JP2000305696A - Method and system for displaying and organizing icon and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily find out any arbitrary specified icon and to minimize the complexity of a screen by displaying the icon on the main background when the icon belongs to a group and that group is selected. SOLUTION: Related software applications such as Microsoft Word(R), Work Pad(R) and Lotus Word Pro(R), for example, are expressed as a group. In this case, these applications are expressed as an editor icon by an editor group 240. When a user wants to start any one of these editors and simply selects the editor group 204 in place of searching a suitable icon out of a number of other icons on a desktop 206, three editor icons are displayed on the desktop 206 and the desired application can be started. Since the icons in the group in the inactive state are not displayed, the number of icons on the desktop 206 is remarkably reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to computer desktop management, and more particularly to managing graphic objects in a graphical user interface. More particularly, the present invention relates to a means for grouping icons according to application type, function or other user-defined method, wherein enabling any particular icon by enabling the application group to which the icon belongs. And the clutter of the screen is greatly reduced.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, almost all personal computers and workstations have adopted a graphical user interface (GUI) environment in which a user has a "point" Manage the system by using the "and-click" method and allow the application to run. The primary GUI background is commonly referred to as the "desktop", and these objects are typically graphical icons that represent a particular software application or function, and windows that divide the desktop into different areas on the display, corresponding to different applications. including.

[0003] As both computer memory and storage capacity increase and become cheaper, the number of software applications present on a system (or available to the system over a network) increases dramatically. became. Each of these applications is generally represented by its own icon, and many of these icons are typically displayed on a desktop.

As a result, many desktops are cluttered with icons and become ineffective. Finding a particular icon among dozens of icons is often difficult, and the problem is that various icons are hidden behind the active window and look at them until the window is moved or minimized If you can't, you'll get worse.

[0005] Furthermore, there is no efficient system for icon management today. In a typical system, the icons are manually placed on the desktop, a very time-consuming process. Alternatively, the system attempts to place icons automatically in a number of ways, including type, name or date. In the conventional system, arranging icons by "type" simply means grouping of system icons or application icons, and different application icons and types of applications represented by the icons. There is no distinction between None of these configurations are practical. Because they do not take into account the nature of the software application represented by the icon.

Accordingly, there is a need for a more robust means of managing a GUI desktop, and in particular, icons on the desktop, so that the icons are easily accessible and easily found. Further, there is a need for a means to reduce the "clutter" of icons on a GUI desktop without sacrificing the convenience of accessing the icons.

[0007]

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved computer desktop management system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved system for managing icons in a graphical user interface.

[0009] Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method according to an application type, function, or other user-defined method.
By providing a means of grouping the icons, by accessing the application group to which the icons belong, any particular icon is easily located and screen clutter is minimized.

[0010]

The above object is achieved as follows. An icon management system allows users to create and manage application groups. Each application group is represented by one icon, representing icons for software applications related to each other according to user definitions. For example, the "word processing" group contains icons for various word processing applications and "fast access"
Groups can include icons for various applications that are functionally independent of each other, but that the user frequently runs. Each group includes multiple icons, and any icon may belong to multiple groups.

The above and additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description details the operation and features of some preferred embodiments of the present invention.
One skilled in the art will appreciate that the scope of the invention is defined solely by the claims.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram of a data processing system in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented. The data processing system 100 is, for example, a desktop computer of a personal computer provided by IBM.
One of the models. The data processing system 100 includes a processor 102, which in the exemplary embodiment is connected to a level two (L2) cache 104, which is further connected to a system bus 106. In the exemplary embodiment, data processing system 100 includes graphics adapter 1 connected to system bus 106.
18, which receives user interface information for the display 120.

The system bus 106 further includes a system memory 108 and an input / output (I / O) bus bridge 1.
10 is connected. The I / O bus bridge 110 is connected to the I / O
O-bus 112 connects to system bus 106 to relay or translate data transactions from one bus to the other. A non-volatile storage device 114 such as a hard disk drive, and a keyboard / pointing device 1 including a normal mouse, trackball, etc
A peripheral device such as 16 is connected to the I / O bus 122.

