BR112017013119B1 - METHOD, APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER READABLE NON-TRANSITORY STORAGE MEDIA FOR RENDERING A TREE STRUCTURE OF ELEMENTS IN A GRAPHIC USER INTERFACE - Google Patents

Abstract

METHOD, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER READABLE NON-TRANSIENT STORAGE MEDIA FOR RENDERING A TREE STRUCTURE OF ELEMENTS IN A GRAPHIC USER INTERFACE. An apparatus (20) and method (10) for providing a tree structure in a GUI depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree provided uses the position of the cursor with respect to the tree to control which tree branches to expand/ collect automatically. They reconfigure the tree view for compact presentation without the need for explicit expand/collapse operations. A tree view is generated (11). A cursor position with respect to the view is determined (14), which consists of first and second position values according to the first and second directions. The branch with which the cursor position is aligned according to the first direction is automatically selected as the active branch (15). Sublevels of that branch to be expanded are determined (16) depending on the value of the second position with respect to indents of the sublevels, and the tree view is automatically updated by expanding the determined sublevels of the active branch and collapsing other branches (17).

Description

FIELD

[001] A data processing apparatus and a computer-implanted method for providing a tree structure of elements are presented. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a data processing apparatus and a computer-implemented method for providing a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface depending on a position of a cursor relative to the structure in question. tree provided, and a corresponding computer-readable storage medium.

BACKGROUND

[002]Concepts used, for example, for annotating semantic metadata of multimedia data are often arranged according to a hierarchical super-concept/sub-concept scheme, resulting in concept taxonomies. For example, a vehicle taxonomy might comprise the sub-concepts land vehicle, boats, aircraft, etc., with land vehicles further comprising sub-concepts such as car, truck, bus, etc. In taxonomies, any subconcept is a type of all its superconcepts. Therefore, if a specific concept to be annotated is missing from a taxonomy, an annotator may fall back on the best matching superconcept. For example, a battle tank may be noted as a land vehicle, and a UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) may be noted as a vehicle.

[003]A large and complex taxonomy may have several independent top-level concepts, many levels of hierarchy below each top-level concept, and many sub-concepts of individual super-concepts. This huge amount of deeply nested concepts can be difficult to provide conveniently in a graphical user interface (GUI) of an application using this taxonomy, for example, in a view that displays this taxonomy for selecting concepts to be annotated.

[004] One possibility to provide taxonomies is to use a table view. Here, each top-level concept can get its own table or be the header of a table column or row. For example, a column heading shows a super concept and the column contents the corresponding sub concepts. If additional granularity is desired, the columns can contain subtables, for example, with a direct sub-concept shown in bold and its lower-level concepts shown in normal type. This table view can show many concepts and their hierarchy in a small space and can provide a good overview of the concepts. However, it can only show a few hierarchy levels at a time without becoming cluttered. If a user needs to review additional sublevels, the user has to select a concept for which additional sublevels are to be shown, for example, updating a currently shown table or showing an additional table. In a deeply nested taxonomy, multiple selections like this may be needed to arrive at a specific concept. If no concepts of interest are found, the user may want to revert to a table that shows higher level concepts again. This switching between a coarser and finer-grained view of a taxonomy is similar to up/down search operations in the provisioning and processing of multidimensional data in online analytical processing (OLAP) of databases and tables. dynamics.

[005]Another possibility to provide taxonomies is to use a tree view. Such views are used to show deeply nested hierarchies in various applications, for example, file system explorers or document drafting tools. Such applications may provide controls to extend/collapse a currently displayed number of tree levels below the selected one by one or more levels, expand/collapse all tree levels below the selected one, collapse a specifically configured subtree to a selected level, and later show this subtree as previously configured once more, show a specific number of tree levels below the top level, etc. A tree view with such functionality can also be used to provide taxonomies so that a user can browse and expand the subtrees of interest to find and select a concept of interest. A tree view like this can provide huge taxonomies with many levels of hierarchy. However, it is less suited to providing an overview of concepts: If many levels of trees are expanded, a lot of scrolling is required to find a concept in the spread out view, and it is difficult to keep track of concept relationships. If, for a more compact view, only a few tree levels are expanded, many expand/collapse operations are needed to search down or up from lower-level concepts.

[006]For small taxonomies a GUI of an application that uses taxonomies can contain table views, but a table view can hardly handle a high number of hierarchy levels of a large taxonomy properly, causing a need for frequent updating from table view or show child tables quickly. On the other hand, in some applications a manually configurable tree view is used for large taxonomies, but this lacks convenience due to the issue of opposition between compact overview and required amount of view reconfiguration operations. The same problem applies not only to searching for concepts in a taxonomy, but also to elements in other views of complex trees, for example, to search for a file in a deeply nested file directory structure or for a database entry. in a deeply nested database structure.

[007] There remains a need to resolve the convenience issues of a manually configured tree view, for example, to provide large taxonomies, and to provide a more efficient human-machine interface that allows for improved finding and selection of an element, i.e. , a node, in a tree structure of elements displayed in a tree view, for example, concepts in a taxonomy displayed in a tree view.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[008] A computer-implemented method and data processing apparatus for providing a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface (GUI) depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree structure provided, as well as a computer-readable storage medium, as per the appended claims are suggested.

[009]. According to one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for providing a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree structure provided comprises

[010]- generate a tree view of the tree structure being organized into a plurality of branches;

[011]- determine the position of the cursor with respect to the tree view, the position consisting of a first position value according to a first direction and a second position value according to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;

[012]- automatically select the branch with which the cursor position is aligned according to the first direction as an active branch;

[013]- determine sublevels of the active branch to be expanded, depending on the value of the second position in relation to the indents of the sublevels; It is

[014]- Automatically update the tree view by expanding certain sublevels of the active branch and collapsing other branches.

[015] Therefore, a data processing apparatus for providing a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree structure provided comprises

[016]- a graphical representation unit configured to generate a tree view of the tree structure being organized into a plurality of branches;

[017] - a position determination unit configured to determine the position of the cursor with respect to the tree view, the position consisting of a first position value according to a first direction and a second position value according to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;

[018]- an active branch selection unit configured to automatically select the branch with which the cursor position is aligned according to the first direction as an active branch; It is

[019]- an expansion determination unit configured to determine sublevels of the active branch to be expanded, depending on the second position value with respect to the indents of the sublevels;

[020]- the graphical representation unit being additionally configured to automatically update the tree view by expanding the determined sublevels of the active branch and collapsing other branches.

[021] Units comprised in the apparatus, such as the graphic representation unit, the position determination unit, the active branch selection unit and the expansion determination unit can be provided as separate devices, together as per least one device or circuitry logically or functionally realized by a microprocessor, microcontroller or other processing device, computer or other programmable device.

[022]. According to an embodiment, a data processing apparatus for providing a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree structure provided comprises

[023]- a processing device;

[024]- a display device; It is

[025] - a memory device that stores instructions that, when executed, make the processing device

[026] - generate a tree view that shows, using the display device, the tree structure being organized into a plurality of branches;

[027]- determine the position of the cursor with respect to the tree view, the position consisting of a first position value according to a first direction and a second position value according to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;

[028]- automatically select the branch with which the cursor position is aligned according to the first direction as an active branch;

[029]- determine sublevels of the active branch to be expanded, depending on the second position value with respect to indentations of the sublevels; It is

[030]- Automatically update the tree view shown by the display device by expanding certain sublevels of the active branch and collapsing other branches. Devices are connected by a bus or other communication lines.

