KR20060112714A - Extensible creation and editing of integrated collections - Google Patents

Abstract

A tool for creating integrated collections. The tool may include a "basket" control that includes interfaces for receiving and displaying the data objects that are selected by a user to be included in a collection, and a collection creation component then provides a collection with one or more data items corresponding to the objects submitted to the basket control. The basket control may be employed by itself to make collections, or it may be hosted by another software object, such as a "listmaker" control that conveniently contains both the basket control and one or more user interfaces that a user can employ to provide data objects to the basket control. The listmaker control may thus include a viewing graphical user interface for viewing data objects and a navigation toolbar for navigating the viewing graphical user interface. The listmaker control may then be hosted as desired in a variety of software applications.

Description

How to provide a consolidated list of tools and data items for creating unified collections {EXTENSIBLE CREATION AND EDITING OF INTEGRATED COLLECTIONS}

The present invention relates to the creation and editing of integrated collections. The various features of the invention are particularly applicable to providing a tool for creating or editing a collection of objects such that the data objects can be processed as an integrated unit.

As computers become more and more common in our culture, people of all walks of life have become accustomed to using computers for a variety of tasks. For example, a high school student may use a personal computer to copy a group of music files to a digital music player, while grandparents may use a personal computer to transmit a file of photographic images to a granddaughter or grandson. Corporate executives can use a corporate computer networked to a central server to send and receive business application files such as Microsoft Word files and Microsoft Excel files by an e-mail messaging service such as Microsoft Outlook.

As computers become increasingly versatile and complex, the tools provided by computers to process data also need to be more versatile and complex. Specifically, many users want to be able to perform the same operation on multiple data files, but most computers do not provide a convenient technique for creating a collection of data files to be processed simultaneously.

For example, some operating systems allow a user to select multiple files for simultaneous processing (eg, by simultaneously pressing the "control" key while selecting each file with the pointing device). However, once the files have been selected, no action can be taken with respect to the non-selected data file without breaking up the group of selected files. Also, all of those files must generally be selected from a single place, such as from within the same folder, and cannot be selected from different places.

In addition, various specialized software applications can allow users to group files into collections for specific purposes. For example, a software application for playing music data files may allow a user to group music files into a playlist. However, these applications generally limit the user's handling of a group of files to functions associated with the software application. In addition, the grouping functionality provided by such specialized software applications cannot generally be used outside of the software application.

Thus, it would be useful to have an architecture for creating and editing a unified collection of data objects so that data objects can be processed as an integrated unit. In addition, it would be useful to have such a collection generation application that is scalable across multiple software applications and platforms.

Advantageously, various examples of the present invention provide a tool for creating an integrated collection. In some implementations of the invention, the tool can include a "basket control" that receives objects to be included in the collection. This basket control may include interfaces for receiving and displaying data objects selected by the user for example to be included in the collection. Thus, the user can build a collection of data objects simply by providing the data objects to the basket control. The collection creation component then provides a collection with one or more data items corresponding to the objects sent to the basket control. In various aspects of the present invention, the collection may include any desired data objects, including individual data (text, etc.), data files, exclusions or queries to identify the data file based on specified criteria. It can be edited using, both virtual folders and physical folders include one or more data objects and even other collections of data objects.

The basket control can be used alone to create a collection, or it can be hosted by another software object. For example, various implementations of the present invention further include a "listmaker" control, which conveniently includes both a basket control and one or more user interfaces that a user can use to provide data objects to the basket control. can do. For example, the listmaker control may include a viewing graphical user interface (such as a file browser) for viewing data objects and a navigation toolbar for navigating the viewing graphical user interface. The listmaker control can then be hosted as desired by the software developers in various software applications.

1 illustrates an example of a computing environment in which various embodiments of the present invention may be implemented.

2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a basket control according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

3 illustrates a toolbar including navigation controls for navigating basket controls in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

4 illustrates a dialog box for creating a new collection of data objects in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

5 illustrates an example of a list maker control according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

summary

Various implementations of the invention provide tools for creating or editing a unified collection of data objects. A collection can contain many different types of data objects, such as individual pieces of text, data files, exclusions or queries to identify data files based on specified criteria, both virtual folders and physical folders, one or more data objects. And even other collections of data objects. Once a collection is created, all data objects within that collection can be processed simultaneously as a unit of aggregate.

Advantageously, various implementations of the tool according to the invention can be extended across various software applications and platforms by software developers. For example, one or more implementations of a tool can be included in a software application by a software developer to enable a user of the software application to create a collection for that software application.

The tool can provide a "basket" control. Using this type of control, a user can create a collection of data objects simply by transferring the desired objects to the control. For example, basket control can be used with an operating system that uses a graphical user interface to receive data objects. In this configuration, the user can send data objects to the basket control simply by moving an icon representing the desired data object to the user interface (eg, a window) provided by the basket control. In various examples of the invention, the basket control may also include a collection generation component that creates a unified collection of data items corresponding to the objects provided to the basket control. For example, the collection creation tool can create a collection of full copies of data objects. In another alternative, the collection creation tool may generate a collection of pointers pointing to the selected data objects.

In some implementations of the invention, the basket control can be instantiated alone. For example, the basket control may be provided as a stand-alone tool on the desktop of the operating system or hosted by another software object. In another alternative, in various implementations of the invention, the basket control may be used in conjunction with one or more other software objects to enhance the usefulness of the basket tool. For example, the basket tool may conveniently be hosted by a "listmaker" control that includes both a basket control and one or more user interfaces that a user can use to provide data objects to the basket control.

Specifically, the listmaker control may include a viewing graphical user interface (such as a file browser) for viewing data objects and a navigation toolbar for navigating the viewing graphical user interface. This configuration allows the user to add the selected data objects to the collection by selecting the desired data objects with the viewing graphical user interface and then transferring the selected data objects to the basket control. Like the basket control, the listmaker control, including the basket control, can be provided alone or hosted as desired in various software applications.                 

