Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
R09-92-052 1 21~0~78
VISUALLY AGING SCROLL BAR
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the data processing field.
More particularly, this invention relates to a scroll bar
associated with a display window that provides a view into a
presentation space.
Background of the Invention
In the early days of the personal computer, browsing or
editing a document was difficult to do. The document would
often take up several screens worth of information, and it
was difficult for the user to find specific sections of the
document. The user would often have to scroll through an
entire document screen by screen by pressing function keys
assigned to a "scroll up" and "scroll down" function in an
often futile attempt to flnd a specific section. This was
slow and cumbersome, and resulted in many users printing off
the entire document instead of trying to view it on the
display. Thi~ was a waste of valuable natural resources,
and was a giant step backwards in the often expressed goal
of reaching a paperless office.
Some early editors attempted to partially solve this
problem by providing a "search" or "find" function. While
somewhat helpful, these functions depended on a user knowing
a ~pecific (and reasonably unique) word or string of words
that is contained in the specific section he is looking for.
This approach often turned into a guessing game for a user,
and often resulted in the user again giving up and printing
off the entire document. In addition, many users simply did
not know (or couldn't remember) any specific word or string
of words in the section they were looking for.
It was thought that problems like the above would be
~olved by a great panacea called a "graphical user
interface", first introduced to the market by Apple, and
later adopted by Microsoft with its "Windows~M" program and
Ro9-92-052 210047~
by IBM~ with OS/2~ and Presentation Manager~. One common
feature of these graphical interface programs is a scroll
bar. A scroll bar is commonly associated with a display
window, and is most useful when only a small portion of a
document can be displayed in a display window at any one
time. The scroll bar contains what is known as a "slider".
The slider's relative position in the scroll bar graphically
indicates the relative position of the entire document that
is currently displayed in the display window. One scroll
bar is often used to indicate relative vertical position,
while a second scroll bar can be used to indicate relative
horizontal position.
A scroll bar is normally used in conjunction with an
input device such as a mouse, track ball, or light pen.
When a user wants to move to a different section of a
document, he can either move the mouse cursor to a new
position on the scroll bar (click operation), or can place
the mouse cursor on the slider, press and hold one of the
mouse buttons, and move the mouse cursor either one side or
the other of the slider (drag operation). While both of
these operations are helpful in rapidly moving from one
section of a document to another section, they don't do much
to help a user find the specific section of the document he
is looking for.
Some techniques are known in the art to enhance the
operation of a scroll bar to make it easier for a user to
find a specific section he is looking for. One technique
displays indicia such as alphanumeric symbols within a
scroll bar to assist a user find a specific section in a
document. For example, if the document contained in the
window was a dictionary, the scroll bar disclosed in this
application could contain ~ome or all of the letters "A"
through "Z". If the user wanted to look up a specific word
that started with "P", for example, he could simply move the
mouse cursor to the "P" portion of the scroll bar and click
on the mouse button. While this technique is very useful in
making it easier to find a specific section in a document,
it is quite complex and highly dependent on the contents of
the document itself, since different documents would require
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R09-92-052 3 2100~78
that different indicia be displayed in the scroll bar to be
useful. In addition, documents such as image or data files
are not organized in a manner that would allow this
technique to be used.
Another technique for enhancing the operation of a
scroll bar places a marker icon in a scroll bar when an
object in a window is selected. This technique makes it
easier for a user to quickly scan previously visited areas
of a document. While helpful, this technique loses much of
its effectiveness if multiple areas of a document are
selected, since the scroll bar quickly fills up with marker
icons that have less and less meaning. In addition, this
technique contains no indication as to when, how long, or
how often a specific area of the document has been viewed.
Summary of the Invention
It is a principal object of the invention to enhance
the operation of a scroll bar.
It is another object of the invention to provide an
enhanced scroll bar so that users are able to quickly locate
a specific section of the document.
It is another object of the invention to provide an
enhanced scroll bar that makes it easier for a user to find
a specific section of the document that has been viewed
frequently or for long periods of time.
These and other objects are accomplished by the
visually aging scroll bar disclosed herein. A visually
aging scroll bar is associated with a window or viewport on
a computer display as part of a computer system, and
contains a slider to indicate relative positioning in the
window of a document, such as a data file, image file, audio
file, text file, or spreadsheet. The current position of
the scroll bar slider is monitored by the computer system.
