US 7,398,473 B2Granted

In situ user interface template editing

AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation

InventorsCharles Robert Stoner, Peter Faraday, DoRon Banu Motter

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Abstract

In order to work with user interface documents containing instances of reusable templates which describe both the appearance and behavior for a user interface element, editing functionality is provided. The user interface document can be edited by selecting items from a view of the user interface document and indicating an edit to be performed. Edits may be to an underlying template or templates, or to properties of selected items. The scope of the edit is determined by user indication and/or defaults of user preference. Locks are provided in order to prevent accidental editing of some locked element or template. A graphical tree view, a list view (text-based tree view), or an artboard view may be presented to a user in order to facilitate the selection and editing process.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A method for editing a user interface comprising at least one user interface element specified at least in part by one or more template instances, each of said template instances specified at least in part by at least one template, said method comprising:

receiving a user selection of one or more selected template instances from among said template instances;
determining whether template editing relating to said user selection is desired or whether property editing related to said user selection is desired;
if template editing relating to said user selection is desired, providing functionality for user editing of a template corresponding to said selected template instances by:
determining at least one target template corresponding to said selected template instances;
and
providing functionality for performing an edit to said at least one target template;
and
applying the edit to all template instances corresponding to the at least one target template;
and
if property editing related to said user selection is desired, providing functionality for user editing of at least one property of said selected instances, the functionality for user editing of the at least one property of said selected instances comprising
creating a user interface element to which a template is to be applied, the user interface element having a plurality of properties and a template reference;
determining whether the template to be applied to the user interface element is a new template, an existing template, or a copy of the existing template;
if the template to be applied to the user interface element is a new template, creating an empty template, storing the empty template, and changing the template reference to reflect the stored template;
if the template to be applied to the user interface element is a copy of the existing template, creating the copy of the existing template, storing the copy of the existing template, and changing the template reference to reflect the stored template;
unlocking the template to be applied to the element;
receiving a user selection of at least one property of the user interface element;
setting the at least one selected property of the user interface element to a new value;
and
locking the template to be applied to the user interface element.

16 more elements

A computer-readable storage medium for editing a user interface comprising at least one user interface element specified at least in part by one or more template instances, each of said template instances specified at least in part by at least one template, said computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:

receiving a user selection of one or more selected template instances from among said template instances;
determining whether template editing relating to said user selection is desired or whether property editing related to said user selection is desired;
if template editing relating to said user selection is desired, providing functionality for user editing of a template corresponding to said selected template instances by:
determining at least one target template corresponding to said selected template instances;
and
providing functionality for performing an edit to said at least one target template;
and
applying the edit to all template instances corresponding to the at least one target template;
and
if property editing related to said user selection is desired, providing functionality for user editing of at least one property of said selected template instances, the functionality for user editing of the at least one property of said selected instances comprising
creating a user interface element to which a template is to be applied, the user interface element having a plurality of properties and a template reference;
determining whether the template to be applied to the user interface element is a new template, an existing template, or a copy of the existing template;
if the template to be applied to the user interface element is a new template, creating an empty template, storing the empty template, and changing the template reference to reflect the stored template;
if the template to be applied to the user interface element is a copy of the existing template, creating the copy of the existing template, storing the copy of the existing template, and changing the template reference to reflect the stored template;
unlocking the template to be applied to the element;
receiving a user selection of at least one property of the user interface element;
setting the at least one selected property of the user interface element to a new value;
and
locking the template to be applied to the user interface element.

16 more elements

A system for editing a user interface comprising at least one user interface element specified at least in part by one or more template instances, each of said template instances specified at least in part by at least one template, said system comprising:

a processor operative to execute computer-executable instructions;
and
memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:
receiving a user selection of one or more selected template instances from among said template instances;
determining whether template editing relating to said user selection is desired or whether property editing related to said user selection is desired;
if template editing relating to said user selection is desired, providing functionality for user editing of a template corresponding to said selected template instances by:
determining at least one target templates corresponding to said selected template instances;
and
providing functionality for performing an edit to said at least one target template;
and
applying the edit to all template instances corresponding to the at least one target template;
and
if property editing related to said user selection is desired, providing functionality for user editing of at least one property of said selected instances, the functionality for user editing of the at least one property of said selected instances comprising
creating a user interface element to which a template is to be applied, the user interface element having a plurality of properties and a template reference;
determining whether the template to be applied to the user interface element is a new template, an existing template, or a copy of the existing template;
if the template to be applied to the user interface element is a new template, creating an empty template, storing the empty template, and changing the template reference to reflect the stored template;
if the template to be applied to the user interface element is a copy of the existing template, creating the copy of the existing template, storing the copy of the existing template, and changing the template reference to reflect the stored template;
unlocking the template to be applied to the element;
receiving a user selection of at least one property of the user interface element;
setting the at least one selected property of the user interface element to a new value;
and
locking the template to be applied to the user interface element.

19 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.