Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TEXT SELECTION
FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY
[0001] The present disclosure relates to electronic devices, including but not
limited to, portable electronic devices having touch-sensitive displays and
their
control.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Electronic devices, including portable electronic devices, have gained
widespread use and may provide a variety of functions including, for example,
telephonic, electronic messaging and other personal information manager (PIM)
application functions. Portable electronic devices include, for example,
several
types of mobile stations such as simple cellular telephones (feature phones),
smart phones, wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers,
and
laptop computers with wireless 802.11 or Bluetooth capabilities.
[0003] Portable electronic devices such as PDAs or smart telephones are
generally intended for handheld use and ease of portability. Smaller devices
are
generally desirable for portability. A touch-sensitive display, also known as
a
touchscreen display, is particularly useful on handheld devices, which are
small
and have limited space for user input and output. The information displayed on
the touch-sensitive displays, such as text, may be modified based on the
functions and operations being performed.
[0004] Improvements in devices with touch-sensitive displays, including the
selection of content on those devices, are desirable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0005] Examples of the present proposed approach will now be described in
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
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Figure 1 is a block diagram of a portable electronic device in accordance with
the
disclosure;
Figure 2 is a front view of a smartphone in accordance with example
embodiments of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 is a front view of a tablet computer is accordance with example
embodiments of the present disclosure;
Figures 4A to 4C illustrate an electronic device in accordance with an
embodiment showing the initiation of a paragraph selection mode;
Figures 5A and 58 illustrate an electronic device in accordance with an
embodiment showing example touch inputs;
Figures 6A to 6C illustrate a method of switching between row and letter
selection in accordance with the disclosure;
Figures 7A to 7C illustrate an electronic device in accordance with an
embodiment showing the movement of content in response to a touch input;
Figures 8A to 8C show a selection handle in accordance with the disclosure;
Figures 9A and 98 illustrate an electronic device in accordance with an
embodiment showing the extension of a selection handle in response to user
input;
Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of modifying a selection icon
in
accordance with the disclosure;
Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of row-by-row selection in
accordance with the disclosure; and,
Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of paragraph selection in
accordance with the disclosure.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0006] The following describes an apparatus for and method of determining a
selection of a selection option based on received user input.
[0007] For simplicity and clarity of illustration, reference numerals may be
repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.
Numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the examples
described herein. The examples may be practiced without these details. In
other
instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components are not described
in detail to avoid obscuring the examples described. The description is not to
be
considered as limited to the scope of the examples described herein.
[0008] In one embodiment, the present disclosure describes a method
comprising detecting a first touch input representing a selection of multiple
rows
of text displayed on a touch-sensitive display of the electronic device;
determining
whether a complete row of text has been selected from a start point or to an
end
point of the selected text; and, displaying a paragraph selection handle
proximal
to said row, the paragraph selection handle being responsive to a second touch
input to place the electronic device in a paragraph selection mode for the
selection of text.
[0009] In another embodiment, the present disclosure describes a method
comprising detecting a location of a text selection icon on a display of an
electronic device; and, detecting touch input representing a selection of text
displayed on the display using the text selection icon; wherein: if the
detected
location of the text selection icon is maintained within a zone adjacent an
edge of
the display, the displayed text is selected on a row by row basis; and, if the
detected location of the text selection icon moves outside said zone, the
displayed text is selected on a letter by letter basis.
[0010] In yet another embodiment, the present disclosure describes a method
comprising displaying a content selection icon on a touch-sensitive display of
an
electronic device; detecting touch input at a touch location on the display
operable to select a content selection function associated with the content
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selection icon; and, modifying the displayed content selection icon to display
a
touch portion at a location on the display corresponding to said detected
touch
location and a content selection portion operatively coupled to, but spatially
separated from, the touch portion.
[0011] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises detecting a
termination of the first touch input before displaying the paragraph selection
handle.
[0012] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises detecting a
second touch input which is operable to select and then drag the paragraph
selection handle in one direction, thereby to highlight text to the end of a
current
paragraph displayed.
[0013] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises detecting a
second touch input which is operable to select and then drag the paragraph
selection handle in one direction, thereby to highlight text to the start of a
current
paragraph displayed.
[0014] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises detecting a
termination of the second touch input and selecting the highlighted text.
[0015] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises detecting a
reversal in the direction of drag of the paragraph selection handle and
terminating
the paragraph selection mode.