After a first predetermined sampling period has elapsed, a
first region matching the current position of the scroll bar
slider is created. The visual appearance of the region is
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R09-92-052 4 21~ ~7 8
determined by a predetermined re~ion heating rate. For
example, a newly created region starts at "cold", which can
be indicated by a violet-indigo color.
After a second sampling period has elapsed, the
computer system again checks the current position of the
scroll bar slider. If the current position still matches
the first region, the visual appearance of the first region
symbolically "warms up" as indicated by the region heating
rate. This incrementally changing visual appearance (for
example, from violet to indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange
and finally a deep red) continues for as long as the current
slider position matches the first region, up until a maximum
region symbolic "temperature" is reached.
As the user moves the slider of a scroll bar, the
scroll bar becomes "dirty" as an indication of where the
user ha~ been previously. Portions of the document with
high usage are represented by "hotter" colors (reds &
yellows) on the scroll bar. Portions of the document with
low usage are represented by "cooler" colors (blues &
greens) on the scroll bar. This visually aging scroll bar
makes it very easy for a user to return to previously
visited portions of the document.
If the current position has moved outside of the first
region, a second region is created containing the new
current position. As long as the current position remains
in the second region, the color of the first region is
"cooled" by a predetermined region cooling rate, while the
color of the second region is "warmed" by a predetermined
region heating rate. This continues until the temperature
of the first region is reduced to a minimum region
temperature and its color disappears (by becoming the same
color as the underlying scroll bar), and until the
temperature of the second region reaches a maximum region
temperature.
The computer system continues to monitor the current
position of the scroll bar slider as long as the document is
in use, or until a suspend sampling indication is received
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R09-92-052 ~ 47 8
from the user. Once work on the document is completed, the
computer system saves the present state of all active
regions of the scroll bar in storage for the next time the
document is used.
Brief Description of the Drawing
Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of the computer system of
the invention.
Fig. 2 shows how aging regions of a scroll bar are
created and incrementally change their visual appearance
based on the current position of the scroll bar slider.
Fig. 3 shows how a specific section of a document that
has been used for a period of time can be found again by
examination of the visual appearance of the scroll bar
slider.
Figs. 4A-4B show exemplary screens used to set scroll
bar parameters and change color selections.
Figs. 5-6 show the flowcharts of the operation o the
scroll bar of the invention.
Fig. 7 shows the scroll bar parameters for the first
alternate embodiment of the invention.
Figs. 8A-8B show the flowcharts of the operation of the
alternate embodiment of the invention. ! .
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of computer system 10 of
the invention. Computer system 10 has display 17, keyboard
18, and input device 19, each of which is connected to
system unit 11. System unit 11 contains processor 12
connected to memory 13, storage 14, and display adapter 15.
Processor 12 is suitably programmed to carry out this
invention, as described in more detail in the flowcharts of
Figs. 5 and 6.
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2100~78
In the preferred embodiment, computer system 10 is an
IBM PS/2~, where processor 12 is an IntellM 80386
microprocessor. Display adapter 15 is an IBM 8515 display
adapter, and display 17 is an IBM 8515 display. Input device
19 is preferably an IBM mouse but may also be a track ball,
light pen, or other input device Storage 14 is a magnetic
hard disk file and contains operating system software,
preferably OS/2 with Presentation Manager but optionally
Microsoft Windows, as well as preferably one or more OS/2
application programs such as Word Perfect7M or optionally DOS
application programs such as Microsoft Word for Windows~.
When running, these programs are partially or completely
installed in memory 13 and executed by processor 12.
Computer system 10 could also be another type of
computer system, whether it be another microcomputer such as
an Apple MacintoshTM, a minicomputer such as an IBM AS/4000,
or a mainframe computer such as an IBM System/3907M, and
still fall within the spirit and scope of this invention. In
addition, computer system 10 can be a microcomputer such as
described above, connected to a larger computer system such
as an IBM AS/400.
Display 17 contains window 20. For the purposes of
this invention, a "window" or viewport can occupy anywhere
from substantially all of the display screen to a very small
portion of the display screen, and may be displayed in
conjunction with (possibly overlaying portions of) other
windows in a multi-tasking environment such as OS/2, or be
by itself in a single-tasking environment such as DOS. A
portion of document 21 is displayed in window 20.
Hereinafter, the name "document" shall be used to refer to
any data file, text file, image file, audio file,
spreadsheet, etc, that cannot be fully displayed or
otherwi~e represented in window 20. Window 20 also contains
scroll bar 30. Scroll bar 30 has slider 32. The relative
position of slider 32 in scroll bar 30 indicates the
relative position of document 21 currently displayed in
window 20.
