Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Microsoft Corporation

F David Jones

Leroy B Keely

Marieke Watson Iwema

Charlton E Lui

Robert J Jarrett

Susanne Alysia Clark Cazzanti

Adrian James Garside

Tracy Dianne Schultz

Judy C Tandog

Emily Rimas

Bodin Dresevic

Sashi Raghupathy

Subha Bhattacharyay

Michael Shilman

Ryan Edward Cukierman

Josh A Clow

Zile Wei

Gerhard A Schobbe

Jian Wang

Eric J Horvitz

Andrew David Wilson

Kenneth Paul Hinckley

Henricus Johannes Maria Meijer

Stephen Edward Hodges

Hrvoje Benko

Shahram Izadi

Raymond Edward Ozzie

Patrice Y Simard

Mary P Czerwinski

Yu Zou

David Alexander Butler

Meredith June Morris

Shawna Julie Davis

Ian Sands

Jamie N Wakeam

Dragos A Manolescu

William Ben Kunz

V Kevin Russ

Shawn R LeProwse

Matthew Jason Pope

Rob Jarrett

Rich Grutzmacher

Matthew Bret MacLaurin

Jeffrey West Pettiross

Herry Sutanto

Tobiasz Alexander Zielinski

Takanobu Murayama

Haiyong Wang

Joshua Clow

Todd M Landstad

Richard L Spencer, Ii

Guy Barker

Adrian J Garside

Tracy D Schultz

Jian c/o Microsoft Research Asia Wang

Patrick F Simard

Michael M Shilman

Aspects relate to detecting gestures that relate to a desired action, wherein the detected gestures are common across users and/or devices within a surface computing environment. Inferred intentions and goals based on context, history, affordances, and objects are employed to interpret gestures. Where there is uncertainty in intention of the gestures for a single device or across multiple devices, independent or coordinated communication of uncertainty or engagement of users through signaling and/or information gathering can occur.

Gestures, interactions, and common ground in a surface computing environment

Determining user use context for electronic messaging and disseminating a subset of the user use context to recipients and/or senders of such electronic message is disclosed herein. By way of example, the user use context can be based on a general context of recipients, such as speed with which a message is disseminated or consumed, number of child messages spawned, rate at which such messages are spawned, and so on. Additionally, user use context can also be based on individual context, by comparing individual interaction to a message (e.g., time to read, time to delete, number of child messages, etc.), with a baseline usage context determined for the individual. The context can be disseminated to recipients of the message or to the sender, to provide an overview of perception of the electronic message.

User perception of electronic messaging

A computer system and method for providing user feedback when creating, modifying, or editing electronic documents. An insertion point icon is placed in a document at a position for insertion and/or deletion of text, graphics, data, etc. Upon receiving a user input indicating movement, the insertion point icon is divided into two icons, one stationary at the position, and one moving with user input. When movement is complete, space contained between the icons may be deleted or inserted. The system may be used to shift handwritten text to subsequent lines on an electronic document containing handwritten text, and may be used to bring two groups of text together, deleting space in between. A connection line may be displayed between the icons to provide feedback regarding the action to be taken.

Insertion point bungee space tool

User interfaces, methods, systems, and computer-readable media for activating and/or displaying text input systems on display devices may include: (a) displaying a text input system activation target at a user changeable location on a display device; (b) receiving user input directed to the activation target; and (c) activating a text input system in response to the user input. Such user interfaces, methods, and systems further may include (d) displaying a pre-interaction condition of the activation target; (e) receiving user input directed to the activation target in this pre-interaction condition; and (f) changing an appearance of the activation target from the pre-interaction condition to a larger size and/or a different visual appearance in response to this user input. Additional aspects of this invention relate to computer-readable media for providing user interfaces, systems, and methods as described above.

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for invoking an electronic ink or handwriting interface

Providing for graphical visualization of contextual information pertinent to electronic messaging is described herein. By way of example, contextual network usage information or messaging disposition can be determined for a set of participants to electronic communication. The contextual information is compiled into categories and organized at least as a function of category. The compiled data can be transformed into a visualization of user disposition or context and output to a user device as a multi-dimensional graphical rendering. By rendering contextual data graphically, the rich and diverse information available from usage histories, current user context and user dispositions can be output and consumed rapidly and efficiently, resulting in productive electronic interaction.

Visualization of participant relationships and sentiment for electronic messaging

A freeform selection tool for a computer system with a graphical user interface allows a user to draw a freeform selection path so as to select one or more graphical objects. The user is provided with the freedom to input selection ink, in any orientation, and using any desired selection path size provided by the select tool. The selecting tool may change the visual appearance of any graphical object once selected. The selecting tool provides the ability to select ink or graphical object with a particular property to be used for the selection. The selecting tool can recognize various selection gestures coordinated with a semantic relationship of the ink so that the number of selection ink strokes can be minimized. The selecting tool may change for different selection modes depending on the type of graphical object encountered and change of the context for a particular selection.

Freeform encounter selection tool

A lasso select tool that allows a user to draw a flexible line of selection ink in order to select one or more graphical objects for manipulation. As the user draws this selection line, the lasso select tool continuously redraws and displays a connection line connecting one end of the selection line with the opposite end of the selection line. This connection line thus graphically demonstrates to the user the area that is presently encompassed by the resulting lasso enclosure. Further, the lasso select tool will change the appearance of any object selected with the lasso enclosure. The lasso select tool also selects objects that are only substantially encompassed by the lasso enclosure. For example, the lasso select tool may select ink objects that are only 60% or more encompassed by the lasso enclosure.

Lasso select

An interface is provided between a handwriting receiving panel and an auto complete process. A user writes onto the handwriting receiving panel which recognizes the handwritten text. The handwritten text is forwarded to the auto complete process which provides suggested content to the user based on the handwritten text. The user can select the suggested content for use with another application. Alternatively, the user may add additional information to the handwriting receiving panel to enable the auto complete process to provide more or different suggested content.

Auto-suggest lists and handwritten input

An improved approach to highlighting a graphical object in a graphical user interface is disclosed. A body of a highlighted graphical object may, upon selection or highlighting, be changed to a transparent color, and a graphical outline, or 'halo,' is added surrounding the original graphical object's body. The halo may be in the same color as the graphical object originally was, preserving any meaning attributed to the color of the graphical object and simplifying the user's ability to identify the selected object(s), as well as the ability to select the highlighted object for further processing. The highlighted graphical object may also be displayed with a bounding box to further identify the selected object(s). A moving version of the highlighted graphical object may be drawn during a moving process, in which the moving version has an appearance distinct from the original object.

Method for hollow selection feedback

A space tool that inserts space into or deletes space from a document is described. The space tool provides the user with feedback as to which objects will be moved when space is inserted into or deleted from a document. To provide the user with this feedback, the space tool identifies the objects that will be moved when space is inserted or deleted, and changes the appearance of these objects. For example, the space tool may gray out or fade identified electronic ink objects that will be moved. Alternatively, or additionally, the space tool may move identified objects in real time, so that their location continually corresponds with what their location will be after space has been inserted or deleted.

Space tool feedback by changing the displayed visual apperance of objects to be moved before insertion of space

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Redmond, WA, United States of America

F David Jones