Operating environment

Various embodiments of the invention may be implemented on a wide variety of computing devices. More specifically, a tool for generating a unified collection in accordance with various examples of the invention may be implemented using computer executable instructions, such as program modules, executed by one or more computing devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In general, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.

Because the present invention can be implemented using software, a brief review of the components and operation of representative generalized programmable computers in which various embodiments of the present invention can be employed helps to better understand the present invention. Will be 1 illustrates an example of a computing device 101 that provides a suitable operating environment in which various embodiments of the invention may be implemented. However, this operating environment is only one example of a suitable operating environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the present invention. Other well-known computing systems, environments, and / or configurations that may be suitable for use with the present invention include personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, programmable consumer electronics, Network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and distributed computing environments including any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computing device 101 generally includes at least some type of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computing device 101. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media include volatile and nonvolatile media and removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable information, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk, or other optical storage device, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage device or other magnetic storage device. , Punched media, holographic storage, or any other media that can be used to store desired information and can be accessed by operating environment 101, but is not limited to such.

Communication media generally embody computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data as modulated data signals, such as carrier waves or other transmission mechanisms, and include any information delivery media. The term "modulated data signal" means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner so as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media such as a wired network or direct wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

Referring to FIG. 1, the computing device 101 generally includes a processing unit 103 and a system memory 105 in its most basic configuration. Depending on the exact configuration and type of computing device 101, system memory 105 may include volatile memory 107 (RAM, etc.), nonvolatile memory 109 (ROM, flash memory, etc.), or two types of memory. It can include any combination. In addition, computing device 101 may have a mass storage device, such as removable storage 111, non-removable storage 113, or any combination of the two storage types. The mass storage device may be any device capable of retrieving stored information such as magnetic or optical disks or tapes, perforated media, or holographic storage devices. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, system memory 105 and mass storage devices 111 and 113 are examples of computer storage media.

Computing device 101 generally also has one or more input devices 115 for receiving input from a user, such as a keyboard, microphone, scanner, or pointing device. Computing device 101 generally also has one or more output devices 117 for outputting data to a user, such as a display, speaker, printer, or tactile feedback device. Other components of computing device 101 may be a communication connection 119 to another device, computer, network, server, or the like, using either wired or wireless media. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, communication connection 119 is one example of communication media. Both these devices and connections are well known in the art and will therefore not be described in detail herein.

Basket Control

2 illustrates an example of a basket control 201 in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the basket control 201 includes a basket display area 203. The basket display area 203 may be a windowed graphical user interface as provided in the Microsoft Windows XP operating system. The basket display area 203 may include any desired navigation controls for navigating the basket display area 203. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the basket display area 203 may include a conventional vertical scroll bar 205 for vertically scrolling the basket display area 203. Of course, various implementations of the basket display area 203 can instead include or in addition include a horizontal scroll bar for horizontally scrolling the basket display area 203.

In addition, as shown in the figure, the basket display area 203 displays a representation of one or more data objects 207 to be included in the unified collection. In the illustrated example, the data object 207 is a data file, but various implementations of the invention include any data object to be included in a unified collection, including, for example, an exclusion or query to identify the data files based on specified criteria, and It may display a representation of a virtual folder or a physical folder that may itself contain one or more data objects 207.

In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2, the basket display area 203 functions as both a basket interface for receiving the data object 203 and a display interface for displaying the data objects included in the collection. However, in alternative embodiments of the present invention, the display interface may be separate from or completely omitted from the basket interface. In addition, while the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 2 displays all of the data objects included in the collection (using scrolling or other navigation techniques as needed), still other embodiments of the invention provide for a particular type of data object or Only a portion of the data objects included in the collection, such as only the data objects transmitted to the basket control 201 may be represented.

In the example of the basket display area 203 shown in FIG. 2, each data object 207 is a data object combined with a "thumbnail" image (ie, a small image of the data in the data object 207). It is represented by an abstract image corresponding to the type of 207 and an alphanumeric representation of the size of the data object 207. However, it should be noted that other embodiments of the present invention may include some information representing data object 207 in addition to or instead of it. In addition, various embodiments of the basket control 201 may allow a user or hosting software application to select what type of information to use to represent the data object 207. For example, in some embodiments of the present invention, the basket display area 203 may be a thumbnail image, "tile", "icon", alphanumeric name, or size, or date of creation of the data object 207. It may allow a user or hosting software application to choose whether to display the alphanumeric name of the data object 207 in combination with various details about the data object 207, such as the last modification date.

Certain embodiments of the basket control 201 further include one or more status indicators that can be used to indicate information about the unified collection to be generated from the data object 207 represented in the basket display area 203. can do. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the status bar 209 is the amount of storage space associated with the consolidated collection (eg, the amount of free storage space available on a compact disk on which the collection can be stored). And the amount of storage space to be occupied by the data object 207 currently represented in the basket display area 203. More specifically, the status bar 209 provides an alphanumeric representation of the amount of storage space to be occupied by the data object 207 for the total amount of storage space allocated to the consolidated collection on the storage device. The status bar 209 also simultaneously provides a bar graph representation of the amount of storage space to be occupied by the data object 207 for the total amount of storage space allocated to the unified collection. However, still other embodiments of the present invention may display additional or alternative information in the status bar 209, such as information about the aggregation or accumulation of attributes, such as the total number of items, total size, total duration, and the like. You will know well.                 