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. . . ' ' .' ' . ' ' . ' . ' .
R09-92-052 ~ 7 8
For illustrative purposes, document 21, a portion of
which is shown in window 20 of Fig. 1, is part of a Policy
and Procedures manual for a hypothetical large corporation.
Our hypothetical large corporation has deemed that this
manual be reviewed on a regular basis by all employees. To
save paper, employees must review the document on-line and
must not even think about printing off the whole document.
Fig. 2 shows how aging regions of a scroll bar are
created and incrementally change visual appearance based on
the current position in a document, as a function of elapsed
time. This figure will be discussed in conjunction with
Figs. 3A-3C and Figs. 4A-4B. For purposes of illustration,
let's assume that our user is reviewing the Policy and
Procedures manual. The document is linearally represented
through the scroll bar. For example, if a user wanted to go
to the middle of section 5 of the manual, he would use a
drag operation to move his mouse pointer to point 31 of
scroll bar 30. Slidex 32 would move to point 31 on scroll
bar 30. Fig. 3A shows the section of document 21 visible to
our user in window 20, and shows the location of slider 32
at point 31 of scroll bar 30.
Fig. 2 shows how a first region is created and
displayed on scroll bar 30 in the preferred embodiment of
the invention. The position of slider 32 is the "current
position". After a first sampling rate has elapsed (set to
be 20 sec~onds, as shown in Fig. 4), the first region for
this document is created, as shown by the reference numeral
35b. Region 35b has an upper and a lower boundary that match
the upper and lower boundaries of the current position of
slider 32. The initial region color is determined by the
specified region heating rate, as mapped to the available
colors in the computer system. For example, if the computer
system is capable of displaying 256 colors, some or all of
these colors are arranged in order from "cold" to "hot",
preferably by following the light spectrum in reverse order
(violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red).
Those skilled in the art understand that the use of the
terms "temperature", "heating" and "cooling" throughout this
R09-92-052 2 100 47 8
description are meant to be symbolic indications of usage
and not actual physical changes of thermal characteristics
of the scroll bar, display, or computer system. Therefore,
"temperature", "heating", and "cooling" shall be deemed
short hand representations of "symbolic temperature"
"symbolic heating" and "symbolic cooling", respectively.
The preferred embodiment allows the user to select
indicators of symbolically warmer and cooler temperatures,
such as by changing the default colors, as is shown in Fig.
4B. This feature would be particularly advantageous to
color-blind users. Those skilled in the art realize that in
the event the display attached to the computer is unable to
display a wide range of colors (i.e. a monochrome display),
the different temperature levels can be represented by gray
scales or other forms of shading and still fall within the
spirit and scope of this invention. In our example, a 10
region heating rate has been specified, as shown in Fiq. 4A.
Therefore, region 35b is initially a violet-indigo color.
Another 20 seconds goes by. Since our user is reading
this section of the document carefully, he has not moved the
slider from this portion of the document. Since the current
position of the document is still within the first region,
the color of the first region becomes "warmer" by the amount
of the predetermined region heating rate. Since a 10
region heating rate was specified (Fig. 4A), the color of
the first region changes from violet-indigo to indigo-blue.
Regions 35c and 35d show the region changing color from
indigo-blue to blue to blue-green as two more sample periods
elapse (as indicated in the monochrome environment of a
patent drawing by increasingly darker shading).
Our user now wants to take a look at another section of
the manual. He moves his mouse pointer (via a drag
operation in the preferred embodiment) down to point 38 of
scroll bar 30 (Fig. 3B). The current position of the slider
moves to this point and the portion of the document now
displayed to our user is shown in Fig. 3B. Another 20
seconds goes by. A second region for this document is
Ro9-92-052 9 210~478
created, as shown by the reference numeral 36e. The initial
color of region 36e is again determined by the specified
region heat~ng rate. In our example, this color is again
violet-indigo. Since the current position is no longer in
the first region, the color of the first region "cools down"
by the region cooling rate of 5 specified in Fig. 4A.
Therefore, the color of our first region changes slightly
from blue-green to a color closer to blue.
