WO2009095072A1 - System and method for displaying a menu - Google Patents

System and method for displaying a menu Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2009095072A1
WO2009095072A1 PCT/EP2008/051061 EP2008051061W WO2009095072A1 WO 2009095072 A1 WO2009095072 A1 WO 2009095072A1 EP 2008051061 W EP2008051061 W EP 2008051061W WO 2009095072 A1 WO2009095072 A1 WO 2009095072A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
menu
displaying
memory map
configuration file
data objects
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2008/051061
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Vivek Aggarwal
Manjunatha Revanna
Original Assignee
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Siemens Aktiengesellschaft filed Critical Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Priority to PCT/EP2008/051061 priority Critical patent/WO2009095072A1/en
Publication of WO2009095072A1 publication Critical patent/WO2009095072A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F9/00—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units
    • G06F9/06—Arrangements for program control, e.g. control units using stored programs, i.e. using an internal store of processing equipment to receive or retain programs
    • G06F9/44—Arrangements for executing specific programs
    • G06F9/451—Execution arrangements for user interfaces
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
    • G06F3/048—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
    • G06F3/0481—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
    • G06F3/0482—Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a system and method for displaying a menu.
  • An application hosting hierarchical menus may display the menu as a tree menu or as a drop-down menu. In both cases, when a user selects an item in the menu, there is no information displayed to the user about the current stage reached in the menu hierarchy as a result, i.e. the position of the selected menu item in the hierarchy of the menu.
  • the object of the present invention is to provide an improved system and method for displaying a menu.
  • a system for displaying a menu comprising:
  • a method for displaying a menu comprising:
  • menu structure in a configuration file, said menu structure comprising multiple data objects, - reading said menu structure from said configuration file and generating a hierarchical memory map of the data objects of said menu structure, and
  • displaying the menu comprises highlighting a selected data object and further highlighting those data objects that are hierarchically higher to said selected data object in the memory map.
  • the underlying idea of the present invention is to provide a simple and visually effective means for informing a user about the level reached in the menu hierarchy when a data object (menu item) is selected from the menu.
  • One embodiment of the present invention comprises displaying said menu as a hierarchical tree menu. This embodiment is more visually effective for a user than displaying of the hierarchy information in the address pane of a tree menu.
  • An alternative embodiment comprises displaying said menu as a hierarchical drop-down menu. This embodiment provides a particularly effective means for displaying hierarchy information of a drop-down menu.
  • the configuration file comprises an Extensible Markup Language (XML) configuration file
  • said means for reading said menu structure from said configuration file and generating a memory map corresponding to said menu structure comprises an XML parser.
  • FIG 1 illustrates a marked tree menu
  • FIG 2 illustrates a marked drop-down menu
  • FIG 3 is an illustrative block diagram showing a system for marking a menu
  • FIG 4 is an illustrative diagram of a memory map.
  • FIG 1 illustrates an application menu 10 that is displayed as a tree menu in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the application menu 10 is shown to include five main menu items, namely 'Tabulars' , 'FreeForm' , 'Filters' , 'Charts' , 'Application' , and 'Debug' . These indicated respectively by the numerals 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22.
  • Each of these main menu items 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22 are expandable, i.e., when selected, they provide a further set of menu items. In general, all expandable menu items are displayed along with a '+' button, which, when clicked, would display the further menu items contained in them.
  • a user makes a selection by clicking on the '+' button of a desired main menu item to get a list of items contained in that main menu item, and then repeating the above step till the actual menu item is displayed for which an action is intended.
  • the user in order to select the menu item 'Persist2', designated by the numeral 24, the user has to first expand the main menu item 'Filters', designated by the numeral 16. From the list of menu items under 'Filters', the user then selects 'PageFilters' , designated by the numeral 30.
  • the user proceeds to expand the menu item 'TimeSpan' (designated by the numeral 28), within 'PageFilters', then 'Persistency' within 'TimeSpan' , and finally selects x Persist2' (designated by the numeral 24), for which an action is intended.
  • x Persist2' designated by the numeral 24
  • the user proceeds to expand the menu item 'TimeSpan' (designated by the numeral 28), within 'PageFilters', then 'Persistency' within 'TimeSpan' , and finally selects x Persist2' (designated by the numeral 24), for which an action is intended.
  • x Persist2' designated by the numeral 24
  • the items 'Persistency', 'TimeSpan' , 'PageFilters' and 'Filters' that are hierarchically higher than x Persist2' are highlighted, to help the user ascertain the hierarchy of the last selected item, x Persist2', in the tree menu 10.
  • Highlighting of the menu items in a hierarchy may be done in a number of ways such as by using a different font type, size, color or thickness, or by displaying the menu item in a painted box as shown in FIG 1.
  • the above menu is represented as a drop-down menu 40.
  • a drop-down menu when a menu item is selected, the items contained in it is displayed as a drop down list. Thus, each time a user clicks on a menu item, a drop-down list appears showing the contents of that menu item, till the user is able to locate the menu item for which an action is intended.
  • x Persist2' for selecting the menu item x Persist2', a user has to first select the tab ⁇ Filters' , and subsequently proceed to select x PageFilters' , x TimeSpan' , 'Persistency' , and finally xPersist2' .
  • the hierarchy of the last selected item x Persist2' may be indicated by highlighting the hierarchically higher menu items as shown in FIG 2.
  • FIG 3 is an illustrative block diagram showing a system 50 for marking a menu in accordance with the above-described embodiments of the present invention.
  • a menu structure 52 typically created by an application developer, is defined in a configuration file, such as an Extensible Markup Language (XML) configuration file.
  • the menu structure specifies the hierarchical structure of data objects (menu items) that are contained in the menu.
  • the system 50 includes means 54 for reading the menu structure from the configuration file and generating a hierarchical memory map 56 of the data objects of the menu. This memory map specifies the allocated memory location of each data object of the menu based on the hierarchy defined in the menu structure 52.
  • the means 54 comprises an XML parser.
  • the memory map 56 created by the parser is a hierarchical tree as shown in FIG 4.
  • the reference numerals in FIG 4 indicate the data objects that are allocated in the memory map.
  • the application menu 60 comprises three main tabs 62, 64 and 66, which may further contain data objects 68-84 as shown.
  • the memory map 56 specifies the allocated memory location of each data object of the menu based on the hierarchy defined in the menu structure 52.
  • the system 50 also includes means 58 for displaying a menu from the generated memory map 56. This may involve displaying the menu as a tree menu or a drop-down menu as discussed above.
  • the means 58 is adapted not only for highlighting a selected data object, but for further highlighting those data objects that are hierarchically higher to said selected data object in the memory map 56. The user can thus see the menu hierarchy by just looking at the highlighted or marked menu items instantly at any point in time.
  • the present invention deals with a system and method for displaying a menu.
  • the proposed system comprises means for defining a menu structure in a configuration file.
  • the menu structure comprises multiple data objects.
  • the proposed system further includes means for reading said menu structure from said configuration file and generating a hierarchical memory map of the data objects of said menu structure.
  • the proposed system comprises means for displaying a menu from said hierarchical memory map. This means for displaying comprises means for highlighting a selected data object, further highlighting those data objects that are hierarchically higher to said selected data object in the memory map.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Software Systems (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • User Interface Of Digital Computer (AREA)