[031] In addition, a computer-readable storage medium has instructions stored therein that enable it to provide a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree structure provided, which , when executed by a computer, make the computer:

[032] - generate a tree view of the tree structure being organized into a plurality of branches;

[033]- determine the position of the cursor with respect to the tree view, the position consisting of a first position value according to a first direction and a second position value according to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;

[034]- automatically select the branch with which the cursor position is aligned according to the first direction as an active branch;

[035]- determine sublevels of the active branch to be expanded, depending on the second position value in relation to the indentation of the sublevels; It is

[036]- Automatically update the tree view by expanding certain sublevels of the active branch and collapsing other branches.

[037] The computer-readable storage medium tangibly embodies a program of instructions, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the described method steps.

[038] The graphical user interface is responsive to user input that controls the position of the cursor with respect to the tree structure of elements provided. The cursor can be moved or manipulated using a cursor manipulation device, for example a computer mouse, stationary mouse, pointer, or integrated mouse. If the display device is a touch screen device, the cursor can also be moved or manipulated using, for example, a user's finger or a stylus. In one embodiment the cursor can be moved in response to hand or finger tracking and gesture recognition while analyzing a live video provided by a camera showing the user.

[039] The tree structure is organized into, that is, comprises, a plurality of branches or trajectories of connected nodes, which may consist of sublevels, that is, tree levels below a parent node, in which the elements or nodes contained in a sublevel are connected to the same indentation as siblings of the same parent node.

[040]The tree view is a graphical representation of the tree structure. The tree view is shown on a GUI element, for example a window or frame. It allows automatic selection of the active branch, ie the cursor position is determined without clicking, just evaluating the cursor position with respect to the tree view. The active branch is the branch that is selected to be explored by the user, for example by expanding sublevels. This relative position of the cursor can be changed either by moving the cursor over the tree view or scrolling the viewport showing the tree view, while the absolute position of the cursor, i.e. the position with respect to the bounds of the viewport or the screen of the display device showing the viewport containing the tree view, may or may not remain unchanged.

[041] Then it is calculated how many sublevels of the active branch to expand, depending on an evaluation of offsets of the second position value with respect to indentations of the sublevels. Then, without manual interaction on the part of the user, an automatic tree view reset mechanism causes the tree view to be automatically updated by expanding the given sublevels of the active branch and collapsing the other branches.

[042] The automatic tree view reconfiguration mechanism according to the proposed solution allows you to quickly examine a data structure similar to a complex tree. It mimics the behavior of a user using manual controls to navigate nested data, for example from a taxonomy, a file system or a database, being organized in a tree structure and displayed as a tree in a tree view, to find and select an element of interest, i.e., a concept, a file or a database entry, respectively, from the top-level elements, and then search down a branch of the tree only once, and, possibly search upwards again if no element of interest is found, including collapsing the left sublevels. The engine uses the position of a cursor relative to the tree view to control which branches of the tree to automatically expand/collapse. It reconfigures the tree view into a compact presentation of the tree without the need for explicit expand/collapse operations by mouse clicks, keystrokes, touch screen taps, or the like, and requiring fewer cursor movements than the necessary for a corresponding manual control scheme.

[043] The mechanism according to the proposed solution at least has the effect that a user can perform the task of finding/selecting an element of interest in a faster and more convenient way than using manual controls, that is, a More efficient man-machine interface is provided.

[044] In one embodiment, the first direction corresponds to a vertical direction and the second direction corresponds to a horizontal direction on a screen of a display device that displays the tree view in the graphical user interface. Here, the vertical position of the cursor relative to the tree elements is used to control which branch of the tree is selected as the active branch that can be expanded, and the horizontal position of the cursor relative to the indents of the tree levels is used to control how many sublevels of the active branch to expand. A sublevel of the active branch is determined to be expanded if the sublevel indentation is found to the left of the cursor position. In a different embodiment the first direction corresponds to the horizontal direction and the second direction corresponds to the vertical direction.

[045] In one mode, the determination of the cursor position, the automatic selection of the active branch, the determination of sublevels to be expanded and the automatic update of the tree view are continuously repeated. The automatic engine constantly tracks any cursor movement and, if necessary, immediately automatically reconfigures the tree view to a compact tree view. In one embodiment a small delay can be introduced before automatically executing the expand/collapse operations. In another embodiment the expand and/or collapse operations are delayed until an additional keystroke, for example of an arrow key, has been performed.

[046] In one embodiment the tree view is updated by collapsing an excess sublevel of the active branch and the updated tree view is moved, automatically without further user interaction, in the first direction until a corresponding hiding element, i.e. understanding, the collapsed surplus sublevel becomes aligned with the cursor position according to the first direction, if an amount of sublevels to be expanded is less than an amount of currently expanded sublevels. In other words, if the displayed position of the cursor becomes inconsistent with the automatically reset tree view due to expand/collapse operations, the updated tree view is automatically moved in the first direction, e.g. vertically, so that the actual cursor position reflects the new logical cursor position relative to the updated tree view. If the first direction is the vertical direction and the cursor is not vertically aligned with a direct or indirect superelement of the tree level being collapsed due to the cursor moving to the left, simply collapsing that tree level otherwise could cause a arbitrary tree element, if any, are aligned vertically with the cursor, depending on the space previously occupied by elements of this tree level and the vertical position of the cursor relative to these elements. This could result in no more active branches or a new active branch being automatically selected comprising this arbitrary tree element. On the other hand, moving the tree view according to modality keeps the branch comprising the superelement the active branch and enables further continuous navigation through the tree. In some cases, such automatic resets or a manual vertical scrolling of the viewport containing the tree view may cause the topmost element in the tree to be displayed some distance from the top edge of the viewport. In one embodiment, therefore, the tree view together with the displayed cursor is offset towards said edge by said distance.

[047] In one embodiment, the tree structure of elements corresponds to a taxonomy, that is, a concept classification scheme, for example, concepts from taxonomies used for multimedia data. Here, the graphical user interface with the interactive tree view corresponds to a taxonomy browser for hierarchical metadata, ie a taxonomy is provided in the GUI, for example, for annotating semantic metadata in multimedia data. The automatic tree view reconfiguration mechanism adapted for the task of finding and selecting a concept in a taxonomy displayed as a tree in a tree view according to the proposed solution allows to efficiently provide even large taxonomies.

[048] In another embodiment, the tree structure of elements corresponds to a file directory structure. In general, the automatic tree view reconfiguration mechanism according to the proposed solution can also be used for tree views showing content other than taxonomies in various applications if the intended use of these views is to quickly navigate and select an element of the tree . For example, any database, document drafting tool, file explorer or an “Open File” dialog containing a tree view using the proposed tree view reconfiguration mechanism may need fewer control operations to find and select an element compared to applications using a standard tree view needing explicit operations to expand/collapse subtrees, eg subfolders.

[049] In one embodiment, the computer-implanted method comprises

[050] - select between an automatic mode and a manual mode, in response to a mode selection input by a user; on what

[051]- determination of the cursor position, automatic selection of the active branch, determination of sublevels to be expanded and automatic updating of the tree view are performed only in automatic mode, and in which

[052] - the tree view is updated in response to additional manual user input in the graphical user interface in manual mode.

[053] An apparatus performing the method according to the proposed solution can provide both manual tree view configuration functionalities and the proposed automatic mechanism, with a means to switch between the two modes. In one embodiment, it stores the manually established view setting when the automatic mode is turned on and restores the previously stored setting when the automatic mode is turned off again.

