Abstract:
A computer system and method are presented that enhance a user experience when viewing images displayed on the computer. The system includes a user interface for the computer that displays a number of thumbnail images that are representations of image files existing on the computer. The thumbnail images are arranged in alignment with one another, such as at the bottom of a viewing window. An enlarged preview image is positioned adjacent the thumbnail image. The preview image corresponds to a selected one of the thumbnail images. A control is displayed in the window that enables the user to iterate through the thumbnail images in at least one direction. As the user iterates through the thumbnail images, the enlarged preview image changes correspondingly.

Description:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0001]    None.  
         CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0002]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/335,737, filed Oct. 31, 2001.  
         TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0003]    In general, the present invention relates to computer software, and more particularly, to features of a computer software program designed to enhance the user experience pertaining to image files and the handling thereof.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    Personal computers (PCs) typically include hardware devices such as a processor and a memory for implementing various software programs, a principal one being a central operating environment. In turn, the operating environment, or operating system, supports the variety of other software applications such as a word processing program or a spreadsheet program. As computers have evolved, the operating systems have also evolved.  
           [0005]    Some operating systems include a graphical user interface (GUI), described generally as a graphical operating system, which displays various information to the user as a combination of pictures and text that the user can manipulate. Generally, the graphical operating systems may display on the screen a work area known as a desktop. The desktop is an on-screen work area that uses icons and menus to simulate the top of a desk. The intent of the desktop is to make a computer easier to use by enabling users to move pictures or objects and to start and stop tasks in much the same way as they would if they were working on a physical desktop. As users add application programs to the storage area of the computer, they may create what is known as a desktop shortcut. This action merely adds an icon to the desktop that may be double-clicked by the user to initiate the application, a text or data file, or a Web page. As users personalize the desktop by using it as a space for their shortcuts, the desktop can become cluttered with shortcuts that are unused for long periods of time. The goal of personalization is thus lost as the desktop becomes filled with items that are irrelevant to the user on most occasions. It would be desirable to provide a method and system that assists users in identifying and cleaning-up the irrelevant and infrequently used shortcuts existing on a desktop, thereby effectively “re-personalizing” the desktop.  
           [0006]    As stated above, many personal computers utilize a graphical operating system. These graphical operating systems are typically easier to use for the great majority of computer users. In such a graphical operating environment, media is typically stored in a hierarchical fashion and is organized with files of information or media stored within folders. As each file or folder is selected, a number of tasks are available to operate on the file in some way. For example, when a file is selected, the file may be moved, copied or deleted. Similarly, if a folder is selected, the folder may be copied, renamed or deleted. The number of tasks and the type of tasks available depend upon whether the item is a folder or a file and upon the type of item. As another example, different tasks may be available for electronic music files than are available for electronic picture files. The tasks available are typically provided in a drop-down menu and may also be executed by a series of known key-strokes. It has been found that with existing graphical operating systems, however, many users have trouble managing files and folders on a daily basis. Some users fail to easily accomplish even the most basic of tasks, such as moving a file to a removable disk. Part of the problem is that the relevant, available tasks or commands are buried within the drop-down menu that is not intuitive to the computer user. Computer users therefore have trouble discovering the needed commands and have difficulty in understanding how these commands relate to the selection on the screen. It would therefore be desirable to provide a system and method that allows computer users to more easily identify the tasks or commands available for a given selection.  
           [0007]    It is also the case within a graphical operating system that computer users may from time to time install new applications on the computer. For example, a computer user may install a new computer game onto the computer. The computer user may install a desktop icon as a shortcut to the newly installed application. It may also be the case, however, that the user does not create a desktop icon as a shortcut, but merely installs the application into the hierarchical system. For example, the computer game may be installed within the directory within a “games” folder, that is itself within a “programs” folder. To access the newly installed game, the user must access the file system, then the programs folder, then the games folder, which will expose the newly installed game. This process is less than intuitive and can obscure the newly installed application from the user, thereby causing frustration to the user and limiting the user&#39;s ability to properly utilize the newly installed application. It would be desirable to provide a method and system designed to remove barriers between users and their newly installed applications.  