For example, in some embodiments of the present invention, when the basket control 201 is used to form a unified collection from music files, the status bar 209 may include music pieces and data corresponding to the data object 207. The total time for listening to the object 207 (eg, in the format hours: minutes: seconds) may be listed in the basket control 201. In addition, various embodiments of the invention may include multiple status bars 209 to display any desired information about the data object 207 represented in the basket display area 203. In addition, in some embodiments of the present invention, one or more of the status indicators are selected for display by the user of the basket control 201 or by a software developer providing the basket control 201 to the user, or the user or Can be hidden by software developers.

As noted above, the basket control 201 provides an interface that allows a user to select one or more data objects 207 to be included in the unified collection. For example, in various implementations of the invention, a user can include any data object 207 in the unified collection simply by sending the desired data object 207 to the basket control 201. Thus, when the basket control 201 is implemented by an operating system using a graphical user interface, such as the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, the user simply moves the graphical representation of the desired data object 207 to the basket display area 203. You can add a data object 207 to the unified collection just by making it work.

More specifically, when basket control 201 is implemented using the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, basket control 201 may display both the "Explorer View" software component (or display and processing of data objects). Or similar browser-type components that are used as an interface for doing so). The basket control 201 may then, for example, copy a copy of the transmitted data object 207 to be included in the collection, or a shortcut or pointer to the transmitted data object 207 to be included in the collection. It may include additional functions for generating. This configuration “drags” a graphical user interface representation (eg, an icon) of the data object 207 into the basket display area 203 of the basket control 201, as is commonly known for other Microsoft Windows XP Explorer windows. "Drag and drop" to allow the user to transfer the data object 207 to the basket control 201. Of course, the data object 207 may be used, such as by providing a command to a command menu associated with the data object 207 or using a "paste edit command" to transfer a previously copied file. Any desired technique for transmitting to the basket interface portion of the basket control 201 may be used instead or in addition.

It should also be noted that in various examples of the invention, the basket control 201 may be used to edit an existing unified collection instead or in addition. For example, a user may instantiate a basket control 201 that includes a data object 207 corresponding to the unified collection using commands associated with the unified collection. The user can then add one or more desired data objects 207 to the basket control 201 to add the desired data objects 207 to the unified collection or to order the data objects 207 if allowed by the unified collection. Can be rearranged.

In various embodiments of the present invention, a user may use basket control 201 to remove desired data object 207 from basket control 201 to exclude desired data object 207 from the unified collection. For example, when the basket control 201 is implemented by an operating system using a graphical user interface, such as the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, the user simply displays a graphical representation of the desired data object 207 in the basket display area 203. Move or delete from) to prevent the data object 207 from being included in the unified collection. In addition, in various examples of the invention, where the basket control 201 includes a data object 207 that is already included in an existing consolidated collection, the user may retrieve each desired data object 207 from the basket control 201. One or more desired data objects 207 can be deleted from an existing collection by removing or deleting the representation of. Of course, any desired technique for removing the data object 207 from the basket control 201 may be used instead or in addition to providing a command in a command menu associated with the data object 207.

In some embodiments of the invention, the data items in the unified collection may be, for example, in alphabetical order of the name of the corresponding data object 207 or in the chronological order in which the corresponding data object 207 was sent to the basket control 201. may be ordered according to a predetermined criterion such as order). However, in still other embodiments of the present invention, the basket control 201 may be used to control the ordering of data items in the unified collection. More specifically, in various examples of the invention, the user may order the items in the unified data collection that allows ordering by ordering the representation of the data object 207 corresponding to the collection in the basket control 201. Can be. In addition, another example of the present invention determines whether the order of representation of the data object 207 determines the ordering of data items in the corresponding consolidated collection or the order of the data items in the corresponding unified collection. Whether or not to allow the user of the basket control 201 or a hosting software application, for example, to select. If an implementation of the present invention is able to order the data object 207 as desired, the implementation may include one or more functions that support the ordering of the data object 207. For example, the basket control 201 may provide a current sequence number next to the representation of each data object 207 in the basket display area 203.

In addition, some types of data object collections may allow a user to create an "active" integrated collection. Accordingly, various examples of the present invention provide a query or exclusion (sometimes collectively referred to as a "virtual folder") in which a user selects or excludes one or more data objects 207 from a group of data objects 207 based on specified criteria. It is possible to include data items corresponding to the active data object 207, such as. For example, a query virtual folder of music data files may include all music data files (ie, "music I listened to yesterday") that the user played the previous day in a data structure. Of course, other embodiments of the present invention may prohibit the use of the active data object 207 and create a unified collection of data items corresponding to only the "static" data object 207. Instead, in various embodiments of the present invention, the basket control 201 executes a query or exclusion when the dynamic data object 207 is transmitted, and flattens the result of the query or exclusion into a collection of flat data objects. object) (207).

A collection of data objects of some type may be used by a user to create one or more data objects 207 to another data object 207 to form a multi-level hierarchy of the data objects 207. Note that it can be nested within). Accordingly, various embodiments of the present invention may allow a user to send a hierarchical data object 207 to a collection. For example, the data object 207 sent to the basket control 201 may contain a "containing" data object 207, which may include one or more other data objects 207, such as folders or other collections. Can be. In these examples of the present invention, a user may nest one or more data objects 207, such as data files, folders, or other collections, in a containing folder in the basket control 201. Alternatively, if the data object 207 already contains one or more other data objects 207, the user can remove the one or more data objects 207 from the containing data object 207. Thus, if the basket control 201 includes a folder that includes one or more data files or other folders, the user can remove these data files or other folders from the containing folder. The data object 207 removed from the containing data object 207 may be completely removed from the basket control 201 or simply moved to another location within the basket control 201.