Abstract

The present invention deals with a system and method for displaying a menu. The proposed system comprises means for defining a menu structure in a configuration file. The menu structure comprises multiple data objects. The proposed system further includes means for reading said menu structure from said configuration file and generating a hierarchical memory map of the data objects of said menu structure. Further, the proposed system comprises means for displaying a menu from said hierarchical memory map. The means for displaying comprises means for highlighting a selected data object, further highlighting those data objects that are hierarchically higher to said selected data object in the memory map.

Description

Description
System and method for displaying a menu
The present invention relates to a system and method for displaying a menu.
An application hosting hierarchical menus may display the menu as a tree menu or as a drop-down menu. In both cases, when a user selects an item in the menu, there is no information displayed to the user about the current stage reached in the menu hierarchy as a result, i.e. the position of the selected menu item in the hierarchy of the menu.
Applications such as Microsoft Explorer™ that provide a tree menu simply highlight the menu item selected by the user. The complete hierarchy is displayed in the address bar, which is not always convenient for the user to visualize. Also, there is no provision for informing the user about the hierarchy in case of a drop-down menu.
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved system and method for displaying a menu.
The above object is achieved by a system for displaying a menu, comprising:
- means for defining a menu structure in a configuration file, said menu structure comprising multiple data objects,
- means for reading said menu structure from said configuration file and generating a hierarchical memory map of the data objects of said menu structure, and
- means for displaying a menu from said hierarchical memory map, wherein said means for displaying comprises means for highlighting a selected data object, further highlighting those data objects that are hierarchically higher to said selected data object in the memory map. The above object is achieved by a method for displaying a menu, comprising:
- defining a menu structure in a configuration file, said menu structure comprising multiple data objects, - reading said menu structure from said configuration file and generating a hierarchical memory map of the data objects of said menu structure, and
- displaying a menu from said hierarchical memory map, wherein displaying the menu comprises highlighting a selected data object and further highlighting those data objects that are hierarchically higher to said selected data object in the memory map.
The underlying idea of the present invention is to provide a simple and visually effective means for informing a user about the level reached in the menu hierarchy when a data object (menu item) is selected from the menu.
One embodiment of the present invention comprises displaying said menu as a hierarchical tree menu. This embodiment is more visually effective for a user than displaying of the hierarchy information in the address pane of a tree menu.
An alternative embodiment comprises displaying said menu as a hierarchical drop-down menu. This embodiment provides a particularly effective means for displaying hierarchy information of a drop-down menu.
In a particular embodiment, the configuration file comprises an Extensible Markup Language (XML) configuration file, and said means for reading said menu structure from said configuration file and generating a memory map corresponding to said menu structure comprises an XML parser. The above feature provides particularly effective implementation of the proposed invention. The present invention is further described hereinafter with reference to illustrated embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG 1 illustrates a marked tree menu,
FIG 2 illustrates a marked drop-down menu,
FIG 3 is an illustrative block diagram showing a system for marking a menu, and
FIG 4 is an illustrative diagram of a memory map.
FIG 1 illustrates an application menu 10 that is displayed as a tree menu in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The application menu 10 is shown to include five main menu items, namely 'Tabulars' , 'FreeForm' , 'Filters' , 'Charts' , 'Application' , and 'Debug' . These indicated respectively by the numerals 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22. Each of these main menu items 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22 are expandable, i.e., when selected, they provide a further set of menu items. In general, all expandable menu items are displayed along with a '+' button, which, when clicked, would display the further menu items contained in them.