[054] In one mode, the cursor is generated specifically for user interaction with the tree view. This applies, for example, to systems that do not use a standard cursor. For devices that use, for example, a mouse pointer as their standard input, scrolling solutions that don't rely on scrollbars can be provided, whereas touch-screen controlled devices that don't use such a standard cursor can use gestures. pattern pass the pattern to scroll. In systems that use a cursor controlled by a pointing input device, for example, a mouse, stationary mouse, integrated mouse, or pointer, the cursor position is defined by the position of this cursor. On systems that do not use such a default cursor, for example touchscreen devices, a cursor specifically dedicated to the treeview viewport is used instead. The position of this dedicated cursor is controlled by dragging the cursor over the viewport, for example by a user's finger or a stylus. In particular, on systems that use a standard cursor and when the automatic mechanism according to the proposed solution is active, an application that uses this automatic mechanism does not use standard scrollbars at the edges of the viewport to scroll the view, because moving the cursor through the tree view to access such scrollbars can cause view resets. Instead, other means of scrolling control are used, e.g. keyboard controls, the mouse scroll wheel (e.g. vertical scrolling using the scroll wheel as usual, and horizontal scrolling by pressing the scroll button). scroll wheel, in combination with mouse movements, or left/right tilt of the scroll button if supported), or automatic scrolling when the cursor is moved to the edges of the viewport. On the other hand, a touchscreen-controlled application can use standard swipe gestures in the viewport to scroll the view, as long as a swipe gesture does not start at the cursor position, which could in turn be interpreted as dragging the cursor.

[055] In one embodiment, the tree view comprises visual indications as to whether or not a tree element corresponds to an indentation and has subelements, that is, it hides a subtree. Visual cues can be icons, such as a plus sign, a right-pointing triangle, or an arrow. As another example, visual cues can be given by providing tree elements in different styles, eg different color or font type, bold/italic or not, etc. In one embodiment, the visual indications further comprise a graphical cue of the complexity of the not-yet-expanded levels or subtrees, such as a number or a bar indicating an amount of hidden elements.

[056] In addition, in one embodiment one or more position indicators viewing a position of a visible section of the tree structure with respect to the tree view are shown as part of the view window. This provides navigational information, for example when scrolling the view or an automatic view reconfiguration has not led to any part of the tree view being actually visible within the viewport. Position indicators can be, for example, scrollbars, small lines with a wider part that indicate the position, and/or simple lines that indicate the position in relation to the height/width of the viewport. If placeholders provide scroll control functions, they are not used to scroll the viewport to avoid potentially unwanted resetting of the tree view when moving the cursor across the view. In another embodiment the position indicators are shown in a separate window or frame of the graphical user interface.

[057] Although not explicitly described, the present modalities can be employed in any combination or subcombination.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[058] Figure 1 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a method for providing a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface, depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree structure provided.

[059] Figure 2 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a data processing apparatus for providing a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface, depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree structure provided.

[060] Figure 3 schematically illustrates another embodiment of a data processing apparatus for providing a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface, depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree structure provided; It is

[061] Figures 4 to 32 schematically illustrate a modality of a tree view being subject to the tree view reconfiguration mechanism during user interaction through a cursor. In particular,

[062] Figure 4 illustrates an example of a tree view;

[063] Figure 5 illustrates a situation where the cursor is outside the tree view window.

[064] Figure 6 illustrates a situation where the cursor is not vertically aligned with a tree element.

[065] Figure 7 illustrates a situation where an active branch with only the top level element is displayed.

[066] Figure 8 illustrates a situation where the next sublevel of an active branch is automatically expanded.

[067] Figure 9 illustrates a situation where additional sublevels of the active branch are automatically expanded.

[068] Figure 10 illustrates a situation where an active branch is selected through a sublevel tree element.

[069] Figure 11 illustrates a situation where a next sublevel below the sublevel tree element is automatically expanded.

[070] Figure 12 illustrates a first part of a situation where tree levels are automatically collapsed.

[071] Figure 13 illustrates a second part of a situation where tree levels are automatically collapsed.

[072] Figure 14 illustrates a third part of a situation where tree levels are automatically collapsed.

[073] Figure 15 illustrates a first part of a situation where sublevels are automatically expanded by scrolling.

[074] Figure 16 illustrates a second part of a situation where sublevels are automatically expanded by scrolling.

[075] Figure 17 illustrates a third part of a situation where sublevels are automatically expanded by scrolling;

[076] Figure 18 illustrates a first part of a situation where sublevels are automatically collapsed by scrolling.

[077] Figure 19 illustrates a second part of a situation where sublevels are automatically collapsed by scrolling.

[078] Figure 20 illustrates a third part of a situation where sublevels are automatically collapsed by scrolling.

[079] Figure 21 illustrates a first part of a situation where the topmost branch is automatically expanded.

[080] Figure 22 illustrates a second part of a situation where the topmost branch is automatically expanded.

[081] Figure 23 illustrates a first part of a situation where the branch at the bottom is automatically expanded.

[082] Figure 24 illustrates a second part of a situation where the branch at the bottom is automatically expanded.

[083] Figure 25 illustrates a first part of an automatic collapse/expansion situation when changing the active branch.

[084] Figure 26 illustrates a second part of an automatic collapse/expansion situation when changing the active branch.

[085] Figure 27 illustrates a first part of an automatic expansion situation of a branch at the top by scrolling.

[086] Figure 28 illustrates a second part of an automatic expansion situation of a branch at the top by scrolling.

[087] Figure 29 illustrates a first part of an automatic expansion situation of a branch at the bottom by scrolling.

[088] Figure 30 illustrates a second part of an automatic expansion situation of a branch at the bottom by scrolling.

[089] Figure 31 illustrates a first part of an automatic collapse/expansion situation when changing the active branch by scrolling; It is

[090] Figure 32 illustrates a second part of an automatic collapse/expansion situation when changing the active branch by scrolling.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF MODALITIES

[091] For a better understanding, the proposed solution will now be explained in more detail in the following description with reference to the drawings. It is understood that the solution is not limited to these exemplary embodiments and that specified features can also be conveniently combined and/or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

[092] With reference to Figure 1, an embodiment of a computer-implemented method 10 for providing a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface, depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree structure provided is shown schematically . According to the shown embodiment, the method provides an automatic mechanism that constantly reconfigures the tree view to a compact tree presentation.

[093] In a first step 11 a tree view of the tree structure, which is organized, in a plurality of branches, is generated. According to the embodiment shown, in a following step 12 a selection between an automatic mode and a manual mode is performed in response to a mode selection entered by the user. In manual mode the tree view is updated in a following step 13 in response to further user input in the graphical user interface.

[094] In automatic mode, the following steps are performed:

[095]In a further step 14 the position of the cursor with respect to the tree view is determined. The position consists of a first position value according to a first direction and a second position value according to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.

[096]In a following step 15 the branch with which the cursor position is aligned according to the first direction is automatically selected as an active branch. In a following step 16 sublevels of the active branch to be expanded are determined depending on the second position value with respect to sublevel indents. In a subsequent step 17 the tree view is automatically updated by expanding the determined sublevels of the active branch and collapsing the other branches.

[097]If the cursor position with respect to the tree view is continued to be changed in a following step 18, the cursor position determination step 14, the active branch selection step 15, the expansion determination step sublevel 16 and auto tree update step 17 are repeated continuously. Otherwise, in the shown mode the method waits for any further changes in the position of the cursor with respect to the tree view.

[098] With reference now to Figure 2 and Figure 3, embodiments of data processing apparatus for providing a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree structure provided are shown schematically. The apparatus shown in Figure 2 and the apparatus shown in Figure 3 allow to implement the advantages and characteristics of the described method for providing a tree structure as part of an apparatus for providing a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface, depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree structure provided.

[099] The data processing apparatus 20 shown in Figure 2 comprises a selection unit 21 configured to select between an automatic mode and a manual mode in response to a mode selection input 22 by the user.

