Grouping and browsing open windows

A computer-implemented method performed by one or more processors of a device, comprising:

• presenting a plurality of open windows in a first desktop environment;
• while the plurality of open windows are presented in the first desktop environment, detecting an input for browsing the plurality of open windows in a second desktop environment;
• in response to detecting the input:
• determining respective values of a grouping property associated with the plurality of open windows, and
• grouping the plurality of open windows into a plurality of groups of open windows in response to determining the respective values of the grouping property associated with the plurality of open windows, each group of open windows sharing a common value for the grouping property;
• in place of the plurality of open windows in the first desktop environment, presenting each group of open windows in a respective stack adjacent another respective stack in a second desktop environment, where the respective stack include three-dimensional (3D) representations of the open windows in the group, and permits user browsing through the representations one window at a time;
• and
• continuing to present the second desktop environment after the input to browse the plurality of open windows in the second desktop environment has ceased.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the processors to perform operations comprising:

• presenting a plurality of open windows at various locations in a first desktop environment;
• while the open windows are presented in the first desktop environment, detecting an input to enter a second desktop environment;
• in response to detecting the input to enter the second desktop environment, transforming the first desktop environment into the second desktop environment by:
• determining respective values of a grouping property associated with the plurality of open windows;
• grouping the plurality of open windows into a plurality of groups in response to determining the respective values of the grouping property associated with the plurality of open windows, each group of open windows sharing a common value for the grouping property;
• and
• causing each group of open windows to be presented in a respective stack adjacent another respective stack, where the respective stack includes representations of the open windows in the group and permits user browsing through the representations;
• replacing the plurality of open windows at various locations with the plurality of groups;
• while in the second desktop environment:
• detecting a selection of an open window in a group, wherein the open window corresponds to a user interface of a computer software application associated with a menu bar for user interaction with the computer software application;
• and
• in response to detecting the selection:
• displaying the selected open window in a frontal view in a first region;
• and
• displaying, in a second region that is separate from the first region, the menu bar associated with the computer software application with which the open window is associated.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the processors to perform operations comprising:

• presenting a plurality of open windows in a first desktop environment;
• while the plurality of open windows are presented in the first desktop environment, detecting an input for browsing the plurality of open windows in a second desktop environment;
• in response to detecting the input:
• determining respective values of a grouping property associated with the plurality of open windows, and
• grouping the plurality of open windows into a plurality of groups of open windows in response to determining the respective values of the grouping property associated with the plurality of open windows, each group of open windows sharing a common value for the grouping property;
• removing the plurality of open windows in the first desktop environment;
• presenting each group of open windows in a respective stack adjacent another respective stack in a second desktop environment, where the respective stack includes three-dimensional (3D) representations of the open windows in the group, and permits user browsing through the representations one window at a time;
• and
• continuing to present the second desktop environment after the input for browsing the plurality of open windows in the second desktop environment has ceased.

A system, comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
• presenting a plurality of open windows at various locations in a first desktop environment;
• while the open windows are presented in the first desktop environment, detecting an input to enter a second desktop environment;
• in response to detecting the input to enter the second desktop environment, transforming the first desktop environment into the second desktop environment by:
• determining respective values of a grouping property associated with the plurality of open windows;
• grouping the plurality of open windows into a plurality of groups in response to determining the respective values of the grouping property associated with the plurality of open windows, each group of open windows sharing a common value for the grouping property;
• and
• causing each group of open windows to be presented in a respective stack adjacent another respective stack, where the respective stack includes representations of the open windows in the group and permits user browsing through the representations;
• replacing the plurality of open windows at various locations with the plurality of groups;
• and
• continuing to present the second desktop environment after the input to enter the second desktop environment has ceased.

A system, comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
• presenting a plurality of open windows in a first desktop environment;
• while the plurality of open windows are presented in the first desktop environment, detecting an input for browsing the plurality of open windows in a second desktop environment;
• in response to detecting the input:
• determining respective values of a grouping property associated with the plurality of open windows, and
• grouping the plurality of open windows into a plurality of groups of open windows in response to determining the respective values of the grouping property associated with the plurality of open windows, each group of open windows sharing a common value for the grouping property;
• removing the plurality of open windows in the first desktop environment;
• in place of the plurality of open windows in the first desktop environment, presenting each group of open windows in a respective stack adjacent another respective stack in a second desktop environment, where the respective stack includes three-dimensional (3D) representations of the open windows in the group, and permits user browsing through the representations one window at a time;
• and
• continuing to present the second desktop environment after the input for browsing the plurality of open windows in the second desktop environment has ceased.