Of course, some types of collections may not allow nesting of data objects 207. Accordingly, various embodiments of the present invention may represent the data object 207 sent to the basket control 201 as a "flat" without a hierarchy. In addition, there may be some situations where a particular nesting of data object 207 is not allowed, even though the collection allows nested data object 207. For example, if the data object 207 is a virtual folder corresponding to a query (i.e., a command to select files based on specified criteria), the user may select a data object 207 that does not meet the specified criteria. It may not be nested within. In these examples [ie embodiments of the present invention do not allow nesting of data object 207], the basket control 201 may receive an error message when the user attempts to perform nesting of a forbidden data object 207. May occur.

In addition, some embodiments of the present invention may allow a user to transfer a copy of the data object 207 to the basket control 201, while other embodiments of the present invention may control the copy of the data object 207 to a basket control. Inclusion in 201 may be prohibited. In those embodiments of the present invention which prohibit the inclusion of a copy of the data object 207, the basket control 201 may be configured to control the basket control 201 when the user attempts to transfer the data object 207 to the basket control 201. An error message can be generated if 201 already contains a copy of the data object 207. In addition, certain embodiments of the present invention may provide menu commands for removing a copy of a data object 207 from a collection.

In addition, certain embodiments of the present invention may be used by the user of the basket control 201 to determine whether the basket control 201 displays the data object 207 as nested or to display the data object 207 in a flat configuration without a hierarchy. For example, a software developer that provides a basket control 201 to a user can be selected. Some embodiments of the present invention may also allow a user or software developer to select whether the basket control 201 allows or prohibits active data objects 207, such as virtual folders, while other embodiments of the present invention Basket control 201 may allow a user or software developer to choose whether to allow a copy of data object 207. Certain embodiments of the present invention may allow a user to select from a combination of functional options for the basket control 201. For example, one embodiment of the present invention may display a hierarchical structure of nested data objects 207 in a unified collection by default, but before all active data objects 207 are formed before forming a unified collection, a static data object (static data object) 207 can be converted. However, a software application hosting basket control 201 may change this default setting to cause basket control 201 to forbid nested data objects 207 and / or retain active data objects 207. .

Various examples of basket controls 201 may instead or in addition include one or more navigation controls, such as navigation buttons included in one or more toolbars. The navigation buttons, for example, allow the user to view data objects 207 (e.g., data files stored in folders) nested within other data objects, or up, down, left or right in the basket display area 203. Allows moving or removing data object 207 from basket control 201.

Since the data object 207 is sent to the basket control 201 to form a unified collection, the basket control 201 is also a component for finishing the unified collection with the data object 207 sent to the basket control 201. It may also include. For example, in addition to the status indicator and one or more navigation controls, the basket control 201 may additionally correspond to the data object 207 (and thus represented in the basket display area 203) sent to the basket control 201. It may include a command button to form a unified collection. If the user is sure that the basket control 201 contains all of the data objects 207 that the user wants to include in the unified collection, then the user can activate the unified collection containing the data object 207 by activating a command button. Can be generated. However, it should be noted that other command controls may be used instead or in addition to form a unified collection from the data object 207 sent to the basket control 201.

3 illustrates an example of a basket tool bar 301 that may be included in the basket control 201 in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. As can be seen in the figure, the basket tool bar 301 includes both navigation controls and collection creation controls. More specifically, the basket tool bar 301 includes a "more commands" command button 303 and a "up" command button 307. The "Other Commands" command button 303 allows the user to view additional commands provided by the basket toolbar 301, while the "Up" command button 307 displays data displayed in the basket display area 203. Navigate up one level in the hierarchy of objects 207. However, if the basket control 201 is configured to hold the flat data object 207 or if the collection prohibits nesting, the "up" command button 307 may be hidden, omitted, or inactive. Note that you can. This button 307 may also be hidden, omitted or inactive when the basket display area 203 is already displaying the top level of the basket control 201 or when the basket control 201 is empty.

The basket toolbar 301 also has a " move up " command button 309 that moves the selected data object 207 up or down in the ordering of the data object 207 in the basket control 201, respectively. And a "move down" command button 311. These command buttons 309, 311 may be hidden, omitted, or inactive when the basket control 201 is configured to not allow the ordering of its nested data objects 207. In addition, these command buttons may be hidden, omitted, or inactive when no data object 207 is selected. Also, when the topmost data object 207 displayed in the basket display area 203 is selected, the "move up" button 309 may be hidden, omitted, or inactive. Similarly, when the last data object 207 displayed in the basket display area 203 is selected, the "move down" button 311 can be hidden, omitted, or inactive. The basket tool bar 301 also includes a "delete" command button 313 that removes the selected data object 207 from the basket control 201.

In addition to these navigation controls, the basket tool bar 301 may also include a "save collection" command button 305 for creating a collection corresponding to the data object 207 included in the basket control 201. Can be. In various embodiments of the present invention, a user interface may be provided to the user to help the user determine various attributes of the collection created when the user activates this button. For example, some embodiments of the invention may provide a user with a save collection dialog box 401 shown in FIG. As can be seen in the figure, the save collection dialog 401 includes a name control 403, in which the user can enter the desired name of the collection to be created. If a save collection dialog box 401 is provided for saving an edit of an already existing collection, the name of that already existing collection may be displayed in the name control 403. If the save collection dialog 401 is being used to create a new collection, the name control 403 may be blank. Alternatively, name control 403 may initially display a default name, such as "collection [n]", where n is a number.                 

The save collection dialog 401 also has a " save " for actually creating a collection that has a name provided to the name control 403 and includes data items corresponding to the data object 207 included in the basket control 201. save button 405 and a "cancel" button 407 for canceling the process of creating an integrated collection. The save collection dialog 401 may also include an "advanced" button 409 that may provide additional controls for determining attributes or other values for the unified collection that is created.

