Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-19
2001-03-27
Huynh, Ba (Department: 2773)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06208339
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to user-interactive computer supported display technology, and particularly to such user-interactive systems and methods which provide interactive users with an user friendly interface for data entry.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The 1990's decade has been marked by a technological revolution driven by the convergence of the data processing industry with the consumer electronics industry. This advance has been even further accelerated by the extensive consumer and business involvement in the Internet over the past two years. As a result of these changes it seems as if virtually all aspects of human endeavor in the industrialized world requires human/computer interfaces. There is a need to make computer directed activities accessible to a substantial portion of the world's population which, up to a few years ago, was computer illiterate or, at best, computer indifferent. In order for the vast computer supported market places to continue and be commercially productive, it will be necessary for a large segment of computer indifferent consumers to be involved in computer interfaces.
One function which developers of display interfaces have been addressing is ease of use in the entry of data, and particularly the entry of textual data. No matter how intuitive and easy to use an interface may be in its use of icons and related three-dimensional real life to make even the novice user feel at home with the interface, in most human/computer transactions a point is reached when the user must enter data, particularly text data. Unfortunately, most people have limited capabilities with the keyboard which still remains the primary means for entering text into a computer display interface. Data entry system designers recognizing users' limited ability with the keyboard have developed a variety of expedients making text data entry easier. One such expedient in relatively widespread use has been the autocomplete function. Autocomplete involves the system into which the data is being entered developing and saving a library of possible entries for each of a group of data fields required to be entered by the user. Such entry fields could include, for example, names, part descriptions, part numbers, social security numbers and/or telephone numbers. These libraries are developed, to some extent, based upon the historical frequency of usage by either an individual, group, whole industry or business field. Then, as the user starts to make a particular entry, the system attempts to autocomplete by providing a proposed complete entry based upon the portion of text or like data already entered, extrapolated against the stored entries in the library. If the proposed entry coincides with the intended user entry in the field, the user may move on to the next field where autocomplete may again be provided. Accordingly, in an interface such as a tax form or other type of business form, it may be understood that the completion of the entries could be substantially expedited.
On the other hand, such autocomplete functions could confuse the user, particularly in the case of multiple entry fields and with users of limited computer data entry experience. The user could loose track of which entry fields were autocompleted and which were based totally upon the user's own data. In this connection, with a given entry, the user could be confused into accepting the proposed autocomplete entry and moving on to the next entry field even though the proposed entry is different from the intended entry. Thus, with certain combinations of users and entry data types, autocomplete functions may actually make the user display interface more difficult.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention enables the user to selectively disable and enable, or otherwise change, autocomplete functions for particular entry fields; and it provides the user with a visible indication as to whether an entry field has an enabled or disabled autocomplete. It provides a computer controlled user-interactive display system with a user interface including a plurality of data entry fields on said display together with means for interactive user entry of data into said fields. An autocomplete function is provided which comprises means for automatically providing proposed completions of user entries into the fields, and user-interactive means for changing the mode of operation of said means for automatically providing proposed completions. Such means for changing most usually involve either enabling or disabling the autocomplete mode, but such means may also change the mode of how the proposed completions are determined, as well as the order in which the proposed completions for each entry are presented to the user.
The present invention also comprehends changing the mode of operation of autocomplete functions either globally for all entry fields or selectively on a field-by-field basis. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, means are provided for visually indicating for which data entry fields particular autocomplete modes are provided, e.g. symbols indicating the data entries for which autocomplete functions are enabled.
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IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, “Entry Field Color Identification”, vol. 39, No. 04, Apr. 1996, p. 141.
Atlas Marshall Allan
DiAngelo Michael Franz
Ragan, Jr. Richard Walton
Huynh Ba
International Business Machines - Corporation
Kraft Jerry B.
LaBaw Jeffrey S.
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