International Business Machines Corporation

John S Wang

Carol S Himelstein

Shih-Gong Li

Rex A McCaskill

Richard Edmond Berry

Irene H Hernandez

James T Repass

Beverly H Machart

Alex Chunghen Chow

Richard B Wood

Donald G Petersen

Hampton K Conner, Jr

Carol Sue Himelstein

A visual procedure aides the program builder in linking objects in a visual application builder where the objects are on different pages of the application builder notebook. When the target object is on another page of the notebook, the user selects the source object. The user then flips the notebook page. During the page flipping, the selected source object is shown as an outline shadow with a page number under it. If the new page is shown with the desired target object on it, the user drags and drops a link between the shadow source object and the target object to make a connection. If the user flips to the source object page, then the target object will become the shadow object with a page number label next to it. If the shadow object is too big and covers the target object completely or for any other reason, the user may want to optionally use the outside page connector technique. This can be done by dragging and dropping the link from the source object to any point outside the notebook. The ending point of the link (outside the notebook) will have an outside page connector ICON appear. The user flips the notebook to find the target object. After the target object page is displayed, the user draws a link from the outside page connector to the target object. The user may navigate between the source and target pages by clicking on the page connector ICON.

Method of connecting objects on different notebook pages

The present invention provides a method and system for permitting a user to efficiently create an application utilizing a plurality of objects in a graphic user interface. A database is created to track objects selected by a user. The objects selected by a user for utilization in the application are registered in the database. The user is permitted to create definitions for the selected objects. An absence of a definition for one of the selected objects within the database is graphically indicated, wherein the user may efficiently identify objects requiring a definition.

Method and system for detecting undefined objects in an application

A data processing system for permitting a user to efficiently create an application utilizing a plurality of objects in a graphic user interface. Objects are graphically presented to the user in the graphic user interface. The user is permitted to create a compound object utilizing at least two of the plurality of objects. The compound object is automatically associated with the objects in response to a user input, wherein the compound object thereafter may be selected by the user to efficiently create an application.

Method and system for creating complex objects for use in application

An apparatus for moving graphical objects including a display for displaying multiple graphical objects according to a display priority, apparatus for moving, responsive to a user input, a displayed graphical object, and apparatus for modifying, responsive to a user input, a display priority of the moved graphical object as the graphical object is moved so that the moved graphical object is displayed under a portion of a second displayed graphical object. In addition, a method for moving graphical objects including displaying multiple graphical objects according to a display priority on a display, moving, responsive to a user input, a displayed graphical object, and modifying, responsive to a user input, a display priority of the moved graphical object as the graphical object is moved so that the moved graphical object is displayed under a portion of a second displayed graphical object.

Method and apparatus for interlocking graphical objects

A direct screen manipulation technique allows for the design a menu bar, pull down menus and cascaded menus in computer application programs. The technique is implemented using a graphic user interface (GUI) employing a windowing display. The user may select a menu bar tool object from a toolbox window on the display screen and 'drag-and-drop' the menu bar tool object on an application window on the same display screen. This forms a blank menu bar below the title bar of the application window. By selecting the menu bar, a text cursor is shown at the default initial position. The first menu bar item is defined by entering text, typically using the keyboard, and when the menu bar item has been defined, the Control-Right Tab key is pressed. This moves the text cursor to the next menu item position, and the next and subsequent menu bar items are defined in the same way. Once a menu bar item has been defined, it may be selected using the pointing cursor followed by pressing the Enter key, which causes a pull down menu to be displayed. The pull down menu is displayed with the text cursor at the first default item position, and pull down menu items are defined in a manner similar to that for the menu bar. By selecting a pull down menu item which has been defined followed by pressing the Enter key, a cascade menu is displayed with the text cursor at the first default item position. Again, cascade menu items are defined in a manner similar to that used for the menu bar and the pull down menu. The process continues until all menu bar items, pull down menu items and cascade menu items have been defined.

Menu bar editor

An easy to use method is practiced by the user of the computer system to allow for precise control of a displayed three dimensional object about any one of three perpendicular axes. A procedure is called which defines three 'hot spots' for the X, Y and Z axes. These hot spots are displayed at the termini of displayed X, Y and Z axes having an origin at a centroid of the 3D object. The user then drags and drops sliders for each one of the axes, connecting each slider to one of the hot spots. Once connected the user may select a HIDE CONNECTION option and may further select a HIDE 3D AXES option so that the three sliders are displayed on the screen with the 3D object. Then by moving one or another of the sliders, the user may precisely rotate the 3D object about a corresponding axis to facilitate viewing of the object.

Connection of sliders to 3D objects to allow easy user manipulation and

A method and object-oriented architecture for interfacing a user to a relational database system The contour of the interface is defined by a profile object and a task object. The profile object, in response to user selection, defines one of multiple role objects with associated user proficiency and system behavioral characteristics. The task object responds to parameters derived from the profile object to generating a query for the relational database system. In one form, the task object includes one or more functional objects suitable to query the database. Representative functional objects are the domain object (used to formulate problem oriented queries), the analysis object (used to analyze the data extracted from the database), the report object (used to generate a user response format), and the link object (used to relate the components within the task object). The interface according to the invention matches the abilities of the user to the resources of the database system, manipulates problem oriented high-level queries, and provides an object oriented architecture readily amenable to object refinement.