[0100] A graphical representation unit 23 is configured to generate a tree view of the tree structure being organized into a plurality of branches. The graphics unit 23 is connected to or connectable to or comprises a display device for displaying the tree view. In manual mode the graphing unit 23 updates the tree view in response to further manual user input on the graphical user interface. In automatic mode the graphing unit 23 updates the tree view in response to input from at least one expansion determination unit 27.

[0101] A position determination unit 24 is connected to the graphing unit 23 and is configured to determine a position of the cursor with respect to the tree view. The position consists of a first position value according to a first direction and a second position value according to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The position is determined based on input 25 from the user who controls the position of the cursor by scrolling or moving the cursor.

[0102]An active branch selection unit 26 is configured to automatically select the branch with which the cursor position is aligned according to the first direction as an active branch, and an expansion determination unit 27 is configured to determine sublevels of the active branch to be expanded, depending on the second position value with respect to sublevel indents.

[0103] The graphing unit 23 is configured to automatically update the tree view by expanding the determined sublevels of the active branch and collapsing the other branches.

[0104] In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the selection unit 21, the graphing unit 23, the position determination unit 24, the active branch selection unit 26 and the expansion determination unit 27 directly communicate with each other with the others. In another embodiment, the apparatus comprises a controller unit connected to one or more of the units and controls their communication.

[0105] The selection unit 21, the graphing unit 23, the position determination unit 24, the active branch selection unit 26 and the expansion determination unit 27 can be supplied as separate devices, together as at least one device or set of logic circuits or functionality performed by a microprocessor, microcontroller or other processing device, computer or other programmable apparatus arranged to perform processing, connected to or comprising at least one memory device.

[0106] As shown in Figure 3, an embodiment of a data processing apparatus 30 for providing a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the tree structure provided comprises a device processing device 31, a display device 32 and a memory device 33 storing instructions which, when executed, make the processing device

[0107] - generating a tree view that shows, using the display device 32, the structure of the tree being organized into a plurality of branches;

[0108] - determine the position of the cursor with respect to the tree view, the position consisting of a first position value according to a first direction and a second position value according to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;

[0109] - automatically select the branch with which the cursor position is aligned according to the first direction as an active branch;

[0110] - determine sublevels of the active branch to be expanded, depending on the value of the second position with respect to sublevel indents; It is

[0111] - Automatically update the tree view shown by the display device by expanding the given sublevels of the active branch and collapsing other branches.

[0112] For example, the processing device may be a processor adapted to perform the steps according to one of the described methods. In one embodiment, said adaptation comprises that the processor is configured, for example programmed, to carry out the steps according to one of the described methods.

[0113] With reference now to Figures 4 to 32, as an example, one embodiment of a taxonomy tree view being subject to the automatic tree view reconfiguration mechanism during user interaction via a cursor in mode automatic is schematically illustrated.

[0114] Figure 4 shows an example of a tree view of a taxonomy tree in a viewport, currently having four sublevels expanded. The cursor position is indicated by an arrow. The taxonomy displayed as a tree in the tree view has 9 top level concepts (Concept_1, ..., Concept_9) with each superconcept or parent node/element having 9 subconcepts or child nodes/elements, with 5 levels of hierarchy in the total. In the example illustrated in Figures 4 to 32, this taxonomy is manipulated. In Figure 4, only the branch that the cursor is vertically aligned with is expanded while the other branches are collapsed, providing a compact presentation of the tree although tree elements up to level 5 are visible. According to the proposed solution, the position of the cursor relative to the tree view is used to control the automatic expand/collapse operations of the tree view. The vertical position of the cursor relative to tree elements controls which branch of the tree can be expanded as the active branch. The other branches of the tree are automatically collapsed. These are called the inactive branches. The horizontal position of the cursor relative to the indentation of tree levels controls how many sublevels of the active branch can be expanded. When auto expanding/collapsing tree elements, the updated tree view can also be automatically moved vertically so that the actual cursor position reflects the new logical cursor position relative to the updated tree view.

[0115] Figure 5 shows the tree view when the cursor does not point to the view window. The situation is only possible if the cursor is the system cursor, ie a standard cursor not specifically created to interact with the tree view. In this case, there are no active branches by definition, regardless of the vertical position of the cursor. Therefore, only the top level elements of the tree are displayed. Furthermore, in the shown embodiment the tree is always displayed with its topmost element in the top left corner of the viewport, including associated subelement flags if applied to top level tree elements. This gives the user a compact and consistent presentation of the tree as a starting point for navigating through the tree when the cursor is moved into the viewport. Such movements can already cause an automatic reset of the tree view, depending on where the cursor enters the viewport relative to the tree view and the direction of movement.

[0116] Figure 6 illustrates a situation when the cursor points to the viewport, but is not aligned vertically with any tree element. No branch is selected as the active branch, which results in only the top level elements of the tree being displayed, too. Therefore, when the system cursor is moved into the viewport without the input position being vertically aligned with any tree elements, the tree view does not change. However, because the topmost tree element is displayed at the top edge of the viewport when the cursor does not point to the viewport, moving the cursor to the inside of the viewport from the top causes the input position is aligned vertically with the topmost tree element, unless there is no tree to display at all. When the cursor points to the viewport and is vertically aligned with a tree element, the branch to which that element belongs is the active branch. How many sublevels of the active branch can be expanded depends on the horizontal position of the cursor. If this position corresponds to the top tree level, referred to as tree level 1, i.e., if the cursor is placed to the left of the tree level 2 indent, only the top level element of the active branch is displayed, along with with the top level elements of the branches inactive, see Figure 7. From the position shown in Figure 7, the cursor can be moved up and down within the viewport without changing the tree view. As for whether or not there is an active branch and which top level tree element is associated with the active branches, this changes with the vertical offset of the cursor relative to the tree view.

[0117] When there is an active branch and the cursor is moved to the right beyond the next tree level indent, the next sublevel of the active branch is automatically expanded, if any. If the cursor is vertically aligned with a direct superelement of the tree level being expanded, that next sublevel is naturally the sublevel of that direct superelement. Otherwise, that next sublevel is defined to be the topmost tree element sublevel of the currently lowest expanded tree level of the active branch. For example, if the cursor is moved to the right by a distance equivalent to one tree indentation level in the tree view shown in Figure 7, the resulting tree view corresponds to Figure 8 because the resulting horizontal cursor position corresponds to the level tree level 2, that is, the cursor is placed between tree level 2 and tree level 3 indentation. Therefore, tree level 2 of the active branch is automatically expanded as soon as the cursor crosses tree level 2 indentation in its path . By moving the cursor further to the right by a distance of 4 tree indent levels, more and more sublevels of the active branch are expanded once the corresponding indents are crossed, resulting in the reconfigured tree view shown in Figure 9 , with the resulting horizontal cursor position intentionally corresponding to tree level 6 to illustrate that moving the cursor to additional indents to the right of the lowest tree level indent of an active branch no longer causes changes in the tree view. Automatic sublevel expansion of the active branch according to the horizontal cursor position also happens when the system cursor is moved into the viewport from the left, right, or top and the entry position is vertically aligned with a tree element, which is always one of the top level tree elements because only these are displayed when the cursor is not pointing to the viewport. The branch comprising the top-level tree element that the cursor is vertically aligned with becomes the active branch and is automatically expanded depending on the horizontal position of the cursor relative to the tree view, constrained by the number of sublevels in the branch active.

[0118] Typically, a user will not expand more than one sublevel of the active branch at a time, but will first browse the tree elements of a newly expanded sublevel to see whether or not there is an element of interest and whether or not he wants to expand a sublevel below this element. For example, if a user decides to expand the sublevel below Concept_3_3 in the tree view shown in Figure 8, he will likely move the cursor down to Concept_3_3 to make the branch comprising Concept_3_3 the active branch, see Figure 10, and then move the cursor to the right to expand the next sublevel, see Figure 11. If the user continues to expand the sublevel of every third element of each tree level in the tree view shown in Figure 11, the tree view will finally match Figure 4, except it is clipped by the bottom edge of the smaller viewport.

