Method and apparatus for automatically generating focus ordering in a

Abstract

A method and apparatus provides for automatic generation of an intuitive, logical focusing order for items in a dialog window in a computer system. The focus ordering can be generated dynamically at runtime or statically. In particular, the focusing order is based on the locations and types of the items in the dialog box and is generated as follows. A customizable spatial comparison function, called herein 'comparison function', is generated such that two items can be compared and an ordering of the items determined. The spatial comparison function extrapolates or imposes on each item being compared a region which is defined by the extent of the item's bounds. The regions are then compared to determine the focus ordering of the item. The items in the dialog box are sorted using the comparison function. The items are then grouped based on their locations and their types. Items that are of a similar type and in the same horizontal or vertical line are grouped together. Any items not yet assigned to a group and whose bounding regions intersect with any existing group's bounding region are added to that existing group. The item groups are then sorted using the comparison function. A focus order list is formed by iterating through the groups in order and iterating through the items in each group in order to form a list that contains an intuitive focus ordering for the items in the dialog.