User interface for a relational database using a task object for

A user interactive computer graphic display which generates three dimensional perspective projections of graphics objects. The user can specify the location of the vanishing point of the perspective projection before or after the generation of the graphics objects on the display. Moreover, the vanishing point can be moved by the user resulting in the simultaneous changing of the perspective projection of the graphics objects so that the most pleasing three dimensional display can be achieved. The user may specify a length of the projection lines which defines the depth of the three dimensional projection, or the user can accept a default depth. The entire editing set available for editing two dimensional graphics objects is available for editing the perspective projection of the graphics objects.

Three dimensional graphic display with user defined vanishing point

An improved mixed object editor flows text around and into irregularly shaped graphic objects on a page so that all the 'white' space on the page is filled. An irregularly shaped window which generally conforms to the shape of the graphic object is first created. Then the boundaries of text lines which intersect the irregularly shaped window are determined. Text is next placed in the available text space.

Text flow around irregular shaped graphic objects

A computer based graphic editor has the capability of recognizing as a single graphic object a plurality of unconnected freehand strokes such as a signature. This makes possible editing a document with a signature, for example, without the various parts of the signature becoming separated and no longer being a viable entity. A cursor pointing device, such as a mouse with a button, is used to enter the plurality of unconnected strokes. Initially, the first point p.sub.1 at the beginning of a stroke which is the first stroke of a plurality of unconnected strokes is read and stored with the visible attribute. As long as the button is pressed, the position of the cursor is monitored and lines drawn from each successive point to the next point p.sub.2 with each point p.sub.2 being stored with the visible attribute. When the mouse button is released, the last read point position p.sub.2 is stored with the invisible attribute. When the mouse button is pressed again, the first point p.sub.1 of the next stroke is read and stored with the visible attribute, and the process repeated. When the mouse button is again pressed and released, the ending position of the previous stroke p.sub..0., the starting position of the current stroke p.sub.1 and the ending position of the current stroke p.sub.2 are compared and, if p.sub.1 and p.sub.2 are within a tolerance range and there exist no other points between p.sub.1 and p.sub.2 and if p.sub.1 and p.sub..0. are within the tolerance range, then the termination of the signature is detected.

Freehand drawing containing invisible lines

A method of, and system for, accurately manipulating objects on a screen to obtain a desired layout. Objects are called or built and then manipulated in terms of rotation and/or displacement. Accurate manipulation is facilitated by displaying a readout of the extent of rotation and/or displacement. Upon obtaining a desired layout, the layout is stored, printed, used to drive a process, etc.

Object movement feedback

An easy-to-use technique for specifying measurements of a document to be printed uses a pointing method, such as a cursor which is moved around a display screen by means of a pointing device having a select button. The pointing cursor is moved to each desired location in a predetermined sequence, and the select button is pressed. The values of the measurements so selected are calculated based on the relative position of the pointing cursor at the time the select button is pressed.

Specifying measurements on a page by pointing

A procedure for generating a mirror image of a graphic object on an interactive computer graphics display is disclosed. In the specific example described, a cursor locating device such as a mouse and an all points addressable display are assumed. The graphics object for which the mirror image is to be generated is selected by the pointing cursor. The mirror image function is also selected by the pointing cursor. This causes a default mirror image to be generated on the display along with the original image of the selected graphics object. In addition, a 'mirror' with a direction handle and an angle handle is displayed in a window on the display. Either of these handles may be 'grabbed' by selecting with the pointing cursor and then rotated to manipulate the generated mirror image and the selected object on the display. When the direction handle is rotated, the generated mirror image and the selected object are simultaneously rotated in the plane of the display. When the angle handle is rotated, the generated mirror image and the selected object are simultaneously stretched or shrunk depending on the direction of rotation to provide a 'butterfly' effect.

Mirror inverse function in an interactive graphics system

A technique is disclosed which facilitates the selection by a user of a graphic object on a display screen. Selection is by means of a pointing cursor which is moved about the display screen by means of a pointing device having a select button. When the pointing cursor is brought within a predetermined distance of a graphic object, the point on the graphic object closest to the pointing cursor is highlighted to show the user that that graphic object would be selected if the select button were pressed. If the user presses the select button when a point on a graphic object is highlighted, the entire graphic object is highlighted to indicate that it has been selected.

Graphic highlight adjacent a pointing cursor

A method is described for editing graphic objects in an interactive draw graphic system which selectively displays a menu of available editing actions in response to operation of one mouse button by the operator and allows the operator to cursor select the specific edit action from the menu to be made active by operating a second mouse key. The operator may also cursor select the object to be edited by operation of the second mouse key. Once the editing action is selected and made active, the menu is hidden (not displayed) and the editing action remains active in the system until positive steps are taken by the operator to either terminate the edit function or change the active editing action. The operator, therefore, does not have to return to the selection process after each specific editing operation. The previous editing operation is implied for the next edit operation.

Growing community of inventors

Travis County, TX, United States of America

John S Wang