[0016] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises placing the
device in a row selection mode after termination of the paragraph selection
mode
[0017] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises displaying
a paragraph selection handle proximal each of a start row and an end row when
both a start row and an end row of the text selected by the first touch input
are
complete.
[0018] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises displaying
a start point handle and an end point handle at the start point and end point,
respectively.
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[0019] In some example embodiments, the first touch input must select at least
2
rows of text.
[0020] In some example embodiments, the text selection icon is a text
selection
cursor.
[0021] In some example embodiments, the text selection icon is a text
selection
handle.
[0022] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises varying the
width of the zone on the basis of an amount of text selected.
[0023] In some example embodiments, the touch input is a drag of the text
selection icon.
[0024] In some example embodiments, the selected text is highlighted on the
display.
[0025] In some example embodiments, the display is a touch-sensitive display.
[0026] In some example embodiments, the touch input is detected on a track
pad.
[0027] In some example embodiments, the touch input is detected on a touch-
sensitive display.
[0028] In some example embodiments, the method further comprises detecting a
subsequent touch input representing a drag of the content selection handle and
further modifying the displayed content selection icon to increase a spatial
separation between the touch portion and the content selection portion.
[0029] In some example embodiments, the content selection icon is modified to
include a neck portion that extends between the touch portion and the content
selection portion.
[0030] In some example embodiments, the neck portion is extendable.
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[0031] in some example embodiments, the method further comprises displacing
a location of content displayed on the display relative to a display location
of the
content selection icon.
[0032] In some example embodiments, responsive to the selection of the content
selection handle, displacing a display location of content on the touch-
sensitive
display relative to a display location of the content selection handle.
[0033] Other example embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to
those of ordinary skill in the art from a review of the following detailed
description
in conjunction with the drawings, and may be related to a computer implemented
method as well as the already described electronic device.
[0034] The disclosure generally relates to an electronic device, such as a
portable electronic device or non-portable electronic device. Examples
of
portable electronic devices include mobile, or handheld, wireless
communication
devices such as pagers, feature phones, cellular smart-phones, wireless
organizers, personal digital assistants, wirelessly enabled notebook
computers,
tablet computers, mobile internet devices, electronic navigation devices, and
so
forth. The portable electronic device may be a portable electronic device
without
wireless communication capabilities, such as handheld electronic games,
digital
photograph albums, digital cameras, media players, e-book readers, and so
forth.
Examples of non portable electronic devices include desktop computers,
electronic white boards, smart boards utilized for collaboration, built-in
monitors
or displays in furniture or appliances, and so forth.
Example Electronic Device
[0035] A block diagram of an example of an electronic device 100 is shown in
Figure 1. The electronic device 100 includes multiple components, such as a
processor 102 that controls the overall operation of the electronic device
100.
Communication functions, including data and voice communications, are
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performed through a communication subsystem 104. Data received by the
electronic device 100 is decompressed and decrypted by a decoder 106. The
communication subsystem 104 receives messages from and sends messages to
a wireless network 150. The wireless network 150 may be any type of wireless
network, including, but not limited to, data wireless networks, voice wireless
networks, and networks that support both voice and data communications. A
power source 142, such as one or more rechargeable batteries or a port to an
external power supply, powers the electronic device 100.
[0036] The processor 102 interacts with other components, such as a Random
Access Memory (RAM) 108, memory 110, a touch-sensitive display 118, one or
more actuators 120, one or more force sensors 122, an auxiliary input/output
(I/O) subsystem 124, a data port 126, a speaker 128, a microphone 130, short-
range communications 132 and other device subsystems 134. The touch-
sensitive display 118 includes a display 112 and touch sensors 114 that are
coupled to at least one controller 116 that is utilized to interact with the
processor
102. Input via a graphical user interface is provided via the touch-sensitive
display 118. Information, such as text, characters, symbols, images, icons,
and
other items that may be displayed or rendered on a electronic device, is
displayed
on the touch-sensitive display 118 via the processor 102. The processor 102
may also interact with an accelerometer 136 that may be utilized to detect
direction of gravitational forces or gravity-induced reaction forces.
[0037] To identify a subscriber for network access, the electronic device 100
may
utilize a Subscriber Identity Module or a Removable User Identity Module
(SIM/RUIM) card 138 for communication with a network, such as the wireless
network 150. Alternatively, user identification information may be programmed
into memory 110.
[0038] The electronic device 100 includes an operating system 146 and software
programs, applications, or components 148 that are executed by the processor
102 and are typically stored in a persistent, updatable store such as the
memory
110. Additional applications or programs may be loaded onto the electronic
device 100 through the wireless network 150, the auxiliary I/O subsystem 124,
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the data port 126, the short-range communications subsystem 132, or any other
suitable subsystem 134.
