Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Josh A Clow

Leroy B Keely

Adrian James Garside

F David Jones

Tracy Dianne Schultz

Judy C Tandog

Reed L Townsend

Jan-Kristian Markiewicz

David Andrew Matthews

Xiao Tu

Todd A Torset

David V Winkler

Pamela De La Torre Baltierra

Stephan Hoefnagels

Kieran Snyder

Jonathan Ian Gordner

Nandini Bhattacharya

Jonathan Li

Kenneth Parker

Alexander Allen

Colin Jeanne

Architecture that generates a companion window in combination with a source application experience to enable the accomplishment of a side task yet not switch away from the context of the source application. The companion window experience is a window that is rendered proximate (e.g., beside) a user's source application experience, in a predictable location, and with a predictable user model for invocation and dismissal. The companion window allows the user to retain full visual context of the associated source application experience, while rendering activities that directly pertain to the source application experience or activities that allow the user to interact with two applications.

Companion window experience

Computer-readable media, computerized methods, and computer systems for intuitively invoking a panning action (e.g., moving content within a content region of a display area) by applying a user-initiated input at the content region rendered at a touchscreen interface are provided. Initially, aspects of the user-initiated input include a location of actuation (e.g., touch point on the touchscreen interface) and a gesture. Upon ascertaining that the actuation location occurred within the content region and that the gesture is a drag operation, based on a distance of uninterrupted tactile contact with the touchscreen interface, a panning mode may be initiated. When in the panning mode, and if the application rendering the content at the display area supports scrolling functionality, the gesture will control movement of the content within the content region. In particular, the drag operation of the gesture will pan the content within the display area when surfaced at the touchscreen interface.

Panning content utilizing a drag operation

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

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media process computer input data (such as electronic ink data, speech input data, keyboard input data, etc.), including focus change data, in a manner so that the input insertion range better comports with the user's original intent. More specifically, user input data may be accepted, before, during, and/or after a focus change event is initiated, and the systems and methods will process this input data in an intuitive manner, directing the data to areas of an application program or the operating system that better comport with the user's original intent. In this manner, loss of input data may be avoided and misdirected input data may be avoided, thereby lowering user frustration during focus change events.

Systems and methods for processing input data before, during, and/or after an input focus change event

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Redmond, WA, United States of America

Josh A Clow