Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Stephan Hoefnagels

Timothy P McKee

Chaitanya Dev Sareen

Charles Cummins

Michael James Hone

David George De Vorchik

Robert J Jarrett

Bret P Anderson

Donald James Lindsay

Marcus Harvey

Harold S Gomez

Robert F Day

Benjamin Betz

David R Johnson

Cornelis K Van Dok

Patrice Lynn Miner

Tyler Kien Beam

Relja Ivanovic

James H Hong

Christopher S Davis

Olivier d'Hose

Greg S Melander

Jenny T Lam

Paul Alexander Gusmorino, Iii

David Andrew Matthews

Aaron J Sauve

Lyon K F Wong

Rebecca J Deutsch

Anthony T Chor

Lyon King-Fook Wong

Mark R Ligameri

Leroy B Keely

Chris J Guzak

Christopher Andrew Evans

Jason Fergus Moore

Samuel J Moreau

David R Parlin

Scott E Dart

Ivan Brugiolo

Samuel Thomas Williams

Mohamed A M Sadek

Andrew Jennings

Jesse Clay Satterfield

Adrienne E O'Donnell

Nils Anders Sundelin

Matthew Isaac Worley

Corey Bryant Marion

Rolf Arnold Ebeling

Lynn M Muranaka

Paul Cutsinger

Kieran Snyder

Gabriel S DeBacker

Josh A Clow

Jonathan Ian Gordner

Rob Jarrett

Jared C Simpson

Nandini Bhattacharya

Colin Jeanne

Alexander Allen

Kenneth Parker

Jonathan Li

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

A computer application launcher can be displayed. In response to receiving a first user input associated with the launcher while a computer application indicated by the launcher is not running, a destination list can be displayed. The destination list can include one or more destinations indicating one or more items that can be performed by a computer application. In response to a second user input associated with the destination list and indicating selection of a destination on the destination list, the application can be launched and instructed to perform an item indicated by the selected destination.

Destination list associated with an application launcher

In an electronic file system, preview information is provided to the user during a drag operation of a selected object onto a target object. The information indicates what type(s) of action is to be taken should the selected object be dropped onto the target object. The action(s) to be taken may depend upon the type of the selected object and/or the type of the target object. For example, where the selected object is an item and the target object is a persisted auto-list, the action may include adding, removing, or modifying one or more properties of the selected object to conform to one or more criteria defined by the persisted auto-list. Also, numerical feedback may be provided to the user where multiple objects are selected. For example, where seven objects are selected, the textual number '7' may appear next to the cursor.

Rich drag drop user interface

The functionality traditionally provided by an application program through a window presented as part of a window-based user interface can be accessed while the window remains hidden. A toolbar, or similar collection of user interface elements, can be presented when a user indicates an intention to interact with an application program whose window is hidden. The toolbar can comprise elements associated with functions specific to the hidden window. The user's selection can be communicated to the application program so that it can perform the requested function. If the user no longer indicates an intention to interact with the application program, the toolbar can be removed. In one embodiment, the toolbar can be presented together with a thumbnail of the relevant window in a floating display element.

Surfacing and management of window-specific controls

Embodiments include providing multiple discernible indicia that provide an indication of behaviors associated with selection of a particular link. The multiple discernible indicia may include visually-discernible graphical icons configured to be displayed as a pictorial image that visually represents a behavior associated with selection of the particular link. The visually-discernible graphical icons may include a first icon that, when selected, causes a default behavior associated with the link selection to occur, and a second icon that, when selected, causes an alternative behavior associated with the link selection to occur. Also, responsive to receiving a user-provided modifier, the first or second icon may be replaced with a third icon that visually represents a different alternative behavior to occur that is different than both the default and alternative behaviors.

Predictive cursor interaction

Computer-readable media, computerized methods, and user interfaces (UIs) for manipulating display areas on a GUI workspace by transitioning the display areas from an original state to one of a set of enhanced window states are provided. Initially, an indication to resize a display area is received at an operating system, which consequently invokes an appropriate window state. The indication may include capturing an edge of the display area and vertically dragging the edge to a dock-target region, thereby invoking a vertically-maximized state. Accordingly, configuration settings of the vertically-maximized state are applied such that the display area is stretched to approximately the screen height. In another instance, the indication may include capturing the display area and dragging a display area into a dock-target region, thereby invoking a semi-maximized state. Configuration settings of the semi-maximized state are applied, thus, extending the display area to approximately cover a predefined GUI workspace region.

Arranging display areas utilizing enhanced window states

This document describes techniques and apparatuses for managing an immersive environment. These techniques and/or apparatuses enable a user to select when, where, or under what conditions to present applications in this immersive environment.

Managing an immersive environment

Computer system navigation tools provide 'links' to various different files, lists, folders, and/or other storage elements and allow users to organize files, e.g., by hierarchical properties, lists, auto lists, folders, and the like. Such systems and methods allow users to assign properties to a file (optionally in a hierarchical manner), to change assigned properties, to search, view, and retrieve information based on the assigned properties, and the like.

Systems, methods, and user interfaces for storing, searching, navigating, and retrieving electronic information

Methods, user interfaces, and computer-readable media for displaying thumbnail copies of running items for a particular running application on a display are provided. The displayed thumbnail copies are interactive, and provide the user with an easy and efficient way to identify and manage multiple items, such as windows, that are concurrently running. The thumbnail copies are either snapshots or real-time displays of the corresponding running items, depending on whether the running item is minimized or maximized at the time the thumbnail copies are displayed. The user interacts with the thumbnail copies by choosing to either close a particular running item by selecting the closing icon on the corresponding thumbnail copy, or view a particular running item on the display by selecting the corresponding thumbnail in any location other than the closing icon.

Displaying thumbnail copies of each running item from one or more applications

The described implementations relate to dynamically painting user-controls. One method dynamically determines a highlight color of a user-control under a cursor on a graphical user-interface. The method also paints at least a portion of the user-control with the highlight color.

Painting user controls

Methods and systems providing a user interface control allowing a user to specify a scope of items on a computer system or network is disclosed. Certain aspects provide an input control through which a user can specify an explicit scope, or range, of items, while also identifying explicit exclusions from the specified scope, thereby reducing ambiguity regarding identification of items included and items excluded from the scope. When a user explicitly selects an item for inclusion in the scope, the explicitly selected item is added to the scope definition, and all descendants of the explicitly selected item are implicitly selected for inclusion. When a user explicitly selects an item for exclusion from the scope, the explicitly selected item is added to the scope definition as an exclusion from an explicitly included item, and all descendants of the explicitly selected item are implicitly selected for exclusion.

Computer input control for specifying scope with explicit exclusions

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Stephan Hoefnagels