It should be noted that in various embodiments of the present invention, various features of the user interface may be configured by a software application hosting the basket control 201. For example, in the save collection dialog 401 shown in FIG. 4, the title 411 of the save collection dialog 401 may be specified by a software application hosting the basket control 201. Thus, if the hosting software application is involved in the playback of a music file, the title 411 of the save collection dialog 401 would be "Save playlist". On the other hand, if the hosting software application is involved in the display of the image file, the title 411 of the save collection dialog 401 will be a "Save slide show" as shown in the figure. . Similarly, the text at the top of the text box in the save collection dialog 401 and other text inside the text box can be configured as desired by the software application. In addition, the file format of the generated collection can be determined by the software application hosting the basket control 201. Thus, a hosting software application that is involved in the playback of music files can store the integrated collection in the .wpl (Windows Play List) file format. If the hosting application does not specify a specific file format for the collection that is created, the collection may be assigned a default file format, such as a file format for a static list type collection.

In addition, the “save collection” command button 305 itself may be modified, hidden, omitted or inactive by the software application. For example, the "Save Collection" command button 305 may be configured to display the desired text. Thus, a hosting software application that is involved in the playback of music may modify the "Save Collection" command button 305 to include the text "Save Playlist", while a hosting software application that is involved in the display of images may be "slides." The "Save Collection" command button 305 can be modified to include the "Save Show" text. In addition, the software application hosting the basket control 201 may completely omit the "Save Collection" command button 305. For example, as described in more detail below, the hosting software application may provide its own command control for creating a consolidated collection corresponding to the data objects 207 included in the basket control 201.

As noted above, in various embodiments of the present invention, the basket control 201 is implemented using conventional software techniques or components, such as a "navigator view" software component provided in a Microsoft Windows XP Explorer software application. Can be. Conveniently, the basket control 201 may include some or all of the features of the explorer view software component. For example, in some implementations of the invention, a user may make a "double click" (ie, containment data object 207) on the containment data object 207 to navigate within the containment data object 207. Select and activate command keys, such as keys on the pointing device twice). Alternatively or in addition, the user may double-click on the file data object 207 to launch a software application that processes that type of file as a default to process the file data object 207.

In addition, the user selects a "right-click" (i.e., data object 207) on the data object 207 to view a menu of commands to take action on the selected data object 207. Command key] can be activated. Menus are "open", "print", "send to", "cut", "copy", "delete" and "rename" conventional commands such as "(rename)" and "view properties". However, in addition to or instead of the "delete" command, the menu provided to the data object 207 may include a command to remove or exclude the selected data object 207 from the basket control 201 as described in detail above. Note that you can. In addition, many embodiments of the invention may allow a user to change the view of the representation of the data object 207 in the basket display area 203. For example, the user can change the displayed view from an icon of each data object 207 to an alphanumeric list of each data object 207.

In some embodiments of the invention, the basket control 201 does not include any data object 207 when it is first instantiated. In other embodiments of the invention, the basket control 201 may include a data object 207 associated with the basket control 201 when first instantiated. For example, as described above, where basket control 201 is associated with an existing consolidated collection, basket control 201 may initially include a data object 207 associated with the data item within the aggregate collection. . In addition, when the basket control 201 is launched from a software application that has previously selected the data object 207, the basket control 201 may initially include those selected data objects 207.

Listmaker Control

Although basket control 201 alone provides many functions, various embodiments of the present invention may increase its usefulness by combining basket control 201 with other software applications or functions. For example, as described above, some implementations of the invention may include the basket control 201 in the listmaker control 501 as shown in FIG. 5.

As can be seen in the figure, the list maker control 501 includes a basket control 201 including a basket display area 203, a vertical scroll bar 205, and a status bar 209, as described above; A basket navigation tool bar 211 including a navigation control for navigating in the basket control 201. The listmaker control 501 also includes a navigation tool 503 for navigating to the desired data object 207. The navigation tool 503 may be implemented using any desired type of navigation tool 503, but various examples of the present invention utilize a software application having a graphical user interface, such as a browser application, to navigate the navigation tool 503. Can be implemented.

For example, in the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5, the navigation tool 503 is implemented using a "navigator view" component from a explorer software application provided by the Microsoft Windows XP operating system. As can be seen in the figure, the navigation tool 503 uses several graphical user interfaces, including a navigation display area 505, a listmaker navigation toolbar 507, and a basket command toolbar 509. The navigation tool 503 provides these graphical user interfaces to assist the user in navigating to and identifying the desired data object 207, which is then graphically displayed in the navigation display area 505. Is expressed. For example, the navigation tool 503 may include one or more navigation controls for navigating a file structure, such as a list of available places to be navigated, and a data object 207 to be displayed in the navigation display area 505. It may include controls for selecting the type (eg, picture file).

The basket command tool bar 509 may then include one or more command controls for transferring the data object 207 identified by the navigation tool 503 to the basket control 201. In the illustrated example, the basket command tool bar 509 includes an "Add to list" command. Thus, after the user selects one or more data objects 207 represented in the navigation display area 505 (eg, using a pointing device such as a mouse or touchpad), the user selects the selected data objects 207. The "add to list" command may be activated for transmission to the basket control 201.