Our user stays at this position for one more sample
period as shown by regions 35f and 36f. Our user then moves
the slider down slightly to point 39 (Fig. 3B). Since this
move changed the current position of the slider, a new
~region is created at the next sampling period (region 37g)
that overlaps region 36g. Note that the overlapping portion
of these regions has a "warmer" color than the
non-overlapping portions, and is indicated by the color
associated with the temperature of the overlapping regions
added together. This correctly identifies the overlapping
portion of the region as a "hotter" part of the document
(i.e., one with higher usage) and makes this portion easier
to find.
Fig. 2 shows how regions 35 and 36 continue to cool
down as our user stays at point 39, while region 37
continues to warm up. When a region cools down to 0, it
effectively disappears by becoming the same background color
as the scroll bar (violet, in the preferred embodiment).
The last sample time period in Fig. 2 shows that regions 35
and 36 have disappeared, while region 37 has become a ,
yellow-orange color.
':. .
Fig. 4A shows the scroll bar parameters, most of which
have been previously discussed. These parameters are
normally assigned default values, but can be presented to
the uæer upon demand for possible modifications. The first
parameter asks whether the aging scroll bar should be on or
off. There may be instances where the user would prefer that
the scroll bar operate in a conventional (non-aging)
fashion. The next parameter specifies a minimum document
slze. Since many of the advantages of an aging scroll bar
R09-92-052 2100~7~
are lost with small documents, this function is disabled for
documents smaller than the specified minimum size. The next
three parameters -- sampling rate, region heating rate, and
region cooling rate, have already been discussed.
Completely different results can be obtained based on how
these parameters are selected. This flexibility can be used
to closely fit a user's specific situation. For example, if
it is desirable to have regions change color very slowly
over time, a user might want to set a sample rate of 5
minutes and a region heating rate of 1.
The next parameter asks if a user wants to suspend
sampling. This parameter can be selected via the screen
shown in Fig. 4, or a special key sequence can be set up to
toggle this parameter on or off. This parameter could be
quite useful to minimize the effects of bathroom breaks or
other interruptions on the aging nature of the scroll bar.
The next parameter asks if the regions created during the
viewing of this document should be saved when the document
is no longer in use. If so, historical information about
how the document has been used is maintained from session to
session, and the temperature of the regions are written to
storage 14 of Fig. 1. If not, all regions are erased when
the document is exited, and the scroll bar is initialized to
its background color the next time this document is
accessed.
The last parameter asks if the user wants to use the
scroll bar exposure mode or the slider exposure mode. The
scroll bar exposure mode is what has been discussed thus
far, where the scroll bar becomes "dirty" as portions of the
document are visited. In this mode, the slider is at least
partially transparent so as not to cover the colors of the
regions in the scroll bar. The slider exposure mode changes
the color of the slider as it passes over the various
regions. The colors of the regions themselves are not
displayed on the scroll bar until the slider is directly -
overhead.
The operation of this invention, as shown in the
flowcharts of Figs 5-6, will now be described in more
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R09-92-052 ~1~047~
detail. Referrin~ now to Fig. ~, block 101 asks if the user
has requested that a window be opened that contains a scroll
bar. If so, block 106 opens the window in a conventional
manner. In the preferred embodiment, Presentation Manager
performs this step. Block 105 checks to see if the aging
scroll bar function (Fig. 4) is enabled. If so, block 115
starts the scroll bar monitoring program, shown in Fig. 6.
Note that the program shown in Fig. 5 executes concurrently
with the program shown in Fig. 6.
Referring now to Fig. 6, block 201 checks to see if
block 185 of Fig. 5 has indicated that the monitoring
program should be stopped. If so, the program ends in block
299. If not, block 204 checks to see if it has received an
indication from the user (Fig. 4) that the sampling should
be suspended. If such an indication has been received, the
program loops back to block 201. If no such indication has
been received, flow of control moves to block 210. Block 210
checks to see if the sample period specified in Fig. 4 has
elapsed. If not, flow of control goes back to block 201.
If a sample period has elapsed, block 215 checks to see if
the document size (determined by Presentation Manager) is
greater than the minimum document size specified in Fig. 4.
If not, flow of control goes back to block 201. The program
could optionally end if block 215 is answered negatively,
but since a document could start off smaller than the
minimum document size but grow bigger than the minimum
document size as it is edited, it is more appropriate to
loop through blocks 201, 204, 210, and 215 checking for this
condition.