[0119] When there is an active branch and the cursor is moved to the left crossing the indentation of the lowest tree level currently expanded except for tree level 1, this tree level is automatically collapsed. If the cursor is vertically aligned with a direct or indirect superelement of the collapsing tree level, the active branch does not change. For example, if the cursor is moved to the left a distance equivalent to four levels of tree indentation in the tree view shown in Figure 9, the resulting tree view corresponds to Figure 8, because the resulting horizontal cursor position corresponds to the tree level 2. Therefore, tree level 5 of the active branch is automatically collapsed once the cursor crosses the indentation of tree level 5 on its path, and tree levels 4 and 3 of the active branch are automatically collapsed since the corresponding indents are crossed later. Moving the cursor further to the left by one level of tree indentation also collapses tree level 2 of the active branch, resulting in the tree view shown in Figure 7. Similarly, moving the cursor to the left left in the tree view shown in Figure 11 leads to the tree view shown in Figure 10 once the indentation of tree level 3 is crossed by the cursor.

[0120] When the cursor is not vertically aligned with a direct or indirect superelement of the tree level being collapsed due to the fact that moving the cursor to the left, simply collapsing this tree level would cause a tree level element to collapse. arbitrary tree, if any, were aligned vertically with the cursor, depending on the space previously occupied by elements at that level of the tree and the vertical position of the cursor relative to those elements. Therefore, there would be either a new active branch comprising this arbitrary tree element or no other active branches, uncontrolled by the user. Therefore, in the embodiment shown the updated tree view is automatically moved vertically so that the direct superelement of the tree level that was collapsed is vertically aligned with the cursor in this case, with the same vertical offset of this superelement with respect to the cursor as with the tree element that the cursor was vertically aligned with before the tree view was updated, as this position is the new logical cursor position within the updated tree view. This also makes the branch comprising this superelement the active branch, enabling continuous further navigation through the tree. Another approach would instead be to move the cursor to the position of this superelement, which is supposed to be confusing for the user. Furthermore, this superelement may not currently be visible, requiring moving the updated tree view anyway.

[0121] Automatic vertical movement of the updated tree view may cause the topmost element in the tree to be displayed some distance from the top edge of the viewport. Such displacements are quickly resolved once the user expands and scrolls through the next sublevels of interest. For convenience, in another embodiment the mechanism includes correction functionality by moving the topmost element of the tree view to the top edge of the viewport again, including moving the cursor so that it remains in the same position relative to the view in tree. This correction functionality can be triggered upon user request, for example by a keyboard or mouse control, or a multitouch gesture, or automatically as such shifting would occur if configured as preferred by the user.

[0122] An example of automatic collapse of tree levels resulting in vertical movement of the updated tree view, caused by moving the cursor to the left, is illustrated by Figure 12 to Figure 14. Figure 12 shows the view before of cursor movement. The cursor is now moved to the left by a distance equivalent to one tree indentation level, resulting in the tree view shown in Figure 13 because, once the cursor crosses tree level 3 indentation in its path, the level tree view 3 is automatically collapsed and the updated tree view is automatically moved down so that Concept_3_3, the direct superelement of Concept_3_3_3, is displayed in the vertical position in which Concept_3_3_3 was displayed before the tree view was updated . Further left cursor movement by one level of tree indentation leads to the tree view shown in Figure 14, with Concept_3 in Figure 14 displayed in the same vertical position as Concept_3_3 in Figure 13.

[0123] Automatic expansion or collapse of tree levels can also be triggered by horizontal scrolling of the viewport if the horizontal displacement of the tree view with respect to the unchanged cursor position results in the horizontal cursor position corresponding to a tree level different than before, with auto-expansion constrained by the number of sublevels of the active branch. In principle, scrolling the viewport to the right is constrained by the fact that the rightmost tree view element is right-aligned with the right edge of the viewport, regardless of whether or not this element is actually visible within the preview window. However, because the indentation of the next tree level to the right of the indentation of the lowest currently expanded tree level of the active branch must be accessible by the cursor, by any combination of horizontal scrolling and horizontal cursor movement, to allow the expansion of the next sublevel of the active branch if any, the viewport allows to be scrolled to the right, so that this indentation is clearly accessible by the cursor. This results in the tree view element that reaches as far to the right as possible being shown some distance from the right edge of the viewport if this element is actually visible and not long enough to clearly extend to this indentation. On the other hand, there are no tree-level indents to be accessed to the left of the top-level elements of the tree, so scrolling the viewport to the left can be constrained by these top-level elements being shown on the border. left of the viewport, including associated sub-element tags if applied to them.

[0124] An example of automatic expansion of sublevels of the active branch, caused by scrolling the viewport to the right, is illustrated in Figure 15 to Figure 17. Figure 15 shows the view before scrolling. When the cursor has almost reached the right edge of the viewport, additional sublevels of the active branch cannot be expanded by moving the cursor to the right, but must be expanded by moving the viewport to the right instead. In addition, tree-level 3 elements of the active branch are clipped by the right edge of the viewport so that the user can also scroll the view to the right to be able to read more of the text in these elements. The viewport is now scrolled to the right by a distance equivalent to one tree indentation level, resulting in the unchanged cursor position horizontally corresponding to tree level 4, so tree level 4 of the active branch is automatically expanded, see Figure 16. Either to expand the next sub-level of the active branch or to be able to read the clipped still-picture elements of tree level 3 of the active branch, the viewport is now scrolled to the right by an indent level of tree again, resulting in the unchanged cursor position horizontally matching tree level 5 and tree level 5 of the active branch, therefore being automatically expanded, see Figure 17. The user can now try to expand further sublevels of the active branch scrolling the viewport further to the right, but as there are no such sublevels this will just lead to the unchanged tree view being moved to the left within the viewport until no tree level 5 elements of the active branch are any more clipped by the right edge of the viewport, given that all of these elements are long enough to clearly extend to the tree-level 6 indent, making further offset of these elements relative to the right edge of the viewport unnecessary. If scrolling was performed so that one can instead read the text of tree level 3 elements of the active branch, the user will likely move the cursor to the left next until its horizontal position corresponds to tree level 3, to automatically collapse tree levels 4 and 5 of the active branch again. When the cursor is vertically aligned with a direct or indirect superelement of the tree level collapsing due to the viewport scrolling to the left, the active branch does not change. For example, if the viewport shown in Figure 17 is scrolled to the left by a distance equivalent to one tree indentation level, the resulting tree view corresponds to Figure 16, because the unchanged cursor position corresponds horizontally to the level of indentation. tree 4, so tree level 5 of the active branch is simply automatically collapsed. By another left scroll operation by one tree indentation level, tree level 4 of the active branch is also automatically collapsed, resulting in the tree view shown in Figure 15. When the cursor is not aligned vertically with a direct superelement or indirect view of the tree level being collapsed due to the viewport scrolling to the left, the updated tree view is also moved vertically, such that the direct superelement of the collapsed tree level is vertically aligned with the position unchanged, similar to the behavior when moving the cursor to the left under similar circumstances and for the same reasons. This can again lead to offsets of the topmost element in the treeview relative to the top edge of the viewport, which can be resolved as described above.

