Systems and methods for teaching a person to interact with a computer program having a graphical user interface

A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method for teaching a person how to perform a task in a computer program with at least one graphical user interface object that performs a desired action in response to user input, the method comprising:

• formulating a script, by reference to an entity map, that comprises step-by-step instructions indicating to a user of the computer program how to perform the task, wherein the entity map contains programming instructions for accessing at least one graphical user interface object of the computer program;
• and
• wherein the script comprises programming instructions configured to:
• display at least one partial graphical overlay directly on top of an actual, non-simulated graphical user interface of the computer program, each partial graphical overlay visually indicating input to be provided to an associated graphical user interface object to cause the computer program to perform a step of the task;
• and
• position the partial graphical overlay adjacent to the associated graphical user interface object regardless of a position of the graphical user interface object without any modification to source code of the computer program.

A system for teaching a person how to perform a task in a computer program with at least one graphical user interface object that performs a desired action in response to user input, the system comprising:

• an entity map containing programming instructions for accessing at least one graphical user interface object of the computer program;
• a script formulation component that references the entity map and generates a script of step-by-step instructions indicating to a user of a computer program how to perform the task within the computer program;
• and
• a script execution component that executes the script and comprises:
• a display component that displays at least one partial graphical overlay directly on top of an actual, non-simulated graphical user interface of the computer program, each partial graphical overlay visually indicating input to be provided to an associated graphical user interface object to cause the computer program to perform a step of the task;
• and
• a position component that positions the partial graphical overlay adjacent to the associated graphical user interface object regardless of a position of the graphical user interface object without any modification to source code of the computer program.

A method for teaching a person how to perform a task in a computer program with at least one graphical user interface object that performs a desired action in response to user input, the method comprising:

• formulating a script, by reference to an entity map, that comprises step-by-step instructions indicating to a user of the computer program how to perform the task, wherein the entity map contains programming instructions for accessing at least one graphical user interface object of the computer program;
• and
• executing the script by:
• displaying at least one partial graphical overlay directly on top of an actual, non-simulated graphical user interface of the computer program, each partial graphical overlay visually indicating input to be provided to an associated graphical user interface object to cause the computer program to perform a step of the task;
• and
• positioning the partial graphical overlay adjacent to the associated graphical user interface object regardless of a position of the graphical user interface object without any modification to source code of the computer program.