[0039] A received signal such as a text message, an e-mail message, or web
page download is processed by the communication subsystem 104 and input to
the processor 102. The processor 102 processes the received signal for output
to the display 112 and/or to the auxiliary I/O subsystem 124. A subscriber may
generate data items, for example e-mail messages, which may be transmitted
over the wireless network 150 through the communication subsystem 104. For
voice communications, the overall operation of the electronic device 100 is
similar. The speaker 128 outputs audible information converted from electrical
signals, and the microphone 130 converts audible information into electrical
signals for processing.
[0040] The touch-sensitive display 118 may be any suitable touch-sensitive
display, such as a capacitive, resistive, infrared, surface acoustic wave
(SAW)
touch-sensitive display, strain gauge, optical imaging, dispersive signal
technology, acoustic pulse recognition, and so forth. A capacitive touch-
sensitive
display includes one or more capacitive touch sensors 114. The capacitive
touch
sensors may comprise any suitable material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO).
[0041] One or more touches, also known as touch contacts or touch events, may
be detected by the touch-sensitive display 118. The processor 102 may
determine attributes of the touch, including a location of the touch. Touch
location data may include data for an area of contact or data for a single
point of
contact, such as a point at or near a center of the area of contact. The
location of
a detected touch may include x and y components, e.g., horizontal and vertical
components, respectively, with respect to one's view of the touch-sensitive
display 118. For example, the x location component may be determined by a
signal generated from one touch sensor, and the y location component may be
determined by a signal generated from another touch sensor. A touch may be
detected from any suitable input member, such as a finger, thumb, appendage,
or
other objects, for example, a stylus (active or passive), pen, or other
pointer,
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based on the nature of the touch-sensitive display 118. Multiple simultaneous
touches may be detected.
[0042] One or more gestures may also be detected by the touch-sensitive
display
118. A gesture, such as a swipe, also known as a flick, is a particular type
of
touch on a touch-sensitive display 118 and may begin at an origin point and
continue to an end point, for example, a concluding end of the gesture. A
gesture
may be identified by attributes of the gesture, including the origin point,
the end
point, the distance travelled, the duration, the velocity, and the direction,
for
example. A gesture may be long or short in distance and/or duration. Two
points
of the gesture may be utilized to determine a direction of the gesture. A
gesture
may also include a hover. A hover may be a touch at a location that is
generally
unchanged over a period of time or is associated with the same selection item
for
a period of time.
[0043] The optional actuator(s) 120 may be depressed or activated by applying
sufficient force to the touch-sensitive display 118 to overcome the actuation
force
of the actuator 120. The actuator(s) 120 may be actuated by pressing anywhere
on the touch-sensitive display 118. The actuator(s) 120 may provide input to
the
processor 102 when actuated. Actuation of the actuator(s) 120 may result in
provision of tactile feedback.
[0044] Optional force sensors 122 may be disposed in conjunction with the
touch-
sensitive display 118 to determine or react to forces applied to the touch-
sensitive
display 118. The force sensor 122 may be disposed in line with a piezo
actuator
120. The force sensors 122 may be force-sensitive resistors, strain gauges,
piezoelectric or piezoresistive devices, pressure sensors, quantum tunneling
composites, force-sensitive switches, or other suitable devices
[0045] The touch-sensitive display 118 includes a display area in which
information may be displayed, and a non-display area extending around the
periphery of the display area. The display area generally corresponds to the
area
of the display 112. Information is not displayed in the non-display area by
the
display, which non-display area is utilized to accommodate, for example,
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electronic traces or electrical connections, adhesives or other sealants,
and/or
protective coatings around the edges of the display area. The non-display area
may be referred to as an inactive area and is not part of the physical housing
or
frame of the electronic device. Typically, no pixels of the display are in the
non-
display area, thus no image can be displayed by the display 112 in the non-
display area. Optionally, a secondary display, not part of the primary display
112,
may be disposed under the non-display area. Touch sensors may be disposed in
the non-display area, which touch sensors may be extended from the touch
sensors in the display area or distinct or separate touch sensors from the
touch
sensors in the display area. A touch, including a gesture, may be associated
with
the display area, the non-display area, or both areas. The touch sensors may
extend across substantially the entire non-display area or may be disposed in
only part of the non-display area.
