for a parent component to scroll part of a child component into view as input focus changes within a child component. This latter problem also means that an embedded component that receives input focus may not appear anywhere within the view of a user viewing a display screen.
For these reasons, there exists an ongoing need for a uniform system of maximizing child component visibility within a component family hierarchy that typically includes at least one viewer. A system of this type has heretofore not been known prior to the invention disclosed below.
SOLUTION
The present invention solves the above and other problems by a single global scrolling function that ensures the maximum visibility of a given child component uniformly throughout a component family hierarchy. Maximizing component visibility is accomplished through interprocess communications between successive pairs of parent components and child components within a component family hierarchy so that a parent component can maximize the child component's view within the parent component in response to an ensure visible request.
Maximizing a child component's view includes, but is not limited to, establishing bi-directional communications between a parent component and a child component, and enabling a parent component to respond to an ensure visible request from a child component and its contents. A parent component response to an ensure visible request includes, maximizing the child component view, translating the origin coordinates of the child component as needed to maximize visibility, and propagating the ensure visible event up the component family hierarchy to the next higher parent component if one exists. Maximizing a child component view by a parent component that does not have scrolling support, means that the geometric rendering of a child component, such as a rectangle, is clipped as necessary to fit within the parent component's borders. Maximizing a child component view by a parent component that supports scrolling, means that the geometric rendering of a child component is repositioned within the parent component space prior to clipping to ensure that the geometric rendering of every child component fits within the parent component's borders.
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Butler Dennis M.
Klarquist Sparkman Campbell & Leigh & Whinston, LLP
Mai Rijue
Microsoft Corporation
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