Graphical user interface for defining and invoking user-customized tool shelf execution sequence

A method, comprising:

• placing icons in a graphical sequence order to be executed;
• automatically executing the commands in the sequence order;
• and
• allowing the icons to be selected individually for execution while in the order and perform a same function as when automatically executed.

A method for specifying a desired execution order for a plurality of commands, each one of the commands being associated with a corresponding desktop icon, the method comprising:

• placing the desktop icons in a graphical order corresponding to the desired execution order;
• automatically executing the desktop icons in the desired execution order, without requiring a user to specify further the desired execution order;
• and
• allowing the icons to be selected individually for execution while in the order and perform a same function as when automatically executed.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a display for displaying a graphical user interface including a tool box of commands represented by desktop icons, a work area and a sequence tool shelf;
• an indication device indicating icon selections and positions as controlled by a user and allowing the user to individually select the icons;
• and
• a computer coupled to the display and the indication device and creating the graphical user interface, moving the icons from the tool box and placing the icons on the sequence tool shelf responsive to selection of the icons and position indications for the icons on the sequence tool shelf as indicated by the user, defining a command order from the position indications and controlling execution of the commands in the order and allowing the icons to be selected individually for execution by the user while in the positions on the sequence tool shelf and perform a same function as when executed in the order.

An interactive method for defining and invoking a user-customized sequence of commands, each of said commands being graphically represented by an associated desktop display icon, said method for use with a digital computer system including a display screen and a cursor control device, and said method comprising:

• creating interactively a graphical tool shelf using the cursor control device, the tool shelf comprising display icons positioned in a first region of the display screen by interactively specifying whether the tool shelf command execution order is sequential or not, and where the remaining steps of the method are only performed in the event that the tool shelf is specified to be sequential;
• specifying interactively an execution order for the commands corresponding to the display icons in the tool shelf, using the cursor control device by the user interactively placing the display icons in an horizontal order corresponding to the execution order;
• invoking execution of each of the corresponding commands according to the specified execution order, by interactively responding to a generic execution request by selecting from among a "next command" item, a "skip ahead" item, a "previous command" item and a "start sequence" item from a pop-up menu on the display screen;
• permitting, in response to at least one of the executed commands, a user to perform interactive work in a second region of the display screen using the cursor control device, before the successive command in the execution order is invoked;
• and
• permitting the user to selectively execute the commands corresponding to the icons by selecting the icons individually while in the first region and the icons having a same function as when executed according to the specified execution order.