Generally, a user makes a selection by clicking on the '+' button of a desired main menu item to get a list of items contained in that main menu item, and then repeating the above step till the actual menu item is displayed for which an action is intended. For example, in the shown embodiment, in order to select the menu item 'Persist2', designated by the numeral 24, the user has to first expand the main menu item 'Filters', designated by the numeral 16. From the list of menu items under 'Filters', the user then selects 'PageFilters' , designated by the numeral 30. In a similar manner, the user proceeds to expand the menu item 'TimeSpan' (designated by the numeral 28), within 'PageFilters', then 'Persistency' within 'TimeSpan' , and finally selects xPersist2' (designated by the numeral 24), for which an action is intended. In a conventional tree menu, only the last selected item, i.e. xPersist2' would highlighted and it would be difficult for the user to easily locate the hierarchy of this item. However, in accordance with the present invention, not only the last item xPersist2' is highlighted, but the entire hierarchy of this item is highlighted. Hence, as shown in FIG 1, the items 'Persistency', 'TimeSpan' , 'PageFilters' and 'Filters' that are hierarchically higher than xPersist2' are highlighted, to help the user ascertain the hierarchy of the last selected item, xPersist2', in the tree menu 10. Highlighting of the menu items in a hierarchy may be done in a number of ways such as by using a different font type, size, color or thickness, or by displaying the menu item in a painted box as shown in FIG 1.
In FIG 2, the above menu is represented as a drop-down menu 40. As the name suggests, in a drop-down menu, when a menu item is selected, the items contained in it is displayed as a drop down list. Thus, each time a user clicks on a menu item, a drop-down list appears showing the contents of that menu item, till the user is able to locate the menu item for which an action is intended. In the shown example, as above, for selecting the menu item xPersist2', a user has to first select the tab ^Filters' , and subsequently proceed to select xPageFilters' , xTimeSpan' , 'Persistency' , and finally xPersist2' . In this embodiment too, the hierarchy of the last selected item xPersist2' may be indicated by highlighting the hierarchically higher menu items as shown in FIG 2.
FIG 3 is an illustrative block diagram showing a system 50 for marking a menu in accordance with the above-described embodiments of the present invention. Herein, a menu structure 52, typically created by an application developer, is defined in a configuration file, such as an Extensible Markup Language (XML) configuration file. The menu structure specifies the hierarchical structure of data objects (menu items) that are contained in the menu. The system 50 includes means 54 for reading the menu structure from the configuration file and generating a hierarchical memory map 56 of the data objects of the menu. This memory map specifies the allocated memory location of each data object of the menu based on the hierarchy defined in the menu structure 52. In the illustrated embodiment, the means 54 comprises an XML parser. The memory map 56 created by the parser is a hierarchical tree as shown in FIG 4. The reference numerals in FIG 4 indicate the data objects that are allocated in the memory map. Thus the application menu 60 comprises three main tabs 62, 64 and 66, which may further contain data objects 68-84 as shown. The memory map 56 specifies the allocated memory location of each data object of the menu based on the hierarchy defined in the menu structure 52.
Referring back to FIG 3, the system 50 also includes means 58 for displaying a menu from the generated memory map 56. This may involve displaying the menu as a tree menu or a drop-down menu as discussed above. As mentioned earlier, the means 58 is adapted not only for highlighting a selected data object, but for further highlighting those data objects that are hierarchically higher to said selected data object in the memory map 56. The user can thus see the menu hierarchy by just looking at the highlighted or marked menu items instantly at any point in time.
Summarizing, the present invention deals with a system and method for displaying a menu. The proposed system comprises means for defining a menu structure in a configuration file. The menu structure comprises multiple data objects. The proposed system further includes means for reading said menu structure from said configuration file and generating a hierarchical memory map of the data objects of said menu structure. Further, the proposed system comprises means for displaying a menu from said hierarchical memory map. This means for displaying comprises means for highlighting a selected data object, further highlighting those data objects that are hierarchically higher to said selected data object in the memory map.
Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternate embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is therefore contemplated that such modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined.

