Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-17
2003-09-23
Cabeca, John (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06624831
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Technical Field
The invention is related to the generation and display of toolbars on a display screen, and more particularly to a system and process for generating and displaying a dynamically adjustable toolbar that optimizes the number and configuration of the toolbar buttons that are displayed in view of the amount of space allotted for the toolbar on the display screen.
2. Background Art
Toolbars are a standard graphical user interface (GUI) element employed in most current software applications. Generally, a toolbar appears to the user as a single row or column of icons on a computer monitor screen, although sometimes a toolbar will have multiple rows or columns of icons. The icons represent various program functions or commands. The user typically interacts with a toolbar by using a pointing device of some type such as a computer mouse to place a cursor displayed on the monitor screen over an icon contained in the toolbar. The user then selects the function or command represented by the icon, such as by clicking the left-hand mouse button. In addition to the icons, text elements in the form of labels are often disposed adjacent to the associated icon. Typically, the label either appears underneath its icon or to the right of the icon. The labels usually identify the function of the associated icon. In that case, the label remains static. For example, the label might read “save”, thus identifying the associated icon as representing the save function. The save label would not change. However, the label can also be used to indicate a current state of a function represented by an associated icon. For example, a toolbar icon might represent a category assignment function. This function is often used in personal information management (PIM) programs to categorize an entry as business related or personal. The label associated with the category assignment icon would indicate the currently selected category (e.g., business or personal). Thus, rather than identifying the function of the associated icon, the label indicates its current state. This type of label is not static and will change depending on the selected state of the function represented by the icon. In many current applications the toolbar can be configured to display both the icon and label, the icon only, or the text only. It is noted that the icon and related label combination is often referred to as a toolbar button. However, sometimes an icon without a label is also referred to as a button.
A toolbar is usually associated with an application window typically displayed on a portion of the computer screen. These application windows are graphic user interfaces that are used to present information to a user and to facilitate interaction between the user and the application program associated with the window. When a toolbar is visually attached to a particular application window, it length will be restricted to the size of the window, or even less if the toolbar is allowed to only appear in a portion of the window. Thus, if the toolbar appears as a horizontal row in the window, its length is limited by the width of the window or the width of the portion of the window in which the toolbar is allowed to appear. Likewise, when the toolbar appears as a vertical column in the window, its length will be restricted to the height of the window or some portion of the height. These restrictions on the length of a toolbar limit the number of buttons that can be included in the toolbar. Granted, the icons and labels making up the buttons could be made smaller to fit more in the available toolbar length. However, there is a practical limit to how small the icons and labels can be made and still be recognizable to the user. It is often the case that all of the buttons (with or without text) that it is desired to display in a toolbar will not fit even at the smallest practical scale. A similar issue exists in the case of a global toolbar. A global toolbar is typically independent from an application window and may float over the application window, or be displayed outside the periphery of the window. The length of a global toolbar is at most as long as the width or height of the monitor screen, and may be restricted to an even shorter length. Accordingly, the same issues concerning not being able to include as many buttons as desired pertain to global toolbars as well.
Another toolbar issue arises when the size of an application window or global toolbar can be changed. In the case where the window is made smaller, the toolbars associated with the window typically shrink in length as well. In the case of a global toolbar, it is usually be resized directly. Either way the result is the same. Namely, the space available for existing buttons is reduced.
This same reduction in available toolbar space can also occur when a toolbar has been designed to maximize the space assuming a particular resolution. However, if the program containing the toolbar is run on a system having a lower resolution, more space would be needed for the same number of buttons. For example, current computer monitor resolutions range from 640×480 pixels to 1600×1200 pixels, with 800-600 pixels being the most common resolution. If a toolbar is designed so the maximum number of buttons (with or without text) fit into the allotted space assuming a resolution of 800×600 pixels, they will not all fit in the allotted space when the program is run on a system employing a lower resolution such as the 640×480 pixels typical of many older computer monitors. Assuming that the buttons cannot be scaled down any further without becoming illegible, there is an issue as to what to do with the buttons that will no longer fit.
One attempt at addressing the foregoing space problems involved placing the labels below their associated icons in a horizontally oriented toolbar. While this creates more horizontal space, it reduces valuable vertical real estate on the computer monitor screen. Most monitor screens are wider than they are high. Thus, the loss of vertical viewing space to a toolbar is less desirable than taking up horizontal space. Additionally, in the case of a vertically oriented toolbar, placing the labels below the icons makes the situation worse.
Another attempt at resolving the toolbar resizing issue involved arbitrarily removing buttons from the toolbar in a right to left'sequence for a horizontally oriented toolbar. Presumably, the same procedure could be employed for vertically oriented toolbars by removing buttons in a bottom up sequence. In other words the rightmost (or bottommost) buttons are eliminated until the remaining buttons can fit in the downsized toolbar space. This method has obvious drawbacks. The primary advantage of a toolbar is to conveniently present the user access to a variety of functions and commands while the user is running the associated program. If buttons are removed from the toolbar during downsizing, the user must access the functions and commands associated with the eliminated buttons via other less convenient methods, such as by accessing a menu and selecting the function from a displayed list.
Still another attempt at dealing with the both the toolbar size restrictions and the downsizing issue involved a feature by which the inclusion of labels with the icons could be turned off. In other words, in one state the icons appeared with labels, and in the other state, no icon appeared with a label. While “turning off” the labels increases the number of icons that can be included in a tool bar and allows for the downsizing of the toolbar space without the loss of as many buttons, the advantages of having labels is lost. The labels, which are typically one or two words, provide a convenient way for the user to identify the function or state of the associated icon without having to memorize the appearance of the icon and the function it represents. Thus, removing all the labels reduces the usability of the toolbar.
Another issue with existing-toolbar designs involves a situation opposite that of the s
Cortright David S.
Shahine Omar H.
Yeung Saiwing
Detwiler Brian
Lyon Richard T.
Lyon & Harr LLP
Microsoft Corporation
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