           [0008]    As stated above, one of the items stored on the computer may be a series of electronic pictures. It is becoming increasingly more common for users to create and store pictures on their computers. When using a prior art graphical operating system, the pictures created are stored using the file and folder system. In other words, a series of picture files appears, and the computer user may select a particular file for full viewing on the screen as well as any further processing. Moreover, the picture files may appear with an associated “thumbnail” image, which is small representation of the picture file. When only a small number of pictures is contained within a folder, it would be desirable to view a larger representation of the picture file, as compared to the thumbnail view, without having to open the picture file itself.  
           [0009]    When a user selects a file to open, the operating system will attempt to launch the underlying software needed to open the file for processing. For example, if the user opens a text document file, the operating system will open the word processing software associated with the text document. Similarly, if the user attempts to open an email attachment, the operating system o: will look for the underlying software needed to open the document. It may be the case, however, that the software needed to open the file is not yet installed on the computer of the user. In this instance, the operating system will return a message informing the user that the attempt to open the file failed for the reason that the necessary software was missing. This problem is solved in the prior art only by a user locating, acquiring and installing the software needed on the computer. This can be a time-consuming task and can be difficult especially for novice computer users. Novice computer users are just as likely to abandon attempts to open the file. It would be desirable to have a computer system and method that automatically located the needed software for a particular file, and that gave the computer user an option to acquire and install the located software.  
           [0010]    In prior art graphical operating environments, files and applications are opened into rectangular spaces on the screen that are called windows. There can be one or more windows open on the display screen, with one window being active at any given time. It is also the case that an operation may begin on the computer that must be completed before other operations can continue. These operations are typically called system modal operations. When a system modal operation is ongoing, a dialog window may appear informing the user that such an operation is underway. For example, a user may select to shut down the computer, prompting a window to appear confirming that the user desires to shutdown or restart the computer. At this point the user may not attempt to work in other windows until the user finishes with the shut down window. It can be frustrating to computer users if they do not know that a system modal operation is underway, and the window that does appear does not always effectively convey this information. In other words, a user may continue to click in areas outside of the system modal information window to attempt to continue processing in other open windows. The user can become frustrated when he or she is not allowed to perform these tasks. It would be desirable to more effectively draw to the user&#39;s attention to a particular system modal dialog window so that the user is informed that the user must wait or complete the system prompted dialog prior to continuing any other operations.  
           [0011]    In prior art graphical operating systems, it is often the case that text is displayed within a rectangular window. It is also often the case that the text assigned to a particular area does not completely fit within the designated area. In these instances the prior art systems simply truncate the text so that it will fit in the space and provide an ellipses after the truncation. For example, a file name may be longer than the allotted space for the file name underneath an icon. The file name will therefore change from FILNAMETOOLONG.01 to FILENAM . . . The use of the ellipses also requires a certain amount of space. This limits the amount of text that is provided to the user and does not convey as much information as possible to the user. It would be desirable to provide a method and system as an alternative to the use of the ellipses that both conveys to the user that an amount of text has been truncated and that conveys as much text as possible to the computer user.  
           [0012]    The use of color in graphical operating systems has been popular for many years. In the past, however, lower color images were used, such as sixteen color images or 256 color images. The use of lower color images is caused by the number of bits available. A sixteen color image requires four bits, while a two-hundred and fifty six color image requires eight bits. It is now possible to render “true color” images, using approximately sixteen million colors, because better graphics cards are available and are being used.  
