Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Nigel Christopher Wolters

Hua Wang

Steven Merlin Twitchell

Joseph Milan

Jennifer Lee Beckmann

Zheng Mi

Kenik Hassel

Ian Lucas

Manal Mohanna

Michael Emard

A VCI (visual context indicator) color is assigned deterministically and proactively at runtime to user data contexts, and is not stored in the database, spreadsheet, or other context. VCI colors can be high contrast friendly colors. The same color is assigned to a given context each time the application runs unless the context's identifying property has changed. Color assignments are not made by users or by the application's designer, but are done instead by hashing from a context's identifying property into a VCI color palette containing, e.g., eight to sixteen colors. Unlike text-selection coloring, VCI coloring is based on the user data context's identifying property. The color assignment visually indicates context by displaying the context's name in the VCI color, or by displaying a graphical element in the VCI color near the context name. VCI color assignment also shows the occurrence and result of changes in user data context.

Deterministic visual indication of user data context

A system and method of displaying user interface information with respect to navigation of a hierarchical namespace is disclosed. The hierarchical namespace includes a first set of items representing a top level portion of the hierarchical namespace and a second set of items representing lower levels of the hierarchical namespace.

User interface for navigating large scale hierarchical namespaces

Growing community of inventors

Sammamish, WA, United States of America

Nigel Christopher Wolters