If block 215 is answered positively, block 220 checks a
portion of memory 13 referred to as "scroll data" to see if
one or more regions are specified for this document. If -
there is no "scroll data" in memory 13, block 220 checks to
see if there is any "scroll data" in storage 14 saved from a
previous session with this document (block 181 of Fig. 5B).
If there is "scroll data" in storage 14, this "scroll data"
is copied into memory 13. "Scroll data" contains the upper
and lower boundaries and the current "temperature" of each
region.
,
R09-92-052 12
2100478
If a region is ~pecified in scroll data, this region is
passed on to block 225. Block 225 checks to see if the
current slider position matches this region. In the
preferred embodiment, the slider must have exactly the same
boundaries as this region, since overlapping regions are
supported and are an important aspect of this invention. If
so, flow of control goes back to block 220 to look for more
regions, effectively skipping this region. If not, it is
appropriate to "cool" the temperature of this region, since
the current slider position does not match this region.
Block 227 cools this region by the region cooling rate. For
example, if our region was 40, block 227 would cool it down
to 35, thereby changing the color from blue-green to a
color closer to blue.
Block 230 checks to see if this region is now cooler
than or equal to a predetermined minimum region temperature.
In the preferred embodiment, the minimum region temperature
is "hard coded" to be zero, although thls could be another
user-defined scroll bar parameter such as those shown in
Fig. 4. If block 230 is answered affirmatively, block 232
removes the region from scroll data. In either event, flow
of control returns back to block 220, where the next region
is passed to block 225. When block 220 determines that all
the regions contained in scroll data have been processed,
flow of control moves to block 250.
Block 250 asks if the current slider position matches
any of the regions designated in scroll data. For example,
if the current slider position has lower and upper
boundaries at line 400 and line 500 of the document, block
250 would check the regions specified in scroll data to see
if any of them have boundaries that match this slider
position. If not, a new region needs to be created. Block
255 creates a new region having a temperature of the region
heating rate specified in Fig. 4. For example, if a region
heating rate of 10 was specified, this region would warm
from 0 to 10 and change color from violet to
violet-indigo. This newly created region is added to the
list of regions contained in scroll data.
R09-92-052 13
~100478
If block 250 indicates that the current slider position
matches a region designated in scroll data, this means that
a region has already been created and it needs to be warmed
up .
Block 270 warms the region by the region heating rate
specified in Fig. 4. For example, if the region that
matches the slider position was at 20, block 270 would warm
it to 30, and the color of this region would change from
indigo-blue to blue.
Regardles~ of how block 250 is answered, block 290
ultimately checks to see if the region created exceeds the
maximum region temperature specified in Fig. 4. If so,
block 292 cools the region temperature to be within the
maximum region temperature specified in block 292. In
either event, block 295 sends a scroll bar paint event,
indicating that the visual appearance of the scroll bar must
be changed. This event is received and processed by block
150 of Fig. 5A, as will be discussed later. Flow of control
returns to block 201.
While the monitoring program of Fig. 6 is executing,
the program of Fig. 5 continues to execute as well. As
previously stated, block 115 starts the scroll bar
monitoring program of Fig. 6. After block 115 is executed,
block 120 asks if the user changed the position in the
document. This would normally be done by moving the cursor
that marks the position where text or other information can
be inserted into the document. If block 120 is answered
affirmatively, block 122 repositions the slider (if
necessary) in the scroll bar to reflect the new current
position.
Regardless of how block 120 is answered, flow of
control eventually goes to block 125, which asks if the size
of the document has changed. The document size can change
either from the addition or deletion of information, such as
text. If block 125 is answered affirmatively, block 126
sends a message to update the scroll bar range. This step
R09-92-052 2100~78
is conventionally performed by Presentation Manager in the
preferred embodiment.
Block 150 then asks if a scroll bar paint event has
been received. Scroll bar paint events indicate that the
visual appearance of the scroll bar has changed, and can be
generated in a conventional manner by Presentation Manager
(as part of blocks 122 and 126, for example) or by block 295
of Fig. 6 as part of this invention. If so, block 155 then
checks to see if the aging scroll bar feature has been
enabled (Fig. 4). If not, conventional scroll bar paint
processing is performed, and flow of control skips to block
175. If so, block 160 checks to see which scroll bar mode
has been selected (Fig. 4). If the "dirty" scroll bar has
been selected, block 165 displays each region contained in
scroll data on the scroll bar in a color associated with the
region temperature. Temperatures of overlapping regions are
added together, and the associated color for these
overlapping portions is displayed. The slider used in
"dirty" scroll bar mode has a transparent portion so as not
to obscure the colors of the scroll bar.