Of course, in addition to (or instead of) the commands provided in the basket command tool bar 509, various embodiments of the present invention allow the user to select one or more data objects 207 identified by the navigation tool 503. Other techniques may be used to transfer to the basket control 201. For example, as described above, in some embodiments of the present invention, a user may “drag and drop” a representation of the data object 207 displayed in the navigation display area 505 into the basket display area 203. To transmit the data object 207 to the basket control 201. In some embodiments of the invention, the representation of the data object 207 already sent to the basket control 201 may be highlighted or otherwise distinguished in the navigation display area 505.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 5, the software application hosting the listmaker control 501 is also a collection creation tool bar for creating a collection corresponding to the data object 207 sent to the basket control 201. It also provides a (collection creation toolbar) (511). The collection creation toolbar 511 may include one or more command controls for generating a consolidated collection from the data objects 207 included in the basket control 201. In the illustrated example, the listmaker control 501 is hosted by a software application “wizard” for burning the data object 207 to an optical storage disc such as a DVD or CD. Accordingly, the collection creation toolbar 511 executes the commands "Next" and "Cancel" to create the unified collection (or cancel the process of creating the unified collection) by continuing with the components of the wizard. Include. However, other embodiments of the present invention may provide command controls, such as command buttons, to explicitly create a consolidated collection in the basket control 201 or from the data object 207 included in the listmaker control 501. have. In addition, the illustrated embodiment of the present invention includes a collection creation tool bar 511 having command controls for generating a consolidated collection, while other embodiments of the present invention may in addition or instead have a collection creation tool bar ( Note that the 511 may be included in the basket control 201 or the list maker control 501 as described above.

As mentioned above, the navigation tool 503 may be implemented using conventional software application components and functionality, such as, for example, a "navigator view" component provided in the Explorer software application of the Microsoft Windows XP operating system. As such, the navigation tool 503 may include some or all of the features of a explorer view software application. For example, in some implementations of the invention, a user can double-click on inclusion data object 207 to navigate within inclusion data object 207, and instead of or in addition to file data object 207. Can be double-clicked on the file data object 207 to launch a software application that processes that type of file by default.

In addition, the user can right-click on the representation of the data object 207 in the navigation display area 505 to view a menu of commands for taking some action on the selected data object 207. This menu can also include conventional commands such as "Open", "Print", "Send", "Cut", "Copy", "Delete", "Rename" and "Properties [View]". have. However, it should be noted that the menu provided for the data object 207 may also include instructions for sending the selected data object 207 to the basket control 201.

In addition, many embodiments of the invention may allow a user to change the view of the representation of the data object 207 in the basket display area 203. For example, the user can change the displayed view from an icon of each data object 207 to an alphanumeric list of each data object 207. In addition, various embodiments of the present invention may allow a user to use more complex navigation tools, such as the view pane 513 shown in FIG. 5. View pane 513 may be similar to or the same as the view pane conventionally provided by the Explorer view software component of the Microsoft Windows XP operating system. Also, in some embodiments of the present invention, the representation of the data object 207 in the navigation display area 505 may be highlighted, displayed in a given color or otherwise displayed if the data object 207 is already represented by a basket control. Can be distinguished in a manner. This makes it easy to identify the data object 207 in the navigation display area 505 sent to the basket control 201.

In addition, in various embodiments of the present invention, various features, attributes, and settings of the listmaker control 501 may be determined by the user or by a software application hosting the listmaker control 501 (ie, software of the hosting software application). By the developer). For example, the listmaker control 501 can be configured to perform an open at the default start position. Thus, if the hosting application is a software application associated with the playback of a music file, the application has a data structure relating to the music file, such as the "My Music" folder, initially provided by the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, with a navigation display area 505. It can be specified to display a representation of the data object 207 located at a portion of the. Similarly, if the hosting application is a software application relating to the display of photographic images, the application may include data about image files, such as the "My Pictures" folder, initially provided by the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, with navigation display area 505. It can be specified to display a representation of the data object 207 located at a portion of the structure. If the software application does not specify a specific open location for the listmaker control 501, the listmaker control 501 may be located at the last location accessed by the hosting software application or by the default location (by the Microsoft Windows XP operating system). You can open it from the supplied "My Documents" folder, etc.).

The software application hosting the listmaker control 501 may also specify the type of file (and thus available to be sent to the basket control 201) to be displayed in the navigation display area 505. For example, if the hosting application is a software application associated with the playback of a music file, the application may be a data object whose navigation display area 505 initially has a music file type (eg, .mp3, or .wma file). It is possible to specify that only the expression 207 is displayed. Similarly, if the hosting application is a software application related to the display of photographic images, then that application has a representation of the data object 207 where the navigation display area 505 initially has an image file type, such as .tif and .jpg file types. Only display can be specified.

In addition, in some embodiments of the present invention, the software application hosting the listmaker control 501 can specify the view provided by the navigation display area 505. The hosting software application can also specify whether the view window is initially displayed or hidden.

As such, listmaker control 501 provides the software application with a powerful tool to help the user create a unified collection. In addition, the listmaker control 501 may include all of the functionality of the basket control 201, while the listmaker control 501 may provide additional functionality for the hosting software application to create a unified collection for the user. It is advantageous to have one. In addition, these additional functions may be configured by the software application to better align with the functionality and purpose of the hosting software application itself.

Interface to Basket Control and ListMaker Control

According to various examples of the invention, the basket control 201, the listmaker control 501, or both, are conveniently software objects that can be hosted by a software application simply by accessing an interface to the software object. Can be implemented. This type of interface, sometimes referred to as an "application programming interface", allows the listmaker control 501 (or the software application without having to include all of the software instructions required to implement the listmaker control 501 or the basket control 201). Hosting the basket control 201 and specifying specific settings of the listmaker control 501 (or basket control 201).

Thus, a hosting application can use an application programming interface to create a collection. This application programming interface manages ordered collections or lists, such as the ability to insert items (eg, data objects 207) into lists, remove items from lists, and retrieve items within lists. It may include a function for doing so. This application programming interface may also include functionality for managing the container of links (pointers or "shortcuts" to data objects 207 in the list).