[0125] An example of automatic collapse of tree levels, with the resulting vertical movement of the updated tree view, caused by scrolling the viewport to the left, is illustrated by Figures 18 to 20. Figure 18 shows the view before of the scroll. Then the viewport is scrolled to the left by a distance equivalent to one tree indentation level, resulting in the unchanged cursor position corresponding horizontally to tree level 4, so tree level 5 is automatically collapsed and the view in The updated tree is automatically moved down so that Concept_2_2_2_2, the direct superelement of Concept_2_2_2_2_2, is displayed in the vertical position that Concept_2_2_2_2_2 was displayed before the tree view was updated, see Figure 19. Another left scroll operation by one level of tree indentation leads to the tree view shown in Figure 20, with Concept_2_2_2 in Figure 20 displayed in the same vertical position as Concept_2_2_2_2 in Figure 19.

[0126] Automatic expansion or collapse of tree levels can also be triggered by vertical movement of the cursor within the visualization window or vertical scrolling of the visualization window if the resulting vertical displacement of the cursor with respect to the tree visualization causes a branch inactive branch becomes the active branch or vice versa. This includes automatically collapsing the currently active branch, if there is one, and automatically expanding the new active branch, if there is one, the latter depending on the horizontal position of the cursor relative to the tree view, constrained by the number of sublevels in the new branch. active branch. As the tree views to be displayed before and after these synthesis operations can have more or less tree elements in common, the resulting update of the tree view can actually be more or less visible, up to the point where no changes are visible at all. Furthermore, the proposed mechanism can automatically move the updated tree view vertically so that the current cursor position reflects the new logical cursor position relative to the updated tree view. This can again lead to offsets of the topmost element in the treeview relative to the top edge of the viewport, which can be resolved as described above.

[0127] Vertical scrolling of standard tree views is typically constrained by the topmost element of the treeview being shown at the top edge of the viewport and the bottommost element of the treeview being shown at the bottom edge of the window of visualization. However, this scheme does not fit well in a tree view using the proposed mechanism. Firstly, automatic tree view resets on cursor offset relative to the tree view will anyway often cause vertical shifts of the topmost or bottommost element of the treeview relative to the top or bottom edge of the tree view. viewport, respectively, so there is little use in avoiding this behavior only on vertical scrolling of the viewport. Second, vertical scrolling of the viewport itself will often cause view resets, thus restricting such scrolling according to the tree view being displayed before scrolling could result in alternate scrolling operations and cursor movements. are required to reach a tree element of interest because further scrolling would be prevented until further cursor movement unlocks it again. Furthermore, if an application using the proposed mechanism instead were to check whether or not the updated tree view could be displayed obeying such default scrolling constraints, and if the intended scrolling distance violated such constraints, the scrolling distance would have to be reduced. and the check would have to be performed again, possibly multiple times. Therefore, in the embodiment shown, vertical scrolling according to the proposed solution is restricted by the topmost or bottommost element of the tree view being aligned vertically with the cursor inside the viewport, to scroll the viewport up or down. down, respectively. This allows the user to scroll the entire tree view up or down below the unchanged cursor position. In addition, the user can easily select how much of the tree view can be displayed above or below the cursor by choosing a corresponding vertical cursor position within the viewport. The new logical cursor position relative to the tree view resulting from a vertical displacement of the cursor relative to the tree view caused by vertical movement of the cursor within the viewport or vertical scrolling of the viewport, called the new logical cursor position , is defined through a conceptual tree view called a fitted tree view. The fitted tree view is defined as the actual tree view with all elements and branches expanded to the tree level corresponding to the horizontal cursor position, regardless of the vertical cursor position, with the horizontal cursor position relative to to the real and adjusted tree view being the same. The vertical position of the cursor with respect to the real and adjusted tree view is defined as follows: when the cursor is placed above the topmost element of the real tree view, it is also conceptually placed above the topmost element of the adjusted tree view, with the same vertical distance in relation to these elements. When the cursor is vertically aligned with an element in the real tree view, it is conceptually also vertically aligned with the same element in the snapped tree view, with the same vertical offset relative to those elements. When the cursor is placed below the bottommost element of the real tree view, it is conceptually also placed below the bottommost element of the adjusted tree view, with the same vertical distance in relation to these elements. The new logical cursor position is defined to be the position the cursor would have relative to the fitted tree view, if instead the vertical offset of the cursor relative to the actual tree view were applied to the fitted tree view, with the same direction and distance.

[0128] When the cursor is placed inside the viewport and above the topmost element of the tree view, there are no active branches, resulting in only the top level elements of the tree being displayed, see Figure 21. From the position shown in Figure 21, the cursor can be moved up and down within the viewport without changing the tree view as long as the cursor is above the topmost element in the tree view. When the cursor is moved down crossing the vertical boundary between the blank area and the topmost element of the tree view, it would also cross the vertical boundary between the blank area and the topmost element of the snapped tree view . Therefore, the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with the topmost element of the fitted tree view, and the branch comprising this topmost element becomes the new active branch and is automatically expanded. Since the topmost element in the tree view is always the same tree element as the topmost element in the fitted tree view, the new logical cursor position corresponds to the actual cursor position, and no vertical movement of the cursor is required. updated tree view. For example, if the cursor in the viewport shown in Figure 21 is moved down to the position shown in Figure 22, the resulting tree view corresponds to Figure 22 because once the cursor crosses the vertical boundary between the blank area and Concept_1 in its path, the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with Concept_1 and the branch comprising Concept_1 becomes the active branch and is expanded to tree level 2 due to the horizontal cursor position. When the cursor is moved up within the viewport that crosses the vertical boundary between the topmost element in the treeview and a blank area above it, it would also cross the vertical boundary between the topmost element of the treeview in adjusted tree and a blank area above. Therefore, the new logical cursor position is just above the topmost element in the tree view, and the branch comprising that topmost element is no longer the active branch and is automatically collapsed. Due to the identity of the topmost element in the tree view and the topmost element in the adjusted tree view, the new logical cursor position corresponds to the actual cursor position, and no vertical movement of the updated tree view is required. For example, if the cursor in the viewport shown in Figure 22 is moved up to the position shown in Figure 21, the resulting tree view corresponds to Figure 21, because once the cursor crosses the vertical boundary between Concept_1 and the blank area above its path, the new logical cursor position is not vertically aligned with any tree elements, and the branch comprising Concept_1 is no longer the active branch and is automatically collapsed.

[0129] When the cursor is placed inside the viewport and below the bottommost element of the tree view, there are no active branches, resulting in that only the top level elements of the tree are displayed, see Figure 23. From the position shown in Figure 23, the cursor can be moved up and down within the viewport without changing the tree view, as long as the cursor remains below the bottommost element of the tree view. When the cursor is moved upward crossing the vertical boundary between the blank area and the bottommost element of the treeview, it would also cross the vertical boundary between the blank area and the bottommost element of the adjusted treeview. Therefore, the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with the bottommost element of the fitted tree view, and the branch comprising this bottommost element becomes the active branch and is automatically expanded. As the bottommost element of the tree view may not be the same tree element as the bottommost element of the fitted tree view, this may result in the new logical cursor position not matching the actual cursor position. If this is the case, the updated tree view is also automatically moved vertically so that the new logical cursor position and the actual cursor position are the same, resulting in the bottommost element of the updated tree view being displayed. in the vertical position, in which the bottommost element of the tree view was displayed before the tree view was updated. For example, if the cursor in the viewport shown in Figure 23 is moved up to the position shown in Figure 24, the resulting tree view corresponds to Figure 24, because once the cursor crosses the vertical boundary between the blank area and Concept_9 in its path, the new logical cursor position is aligned vertically with Concept_9_9, the branch comprising Concept_9_9 becomes the active branch and is expanded to tree level 2 due to the horizontal cursor position, and the preview The updated tree view is moved up so that Concept_9_9 is displayed in the vertical position in which Concept_9 was displayed before the tree view was updated. When the cursor is moved down within the viewport that crosses the vertical boundary between the bottommost element of the treeview and a blank area below, it would also cross the vertical boundary between the bottommost element of the view in a fitted tree and a blank area below. Therefore, the new logical cursor position is just below the bottommost element in the tree view, and the branch comprising this bottommost element is no longer the active branch and is automatically collapsed. Since the bottommost element in the tree view may not be the same tree element as the bottommost element in the updated tree view, this can result in the new logical cursor position not matching the actual cursor position. If this is the case, the updated tree view is also automatically moved vertically so that the new logical cursor position and the actual cursor position are the same, resulting in the bottommost element of the updated tree view being displayed at the same position. vertical where the bottommost element of the tree view was displayed before the tree view was updated. For example, if the cursor in the viewport shown in Figure 24 is moved down to the position shown in Figure 23, the resulting tree view corresponds to Figure 23 because once the cursor crosses the vertical boundary between Concept_9_9 and the blank area below in its path, the new logical cursor position is not vertically aligned with any tree elements, the branch comprising Concept_9_9 is no longer the active branch and is automatically collapsed, and the updated tree view is moved to down so that Concept_9 is displayed in the vertical position in which Concept_9_9 was displayed before the tree view was updated.