           [0013]    In the prior art graphical operating systems, there are many instances when a button is not available to the user for one reason or another. For example, the “cut” editing button may not be available to the user, because there has not been a selection made of any material to cut. Similarly, until a selection has been cut or copied, the “paste” button is not available to the user. Many other instances exist where buttons are available only at certain points in time, when prerequisite events have been satisfied. To convey the unavailability to the user, the buttons that are unavailable are displayed in a “disabled” state. In prior art graphical operating systems, the button was disabled my taking the color out of the bitmap associated with the button, by turning the image into a two color, black and white image. The shape of the button is also used to make the button appear disabled. The black pixels define a transparency, i.e. what in the image is not rendered. The white pixels are rendered as the system defined “highlight” color, and then the white pixels are slightly offset in the system defined “shadow” color. This uses the shape of the button or other item to define it in a group of other elements, while showing it disabled. In a true color image, however, shape is no longer used to define the object. As an example, an arrow in the non-true color environment is displayed as a single element that has a distinct arrow shape. In the true color environment, the arrow might be displayed inside of a circle. Thus, the shape of the button element would be a circle, not an arrow. If the prior art techniques for rendering a disabled appearance were used, the appearance of the arrow would be completely lost, and the user would see only a disabled circle. The computer user would then be very likely to become confused as to the function of the disabled button. It would therefore be desirable to provide a method and system capable of effectively rendering a true color element on a graphical operating system to convey that the element is disabled.  
           [0014]    In more recent graphical operating systems, there are many “idle-time” or background tasks whose execution is controlled by the operating system. For example, a disk layout optimizer may be executed as a background task. In the prior art operating systems, the methods used to determine when such background tasks are scheduled are relatively crude heuristics. As such, the background tasks will sometimes not be scheduled quickly enough, and will sometimes be scheduled too aggressively. In either instance, the scheduling may interfere with the primary or foreground task of the user. It would thus be beneficial to provide a method and system that allowed background tasks to be more effectively scheduled, such that the tasks are executed as early as possible without interfering with the other work of the user. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING  
       [0015]    The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computing system environment suitable for use in implementing the present invention;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is a flow diagram for one feature of the present invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3A is a schematic demonstrating the types of tasks;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3B is a partial screen shot representing one feature of the present invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 3C is a partial screen shot representing one feature of the present invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4 is a flow diagram for one feature of the present invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 5A is a schematic representation of a user interface for one feature of the present invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5B is a view similar to FIG. 5A showing a different layout;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5C is a screen shot demonstrating one feature of the present invention;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 6A is a flow diagram for one feature of the present invention;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 6B is a flow diagram and block diagram for one feature of the present invention;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 7 is a flow diagram for one feature of the present invention;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 8A is a schematic representation of a display box with text;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 8B is a schematic representation of the prior art truncation method;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 8C is a flow diagram for the truncation feature of the present invention;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 8D is a schematic representation of the truncation feature of the present invention;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 9 is a flow diagram for one feature of the present invention;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 10A is a schematic diagram of the hardware for one feature of the present invention; and  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 10B is a flow diagram for one feature of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0035]    The present invention provides a computer system with features designed to enhance the overall experience of the user interacting with the computer system. Prior to a detailed explanation of each of the features, an exemplary operating environment for the present invention is described below.  
         [0036]    Exemplary Operating Environment  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment  100  on which the invention may be implemented. The computing system environment  100  is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention. Neither should the computing environment  100  be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment  100 .  
         [0038]    The invention may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.  
         [0039]    With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system  100  for implementing the invention includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a computer  110  including a processing unit  120 , a system memory  130 , and a system bus  121  that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit  120 .  
         [0040]    Computer  110  typically includes a variety of computer readable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media. The system memory  130  includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM)  131  and random access memory (RAM)  132 . A basic input/output system  133  (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer  110 , such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM  131 . RAM  132  typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit  120 . By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 1 illustrates operating system  134 , application programs  135 , other program modules  136 , and program data  137 .  
         [0041]    The computer  110  may also include other removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only, FIG. 1 illustrates a hard disk drive  141  that reads from or writes to nonremovable, nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive  151  that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk  152 , and an optical disk drive  155  that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk  156  such as a CD ROM or other optical media. Other removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like. The hard disk drive  141  is typically connected to the system bus  121  through an non-removable memory interface such as interface  140 , and magnetic disk drive  151  and optical disk drive  155  are typically connected to the system bus  121  by a removable memory interface, such as interface  150 .  
