Patent ID: 8887089
Filing Date: 2014-11-11
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method performed by an integrated development environment (IDE) having a code editor, the method comprising: receiving, at one or more computer systems, information indicative of a selection of a graphical non-textual reference marker made in a main window of a user interface of the code editor having a file overview margin that represents entirety of a file having a viewable portion displayed in the main window together with one or more graphical non-textual reference markers within the file overview margin, the graphical non-textual reference marker corresponding to a point of interest in the file and the graphical non-textual reference marker identifying one or more characteristics of the point of interest; determining, with one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, a location of the point of interest in the file based on the graphical non-textual reference marker; determining, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, a contextual boundary rule from a plurality of contextual boundary rules defined by one or more end-users of the IDE separately from contents of files opened in the code editor based upon at least one characteristic of the graphical non-textual reference marker and the file; determining, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, a context portion of the file that satisfies the contextual boundary rule, the context portion comprising one or more lines, words, or statements; determining, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, a location of the context portion of the file relative to the location of the point of interest in the file, the location of the context portion of the file relative to the location of the point of interest in the file in the main window being different from the location of the point of interest in the file in the main window; retrieving, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, a subset of the file using the location of the point of interest and the location of the context portion of the file relative to the location of the point of interest in the file; and generating, with the one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, information configured to display the subset of the file in a secondary window of the user interface using a fading technique applied to the subset of the file and visually connecting the secondary window to the graphical non-textual reference marker within the file overview margin such that at least a part of the viewable portion of the file displayed in the main window of the user interface is concurrently displayed in the user interface with the subset of the file in the secondary window of the user interface.