US 6,686,938 B1 · Method and system for providing an embedded application toolbar

Abstract

A method and system for providing menu tools directly from an operating system includes a computer system having a user interface including a display, a cursor, and a cursor control device, and an operating system. Menu tools are provided to one or more application windows. A menu item associated with a menu tool represents an available operating system function and an interactive icon associated with the menu item may be placed in a toolbar region in one of the application windows for access to the function. A special operating mode is activated for selecting menu items for use in the toolbar and making the function associated with the menu item available to the application by moving the menu item to the toolbar region. The menu item is represented as an interactive icon once the special operating mode is activated. The operating system function associated with the menu item is made available to the application window directly from the operating system by interaction with the icon. The menu item is further represented as an icon in regions of additional application windows which may either be active or subsequently instantiated through inheritance. The special operating mode is activated from a special key on an input device. Menu items are displayed along with menu tools corresponding to available operating system functions.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A method in a computer system having a user interface including a display, a cursor, and a cursor control device, and an operating system, the method for providing one or more menu tools from an operating system to one or more applications having one or more application windows, the method comprising the steps of:

representing a menu item associated with the one or more menu tools of the operating system as an interactive icon in a region in one of the one or more application windows, the region associated with a special operating mode;
and
making an operating system function associated with the menu item available to the one of the one or more application windows directly from the operating system by interaction with the interactive icon, wherein the operating system function is adapted to operate on a file within the one or more application windows and is customizable for each of the one or more applications.

A computer system comprising:

a user interface, including a display, a cursor, and cursor control device;
and
a processor having an operating system for controlling the operation of the computer system including the user interface, the operating system for providing one or more menu tools to one or more applications having one or more application windows the processor configured to:
represent a menu item associated with the one or more menu tools of the operating system as an interactive icon in a region in one of the one or more application windows, the region associated with a special operating mode;
and
make an operating system function associated with the menu item available to the one of the one or more application windows directly from the operating system by interaction with the interactive icon, wherein the operating system function is adapted to operate on a file within the one or more application windows and is customizable for each of the one or more applications.

3 more elements

An article of manufacture comprising:

a computer readable medium;
one or more instructions carried on the computer readable medium, the one or more instructions readable by a computer system having a processor and an operating system for controlling the operation of the computer system including a user interface, the operating system for providing menu tools to one or more applications having one or more application windows, the one or more instructions for causing the processor to:
represent a menu item associated with the one or more menu tools of the operating system as an interactive icon in a region in one of the one or more application windows, the region associated with a special operating mode;
and
make an operating system function associated with the menu item available to the one of the one or more application windows directly from the operating system by interaction with the interactive icon, wherein the operating system function is adapted to operate on a file within the one or more application windows and is customizable for each of the one or more applications.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and system for providing an embedded application toolbar

Life of this patent

Method and system for providing an embedded application toolbar

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15