         [0042]    The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated in FIG. 1, provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer  110 . In FIG. 1, for example, hard disk drive  141  is illustrated as storing operating system  144 , application programs  145 , other program modules  146 , and program data  147 . Note that these components can either be the same as or different from operating system  134 , application programs  135 , other program modules  136 , and program data  137 . Operating system  144 , application programs  145 , other program modules  146 , and program data  147  are given different numbers here to illustrate that, at a minimum, they are different copies. A user may enter commands and information into the computer  110  through input devices such as a keyboard  162  and pointing device  161 , commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit  120  through a user input interface  160  that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor  191  or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus  121  via an interface, such as a video interface  190 . In addition to the monitor, computers may also include other peripheral output devices such as speakers  197  and printer  196 , which may be connected through a output peripheral interface  195 .  
         [0043]    The computer  110  in the present invention will operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer  180 . The remote computer  180  may be a personal computer, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer  110 , although only a memory storage device  181  has been illustrated in FIG. 1. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 1 include a local area network (LAN)  171  and a wide area network (WAN)  173 , but may also include other networks.  
         [0044]    When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer  110  is connected to the LAN  171  through a network interface or adapter  170 . When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer  110  typically includes a modem  172  or other means for establishing communications over the WAN  173 , such as the Internet. The modem  172 , which may be internal or external, may be connected to the system bus  121  via the user input interface  160 , or other appropriate mechanism. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer  110 , or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. By way of example, and not limitation, FIG. 1 illustrates remote application programs  185  as residing on memory device  181 . It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.  
         [0045]    Although many other internal components of the computer  110  are not shown, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that such components and the interconnection are well known. Accordingly, additional details concerning the internal construction of the computer  110  need not be disclosed in connection with the present invention.  
         [0046]    System for Desktop Clean-Up  
         [0047]    As stated above, the display in a graphical operating system often presents users with what is known as a desktop. As users add application programs to the storage area of the computer, they may create what is known as a desktop shortcut. This action adds an icon to the desktop that may be double-clicked by the user to initiate the application, a text or data file, or a Web page. As users personalize the desktop by using it as a space for their shortcuts, the desktop can become cluttered with shortcuts that are unused for long periods of time. The goal of personalization is thus lost as the desktop becomes filled with items that are irrelevant to the user on most occasions.  
         [0048]    A system is provided for cleaning the desktop of unused shortcuts, and is described with reference to FIG. 2. As seen in FIG. 2, the system for cleaning is labeled broadly as  200 . System  200  may also be referred to as a wizard. A wizard is an interactive help utility that guides the user through each step of a particular task. System  200  includes a scheduler  202 , a decision module  204 , a notification system  206 , a selection interface  208  and a cleaning engine  210 . Scheduler  202  is used to schedule a task with the operating system on a regular basis, such as once per day. This is an instruction to invoke the remainder of system  200  on the basis scheduled, so that in the example given the system  200  is invoked once per day. The decision module  204  broadly determines whether some initial prerequisites have been satisfied prior to notification of the user about any cleaning functions. The notification system  206  notifies the user of the computer of any unused items and monitors for inputs from the user as to whether further action is desired. The selection interface  208  presents information to the user about unused items on the computer and determines, from user input, whether the user desires to clean up certain of the unused items. Finally, the cleaning engine  210  is responsible for carrying out any cleaning instructions received from the user.  
         [0049]    The method associated with system  200  is also shown in FIG. 2. The method begins with scheduler  202 , by invoking a scheduled task on a predetermined regular schedule, such as once per day, as shown at  212 . Although the task of cleaning does not need to be run each day, the task is invoked each day in step  212  to preclude the user from missing the opportunity to clean the desktop if the user has not logged into the computer on any particular day. In other words, by invoking the scheduled task each day, the user is guaranteed the opportunity to clean the desktop, irrespective of the frequency that he or she logs into the computer.  