Various examples of the invention may also provide an application programming interface that includes software instructions for creating a special type of collection, such as a playlist folder. This application programming interface, hereinafter referred to as the "playlist" application programming interface, can utilize the basic ordered collection application programming interface described above, but provides additional functionality to the collection. For example, a special collection application programming interface may provide a basic ordered collection with a "copy mode" attribute that determines how the data object 207 is copied into the collection. If the value of the attribute is "flat", the contents of the nested data object 207 flatten out when added to the collection. However, if the value of the attribute is "not flat", the data object ( 207 maintains its nested hierarchy when added to a collection, so that the value of the "copy mode" attribute may be specified by the hosting application to correspond to the purpose of the collection. Collections containing normal collections and music files may have the "copy mode" attribute set to "flat", while collections for photographic images may have the copy mode set to "not flat".

The playlist application programming interface may also provide a "web theme" attribute for the collection. This attribute determines, for example, the background image displayed by the listmaker control 501 when accessing the collection. Thus, a generic collection may have a generic "web theme" attribute value of "list", but a collection for music files may be a "playlist" [that is, for example, a listmaker control 501 to display musical scores or musical instruments as background images. ) Can be assigned to the "web theme" attribute value. Similarly, a collection for music files may have a "web theme" attribute value of "photo_album" (which can instruct the listmaker control 501 to display a camera or photo album as a background image, for example). have. The playlist application programming interface may also provide a "perceived folder type" attribute that determines how the image representing the folder data object 207 is displayed in the collection.

The playlist application programming interface may also provide a "default columns" attribute that defines the information displayed for the data object 207 in the collection. For example, the "default column" value may be set to "Name; Order; Artist; Album; Duration" for a collection of music files. Then, when information about the data object 207 in the collection is displayed, the information is displayed as the piece of music associated with the data object 207, the order of the data object 207 in the collection, the musician associated with the data object 207. Name, the name of the music album associated with the data object 207, and the duration of the music associated with the data object 207. On the other hand, the "default column" value may be set to "Name; Order" for a normal collection, so only the name of each data object 207 and its order in the collection are displayed. In addition, the playlist application programming interface can provide an "order" attribute that determines whether this collection will update the order of the data objects 207 when a new data object 207 is added to or removed from the collection. .

Various examples of the invention may also provide a basket control application programming interface for creating a basket control. This application programming interface creates a basket control object, which can be a simple browser software component, for example. The basket control application programming interface can then provide various attributes, methods, and notifications associated with the basket control. For example, the basket control application programming interface may include a "RootFolder" attribute that may be readable and writable before the basket control is displayed. This property identifies the collection for which a basket control has been created. If the value of this attribute is "null", the basket control can create a temporary collection.

The basket control application programming interface may also include attributes regarding how the data object 207 and the data object 207 in the collection are displayed by the basket control. For example, the basket control application programming interface may include a "flags" attribute that may be readable and writable before the basket control is displayed. This property defines various flags related to the basket control. The value of this attribute can be, for example, "hidenavigation" to hide them, even if the collection supports navigation buttons and commands, and left-aligned toolbars (or toolbars), hide headers, and add additional controls on the status bar. It can include a "widelayout" that provides additional space for it. This property can also have a "hideorder" value that hides the ordering buttons and commands, even if the collection supports ordering.

The basket control application programming interface may also include "VisibleColumns" and "ViewFlags" attributes, both of which may be readable and writable. The "VisibleColumns" attribute defines which columns are displayed to represent the data object 207 in the basket display area 203, while the "ViewFlags" attribute represents the data object 207 in the basket display area 203. It defines which flag is displayed to do so. The basket control application programming interface may also include a "ViewMode" attribute, which may be readable and writable. The "ViewMode" attribute determines the mode (eg, icon, detail, thumbnail), etc. in which the representation of the data object 207 in the collection is to be displayed. In addition, the basket control application programming interface may be readable and writable and may also have a "Header" attribute that specifies that the header is displayed in the basket control. In addition, the basket control application programming interface may be readable and writable before the basket control is displayed and may also include a "WatermarkText" attribute that determines the text to be displayed when the basket display area 203 is empty.

The basket control application programming interface may also include one or more attributes related to the operation of the status bar. For example, the basket control application programming interface may be readable and writable before the basket control is displayed, and may also include a "StatusProperties" attribute that defines the properties of the collection (or set of collections to be displayed) to be displayed by the status bar. Can be. The basket control application programming interface may be readable and writable and may also include a "StatusText" attribute that replaces the display of the attribute in the status bar with a text string. If the value of this property is set to "null", the properties reappear in the status bar.

In addition, the basket control application programming interface may include one or more methods associated with a state bar. For example, the Basket Control application programming interface may use "SetStatusGauge (int isp, object maximum, string format)" to activate a gauge display (for example, a three-dimensional pie chart) for the relevant attribute at a given index. May contain methods The hosting application can use this method to activate the gauge display for one of the attributes in the status bar. For example, the gauge display may be a three-dimensional pie chart that displays pie slices that are proportional to the current total value of the attribute, for the maximum value specified by the hosting application. In addition, the hosting application may specify a string (eg, a text string) that the basket control can use to format the textual description of the attribute, with a token replaced by the current total and maximum value of the attribute. For example, the status bar may display the text "40 MB of 600 MB available" text.

The basket control application programming interface may also include one or more notifications for notifying the event to other software components. For example, the basket control application programming interface may include a "FolderContentsChanged" notification that sends an event message when the contents of the collection are modified.

In addition, various embodiments of the present invention may provide a listmaker application programming interface for creating a listmaker control. The listmaker control can be implemented, for example, from a basket control created by a simple browser software component and a basket control application programming interface. Thus, the listmaker control application programming interface may include various attributes related to browser components or basket controls. For example, the listmaker control application programming interface may include a "FolderView" attribute, which may be a read-only value that identifies the browser component used by the listmaker control. Similarly, the listmaker control application programming interface may include a "Basket" attribute that identifies the basket control used by the listmaker control. In addition, the listmaker control application programming interface may include a "BasketWidth" attribute, which may be a readable and writable value that specifies the width of the basket control within the listmaker control.