Example Smartphone Electronic Device
[0046] Referring now to Figure 2, a front view of an example electronic device
100 which is a smartphone 201 is illustrated. The smartphone 201 is a mobile
phone which offers more advanced computing capability than a basic non-
smartphone cellular phone. For example, the smartphone 201 may have the
ability to run third party applications which are stored on the smartphone.
[0047] The smartphone 201 may include the components discussed above with
reference to Figure 1 or a subset of those components. The smartphone 201
includes a housing which houses at least some of the components discussed
above with reference to Figure 1.
[0048] The example smartphone 201 also includes other input interfaces such as
one or more buttons, keys or navigational input mechanisms. In the example
illustrated, at least some of these additional input interfaces are disposed
for
actuation at a front side of the smartphone.
Example Tablet Electronic Device
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[0049] Referring now to Figure 3, a front view of an example electronic device
100 which is a tablet computer 301 is illustrated. The tablet computer 301 may
include many of the same features and components of the smartphone 201 of
Figure 2. However, the tablet computer 301 of Figure 3 is generally larger
than
the smartphone 201. The tablet computer 301 may include the components
discussed above with reference to Figure 1 or a subset of those components.
The tablet computer 301 includes a housing which houses at least some of the
components discussed above with reference to Figure 1.
Content Selection
[0050] The display 112 of an electronic device 100 is primarily used for
displaying
content. Through the use of user input means on the electronic device 100,
such
as touch sensors 114, the user can select content to perform actions on. User
interfaces should provide a user with a way of efficiently and intuitively
selecting
which content they wish to select.
[0051] In the following description, text-based content type will be used for
illustrating improved methods of selecting content. However, it should be
clear
that the proposed solutions can be implemented with content types other than
text. Text is used to illustrate the methods as it is a good example of a
content
type that would benefit from such methods, particularly because there are a
number of ways it can be grouped. Textual content may be treated as individual
letters, or it may be considered as grouping of letters in the form of words,
or
groupings of words in the form of sentences, or other groupings such as by
row,
paragraph, column and page.
[0052] Given how many different ways there are of grouping text, there may
also
be different ways a user may wish to select it, as a user may be more
interested
in selecting a certain paragraph than a certain word. Finer tuned selections
(such
as selection by letter) allow for greater accuracy of the selection, but would
take
longer to perform for larger selections (such as selection by paragraph). A
user
interface may enable a user to perform both fine tuned and larger selections,
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allowing the user intuitively to switch between the different granularities
for text
selection.
Paragraph Selection
[0053] Figures 4A to 4C illustrate a method of switching between granularities
of
selection. In these examples, the method provides a way of performing letter-
by-
letter selection as well as paragraph selection.
[0054] Figure 4A shows an electronic device 100 with a touch-sensitive-display
118, the touch-sensitive display 118 displaying four paragraphs of text 405,
410,
420 and 430, a selected portion of text 450 and selection handles at the start
440
and end 460 of the selected text 450. The selected portion of text 450 may
have
been selected in response to a touch input representing a selection of text.
[0055] If the device receives a user input indicating that the end selection
handle
460 should be moved (for example a touch and drag of the selection handle
460),
the end of the text selection 450 may move with it. A small movement of the
end
selection handle 460 to the right may cause the end of the text selection 450
to
move onto the next letter, snapping to the nearest letter to the moved end
selection handle 460. Similarly, small movements of the start selection handle
440 may cause the start of the text selection 450 to snap to the letter
nearest to
the start selection handle 440. This described modification of the text
selection
450 by snapping to whatever letter is closest to a selection handle will be
referred
to as a letter-by-letter selection.
[0056] If a user wished to select large portions of the text, for example the
fourth
430 paragraph, they may encounter difficulties with selecting the whole of the
fourth paragraph 430 as the end of the paragraph is not displayed on the
display
112 due to it being below the visible region of the display 112 in this
example.
Therefore, to include the fourth paragraph 430 in the selection, the user may
have to drag the end selection handle 460 down to the bottom of the display
112,
then scroll the screen (either by initiating a scrolling gesture or by
allowing the
screen to 'creep' up in response to the selection handle's 460 close proximity
to
the bottom), and, once the end of the fourth paragraph 430 comes into view,
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continue moving the end selection handle 460 to the end of the fourth
paragraph
430. This results in a cumbersome, time consuming user interaction.
[0057] The method reduces the burden on the user by providing a paragraph
selection mode and determining when to make it available. It may do so by
determining whether the selected portion of text 450 has been modified such
that
either the first or last row of the selection 450 is a complete row of text.