         [0050]    After step  212 , the method leaves scheduler  202  and proceeds to decision module  204 . Within decision module  204 , the method next determines whether a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the wizard  200  last ran, as shown at  214 . In the example given, the amount of time set is sixty days. The time period set could be any of a number of different time periods. The time period set is merely a decision on how often the user&#39;s desktop may need cleaning, while at the same time not seeming intrusive to the user. If the predetermined amount of time has not passed, the process stops as shown at  216 , and no further action is taken. If the predetermined amount of time has passed, the process continues within decision module  204  by determining whether there are any unused shortcut items on the desktop, as shown at  218 . This process involves checking to see if any of the shortcut items on the desktop have been unused for the time period involved in step  214 . If there are no unused shortcut items on the desktop, the process stops, as shown at  220  and no further action is taken. If, however, there is at least one unused item on the desktop, the process continues within decision module  204  by determining whether the particular user has administrative privileges to run the clean up wizard  200 , as shown in decision box  222 . It could be the case that different users operate one computer, and that some of the users have certain administrative privileges, while others do not. For example, in a home environment, it could be the case that one or more adults within the house have administrative privileges on the computer, while any children users do not have such privileges. If it is determined at  222  that the current user does not have administrative privileges, the process stops, as shown at  224  and no further action is taken. If the user is determined to have administrative privileges to run the wizard  200 , the method proceeds to the notification system  206 .  
         [0051]    Within notification system  206 , the method proceeds by notifying the user of the cleaning option, as shown at  226 . This notification may be accomplished with what is known as a “balloon tip.” A balloon tip is simply a tip or question to the user of the computer that some action may be taken. The text of the tip or question is contained within a dialog balloon. For example, a dialog balloon is displayed at step  226  that says “There are unused icons on your desktop. Click here if you would like to clean your desktop.” The process continues by monitoring the balloon tip to determine if the user chooses to run the wizard by clicking on the balloon tip, as shown at step  228 . If the user does not choose to run the wizard  200  and clean the desktop, the process stops and no further action is taken, as shown at step  230 . If the user does choose to clean the desktop, the process continues by moving to the selection interface  208 . While the notification system  206  has been described in connection with the display and monitoring of a balloon tip, it should be understood that other forms of communicating the option of cleaning the desktop could be used and are within the scope of this invention.  
         [0052]    If the user chooses to proceed in cleaning the desktop, the process continues in the selection interface  208  by first introducing the user to the cleaning process, as shown at  232 . This step simply introduces the wizard  200  and describes to the user what the upcoming screens will do. The process then proceeds to  234  where the user is presented with a list of all of the shortcuts on the desktop at the current time. Each shortcut is listed along with the most recent time it was used, giving the user the information needed to decide whether to keep a shortcut, or have it cleaned. The user is then asked in step  236  to select which shortcuts are desired to be cleaned up. In a preferred embodiment, each shortcut is provided on a display screen, along with a corresponding checkbox. The user can indicate within the checkbox whether the shortcut is one which is desired to be cleaned, or can be left blank to indicate that the shortcut should be left on the desktop. The wizard  200  also makes recommendations to the user in step  234  by preselecting those checkboxes corresponding to shortcuts that have not been used within the earlier defined predetermined amount of time, such as sixty days. If the user chooses to continue without changing the default recommendations, all shortcuts that have not been used in the last sixty days will be cleaned up and removed from the desktop. Before executing the cleaning engine  210 , the user is asked to confirm the selections to clean at step  238 . A list of all shortcuts the user has selected for cleaning is presented and the user is given the opportunity to go back and change the list if desired. This provides the user an additional opportunity to double-check the items which have been selected for cleaning, prior to removing them from the desktop. After the user confirms the selections, the process continues and proceeds to the cleaning engine  210 .  
         [0053]    The cleaning engine  210  is then invoked at step  240 , which cleans the shortcuts selected by the user from the desktop, after which the process stops as shown at  242 . The cleaning engine operates by taking as input a list of shortcuts to clean and remove from the desktop. The shortcuts are then moved by the cleaning engine  210  to a folder on the desktop created for the unused desktop shortcuts. As an example, the folder may be called “unused desktop shortcuts.” This allows the user to find the shortcuts that have been cleaned if the user has that desire, while still reducing the clutter on the desktop.  
         [0054]    Within the WINDOWS brand operating software from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., at the present time, there are two basic types of shortcuts that can be cleaned from the desktop. The first is a shortcut having an extension .LNK. This shortcut is an icon with a shortcut arrow. This first type of shortcut is moved by the cleaning engine  210  to the unused desktop shortcuts folder that exists on the desktop.  
