Method for extending a common user interface
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsGeorge H. Pitt, III, Christopher J. Guzak
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for extending a common user interface in a windowing environment of a programmed computer system. To customize a common dialog box, an application provides a sub-dialog box template defining application-specific extensions to the common dialog box, and a sub-dialog procedure for controlling the behavior of the application-specific extensions. An operating system processes input to the extended version of the common dialog box depending on where user input occurs. In response to input at application-specific controls, the system sends a message to the sub-dialog procedure. In response to input at standard controls, the system sends a message to a common dialog procedure provided in the operating system.
Claims14
A method for extending a common dialog box in a windowing environment of a programmed computer system, the method comprising:
- in response to a request from an application to create a common dialog box, creating a common dialog box using a common dialog box template provided in a common dialog box library,
- reading a sub-dialog box template provided by the application;
- adding application-specific features defined in the sub-dialog box template to the common dialog box by creating a sub-dialog box;
- displaying a combined common dialog box and the sub-dialog box on a display screen of the programmed computer system;
- in response to user input to the sub-dialog box,
- sending a first notification message to a sub-dialog box procedure in the application to process the user input to the sub-dialog box;
- and
- in response to user input to the common dialog box, sending a second notification message to a common dialog box procedure in the common dialog box library to process the user input to the common dialog box.
A method for extending a common dialog box in a windowing environment of a programmed computer system, the method comprising:
- receiving a function call from an application to create a common dialog box in a shared common dialog box library, the function call specifying a sub-dialog box template and a sub-dialog box procedure;
- creating a common dialog box in response to the function call;
- creating a sub-dialog box to the common dialog box in response to the function call using the sub-dialog box template to add application-specific controls to the common dialog box;
- displaying the common dialog box and the sub-dialog box on a display screen of the computer system;
- in response to user input at an application-specific control in the sub-dialog box, reporting the user input directly to the sub-dialog box procedure;
- and
- in response to user input at a standard control in the common dialog box, reporting the user input directly to the common dialog box procedure in the shared common dialog box library.
A method for extending a common user interface window in a windowing environment of a programmed computer system, the method comprising:
- receiving a command from an application to create a common window on a display screen, the command specifying an application-specific template that defines the appearance of an application-specific extension to the common window and specifying a child window procedure that processes input directed to the application-specific extension;
- in response to the command, creating a common window including a parent common window and a child window of the parent common window, the child window including the application-specific extension to the common window;
- displaying the common window including the application-specific extension on a display screen;
- and
- processing user input to the application-specific extension by sending a message corresponding to the user input directly to the child window procedure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.