Displaying messages on handheld devices
AssigneeResearch In Motion Limited
InventorsScotte Zinn, David Yach
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of displaying messages on handheld devices. The device displays messages in a scrollable viewport of vertically arranged fields. Date separators inserted into the vertically arranged list of messages to enable the user to associate the messages with a date. The date separators have “sticky” operation, meaning that the device ensures a date separator always appears within the viewport, even when the viewport has been scrolled to the middle of a long list of messages all associated with the same date. The device may ensure that the top field of the viewport always contains a date separator associated with the message immediately below.
Claims20
A method of displaying message items on a display of an electronic device, each message item having an associated date, the method comprising:
- displaying a date separator item in a topmost field of a viewport on the display, wherein the date separator item is based upon the associated date of a message item displayed in a second field of the viewport;
- determining whether a next date separator item would appear in the viewport after upward scrolling is applied;
- and
- after receiving an upward scrolling command to scroll message items upward in the viewport, if a next date separator item would not appear in the viewport after upward scrolling is applied, maintaining the display of the date separator item in the topmost field.
An electronic device comprising:
- a display;
- an input device;
- and
- a processor connected to the display for controlling operation of the display, the processor being configured for:
- displaying a date separator item in a topmost field of a viewport on the display, wherein the date separator item is based upon the associated date of a message item displayed in a second field of the viewport;
- determining whether a next date separator item would appear in the viewport after upward scrolling is applied;
- and
- after receiving an upward scrolling command to scroll message items upward in the viewport, if a next date separator item would not appear in the viewport after upward scrolling is applied, maintaining the display of the date separator item in the topmost field.
A computer program product having a computer readable medium tangibly embodying computer executable instructions for displaying message items on a display of an electronic device, each message item having an associated date, the computer executable instructions comprising:
- instructions for displaying a date separator item in a topmost field of a viewport on the display, wherein the date separator item is based upon the associated date of a message item displayed in a second field of the viewport;
- instructions for determining whether a next date separator item would appear in the viewport after upward scrolling is applied;
- and
- instructions for, after receiving an upward scrolling command to scroll message items upward in the viewport, if a next date separator item would not appear in the viewport after upward scrolling is applied, maintaining the display of the date separator item in the topmost field.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.