Apple Inc.

Dylan B Ashe

Robert G Johnston, Jr

Jeffrey Robert Cobb

Lewis K Cirne

Ramesh M Gupta

Eric Schlegel

Daniel K Clifford

Nick G Kledzik

A method and system are provided for developing images for use in a graphical user interface. In one implementation, the method includes displaying a graphical user interface on a display device, and providing an operating system on a computer that is in communication with the display device. The operating system includes an imaging object structure that is an abstract base class from which subclasses of text imaging objects, picture imaging objects, and pattern imaging objects are derivable. The subclasses of text imaging objects, picture imaging objects, and pattern imaging objects are used to respectively generate text imaging objects, picture imaging objects, and pattern imaging objects for display in the graphical user interface.

Method and system for image rendering including polymorphic image data in a graphical user interface

The program code for control objects in a graphical user interface is organized in a multi-level hierarchial structure. At one level of the structure, each different type of control defines a class of objects. The definition of a class includes most, if not all, of the functionality associated with the objects of that class. In addition, the class definition includes the overall structure of the object, such as the relative positions of different elements which make up the object. The actual appearance of these elements is defined by user selectable software that resides at a lower level of the hierarchy. Using this approach, only one instance of the program code which defines the functionality and overall structure of each object is required, resulting in smaller the overall memory requirements of the program code.

Graphical user interface with hierarchical structure for customizable menus and control objects

A system for providing polymorphic image data for images in a graphical user interface on a computer system includes an operating system, and an imaging object structure, the imaging object structure included in the operating system and utilized to generate images in the graphical user interface. Additionally, the imaging object structure further comprises a subclass of imaging objects, the subclasses includes singular imaging objects and composite imaging objects. The singular imaging objects further include, but are not limited to, text imaging objects, picture imaging objects, pattern imaging objects, and icon imaging objects. Additionally, the composite imaging objects generate composite images of a desired combination of singular images generated by the singular imaging objects. Further, the imaging object structure includes a SOM object structure.

A clipboard manager which employs preemptive scheduling for access to contents of a clipboard region of memory in a computer remains backwardly compatible with application programs designed for cooperative scheduling, through the use of a locking mechanism. When an application which is designed for use with a preemptive scheduling interface desires access to the clipboard, it requests a key from a clipboard manager. As long as the application possesses the key, no other application can gain access to the clipboard. When an application which is designed for cooperative scheduling becomes the foreground program on the computer, the clipboard manager retains the key for itself. As long as this application is active, the clipboard manager prevents any other application running in the background from gaining access to the clipboard, and thereby avoids potential conflicts. Once the cooperatively scheduled application suspends operation, the clipboard manager releases the key, so that the clipboard can be accessed by other applications.

Method and system for controlling the copying and insertion of contents of documents

A window grouping mechanism for creating, organizing and manipulating windows and, more specifically, window groups for display to a user of a computer system is disclosed. The window grouping mechanism preferably includes a series of linked data structures configured to organize information pertaining to all windows defined by an application program executing on the computer system. According to an aspect of the invention, the application program interacts with the window grouping mechanism to further organize the information into any number of window groups each of which contains a different subset of the previously defined windows. These window groups may then be manipulated by the application program to efficiently create various permutations of window groups.

Window grouping mechanism for creating, manipulating and displaying

In a graphical user interface for computers, a scroll bar tracking and drawing procedure associates elements of the scroll bar with regions on the display. The region for the thumb can move relative to the other regions, and thereby track the movement of the cursor. Within each element's associated region, any desired pattern can be drawn. As a result, the thumb can be non-rectangular in shape. Furthermore, since the image within a region can be any arbitrary pattern, the image for the thumb can be either a complete image, to accommodate live scrolling, or a ghost image to accommodate ghost scrolling. As such, a single procedure can support both modes of operation, and permit the interface to be easily switched between the two.

Method and apparatus for controlling the tracking of movable control

A method in a computer system enables the translation and opening of a document which was created by an application program no longer resident in the computer system. The method begins by identifying the file format of the target document, Subsequently, all computer resident applications capable of opening the document are identified and translation paths from the document to the accessible application programs are calculated. Each of the available application programs and corresponding translation paths are listed in order of fidelity, with an indicia identifying the preferred path. One of the translation paths is selected and the document is translated into the acceptable format. Following translation of the program, the application is launched and the newly translated document is opened.

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Dylan B Ashe