Patent ID: 6307552
Filing Date: 2001-10-23
Classification: G06T

Abstract:
A method of presenting information from a body of knowledge to a user on a computer display, the body of knowledge stratified into a plurality of levels of abstraction and including a plurality of information elements associated with the plurality of levels of abstraction, the method comprising:(a) displaying an abstraction stack on the computer display in a three-dimensional workspace, the abstraction stack having associated therewith a predetermined sequence of steps, each step defining a predetermined display format for the abstraction stack, each predetermined display format specifying at least one of a position in the body of knowledge and a lens configuration for the abstraction stack, each lens configuration specifying at least one lens configured to display at least a portion of the body of knowledge;(b) at a first predetermined step in the sequence of steps, configuring the abstraction stack to display at least a portion of the body of knowledge in the predetermined display format defined by the first predetermined step; and(c) in response to a transition to a second step in the sequence of steps that specifies a different lens configuration from that specified by the first step, reconfiguring the lens configuration for the abstraction stack to display at least a portion of the body of knowledge in the predetermined display format defined by the second predetermined step.