If the top
or bottom ends of the selected text 450contains a complete row, then either
the
end selection handle 460 has been moved to the end of a row, or the start
selection handle 440 has been moved to the start of a row, or both events have
occurred. In such an instance, as a selection handle has been moved to an
outer
edge of a row, there may be a possibility that the user intends to start
selecting
whole paragraphs. Therefore, in response to detecting a selection handle
selecting a complete a row, a paragraph selection handle is displayed so that
a
user can then perform paragraph selection.
[0058] Figure 4B illustrates a paragraph selection handle 470 being displayed
in
response to a user input. In this example, the selected text 450 of Figure 4A
has
been expanded to the selected text 451. This expansion is the result of a
movement of the end selection handle 460 to the end of the row, thereby
selecting the whole end row of the selected portion of text 451 and thus
providing
the device 100 with an indication that a paragraph selection mode may be
required. The paragraph selection handle 470 may be positioned on the same
row as the complete row just selected. In this example, the paragraph
selection
handle 470 appears on the bottom row, as that is the complete row just
selected
by movement of the end selection handle 460. The paragraph selection handle
470 may also be positioned this way because the most likely direction of
further
paragraph selection may be downwards if the end selection handle 460 has been
moved to the end of the row.
[0059] Similarly if the start selection handle 440 is moved to completely
select a
row, as shown in Figure 4C, then a paragraph selection handle 480 may be
displayed on a first row of the newly expanded selected text 452. In Figure
40,
paragraph selection handles are displayed both on the top 480 and bottom 470
of
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the selected text 452, as both start 440 and end 460 handles have been moved
to completely select a row. If only one of the start 440 or end 460 handles
have
moved to completely select a row, then the paragraph selection handle may
appear only on the completed row and not the other (as shown previously in
Figure 4B).
[0060] In addition to, or instead of the criteria that a start or end row of a
selected
portion of text 450 must be completely selected before paragraph selection
handles can be displayed, there may be a requirement that the selected portion
of text 450 is above a certain size. For example, there may be a requirement
that
the selected portion of text 450 spans at least three rows before the
paragraph
selection handles can be displayed. This may be to avoid the instance where
only one or two rows have been selected, leading to the possibility of the
paragraph selection handles and start or end selection handles being too close
together to individually control by touch input. Having a
minimum row
requirement may also be beneficial as that way the device may only display the
paragraph selection handles once the selected text 450 is larger than a
threshold
value, thereby indicating a higher likelihood that the user may wish to
perform
paragraph selections.
[0061] The paragraph selection handles themselves may allow the user to select
text in a paragraph aware manner. For example, if the paragraph selection
handle 470 shOwn in Figure 4B were dragged down a small amount, the selected
portion of text 451 may expand so as to extend to the end of the current
paragraph. This may be displayed by showing the bottom of the selection area
move down to the end of the current paragraph, along with the handles 470 and
460. However, this may result in the paragraph selection handle 470 moving
away from the original location of the user's touch that was dragging the
paragraph selection handle 470. Therefore, if the user wished to continue with
paragraph selection, the user would have to reselect the now moved paragraph
selection handle. This would be especially problematic if the end of the
selected
paragraph was not visible on the display.
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[0062] To address the above problem, the method may instead ensure that the
paragraph selection handle 470 being moved is always coupled to the location
of
the touch input moving it. Thus, as the paragraph selection handle is dragged
470, the underlying content itself moves in the display so that the end of the
current paragraph lies under the touch input position. In other words, the
display
may automatically scroll to the end of the paragraph being selected. In this
manner, the user will be able to see how the end point of the selection
changes
because the display scrolls so as to always show the end point. Similarly,
dragging the top paragraph selection handle 480 upwards results in the
selection
extending to the starts of the paragraphs above, the size of the drag
determining
how many paragraphs above the current one to extend to. As long as the user
drags the paragraph selection handle 470, the device will remain in paragraph
selection mode.
[0063] If a user drags a bottom paragraph selection handle 470 downwards, the
selection area may expand downwards to the end of the paragraph. Further
dragging the bottom paragraph selection handle 470 downwards may cause the
selection area 452 to expand to the end of a lower paragraph (such as
paragraph
430). Similarly, the extent of the drag upwards of a top paragraph selection
handle 480 may determine how many paragraphs up the selection area 452 is
extended to.