If the "slider" mode is indicated in block 160, block
168 only displays the region(s) under the current slider
position in the color associated with the temperature of
each region. This mode therefore changes the color of the
slider itself and not the scroll bar.
Block 175 asks if the user wants to exit the window. A
user normally exits a window by moving the mouse cursor to a
special "exit" icon in the window and double clicking the
mouse. If block 175 is answered affirmatively, block 180
a#ks if the user has indicated that any regions created
should be saved (Fig. 4). If not, the scroll data in memory
13 is erased in block 182, and will not be available to the
user the next time he accesses this document. If block 180
is answered affirmatively, block 181 writes the scroll data
associated with this document to storage 14, so it can be
reloaded back into memory 13 the next time this d~cument is
a¢cessed. Block 185 stops the scroll bar monitoring program
of Fig. 6. Block 188 then exits the window in a
R09-92-052 15
~1~04~
conventional manner. 810ck 190 then asks if all windows
have been closed. If so, the program ends in block 199. If
not, flow of control returns to block 101. For purposes of
this patent application, changing documents within a window
will be considered to be the same as closing the window and
opening a new window.
The discussion thus far has primarily concentrated on a
window containing a single vertical scroll bar associated
with a document. The same discussion is equally applicable
for a window that contains two or more scroll bars. For
example, if the document in the window contains image data
(i.e. a map of a city), the window would contain a
horizontal as well as a vertical scroll bar. Both scroll
bars would be independently executing the flowcharts of the
programs shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6.
Description of the Invention
A first alternate embodiment to the invention has been
contemplated and will now be discussed. This alternate
embodiment performs scroll bar aging similar to that
discussed above with respect to the preferred embodiment,
except that this alternate embodiment addresses event based
aging, whereas the preferred embodiment addresses timer
based aging. Specifically, this alternate embodiment ages
the scroll bar whenever the slider position moves or the
input device pointer leaves the window. In contrast, the
preferred embodiment ages the scroll bar whenever the
specified sampling period has elapsed. The first alternate
embodiment can be used in computing environments where the
timing between events is sporadic and unpredictable,
especially if very short and/or very long periods of time
between events is expected. Figures 1, 2, 3A-3C, and 4B are
the same for both the preferred and first alternate
embodiments. Fig. 4A and the flowcharts of Figs. 5-6 apply
to the preferred embodiment. Figs. 7 and 8A-8B apply to the
first alternate embodiment, as will now be discussed.
Fig. 7 shows the scroll bar parameters for the first
alternate embodiment of the invention. Since many of these
R09-92-052 16
21~0478
parameters are the same as the parameters used for the
preferred embodiment in Fig. 4A, only the parameters
specific to this alternate embodiment will be discussed.
The first parameter specifies whether event based aging is
to be on or off. If the user prefers that the aging operate
as per the preferred embodiment discussed above, event based
aging is set off, and the aging scroll bar parameter in Fig.
4A is set on. If the user prefers that the aging operate as
per the first alternate embodiment, event based aging is set
on, and the aging scroll bar parameter in Fig. 4A is set
off.
Referring again to Fig. 7, the Heatiing Factor parameter
is similar to the Region Heating Rate parameter of Fig. 4A,
except that the Heating Factor parameter is specified as
degrees/minute, not degrees (implicitly, per sampling rate~.
A Heating Factor of 30 degrees/minute in this alternate
embodiment is therefore equivalent to a Region Heating Rate
of 10 degrees in the preferred embodiment, if a Sampling
Rate of 20 seconds is used. Likewise, the Cooling Factor
parameter is similar to the Region Cooling Rate parameter of
Fig. 4A, except that the Cooling Factor parameter is also
specified as degrees/minute. A Cooling Factor of 15
degrees/minute in this alternate embodiment is therefore
equivalent to a Region Cooling Rate of 5 degrees in the
preferred embodiment, if a Samp~ing Rate of 20 seconds is
used. Note that no Sampling Rate parameter is specified or
used in this alternate embodiment.
The operation of the alternate embodiment of the
invention, as shown in the flowcharts of Figs. 8A-8B, will
now be discussed. Many of the blocks in the flowcharts of
Figs. 8A-8B are similar to blocks in the flowcharts of Figs.