The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is provided solely for the purpose of illustrating the invention, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes, both in form and function, are possible. You can see that there is. For example, data processing system 100 may include a compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM) or digital video disk (DVD) drive, a sound card and audio speakers, and numerous other optional components. All such changes are within the spirit and scope of the invention. The data processing system 100 and the following specific application group panel
The example display is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not imply systematic limitations.

The preferred embodiment provides an icon management system that allows users to better manage icons by grouping them together according to function or use (or other convenient criteria). provide.
Instead of showing each individual icon on the desktop, the preferred embodiment shows icons representing application groups in a separate icon manager window. There, each application group contains a list of its member icons. application·
When a group is selected (activated) in the icon manager window, the group's member icons are displayed on the desktop.

In a preferred embodiment, the application groups are managed by an application group panel. This icon management panel is preferably an extension of the operating system window manager, and is therefore integrated with the windowed display. An application group panel allows each user to create, delete, and modify the contents of an active application group.

The application group panel icon manager is started by the operating system and follows the process shown in FIG. When the icon manager is started, it first creates a list of all main background (desktop) icons, but does not display any of them at this time (step 81).
0). Next, the icon manager processes each of these icons and determines whether they belong to the application group (step 820). If the icon does not belong to the group, it is considered active and is displayed on the main background (step 830). If the icon belongs to a group, the icon manager then determines whether the group is currently selected (step 840). If the group is currently selected, the icon is considered active and is displayed on the desktop (step 830). If no group is currently selected, no icon is displayed.
The icon manager then determines whether there are more icons to process (step 850) and continues with the remaining icons (step 820) or continues with the standard window manager process (step 820). 86
0).

In use, the application group:
Selecting or activating a group associated with an icon for a particular software application allows the user to easily locate that icon. For example, instead of having dozens of icons shown on the desktop, they are replaced by five to six application group icons in the application group panel, each of which is a group of related software applications. Represents A typical computer system may include several different text editors, including Microsoft Word ™, WorkPad ™,
Lotus Word Pro (trademark) and the like. For these three applications, instead of always having three icons on the desktop, they are grouped together and represented, for example, by an "editor" icon as shown at 240 in FIG. When the user wants to start one of these editors, instead of searching for the appropriate icon among many other icons on the desktop, simply selecting the editor group
Three editor icons are displayed on the desktop, allowing the user to start the desired application. As described above, since the icons belonging to any group that is not in the active state are not displayed, the number of icons displayed on the desktop is greatly reduced.

This approach also provides a significant improvement over the conventional approach of grouping several related icons together into another "folder". In a typical GUI system, a user can generally define a "folder" that contains icons or links to several different applications. When this "folder" is selected, a new window will open on the desktop containing each of the individual icons. A major disadvantage of this approach is that it replaces the icon management problem with a window management problem. For example, "grouped" icons must appear in a window representing a group folder to access these icons, cluttering the desktop because each folder window must be open. . The method disclosed herein allows icons belonging to a selected group to be displayed directly on a main background without requiring each group of icons to be displayed in an individual folder. Avoid this problem.

According to the preferred embodiment, there are several basic functions of the icon grouping system. Of course,
In alternate embodiments, one or more of the features described below may not be present, or may include other features, within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Activating the Application Group Panel An example of the application group panel is shown in FIG. This panel shows the current set of application groups that exist on a given system at any given time. The panel also allows users to manage group membership and group activation and deactivation. By default, when this panel is initially started on a given computer system (or a given desktop if the operating system supports a separate user desktop), the application group will exist do not do. These groups must be created by the user. Alternatively, if the computer system is shipped and sold with preloaded software, certain application groups may be predefined to allow easy access to preloaded applications.