[0064] Dragging the selection handles in the opposite direction, however, may
result in different behaviour. For example, dragging a bottom selection handle
470 upwards may cause the selection area 452 to return to what it was prior to
being modified by the bottom paragraph selection handle 470. Optionally,
dragging the bottom selection handle 470 upwards may cause the selection area
452 to contract in discrete amounts such that for each drag upwards, the
selection area 452 contracts so that it covers one less full paragraph. Once
the
selection area 452 only covers one whole or paragraph, a further movement
upward of the bottom selection handle 470 upwards may have no effect on the
selection area 452.
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[0065] A flowchart illustrating a method of performing paragraph selection is
shown in Figure 10. The method may be carried out by software executed, for
example, by the processor 102. Coding of software for carrying out such a
method is within the scope of a person of ordinary skill in the art given the
present
description. The method may contain additional or fewer processes than shown
and/or described, and may be performed in a different order. Computer-readable
code executable by at least one processor of the portable electronic device to
perform the method may be stored in a computer-readable medium, which may
be a non-transitory or tangible storage medium.
[0066] In the method shown in Figure 10, a first touch input representing a
selection of multiple rows of text displayed on a touch-sensitive display of
an
electronic device is detected 1210. A determination is made as to whether a
complete row of text has been selected from a start point or to an end point
of the
selected text 1220. A paragraph selection handle proximal to the row is
displayed, the paragraph selection handle being responsive to a second touch
input to place the electronic device in a paragraph selection mode for the
selection of text 1230.
Row Selection
[0067] In the previous section, a method for enabling and performing paragraph
selection was disclosed. In addition to, or independently of this method, a
method for enabling row-by-row selection is provided below.
[0068] In letter-by-letter selection mode, as a selection handle is moved, the
corresponding part of the selection area (selected portion of text) snaps to
the
letter nearest to the selection handle. Therefore, in letter-by-letter mode,
as a
selection handle is moved across a row, letters are individually added or
removed
from the selection. However, as a selection handle is moved up or down to a
different row, the nearest letter to the selection handle is on a different
row and
so, when the selection area snaps to that area, it snaps to include all the
other
letters in the row up to the selection handle. Therefore, moving a selection
handle to the very right or left of a row, and subsequently moving the
selection
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handle up or down, results in the entire rows being added or removed from the
selection at a time. In this way, it is possible to perform row-by-row
selection
simply by using the mechanics provided by existing letter-by-letter selection.
[0069] However, performing the above type of row-by-row selection has some
drawbacks. To perform row-by-row selection in this manner requires that a
selection handle moves straight up or down along the side of the text. Moving
the
selection handle into the text and away from the edge may result in individual
letters being selected instead of rows. Therefore, using a letter-by-letter
selection
mechanism for row-by-row selection may be too sensitive to small deviations in
the horizontal movement of the selection handle.
[0070] Figures 5A and 5B illustrate possible sources of deviations. Figure 5A
shows an electronic device 100 with a touch-sensitive display 118, displaying
on
the touch-sensitive display some text 510 and a selection of the text 520.
When
a user attempts to perform row-by-row selection with the thumb 550 of the left
hand, they may start the gesture at point 530 and begin to drag a selection
handle straight down. this drag movement 540 begins to curve into the text and
away from the edge because of the natural curvature of a thumb's movement,.
This may lead to text selection by letter rather than by row. Similarly, in
Figure
5B, the natural curvature of movement of a user's right thumb may result in a
gesture 570 starting at point 560 to deviate from a straight line path and a
curve
into the text. This curvature may be further exaggerated by performing the
gesture quickly.
[0071] One way to solve the above problem is to incorporate a dedicated row-by-
row selection mode, such as is illustrated in Figures 6A to 6C. Figure 6A
shows a
portion of a display 114 containing text 610, a selection area 620, and a
selection
handle 630. In this example, the selection handle 630 has been dragged to the
side of the text, and in doing so has enabled a row-by-row selection mode.
Upon
entering this mode, moving the selection handle 630 up and down 660 results in
the same behavior as the letter-by-letter based row-by-row implementation.
This
is because moving the selection handle 630 up and down 660 snaps the
corresponding end of the selection area 620 to the row closest to the
selection
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handle 630. In this row selection mode, there may be a threshold area 640
provided, such that when a selection handle 630 is moved outside of this
threshold area 640, the selection mode returns to letter-by-letter selection
mode.
For example, moving the selection handle 630 into the text region (or 'letter-
by-
letter selection mode' region) 650 may cause row-by-row mode to end. This is
illustrated in Figure 6B, which shows the resulting selection area 621 from
such a
movement 665 of the selection handle 630 into the text region. Continuing to
move the selection handle 630 within the threshold area may result in row-by-
row
selection mode to be maintained, as shown in Figure 6C, where the selection
area 622 has been extended by row.