5-6 of the preferred embodiment. To assist the reader
determine which of these blocks are similar, the reference
numerals for Figs. 8A-8B all are between 600-699, and the
last two digits of similar blocks are the same as the 100
series reference numerals for Figs. 5-6, where appropriate.
For example, block 675 in this alternate embodiment of Fig.
8A performs a similar function to block 175 in the preferred
embodiment of Fig. 5B.
R09-92-052 210 0 4 7 8
The flowchart of Fig. 8A is entered if the user
indicates that he wants event based aging and an "event" is
received. While many activities within a windows
environment are considered "events", this invention performs
special processing on the following events Open Window
Event, Enter Window Event, Close Window Event, Change
Document Size Event, Slider Moved Event, and Left Window
Event.
Block 600 checks to see if an event is received. The
first time through the flowchart, an event is received, and
flow of control moves to block 601 to determine if this was
an Open Window Event (in a manner similar to block 101 of
the preferred embodiment). If so, block 606 opens the
window in a conventional manner. Block 607 writes any
scroll data saved when the window was closed from storage 14
to memory 13. Block 610 captures the Current Clock Time
from the internal sy~tem clock of computer system 10 and
stores this time as the Stored Clock Time for the window
just opened in scroll data 16 in memory 13. If the event
was not an Open Window Event but was a Enter Window Event
(such as when a mouse cursor is moved into an inactive
window and a mouse button is pressed to make it active)
block 604 is answered positively, and block 608 activates
(i.e. puts "in focus") the window. Block 610 stores the
Current Clock Time for this window in scroll data. Note
that scroll data stores one clock time for every opened
window that has a visually aging scroll bar. Regardless of
which of these two events caused block 610 to be executed,
flow of control returns to block 600 to wait for another
event to be received.
If the event was not a Enter Window Event, block 675
checks to see if it was a Close Window Event. If so, block
680 asks if the user has indicated that any regions created
~hould~be sav~d in Fig. 7. If not, the scroll data in
memory 13 i~ erased in block 682, and will not be available
to the user the next time this window is opened. If block
680 is answered affirmatively, block 681 writes the scroll
data associated with this window to storage 14, so it can be
reloaded back into memory 13 the next time this window is
R09-92-052 ~0~78
opened in block 607. Block 688 then closes the window in a
conventional manner. Block 690 then asks if all windows
have been closed. If not, flow of control returns to block
600. For purposes of this embodiment of the invention,
changing documents within a window will be considered to be
the same as closing the window and opening a new window.
If the event was not a Close Window Event, block 625
(Fig. 8B) determines whether it was a Change Document Size
Event. If so, block 626 sends a message to update the
scroll bar range, as is conventionally performed by
Presentation Manager of OS/2. Flow of control then returns
to block 600.
If the event was not a Change Document Size Event,
block 630 checks to see if it was a Slider Moved Event or a
Left Window Event. The scroll bar slider moves frequently
as the user changes position within the document, such as
during browsing or editing of the document. A Left Window
Event occurs when the user no longer desires the window to
be active, such as when the mouse cursor or other input
device pointer moves to another window, and the user presses
a mouse button to make the other window active. If either
of these events occurred, block 632 reads the Current Clock
Time from the system clock of computer system 10. Block 634
sets Cooling Degrees to be equal to (Current Clock Time -
Stored Clock Time) * Cooling Factor. For example, if 30
seconds had elapsed between the Stored Clock Time
(determined in block 610) and the Current Clock Time
(determined in block 632), and the Cooling Factor was set at
15 degrees/minute (Fig. 7), Cooling Degrees would be 7.5
degrees.
Block 635 cools all regions in the scroll bar by
Cooling Degrees, but removes regions that drop below the
specified minimum region temperature, in a manner similar to
the operation of blocks 220-232 in Fig. 6A.
Block 636 sets Heating Degrees to be equal to (Current
Clock Time -Stored Clock Time~ * Heating Factor. For
example, if 30 seconds had elapsed between the Stored Clock
:
RO9-92-052 19
2100478
Time (determined in block 610) and the Current Clock Time
(determined in block 632), and the Heating Factor was set at
30 degrees/minute (Fig. 7), Heating Degrees would be 15
degrees.
Block 638 heats the region under the scroll bar slider
by Heating Degrees, but does not allow the region to exceed
the specified maximum region temperature, in a manner
similar to the operation of blocks 250-292 in Fig. 6A.