[0130] Cursor movements that cross the vertical boundary between two vertically adjacent elements of the tree view result in a change of the active branch, with the currently active branch being automatically collapsed and the new active branch being automatically expanded. The new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with the tree view element fitted directly above or below the tree element the cursor was previously vertically aligned with, depending on the direction of movement. If updating the tree view causes the new logical cursor position to not match the actual cursor position, the updated tree view is also automatically moved vertically so that the new logical cursor position and the actual cursor position are the same. same, resulting in the updated tree view element that is vertically aligned with the cursor being displayed in the vertical position in which the tree view element the cursor was moved to was displayed before the tree view was updated. For example, if the cursor in the viewport shown in Figure 25 is moved down to the position shown in Figure 26, the resulting tree view matches Figure 26 because once the cursor crosses the vertical boundary between Concept_1_9 and Concept_2 in its path, the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with Concept_2, the branch comprising Concept_1_9 is no longer the active branch and is automatically collapsed, the branch comprising Concept_2 becomes the new active branch and is expanded to the level of tree 2 due to the horizontal cursor position, and the updated tree view is moved down so that Concept_2 is displayed in the same vertical position as it was displayed before the tree view was updated. If the cursor, in the viewport shown in Figure 26, is moved up to the position shown in Figure 25, the resulting tree view corresponds to Figure 25 because, once the cursor crosses the vertical boundary between Concept_2 and Concept_1 in its path, the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with Concept_1_9, the branch comprising Concept_2 is no longer the active branch and is automatically collapsed, the branch comprising Concept_1_9 becomes the new active branch and is expanded to the level tree view 2 due to the horizontal cursor position, and the updated tree view is moved up so that Concept_1_9 is displayed in the vertical position that Concept_1 was displayed before the tree view was updated.

[0131] For consistency, automatic expansion of sublevels of the active branch as if the cursor had been moved to a new active branch from below, either from a blank area or from a currently active branch, it also happens when the system cursor is moved into the viewport from the bottom and the input position is vertically aligned with a tree element, which is always one of the top level tree elements, because only these are displayed when the cursor does not point to the viewport. The branch comprising the tree element with which the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned becomes the active branch and is automatically expanded depending on the horizontal position of the cursor relative to the tree view, constrained by the number of sublevels in the branch active, and the updated tree view is automatically moved vertically so that the new logical cursor position matches the actual cursor position.

[0132] Viewport vertical scrolling is treated similarly to vertical cursor movement within the viewport, with two notable differences: First, while vertical cursor movement is always continuous, vertical scrolling may not be continuous, possibly resulting in the new logical cursor position being vertically aligned with an arbitrary fitted tree view element rather than the topmost, bottommost, or vertically adjacent one. Second, while cursor movement within the viewport above or below the tree view is unrestricted, vertical displacement of the viewport can be constrained as described above. In the shown mode, vertical scrolling restrictions are applied. Also, the following examples only illustrate vertical scrolling by distances equivalent to a multiple of the height of a tree element. Other scroll distances would additionally lead to different vertical offsets with respect to the tree element cursor with which the cursor is vertically aligned within the reconfigured tree view and the tree element with which the cursor is vertically aligned before the reset. tree view, as long as the cursor is vertically aligned with a tree element before and after resetting the tree view.

[0133] When the cursor is placed inside the viewport and above the topmost element of the treeview, the viewport can only be scrolled down, resulting in the unchanged treeview simply being moved up within the window view, as long as the new logical cursor position is not already vertically aligned with any element of the adjusted tree view. Once the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with an element of the first fitted tree view, the branch comprising that element becomes the active branch and is automatically expanded. If updating the tree view leads to the new logical cursor position not matching the actual cursor position, the updated tree view is also automatically moved vertically so that the new logical cursor position and the actual cursor position are the same . For example, if the viewport shown in Figure 27 is scrolled down by a distance equivalent to the height of 4 tree elements, the resulting tree view matches Figure 28, because the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with Concept_1_1_1 and the branch comprising Concept_1_1_1 becomes the active branch and is expanded to tree level 3 due to the horizontal cursor position. Since the new logical cursor position already matches the actual cursor position, no vertical movement of the updated tree view is required.

[0134] When the cursor is placed inside the viewport and below the bottommost element of the treeview, the viewport can only be scrolled up, resulting in the unchanged treeview simply being moved down within the window view as long as the new logical cursor position is not already vertically aligned with any element of the adjusted tree view. Once the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with an element of the first fitted tree view, the branch comprising that element becomes the active branch and is automatically expanded. If updating the tree view causes the new logical cursor position to not match the actual cursor position, the updated tree view is thus automatically moved vertically so that the new logical cursor position and the actual cursor position are the same. same. For example, if the viewport shown in Figure 29 is scrolled up by a distance equivalent to the height of 4 tree elements, the resulting tree view matches Figure 30, because the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with Concept_9_9_7 , the branch comprising Concept_9_9_7 becomes the active branch and is expanded to tree level 3 due to the horizontal cursor position, and the updated tree view is moved up so that the new logical cursor position and the actual position of cursor are the same.

[0135] When there is an active branch and vertical scrolling of the viewport results in the new logical cursor position being vertically aligned with an element of the adjusted tree view, with this tree element being different from the tree element with which the cursor was previously aligned vertically, the active branch changes. Therefore, the currently active branch is automatically collapsed, and the new active branch is automatically expanded. If updating the tree view causes the new logical cursor position to not match the actual cursor position, the updated tree view is also automatically moved vertically so that the new logical cursor position and the actual cursor position are the same. same. For example, if the viewport shown in Figure 31 is scrolled down by a distance equivalent to the height of 4 tree elements, the resulting tree view matches Figure 32, because the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with Concept_8_9_2 , the branch comprising Concept_8_8_8 is no longer the active branch and is automatically collapsed, the branch comprising Concept_8_9_2 becomes the new active branch and is expanded to tree level 3 due to the horizontal cursor position, and the updated tree view is moved down so that Concept_8_9_2 is displayed in the vertical position that Concept_8_8_8 was displayed before the tree view was updated. If the viewport depicted in Figure 32 is scrolled up by a distance equivalent to the height of 4 tree elements, the resulting tree view corresponds to Figure 31, because the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with Concept_8_8_8, the branch comprising Concept_8_9_2 is no longer the active branch and is automatically collapsed, the branch comprising Concept_8_8_8 becomes the new active branch and is expanded to tree level 3 due to the horizontal cursor position, and the updated tree view is moved up from so that Concept_8_8_8 is displayed in the vertical position in which Concept_8_9_2 was displayed before the tree view was updated.