In FIG. 2, the application group
Panel 210 is shown on desktop 200. An example of three group icons including a browser group 230, an editor group 240, and a tool group 250 are shown in the panel work area. menu·
Within the bar, different application group management options are shown, including create group 260, delete member 270, delete group 280, and display member 290. The operation of these management options is described below.

FIG. 3 shows the "Create Group" dialog box. Here, the user is prompted for a new group name. This dialog box appears after clicking on menu option 260 in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows the "Delete Group" dialog box. Here, the user selects a group to be deleted. This dialog box appears after clicking on menu option 280 in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a "Member Display" dialog box, which allows the user to see the application icons that exist within each group. This dialog box appears after clicking on menu option 290 in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a "Clear Member" dialog box, which allows a user to remove a particular member application icon from a group. This dialog box appears after clicking on menu option 270 in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a typical computer system display showing the icons grouped together. Here, the dotted line represents the desktop 7 such as the "Editor" group 720 and the "Browser" group 730.
10 shows a group of icons shown above. However, the dotted line is shown only for convenience of explanation, and does not actually appear on the display. For example, when an editor group is activated, its member icon is displayed on the main background. In this figure, "WordPad (trademark)" 721, "
Examples of editor icons are shown for Microsoft Word ™ 722 and Lotus Word Pro ™ 723. Conversely, if no editor group is selected, these icons will appear on the desktop. No. The common browser groups are "Netscape Navigator (TM)" 732 and "Internet
Explorer ™ 731 is shown with an example of a member icon.

If a given application icon is not assigned to an application group, it is considered "unclassified" and is not managed by the icon manager. In the preferred embodiment, unclassified icons are always considered "active" and are always displayed on the primary desktop. In an alternative embodiment, the user may, by default, select whether unclassified icons are displayed.

Creating / Deleting / Displaying Application Groups The Application Groups panel allows users to completely manage their application groups. To create a new group, the user selects the "Create Group" menu option from the panel's menu bar, as shown in FIG.
Select the name and icon in the dialog box shown in Figure 4 to display the application group in the panel work area. A newly created group does not initially include an application icon.

On the other hand, the user operates the menu shown in FIG.
The icon group can be deleted by selecting "Delete Group" from the bar, selecting the application group to delete from the dialog box, and then clicking the "Delete" button, as shown in FIG. All icons belonging to the deleted group will automatically return to "unclassified" status and will appear on the desktop.

To show all members belonging to a particular application group, the user selects "Member Display" from the menu bar shown in FIG. 2 and from the dialog box shown in FIG.
Select a group and then click the "Show Members" button. This action opens another window containing all the application icons belonging to that application group.

Assigning (Removing) Icons to / from Groups To assign an icon to an existing application group, the user simply drags the icon from the main background desktop and drags it to the given application in the workspace. -Drop on the icon corresponding to the group. This action assigns the icon to the application group. Icons can belong to more than one application group. For example, the browser icons are "Browser" group and "
Tools "can belong to both groups.

To remove an icon from the application group, the user selects "Clear Member" from the menu bar, and then selects the group from which the icon is to be removed. This action creates the dialog box shown in FIG. 6, where the user then selects the icon to be deleted from the group and clicks the "Delete Member" button. When an icon is removed from an application group and no longer belongs to any application group, its status is "Unclassified"
And the icon appears on the desktop.

Activate / Deactivate Application Group All member icons of the "active" application group are displayed on the desktop. Conversely, all icons belonging only to the "inactive" application group are not displayed at all. If the icon belongs to both active and inactive groups, it is displayed. If the icon does not belong to any group, it is "unclassified", treated as active and displayed.

Application groups are activated and deactivated by clicking on the application group icon in the application group panel of FIG. When the application group icon is "selected", it is activated; when it is not selected, it is deactivated. The selected icon in the application group panel is shown normally, and the unselected icons are shaded. Multiple groups can be active at the same time, and each time the user clicks on the group icon, it toggles between activation and deactivation. If a group icon is selected at the same time, all member icons will be shown on the main desktop, as would be seen if the current grouping system had not been used.

