Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Michael G Toepke

Kathryn L Parker

Jeffrey R Blum

A method and system for receiving user input data into a computer system having a graphical windowing environment. A touch-sensitive display screen for displaying images and detecting user activity is provided. A management component connects to the graphical windowing environment to create an input panel window for display on the screen. An input method which may be a COM object is selected from multiple input methods available, and installed such that the input method can call functions of the management component. Each input method includes a corresponding input panel, such as a keyboard, which it draws in the input panel window. When the user taps the screen at the input panel, the input method calls a function of the management component to pass corresponding input information appropriate information such as a keystroke or character to the management component. In response, the management component communicates the user data to the graphical windowing environment as a message, whereby an application program receives the message as if the message was generated on a hardware input device.

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Bellevue, WA, United States of America

Michael G Toepke