Claims

Patent claims
1. A system (50) for displaying a menu (10, 40), comprising : - means for defining a menu structure (52) in a configuration file, said menu structure (52) comprising multiple data objects,
- means (54) for reading said menu structure (52) from said configuration file and generating a hierarchical memory map (56) of the data objects of said menu structure (52), and
- means (58) for displaying a menu (10, 40) from said hierarchical memory map (56) , wherein said means
(58) for displaying comprises means for highlighting a selected data object, further highlighting those data objects that are hierarchically higher to said selected data object in the memory map (56) .
2. The system (50) according to claim 1, wherein said displayed menu (10, 40) comprises a hierarchical tree menu (10) .
3 The system (50) according to claim 1, wherein said displayed menu (10, 40) comprises a hierarchical drop- down menu (40) .
4. The system (50) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said configuration file comprises an Extensible Markup Language (XML) configuration file, and said means (54) for reading said menu structure (52) from said configuration file and generating a memory map (56) corresponding to said menu structure (52) comprises an XML parser.
5. A method for displaying a menu (10, 40), comprising:
- defining a menu structure (52) in a configuration file, said menu structure (52) comprising multiple data objects, - reading said menu structure (52) from said configuration file and generating a hierarchical memory map (56) of the data objects of said menu structure (52), and - displaying a menu from said hierarchical memory map (56), wherein displaying the menu comprises highlighting a selected data object and further highlighting those data objects that are hierarchically higher to said selected data object in the memory map (56) .
6. The method according to claim 5, comprising displaying said menu (10, 40) as a hierarchical tree menu (10) .
7. The method according to claim 5, comprising displaying said menu (10, 40) as a hierarchical drop-down menu (40) .
8. The method (50) according to any of claims 5-7, wherein said configuration file comprises an Extensible Markup Language (XML) configuration file, further wherein reading said menu structure (52) from said configuration file and generating a memory map (56) corresponding to said menu structure (52) is performed my an XML parser.
PCT/EP2008/051061 2008-01-29 2008-01-29 System and method for displaying a menu WO2009095072A1 (en)

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US10198173B2 (en) 2010-01-20 2019-02-05 Nokia Technologies Oy User input

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1998047063A1 (en) * 1997-04-14 1998-10-22 Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. A hierarchical menu graphical user interface
US20030098893A1 (en) * 2001-11-29 2003-05-29 Makinen Bruce A. Systems and methods for managing interaction with a presentation of a tree structure in a graphical user interface
EP1557744A1 (en) * 2004-01-20 2005-07-27 Sony International (Europe) GmbH Haptic key controlled data input
US20070300177A1 (en) * 2006-06-23 2007-12-27 Microsoft Corporation User interface for specifying multi-valued properties

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1998047063A1 (en) * 1997-04-14 1998-10-22 Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. A hierarchical menu graphical user interface
US20030098893A1 (en) * 2001-11-29 2003-05-29 Makinen Bruce A. Systems and methods for managing interaction with a presentation of a tree structure in a graphical user interface
EP1557744A1 (en) * 2004-01-20 2005-07-27 Sony International (Europe) GmbH Haptic key controlled data input
US20070300177A1 (en) * 2006-06-23 2007-12-27 Microsoft Corporation User interface for specifying multi-valued properties

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US10198173B2 (en) 2010-01-20 2019-02-05 Nokia Technologies Oy User input

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