[00721 The threshold area 640 may vary in width to compensate for the
aforementioned curvature of thumb movement. By causing the threshold area to
increase with area 640 at regions further from the start point of the
selection
handle 630, it may allow for more horizontal variation in the movement of the
selection handle. The width of the threshold area 640 at various points along
its
length may be controlled dynamically, such that it varies according to various
factors. One such factor may be the number of rows already selected, since
there is a higher chance that the user will continue to remain in row-by-row
selection mode if a large number of rows have already been selected. Moreover,
the width of the threshold area 640 may be increased so as to require a
larger,
more deliberate movement of the selection handle 630 into the text area 650
before letter-by-letter mode is activated instead of row-by-row selection. The
threshold area 640 may increase as more rows are selected . Similarly, if the
selection area 620 is reduced, the likelihood of returning to letter-by-letter
mode
increases, and so the threshold area 640 may decrease as a result. Another
possible factor may be the speed of the movement of the selection handle 630.
For example, if it is moved quickly, there is a higher chance of deviation
from a
straight line, and so the width of the threshold area 640 may be increased to
compensate for this.
[0073] This method may be applied to column-by-column selection rather than
row-by-row selection, depending on the orientation of the text. For example,
in
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certain language systems, the text may be arranged in vertical lines rather
than
horizontal lines.
[0074] A flowchart illustrating a method of performing row-by-row selection is
shown in Figure 11. The method may be carried out by software executed, for
example, by the processor 102. Coding of software for carrying out such a
method is within the scope of a person of ordinary skill in the art given the
present
description. The method may contain additional or fewer processes than shown
and/or described, and may be performed in a different order. Computer-readable
code executable by at least one processor of the portable electronic device to
perform the method may be stored in a computer-readable medium, which may
be a non-transitory or tangible storage medium.
[0075] In the method shown in Figure 11, the location of a text selection icon
on a
display of an electronic device is detected 1110. Detect touch input
representing
a selection of text displayed on the display using the text selection icon
1130. If
the detected location of the text selection icon is maintained within a zone
adjacent an edge of the display, the displayed text is selected on a row-by-
row
basis 1130. If the detected location of the text selection icon moves outside
this
zone, the displayed text is selected on a letter-by-letter basis 1140.
Selection Handle
[0076] Selection handles may be used for controlling selection areas on a
display. Examples of the use of said selection handles have been previously.
Methods are now described which improve on existing selection handle
technology, and may be used in any combination with the methods previously
described or may be implemented independently.
[0077] Figure 7A shows an electronic device with a touch-sensitive screen, and
displayed on that screen is a first paragraph of text 710, a second paragraph
of
text 711, and a picture 712. In an example, a selection 720 has already been
made and a start selection handle 730 and end selection handle 740 are
displayed in connection with the start and end points of the selection 720.
This
selection 720 may have been made by an earlier touch input.
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[0078] Figure 7B shows a user 760 touching the selection handle 730, and in
doing so obscuring the selection handle 730 and also letters near to the touch
area 750. A problem therefore arises, in that the user is unable to see the
current
location of the selection handle 730 will not be able to accurately determine
what
is currently selected, when adjusting the selection area 720.
[0079] One proposed solution is illustrated in Figure 70. On performing a
touch
interaction with the selection handle 730, the contents of the display may
move
780 such that the text in close proximity to the touched selection handle 730
is
not obscured by the touch input object 760. In this way, the user may be able
to
view the content just selected. Also, or instead of this movement 780, an
extended selection handle 777 may appear. This extended selection handle 777
may provide a graphical link between the point of touch on the touch-sensitive
display 118 and the corresponding end of a selection area 720. The touch point
may not only be graphically coupled to the end of the selection area 720 by
the
extended selection handle 777, but may also be operatively coupled to it.
Therefore, if the touch point moves (for example, because the user 760
performs
a drag while still touching on the selection handle 777), the corresponding
end of
the selection area 720 may move as well.
[0080] Figure 8A shows a more detailed view of the extended selection handle
777. On this extended selection handle 777 there may be a touch portion 830
(also referred to as a 'handle), a neck portion 820 (also referred to as a
'cursor
neck') and a content selection portion 810 (also referred to as a 'content
selection
portion'). The touch portion 830 may be the portion of the selection handle
777
that responds to user input and can be touched and dragged to cause the rest
of
the selection handle 777to be moved. If a touch input is used to drag the
selection handle 777, the touch portion may remain coupled to the location on
the
display corresponding to the detected touch location such that it always
remains
under the user's finger as the selection handle 777 is moved.