The innovative technique of the preferred embodiment works with the current system. For example, current icon management functions such as the "icon organization" and "automatic organization" functions of the Microsoft Windows (TM) system are still available. According to a preferred embodiment, these functions operate on all activity icons, including uncategorized icons and activity application groups at any given time. Icons that are not shown, because they are part of the deactivated application group, are not affected at all by these functions. If the "auto-organize" option is set, these icons will be automatically positioned as usual when the application group is activated and the member icons are placed on the desktop.

Of course, the foregoing innovative techniques may be modified in various ways by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the application group
Icons appear as "tray" icons in Microsoft Windows (TM) based operating systems and still retain the same basic features and benefits as placing them in the Application Group Panel While activating and deactivating the group by clicking on the tray icon. Also, the application group
Instead of or in addition to the panel, an application group icon may be displayed on the main desktop itself. Further, these techniques are not limited to icons representing software applications, but apply equally to the objects or processes represented by the icons. For example, a "document" group containing shortcuts to word processing documents is created and opened by the default word processor. In addition, these techniques apply to many GUI interfaces, including those for Microsoft Windows ™
Includes the system, the Apple Macintosh ™ system, and other systems that implement the X Window / Motif and its variants.

Other modifications and improvements may be made to this innovative system by those skilled in the art. For example, the system may be configured to perform certain groupings automatically. One way to do so is to group most icons by cross-referencing file type associations or simply by including tags in shortcuts, eg, marking each icon to reference an editor or browser. It is to be. These and other improvements are included within the spirit and scope of the improved icon management system.

Although the invention has been described in the context of a fully functional data processing system or network,
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the present invention may be distributed in various forms of computer readable media, and regardless of the particular type of signal-bearing medium used by the present invention to actually perform the distribution. It will be appreciated that the same applies. Examples of computer readable media include read only memory (ROM) and electrically erasable ROM (EEPRO).
M), non-volatile hard-coded media, floppy disks, hard disk
Recordable media, such as drives and CD-ROMs, and transmission media, such as digital and analog communication links, are included.

In summary, the following matters are disclosed regarding the configuration of the present invention.