[0136] When scrolling the viewport up or down would lead to a new logical cursor position above the topmost element or below the bottommost element of the treeview, respectively, the scrolling constraints take effect, reducing the offset distance so that the new logical cursor position is vertically aligned with the topmost or bottommost element of the adjusted tree view, respectively. Therefore, the currently active branch, if there is one, is automatically collapsed, and the branch comprising the topmost or bottommost element of the adjusted tree view, respectively, becomes the new active branch and is automatically expanded. If updating the tree view causes the new logical cursor position to not match the actual cursor position, the updated tree view is also automatically moved vertically so that the new logical cursor position and the actual cursor position are the same. same. This is the same behavior as the behavior caused by vertically scrolling the viewport directly causing the new logical cursor position to be aligned vertically with the topmost or bottommost element of the adjusted treeview, respectively.

[0137] As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present principles may be incorporated as an apparatus, system, method, or computer-readable medium. Accordingly, aspects of the present principles may take the form of a hardware embodiment, a software embodiment, or an embodiment that combines both software and hardware aspects. In addition, aspects of these principles may take the form of a computer-readable storage medium. Any combination of one or more computer readable (readable) storage medium(s) may be used.

[0138] Aspects of the present principles can, for example, at least in part be implemented in a computer program comprising portions of code to perform method steps according to an embodiment of the invention when executed in a programmable apparatus or to enable an apparatus programmable to perform functions of an apparatus or system according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0139] In addition, any connection shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3 can be a direct or indirect connection. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that the boundaries between logic blocks are merely illustrative and that alternative embodiments may mix logic blocks or impose an alternative decomposition of functionality on multiple logic blocks.

Claims (15)

1. Method (10) for rendering a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the rendered tree structure, CHARACTERIZED in that it comprises: generating (11) at least one view a tree of the tree structure being organized into a plurality of branches, wherein at least one of the plurality of branches includes a hierarchy of a plurality of sublevels of the tree structure; determining (14) the position of the cursor with respect to the tree view, the position comprising a first position value according to a first direction and a second position value according to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the first value of position determining a selected active branch as the branch to which the cursor position is aligned according to the first direction and second position value determining (16) sublevels of the active branch to be expanded depending on the second position value with respect to indentations in the rendering of the tree structure indicating the plurality of sublevels such that an increasing value of the second position value determines a first sublevel deeper in the hierarchy of the plurality of sublevels of the tree structure and a decreasing value of the second position value determines a second higher sub-level in the hierarchy of the plurality of sub-levels of the tree structure; and updating the tree view by expanding certain sublevels of the active branch and collapsing other branches when at least one of the first position value or the second position value changes. 2. Method according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the first direction corresponds to a vertical direction and the second direction corresponds to a horizontal direction on a screen of a display device that displays the tree view in the graphical user interface. 3. Method, according to claim 1 or 2, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the steps are continuously repeated. 4. Method, according to any one of the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that, if a number of sublevels to be expanded is less than a number of sublevels currently expanded, the tree view is updated by collapsing an excess sublevel of the active branch and the updated tree view is moved in the first direction until a matching element that hides the collapsed overflow sublevel becomes aligned with the cursor position according to the first direction. 5. Method, according to any of the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the tree structure of elements corresponds to a taxonomy of concepts. 6. Method, according to any one of claims 1 to 4, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the tree structure of elements corresponds to a file directory structure. 7. Method, according to any one of the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that it comprises selecting (12) between an automatic mode and a manual mode in response to a mode selection input by a user; wherein determining the cursor position (14), selecting the active branch (15), determining sublevels to be expanded (16), and updating the tree view (17) are performed in automatic mode only, and wherein the tree view is updated (13) in response to further manual user input in the graphical user interface in manual mode. 8. Method, according to any of the previous claims, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the cursor is generated specifically for user interaction with the tree view. 9. Apparatus (20) for rendering a tree structure of elements in a graphical user interface depending on a position of a cursor with respect to the rendered tree structure, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that it comprises: at least one processor configured for: generating a tree view of the tree structure being organized into a plurality of branches, wherein at least one of the plurality of branches includes a hierarchy of a plurality of sublevels of the tree structure; determining the position of the cursor with respect to the tree view, the position comprising a first position value according to a first direction and a second position value according to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the first position value determining a active branch selected as the branch to which the cursor position is aligned according to the first direction and the second position value determining sub-levels of the active branch to be expanded depending on the second position value with respect to indents in the rendering of the tree structure indicating the plurality of sublevels such that an increasing value of the second position value determines a first sublevel deeper in the hierarchy of the plurality of sublevels of the tree structure and a decreasing value of the second position value determines a second deeper sublevel high in the hierarchy of the plurality of sublevels of the tree structure; and updating the tree view by expanding certain sublevels of the active branch and collapsing other branches when at least one of the first position value or the second position value changes. 10. Apparatus, according to claim 9, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the at least one processor is additionally configured to continuously repeat the determination of the cursor position and the updating of the tree view. 11. Apparatus, according to claim 9 or 10, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the at least one processor is additionally configured to update the tree view by collapsing an excess sublevel of the active branch and to move the updated tree view in the first direction until a corresponding element hiding the collapsed overflow sublevel becomes aligned with the cursor position according to the first direction based on the determination that the amount of sublevels to be expanded is less than the amount of currently expanded sublevels. 12. Apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 11, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the at least one processor is additionally configured to: select between an automatic mode and a manual mode in response to a mode selection input by a user; performing, in automatic mode only, determining the position of the cursor using a position determination unit (24), including selecting the active branch and determining sublevels to be expanded and performing tree view updating; and updating, in manual mode, the tree view in response to additional manual user input in the graphical user interface. 13. Apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 12, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the at least one processor is additionally configured to generate the cursor specifically for user interaction with the tree view. 14. Apparatus (30), characterized in that it comprises: at least one processor configured to: generate a tree view of a tree structure being organized into a plurality of branches, wherein at least one of the plurality of branches includes a hierarchy of a plurality of sub-levels of the tree structure; determining a position of a cursor with respect to the tree view, the position comprising a first position value according to a first direction and a second position value according to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the first position value determining an active branch selected as the branch to which the cursor position is aligned according to the first direction, and the second position value determining sublevels of the active branch to be expanded depending on the second position value with respect to indentations in the rendering of the tree structure indicating the plurality of sublevels such that an increasing value of the second position value determines a first sublevel deeper in the hierarchy of the plurality of sublevels of the tree structure and a decreasing value of the second position value determines a second highest sublevel in the hierarchy of the plurality of sublevels of the tree structure; and updating the tree view continuously and immediately in response to at least one of the first position value or the change of the second position value, wherein the update comprises expanding the determined sublevels of the active branch and collapsing other branches. 15. Computer-readable, non-transient storage media, CHARACTERIZED in that it has stored within it instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to: determine a position of a cursor relative to a tree view of a structure in tree of elements in a graphical user interface, wherein the tree structure comprises a plurality of branches, and at least one of the plurality of branches includes a hierarchy of a plurality of sublevels of the tree structure, and the position comprises a first position value according to the first direction and a second position value according to a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the first position value determining a selected active branch as the branch to which the cursor position is aligned accordingly with the first direction and second position value determining sublevels of the active branch to be expanded, depending on the second position value with respect to indentations in the rendering of the tree structure indicating the plurality of sublevels so that an increasing value of the second position value determines a first deeper sublevel in the hierarchy of the plurality of sublevels of the tree structure and a decreasing value of the second position value determines a second higher sublevel in the hierarchy of the plurality of sublevels of the tree structure; and updating the tree view by expanding the given sublevels of the active branch and collapsing other branches when at least one of the first position value and the second position value changes.