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US 7,734,635 B2Granted
Indexed views
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsGeorge G Robertson, Mary P Czerwinski, Daniel C Robbins
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and interface for managing indices of ordered elements are provided. A subset of elements are selected from an index of ordered elements and displayed on a user interface device. A user can manipulate the display of different subsets of the ordered elements via a user input device. Additional indicia corresponding to the subset of index elements are also displayed on the interface. The additional indicia can include a reference to a visual indicator of index display depth and/or a reference to the location of the displayed elements within the index.
Claims20
A method for managing an index of ordered elements, the method comprising:
- employing a processor to execute computer readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium to perform the following acts:
- obtaining an index having a number of ordered elements;
- selecting a first subset of two or more ordered elements through selection of an equal distribution of the ordered elements of the index corresponding to a first index display depth, the first subset of selected elements are separated by a first selection interval corresponding to the first index display depth;
- displaying the first subset of the two or more ordered elements on a display screen;
- display indicia indicative of at least one index depth property of the first subset of the two or more elements corresponding to actionable display objects that facilitate movement through various index display depths, the indicia including a reference to a visual indicator of the first index display depth and a reference to a location of the first subset of two or more ordered elements within the index;
- obtaining a request to display a second subset of ordered elements corresponding to a second index display depth, the first index depth and second index depth not being equal;
- selecting a second subset of two or more ordered elements corresponding to the second index display depth, the second subset of selected elements are separated by a second selection interval different from the first selection interval and correspond to the second index display depth, the first subset and second subset are different at least in part,
- wherein the selecting enables a user to see either a closer distribution of elements related to the selected second subset of two or more ordered elements or a larger distribution of elements related to the selected second subset of two or more ordered elements;
- displaying the second subset of two or more ordered elements on the display screen;
- identifying a relevant index element of the first subset or second subset;
- displaying a representation of at least a portion of the index of ordered elements on the display screen, the representation being dynamically adjustable and the representation including an illustration of an overall length of the index as a thumbnail image, wherein the displaying includes:
- conducting a test to determine whether all identified elements can be displayed on the display screen;
- limiting a number of index elements that are displayed on the display screen based upon user preferences and available screen size;
- and
- selecting a portion of the first subset and the second subset to be displayed on the display screen when a number of the identified elements in the index satisfying a search criteria exceeds a display threshold;
- displaying a location of each displayed ordered element in the representation of at least a portion of the index of ordered elements;
- and
- highlighting the identified relevant index element upon the display.
15 more elements
A computer-readable storage medium containing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause a computer system to perform a method for managing an index of ordered elements, the method comprising:
- obtaining an index having a plurality of ordered elements;
- determining if the plurality of ordered elements can be displayed on a display screen, the determining including:
- limiting a number of the plurality of ordered elements that are displayed on the display screen based upon user preferences and available screen size;
- and
- selecting a portion of the plurality of ordered elements to be displayed on the display screen when a number of the plurality of ordered elements in the index satisfying a search criteria exceeds a display threshold;
- displaying the plurality of ordered elements if it is determined that the ordered elements can be displayed;
- performing the following if it is determined the ordered elements cannot be displayed:
- selecting a first set of ordered elements corresponding to a first selection interval if the determination produces a negative result;
- displaying the first set of ordered elements corresponding to the first selection interval;
- displaying indicia indicative of at least one index display depth property corresponding to the first selection interval and to actionable display objects that facilitate movement through various index display depths, the at least one index depth being a number of sequential selection of subsets of display elements, and the indicia including a reference to a visual indicator of the at least one index display depth and a reference to a location of the first selection interval;
- selecting a second set of ordered elements corresponding to a second selection interval different from the first selection interval, the first set of ordered elements and the second set of ordered elements are not equal to one another,
- wherein the selecting enables a user to see either a closer distribution of elements related to the selected second set of ordered elements or a larger distribution of elements related to the selected second set of ordered elements;
- displaying the second set of elements corresponding to the second selection interval;
- in the second set of ordered elements, further displaying a changed location of a member of the first set of ordered elements in a representation of at least a portion of the index of ordered elements on the display screen, the representation including an illustration of overall length of the index as a graphic or a thumbnail image;
- and
- displaying indicia indicative of at least one index display depth property corresponding to the second selection interval.
13 more elements
A computer-readable storage medium having computer executable components stored thereon for managing an index of ordered elements, the computer-executable components comprising:
- an index element selection component for:
- displaying on a display screen a first subset of ordered elements from an index of ordered elements, the first subset of ordered elements are separated by a first selection interval corresponding to a first index display depth based upon a user preference and a available display size;
- displaying indicia indicative of at least one index depth property of the first subset of ordered elements corresponding to actionable display objects that facilitate movement through various index display depths, the indicia including a reference to a visual indicator of the first index display depth and a reference to a location of the first subset of ordered elements within the index;
- obtaining a request to display a second subset of ordered elements from the index of ordered elements, the first set of ordered elements and the second set of ordered elements not being equal to one another,
- wherein the obtaining a request to display a second subset of ordered elements enables a user to see either a closer distribution of elements related to the second subset of ordered elements or a larger distribution of elements related to the second subset of ordered elements;
- displaying on a display screen the second subset of ordered elements while removing display of the first subset, wherein the second subset of ordered elements are separated by a second selection interval corresponding to a second index display depth based upon a user preference and an available display size, and further, in the second subset of ordered elements, displaying a changed location of a member of the first set of ordered elements in a representation of at least a portion of the index of ordered elements on the display screen, wherein the displaying further includes:
- conducting a test to determine whether the first subset and the second subset of ordered elements can be displayed on the display screen;
- limiting a number of ordered elements that are displayed on the display screen based upon the user preference and the available display size;
- and
- selection a portion of the first subset and the second subset of ordered elements to be displayed on the display screen when a number of ordered elements in the index of ordered elements satisfying a search criteria exceeds a display threshold;
- and
- an index display property selection component for displaying on the display screen at least one index depth property associated with the first subset and second subset of elements from the index of ordered elements.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.