If the slider moved, block 639 repositions the slider
to the current position. slock 640 updates the Stored Clock
Time for this window by storing the Current Clock Time in
scroll data 16. If block 630 was answered affirmatively
because of a Left Window Event, block 642 deactivates the
window, causing it to "lose focus".
Block 660 checks to see which scroll bar mode has been
selected (Fig. 7). If the "dirty" scroll bar mode has been
selected, block 665 displays each region contained in scroll
data on the scroll bar in a color associated with the region
temperature. Temperatures of overlapping regions are added
together, and the associated color for these overlapping
portions is displayed. The slider used in "dirty scroll bar
mode has a transparent portion so as not to obscure the
colors of the scroll bar. If the "slider" mode is indicated
in block 660, block 668 only displays the region(s) under
the current slider position in the color associated with the
temperature of each region. This mode therefore changes the
color of the slider itself and not the scroll bar. In
either case, flow of control returns to block 600.
If the event was not a Slider Moved Event or a Left
Window Event, block 630 is answered negatively, and block
695 performs conventional event processing to handle this
event.~ When block 690 (Fig. 6A) determines that the last
window has been closed, the program end~ in block 699.
While this invention has been described with respect to
the preferred embodiment and a first alternate embodiment,
other alternate embodiments are also contemplated.
, . . : . . : . . .: . ,
R09-92-052 20
~0`~7~
In a second alternate embodiment, the preferred
embodiment can be further modified by inserting a block 121
between blocks 120 and block 122 in Fig. 5A that resets the
elapsed time of the sampling period back to zero whenever
the user changes the current position in the document. This
would assure that any "heating" of a region was due to time
actually spent in the region instead of just happening to be
scrolling through the region when the sampling period
expired.
In a third alternate embodiment, the preferred
embodiment can be modified by suspending the sampling when a
user leaves but does not close a window, thereby generating
a "suspend sampling" request that is executed by block 204
of Fig. 6A. Of course, sampling is automatically resumed
once a window is re-entered.
In a fourth alternate embodiment, both the timer based
aging of the preferred embodiment and the event based aging
of the first alternate embodiment can be modified by
changing the rate of cooling to be non-linear. For example,
the cooling rate of block 227 of Fig. 6A and the Cooling
Factor of block 634 of Fig. 8B could be modified to cool as
a percentage (e.g., 90% per timer sample or 80% per minute)
of the old temperature.
In a fifth alternate embodiment, an application program
could influence the heating and cooling rates/factors of the
preferred and first alternate embodiments by a
multiplication factor of greater than or less than one. For
example, this multiplication factor could be based on window
size, where small windows have greater heating and cooling
rates/factors (i.e. multiplication factor > 1) than normal
sized windows (i.e. multiplication factor = 1), and large
sized windows (i.e. multiplication factor < 1) have slower
heating and cooling rates/factors.
In a sixth alternate embodiment, a Hottest Region
Differential parameter is added to the parameter lists of
Fig. 4A of the preferred embodiment and Fig. 7 of the first
alternate embodiment. This parameter assures that no single
R09-92-052 21
region becomes "too hot" with respect to the other regions.
For example, a Hottest Region Parameter of 30 degrees will
assure that no one region can be 30 degrees hotter than the
next hottest region. Block 290 of Fig. 6B and block 638 of
Fig. 8B assure that this Hottest Region Differential
Parameter is not exceeded. This provides a further check
against the "bathroom break" problem and other interruptions
discussed above.
A seventh alternate embodiment adds an Inactivity
Timeout parameter to the parameter lists of Fig. 4A of the
preferred embodiment and Fig. 7 of the first alternate
embodiment. If the period specified by the Inactivity
Timeout parameter is exceeded, aging is not performed during
this period of inactivity. This could be performed by
adding a block 212 between blocks 210 and 215 of Fig. 6A, to
check for this condition, and looping back to block 201
without aging if the Inactivity Timeout period has lapsed.
Likewise, blocks 635 and 638 in Fig. 8B will first check to
see if the Inactivity Timeout period has lapsed before doing
any aging. This alternate embodiment allows another way of
addressing the "bathroom break" problem.
While this invention has been described with respect to
the preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those
skilled in the art that various changes in detail may be
made therein without departing from the spirit, scope and
teaching of the invention. For example, the actual
appearance of the scroll bar may change from what is known
today, and it may even be called something completely
different, even though it has an equivalent function to the
saroll bars known today. Accordingly, the herein disclosed
is to be limited only as specified in the following claims.