Although examples of various application programming interfaces are described above, it should be noted that any of these application programming interfaces may use additional or alternative attributes, methods, and notifications, depending on the desired functionality and operating system environment in which the application programming interface is to be used. do.

conclusion

While the present invention has been described with respect to certain examples, including the preferred mode of carrying out the invention at present, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and substitutions of the above systems and techniques are within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims. You will know well.

Claims (48)

In the tool for creating a unified collection, A basket interface for receiving data objects to be processed concurrently, and For each data object sent to the basket interface, a collection creation component that adds at least one data item corresponding to the transmitted data object to the collection of data items. The tool of claim 1, wherein the basket interface comprises a display interface for displaying a representation of the data objects received by the basket interface. The tool of claim 2, wherein the display interface displays a representation of all data objects corresponding to data items in the collection. The tool of claim 2, wherein the basket interface and the display interface share a single graphical user interface. 3. The display interface of claim 2, wherein the display interface allows a user to specify the order of the data objects received by the basket interface. And the collection creation component adds data items to the collection in the order of the data objects specified by the user. 3. The tool of claim 2, further comprising one or more navigation controls for navigating between data objects represented by the display interface. The tool of claim 1, wherein the collection includes pointers to the data objects received by the basket interface. The tool of claim 1, wherein the collection generation component creates a new collection upon instantiation. The method of claim 1, wherein the basket interface allows data objects to be removed from the basket interface, For each data object removed from the basket interface, the collection generation component removes each data item corresponding to the removed data object from the collection. 2. The tool of claim 1, further comprising a name control to facilitate naming the collection. The tool of claim 1, further comprising a notification component that notifies other software applications when the collection of data items changes. The tool of claim 1, further comprising a status display for displaying information related to the data objects sent to the basket interface. 13. The tool of claim 12, wherein the status display displays an amount of storage space to be occupied by the data objects sent to the basket interface. 13. The tool of claim 12, wherein said status display displays an amount of storage space associated with said collection. 13. The tool of claim 12, wherein the status display displays a relationship between the amount of storage space to be occupied by a data object sent to the basket interface and the amount of storage space associated with the collection. 2. The tool of claim 1, further comprising a listmaker control that provides data objects that can be sent to the basket interface. 17. The tool of claim 16, wherein the listmaker control comprises a second display interface for displaying a representation of data objects that can be sent to the basket interface. 18. The tool of claim 17, wherein the listmaker control includes one or more second navigation controls for navigating between one or more data objects for presentation by the second display. 17. The tool of claim 16, wherein the listmaker control includes a data object submission control that, when activated, transfers selected data objects represented on the second display to the basket interface. The method of claim 16, wherein the listmaker control includes a menu component that provides a menu of commands associated with selected data objects such that the menu includes at least one command for sending the selected data objects to the basket interface. Tool. A method of providing a consolidated list of data items corresponding to data objects, the method comprising: Receiving one or more data objects, and For each received data object, adding at least one data item corresponding to the received data object to the list of data items. 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising displaying a representation of the received data objects. 23. The method of claim 22, further comprising displaying each data object corresponding to a data item in the list. 23. The method of claim 22, further comprising providing navigation controls for navigating between the displayed representations of the received data objects. 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising receiving instructions for ordering data items in the list. 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising generating the list. The method of claim 21, further comprising: receiving instructions for removing one or more data objects, and For each removed data object, deleting all data items corresponding to the removed data object from the list. 23. The method of claim 21, further comprising: receiving a name of the list, and Naming the list to the received name. 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising notifying other software applications of a change in the list. 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising displaying information related to the status of the list. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the displayed information is an amount of storage space occupied by the received data objects. 33. The method of claim 30, wherein the displayed information is an amount of storage space associated with the list. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the displayed information is an amount of storage space to be occupied by the received data objects relative to the amount of storage space associated with the list. 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: receiving the data objects via a basket interface, and Displaying a representation of data objects that can be received via the basket interface. 35. The method of claim 34, further comprising providing one or more navigation controls for navigating between the displayed representations of data objects that can be received via the basket interface. 35. The method of claim 34, further comprising providing a submission control for transmitting selected data objects among the displayed representations of data objects that can be received via the basket interface when activated. 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the menu of commands sends the selected data objects to the basket interface by providing a menu of commands for data objects selected from the displayed representations of data objects that can be received via the basket interface. The method further comprises the step of providing a command menu adapted to include a command. A method of providing an interface to a list of data items, the method comprising: Receiving a list parameter identifying a list of data items, and In response, causing a control to be generated that receives data objects and adds to the identified list at least one data item corresponding to the received data object for each received data object. 39. The method of claim 38, wherein the control displays a representation of data objects corresponding to data items in the list. 40. The method of claim 39, further comprising: receiving one or more flag parameters for determining content of the graphical user interface for the control; In response, causing the control to include content in the graphical user interface corresponding to the received flag parameters. 41. The method of claim 40, further comprising causing the control to display the graphical user interface without navigation control for navigating between the displayed representations of the data objects corresponding to data items in the list. . 41. The method of claim 40, further comprising causing the control to display the graphical user interface without ordering control for ordering the displayed representations of the data objects corresponding to data items in the list. 39. The method of claim 38, further comprising: receiving attribute parameters, and In response, causing the control to display attributes corresponding to the received attribute parameters. 44. The method of claim 43, wherein the attributes comprise attributes of the received data objects. 44. The method of claim 43, wherein the attributes comprise attributes of the list. 39. The method of claim 38, further comprising: receiving instructions for activating status functionality, and In response, causing the control to activate the status function. The method of claim 38, wherein the list parameter has a null value, In response, causing the control to generate a new list of data items. 39. The method of claim 38, further comprising notifying other software applications when the list changes.

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