[0081] The content selection portion 810 may be coupled to a selection area
720.
For example, as shown in Figure 8B, the content selection portion 810 is
coupled
to a start end of the selection area 720 such that as the selection handle 777
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moves, as does the start of the selection area 720. This may be represented
graphically in a different way, such as shown in Figure 80, where the content
selection portion 810 is also coupled to the start end of the selection area
720,
but is displayed to reach the top left portion of the selection area 720.
Functionally, there may be no difference between the two selection handles 777
shown in Figure 8B and 8C.
[0082] The neck portion 820 graphically connects the touch portion 830 to the
content selection portion 810. While the touch portion 830 may be obscured by
a
user's touch, the user may be able to see the neck portion 820 extending from
the touch portion 830 (under the user's finger) to the content selection
portion
810. This may indicate to the user that the touch portion 830 and content
selection portion 810 are connected, and that by dragging the touch portion
830,
the content selection portion 810 will also be moved. Referring back to Figure
70,
although the part of the selection area 720 that the user touched has moved
away, because the extended selection handle 777 has been displayed the user
will see a connection between where they originally pressed and where the
corresponding selection area 720 has now moved to. The extended selection
handle 777 may be displayed as an animation, showing a transformation of the
original selection handle 730 to the extended selection handle 777. Such an
animation may be a neck portion extending out of the original selection handle
730 at the same rate as the underlying content moves up 780.
[0083] Figure 9A shows an electronic device 100 with a touch-sensitive display
118 displaying a first and second paragraph 910 and 911, a selection area 930
and an extended selection handle 777 coupled to the start of the selection
area
930. If a user touches 940the touch portion of the extended selection handle
777
and drags 950 it to a different location, the user's finger (or other touch
object)
may not obscure the start area of the selection area 930,because the start of
the
selection area 930 is spatially separated from the touch portion of the
extended
selection handle 777. Therefore, the user may adjust the selection area 930
while still being able to see where the start of the selection area 930 is
being
moved. Similarly, the end of the selection area 930 may be moved through use
of an extended selection handle coupled to the end of the selection area 930.
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[0084] However, as the user performs a drag to move the extended selection
handle 777, there may be a delay between the receipt of the touch input
indicating a drag and the updating of the display to show the new position of
the
extended selection handle 777 and selection area 930. A result of such a delay
may be that the user's finger (or other touch object) does obscure a part of
the
selection area 930 or nearby text as the drag is performed. In other words the
selection area 930 may not be able to move as fast as the drag motion and may
become obscured as a result. Also, as a user's finger changes position on the
touch-sensitive display 118, the angle the finger makes to the display may
change and there may be a difference between location where the touch is
registered and the location the user thinks they are touching.
[0085] Figure 9B provides a possible solution to this problem. As the extended
selection handle is moved, the neck portion may extend 977 to increase the
distance between the touch portion and the content selection portion. In other
words, to prevent the physical location of the touch object 'catching up' with
the
coupled part of the selection area 935, the neck portion extends faster than
the
finger moves. This extension may also cater for a changed angle of the user's
finger. The length of the neck portion may change dynamically depending on
factors including the speed of the drag, position of the selection area with
respect
to the edges of the screen, the detected angle of the user's finger and the
size of
the font of the content being selected. The neck portion may have a maximum
length and it may have a minimum length.
[0086] A flowchart illustrating a method of modifying a selection handle is
shown
in Figure 10. The method may be carried out by software executed, for example,
by the processor 102. Coding of software for carrying out such a method is
within
the scope of a person of ordinary skill in the art given the present
description.
The method may contain additional or fewer processes than shown and/or
described, and may be performed in a different order. Computer-readable code
executable by at least one processor of the portable electronic device to
perform
the method may be stored in a computer-readable medium, which may be a non-
transitory or tangible storage medium.
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[0087] In the method shown in Figure 10, a content selection icon is displayed
on
a touch-sensitive display of an electronic device 1010. A touch input is
detected
at a location operable to select a content selection function associated with
the
content selection icon 1020. On detecting the touch, the content selection
icon is
modified to display a touch portion at location on the display corresponding
to the
detected touch location, and a content selection portion operatively couple
to, but
spatially separated from the touch portion 1030.
[0088] The scope of the claims should not be limited by the embodiments set
forth in the examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation
consistent
with the description as a whole.
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