(1) A method for selectively displaying icons on a computer display, comprising the steps of editing a list of all icons displayed on a main background, and for each icon in the list Determining whether the icon belongs to a first group of related icons; and if the icon belongs to the first group and the first group is selected, Displaying on a background.
Method. (2) When the icon belongs to the first group, the first group is not selected, and also belongs to a second group, and the second group is selected, the icon is assigned to the main group. The method according to (1), further comprising the step of displaying on a background. (3) The method according to (1), further comprising, if the icon does not belong to any group, displaying the icon on the main background. (4) The method of (1), wherein the icon represents a software application on a computer system, and the members of the first group are icons representing similar software applications. (5) A method of organizing icons into related groups, the method comprising: creating a first group icon representing a grouping of a plurality of first type icons; Selecting a first type of icon;
Assigning an icon of the first type to the grouping represented by the first group icon; and selecting another icon of the first type from the primary background on the video display. ,
Assigning another selected icon of the first type to the grouping represented by the first group icon; and selecting the first and second selected icons of the first type for the first type. Displaying said first group icon on said main background instead. (6) creating a second group icon representing a grouping of a plurality of second type icons;
Selecting the second type of icon from the main background on the video display; and selecting the selected second type of icon by the grouping represented by the second group icon (5). (7) erasing the designated first type icon from the assignment in the grouping represented by the first group icon; and Displaying the first type of icon in a grouping. (8) erasing the designated first type icon from the assignment in the grouping represented by the first group icon; and Displaying the first type of icons in a grouping. (9) The method according to (7), wherein the steps of assigning, deleting and displaying are performed in the context of an application group panel. (10) The method of (8), wherein the steps of assigning, deleting, and displaying are performed in the context of an application group panel. (11) selecting another icon of the second type from the main background on the video display; and selecting another icon of the selected second type;
Assigning the grouping represented by the second grouping icon to the grouping represented by the second grouping icon; and replacing the first and second selected type of the second type of icon with the main background. Displaying the above. (12) A computer-readable recording medium on which a computer program is recorded, wherein the computer program
Instructions for creating a first group icon representing a grouping of a plurality of first type icons; and selecting the first type icon from a main background on a video display; Instructions for assigning the selected first type of icon to the grouping represented by the first group icon;
Instructions for selecting another icon of the first type from the main background on the video display; and displaying another icon of the first type selected by the first group icon. Recording instructions for assigning to said grouping, and instructions for displaying said first group icon on said main background instead of said first and second type of icon of the first type. Medium. (13) from the command to create a second group icon representing a grouping of a plurality of second type icons and the main background on the video display,
Recording according to (12), including an instruction to select an icon of the second type and an instruction to assign the selected icon of the second type to the grouping represented by the second group icon. Medium. (14) From the assignment in the grouping represented by the first group icon, the designated first
Instructions for deleting an icon of the type; and in the grouping represented by the first group icon,
Instructions for displaying the first type of icon.
The recording medium according to the above (12). (15) The specified first group is assigned from the assignment in the grouping represented by the first group icon.
Instructions for deleting an icon of the type; and in the grouping represented by the first group icon,
Instructions for displaying the first type of icon.
The recording medium according to the above (13). (16) The recording medium according to (14), wherein the instructions for assigning, erasing, and displaying are executed in a situation of an application group panel. (17) The recording medium according to (15), wherein the instructions for assigning, erasing, and displaying are executed in a situation of an application group panel. (18) an instruction for selecting another icon of the second type from the main background on the video display; and displaying the other icon of the selected second type on the second group icon. And an instruction to display the second group icon on the main background instead of the first and second selected icons of the second type. The recording medium according to the above (13). (19) A system board having at least one system processor and a memory operatively connected to communicate with the system processor, and connected to receive and display output from the system processor. A video display, the video display comprising:
Connected to show icons on the display,
Compiling a list of all icons displayed on the main background, wherein, for each of the icons in the list, the icons become a first group of related icons. Determining whether the icon belongs to the first group, and displaying the icon on the main background if the icon does not belong to the first group; and the icon belongs to the first group, Displaying a icon on the main background when a group is selected, and not displaying the icon when the icon belongs to the first group and the first group is not selected, Computer system (20) the icon belongs to the first group, the first group is not selected, and The computer system according to (19), further comprising a step of displaying the icon on the main background when the second group belongs to the second group. (21) The computer system according to (19), wherein the icon represents a software application on the computer system, and the members of the first group are icons representing similar software applications.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary computer display showing an application group panel in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a "Create Group" dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a "Delete Group" dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a "Member Display" dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a "Clear Member" dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary computer system display showing grouping icons according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a high-level flow diagram of a process for determining an icon shown in a main background desktop, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Data Processing System 102 Processor 104 Level 2 (L2) Cache 106 System Bus 108 System Memory 110 Input / Output (I / O) Bus Bridge 112 I / O Bus 114 Non-Volatile Storage 116 Keyboard / Pointing Device 118 Graphics Adapter 120 Display 200,710 Desktop 210 Application Group Panel 220 Panel Work Area 230,730 Browser Group 240,720 Editor Group 250 Tool Group 260 Create Group 270 Delete Member 280 Delete Group 290 Display Member

Continuing the front page (72) Inventor Hattim-Joseph Amro, United States 78728, Wells Port Drive, Austin, Texas 15024 (72) Inventor John Paul Dodson, United States 78660, Pugarville, Texas, Tanner Trail 510

