Widget alignment control in graphical user interface systems
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorBrian John Cragun
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method within a graphical user interface (GUI) development environment for providing cross-pane visual display correlation between widgets that reside on different visual display panes. A GUI development tool is utilized to specify a visual display relation between an influenced widget and an influencing widget. The influencing widget is displayed within a first display pane and the influenced widget is displayed within a second display pane. The specified visual display relation is encoded within a GUI development description of the second display pane such that visual continuity between the influenced widget and the influencing widget is observed when an end user traverses from the first to the second display pane.
Claims9
A method within a graphical user interface (GUI) development environment for providing cross-pane visual display correlation between widgets that reside on different visual display panes, said method comprising the steps of:
- specifying a visual display relation between an influenced widget and an influencing widget, said specifying step being performed as part of a process of developing a graphical user interface for an end user application, said graphical user interface including a plurality of display panes for presenting information to an end user of said end user application, wherein said influencing widget is displayed within a first display pane of said graphical user interface and said influenced widget is displayed within a second display pane of said graphical user interface, said visual display relation between said influenced widget and said influencing widget being independent of any relation between said first display pane and said second display pane;
- encoding said specified visual display relation within a GUI development description of said second display pane;
- defining a visual display characterization for said influencing widget within said first display pane;
- and
- determining a visual display characterization for said influenced widget within said second display pane as a function of said defined visual display characterization of said influencing widget, wherein said function includes said specified visual display relation, such that visual continuity between said influenced widget and said influencing widget is observed as said end user traverses from said first to said second display pane.
A program product for developing GUI applications, said program product comprising a plurality of computer executable instructions recorded on computer readable media, wherein said instructions, when executed by a computer, perform the steps of:
- specifying a visual display relation between an influenced widget and an influencing widget, said specifying step being performed as part of a process of developing a graphical user interface for an end user application, said graphical user interface including a plurality of display panes for presenting information to an end user of said end user application, wherein said influencing widget is displayed within a first display pane of said graphical user interface and said influenced widget is displayed within a second display pane of said graphical user interface, said visual display relation between said influenced widget and said influencing widget being independent of any relation between said first display pane and said second display pane;
- encoding said specified visual display relation within a GUI development description of said second display pane;
- defining a visual display characterization for said influencing widget within said first display pane;
- and
- determining a visual display characterization for said influenced widget within said second display pane as a function of said defined visual display characterization of said influencing widget, wherein said function includes said specified visual display relation, such that visual continuity between said influenced widget and said influencing widget is observed as said end user traverses from said first to said second display pane.
A graphical user interface development system for providing cross-dialog correlation of the graphical orientations of a plurality of widgets that reside on separate dialog pages, said graphical user interface development system comprising:
- a cross-dialog pointer for specifying a visual display relation between an influenced widget and an influencing widget, wherein said influencing widget is displayed within a first display pane of a plurality of display panes in a graphical user interface for an end user application developed using said graphical user interface development system, said plurality of display panes for presenting information to an end user of said end user application, and said influenced widget is displayed within a second display pane of said plurality of display panes in said graphical user interface, said visual display relation between said influenced widget and said influencing widget being independent of any relation between said first display pane and said second display pane;
- and
- processing means for encoding said specified visual display relation within a GUI development description of said second display pane;
- wherein a visual display characterization of said influenced widget within said second display pane is determined as a function of a visual display characterization of said influencing widget, said function including said specified visual display relation, such that visual continuity between said influenced widget and said influencing widget is observed as said end user traverses from said first to said second display pane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.