US 2011/0087977 A1 · Method for Selecting Shapes in a Graphical Display

Abstract

A selector shape may serve as the background to a configurable composite shape and may include one or more expressions that are evaluated to select between several composite shape definitions via links to the definition. Each selector shape includes an animation expression and a lookup table converter to select an identifier of the composite definition to be loaded and displayed. When the value of the animation expression changes, the value may be matched to the name of a new composite definition using the lookup table, and the new definition may be displayed. The previously-used composite definition may then be marked for removal by a caching system, and removed. These selector shapes also enable the same graphic element to be used in displays designed for different types of display devices, such as display devices having large display screens, standard computer screens and very small display screens.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A computing device for reducing a number of composite shape sub-elements stored in a runtime memory of a graphical display for a process control system, the device comprising:

a processor;
a memory;
a display;
and
a composite shape sub-element selection application maintained in the memory and executed on the processor to select a composite shape sub-element for display within a composite shape of the graphical display, the composite shape configured to include a selector shape, a plurality of composite shape sub-elements, and an expression, the composite shape sub-element selection application including instructions for:
evaluating the expression at runtime to determine an expression result;
identifying a composite shape sub-element using the expression result, the composite shape sub-element identified from the plurality of composite shape sub-elements;
displaying the identified composite shape sub-element within or in place of the selector shape;
and
removing any composite shape sub-elements not identified by the expression result.

7 more elements

A computer-readable memory having computer-executable instructions for performing steps to reduce a number of composite shape sub-elements stored in a runtime memory of a process control system, comprising:

displaying a composite shape within the graphical display, the composite shape including a selector shape, a plurality of composite shape sub-elements, and an expression;
evaluating the expression at runtime to determine an expression result;
identifying a composite shape sub-element using the expression result, the composite shape sub-element identified from the plurality of composite shape sub-elements;
displaying the identified composite shape sub-element within or in place of the selector shape;
and
removing any composite shape sub-elements not identified by the expression result.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method for Selecting Shapes in a Graphical Display

Life of this patent

Method for Selecting Shapes in a Graphical Display

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22