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A method for selectively displaying icons on a computer display, comprising: editing a list of all icons displayed on a main background; Determining whether the icon belongs to a first group of related icons; and if the icon belongs to the first group and the first group is selected, the icon is displayed in the main background. Displaying above. 2. When the icon belongs to the first group, the first group is not selected, and also belongs to the second group, and the second group is selected, the icon is displayed. The method of claim 1 including displaying on the main background. 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying said icon on said main background if said icon does not belong to any group. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the icons represent software applications on a computer system, and wherein the members of the first group are icons representing similar software applications. 5. A method for organizing icons into related groups, the method comprising: creating a first group icon representing a grouping of a plurality of first type icons; Selecting the first type of icon; assigning the selected first type of icon to the grouping represented by the first group icon; Selecting another icon of the first type from the main background of the above, and converting another selected icon of the first type into the grouping represented by the first group icon. Assigning, instead of the first and second selected icons of the first type, the first group The icons and displaying on the main background process. 6. Creating a second group icon representing a grouping of a plurality of second type icons; selecting the second type icon from the main background on the video display. The method of claim 5, comprising: assigning the selected second type of icon to the grouping represented by the second group icon. 7. Eliminating a designated first type icon from an assignment in the grouping represented by the first group icon; and representing a designated first type icon by the first group icon. Displaying the first type of icon in the grouping. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: deleting the designated first type icon from the assignment in the grouping represented by the first group icon; Displaying the first type of icon in the grouping. 9. The method of claim 7, wherein said steps of assigning, deleting and displaying are performed in the context of an application group panel. 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the steps of assigning, deleting, and displaying are performed in the context of an application group panel. 11. A method for selecting another icon of the second type from the main background on the video display, the method further comprising: selecting another icon of the second type selected by the second group. Assigning the grouping represented by an icon; and displaying the second group icon on the main background instead of the first and second selected type of icon. 7. The method of claim 6, comprising: 12. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions for creating a first group icon representing a grouping of a plurality of first type icons. Instructions for selecting the first type of icon from a main background on a video display; and dividing the selected first type of icon into the grouping represented by the first group icon. Instructions for selecting another icon of the first type from the main background on the video display; and displaying another icon of the first type selected in the first group. An instruction to assign to said grouping represented by an icon; and said first and second type selected first. Instead of an icon, and a command for displaying the first group icon on the main background, recording medium. 13. An instruction for creating a second group icon representing a grouping of a plurality of second type icons; and selecting the second type icon from the main background on the video display. 13. The recording medium of claim 12, further comprising: instructions to assign the selected second type of icon to the grouping represented by the second group icon. 14. An instruction for deleting a designated first type icon from an assignment in the grouping represented by the first group icon; and an instruction represented by the first group icon. And displaying instructions of said first type of icons within said grouping. 15. An instruction for deleting a designated first type icon from an assignment in the grouping represented by the first group icon; Instructions for displaying the first type of icon within the grouping. 16. The recording medium according to claim 14, wherein the instructions of assigning, deleting, and displaying are executed in the context of an application group panel. 17. The recording medium according to claim 15, wherein the instructions of assigning, erasing, and displaying are executed in the context of an application group panel. 18. An instruction for selecting another icon of the second type from the main background on the video display, the method further comprising: displaying another icon of the selected second type in the second group. An instruction to assign to the grouping represented by an icon, and an instruction to display the second group icon on the main background instead of the first and second selected icon of the second type. 14. The recording medium according to claim 13, comprising: 19. A system board having at least one system processor, a memory operatively connected to communicate with the system processor, and for receiving and displaying output from the system processor. And a video display connected to and configured to display icons on said video display, wherein a list of all icons displayed on a main background is edited. Performing, for each of the icons in the list, determining whether the icon belongs to a first group of related icons; and, if the icon does not belong to the first group, Displaying an icon on the main background, wherein the icon belongs to the first group, Displaying the icon on the main background when the first group is selected; and not displaying the icon when the icon belongs to the first group and the first group is not selected. Computer, including
system 20. When the icon belongs to the first group, the first group is not selected, and also belongs to the second group, and the second group is selected, the icon is displayed. 20. The computer system of claim 19, comprising displaying on said main background. 21. The computer system of claim 19, wherein the icons represent software applications on the computer system, and wherein the members of the first group are icons representing similar software applications.