The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 14, 2001
Filed:
Feb. 09, 1998
George Francis DeStefano, Rochester, MN (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A computer system and method of controlling a computer system integrate the display of a user interface control from which a user supplies input to a computer system with the display of multiple representations of instructional material related to how to operate the control. Displayed representations of first and second sets of instructional material may be concurrently or selectively integrated with a displayed representation of the user interface control. When multiple sets of instructional material are concurrently displayed, the user interface control may be actuated in response to user input supplied to multiple displayed representations of the user interface control. Moreover, when multiple sets of instructional material are selectively displayed, different sets of such material may replace other sets in response to user input. By integrating the display of a user interface control with the display of associated instructional material, a user is better able to comprehend and utilize the functionality of the user interface control without losing focus on the task at hand. Moreover, by concurrently or selectively displaying multiple sets of instructional material with a particular user interface control, a wider variety of potential users of the control may be supported.