         [0055]    The second type of shortcut is what is known as a “regitem” shortcut. These regitem shortcuts are immobile in that they cannot be removed from the desktop. In order to achieve the goal of cleaning the desktop, these regitem shortcuts must be hidden in some fashion. The first step is to create a secondary or “fake” regitem by using the GUID extension format within the unused desktop shortcuts folder. This produces a file in the unused desktop shortcuts folder that looks and acts like the regitem shortcut from the desktop, but which can be moved anywhere. The real regitem shortcut on the desktop is then hidden from view, so that it does not appear on the desktop. This achieves the result of cleaning the desktop. At each launch of the wizard  200 , the cleaning engine  210  determines if any of the fake regitems from the unused desktop folder have been moved back to the desktop by the user. If this has happened, the regitem that was hidden on the desktop is revealed and the fake regitem is deleted.  
         [0056]    As an example of the wizard  200  in action, assume that the user has used the computer for a number of years and over that period of time the desktop of the computer has become cluttered with shortcuts. It never occurs to the user to clean the desktop, so the user continues to visually hunt through the sea of icons whenever she needs to find anything. Now assume that the user installs or upgrades to an operating system containing the wizard  200  or installs the wizard  200 . Now if the user logs onto the computer, a balloon tip appears on the display of the computer and points out that “There are unused icons on your desktop. Click here to clean up the desktop.” The user then can click within the balloon tip to clean the desktop.  
         [0057]    The wizard  200  then presents a page describing the behavior of the wizard, followed by a presentation of a list of all the shortcuts on the user&#39;s desktop, and the last time that each shortcut was used. The user can immediately see the items still used by the recommendations of the wizard, and also sees the shortcuts that have not been used in some time. If the user confirms the recommendations, the selection interface  208  of the wizard asks the user to confirm the selections. Items that may be listed include shortcuts that no longer exist, shortcuts to programs that the user doesn&#39;t use anymore, and shortcuts to programs that were installed automatically but that the user has not used in some time.  
         [0058]    The cleaning engine  210  of the wizard then cleans the desktop of the selected shortcuts. After executing wizard  200 , the user is presented with a desktop having shortcuts that are known and used by the computer user. Therefore, the user can find the items that are desired quickly and easily.  
         [0059]    Exposing Common Tasks  
         [0060]    As stated above, the ease of use of a computer system is dramatically improved by the use of a graphical operating environment. Even further usability is accomplished by a system and method that allows users to more easily identify tasks or commands that are available for a given state or selection within the graphical operating environment. Typically, a user will need to have knowledge of the operations or tasks that can be accomplished with particular objects or selections, such as files or folders. In other situations, the user will have to take other actions such as ‘right clicking’ on an object, in order to discover available task options. In the case of files on a computing system, the naming structure, particularly the filename extension, provides an indication to the user of the available task options for managing particular files or the use thereof. The goal of exposed file tasks, a feature of the present invention, is thus to transcend file name space and provide a high level of usability in the management of files, by providing dynamic context sensitive lists of tasks that are applicable to selected object types.  
         [0061]    A system is provided for exposing a set of file and folder tasks, and is described with reference to FIGS. 3A, 3B and  3 C. As seen in FIG. 3A, the tasks that can be performed on an object in a computing environment can be described as specific tasks or general tasks. A specific task is one that is uniquely well suited to a particular object based on the object&#39;s characteristics. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, Picture tasks, Music tasks and Video tasks are considered specific tasks, because the associated tasks for objects of each type are closely tied to the characteristics or definition of the object. For example, a music task option such as, ‘playing selection’ or shopping for music online are closely tied to operations that relate to music as opposed to a picture or other objects. A general task is one that is applicable to a grouping or class of objects of a particular type. For example, file tasks and folder tasks as illustrated in FIG. 3A are applicable to all specific task objects. In other words, to the extent that a picture object, music object or video object is stored electronically to a medium, that object will be stored in one or more files, within one or more folders. As such, every one of those object types will have file and folder tasks in common.  
         [0062]    These concepts are more clearly illustrated in FIGS. 3B and 3C. In FIG. 3B, a portion of a screen shot  300  where a user has selected a picture file within a picture folder, is shown. In FIG. 3C, a portion of a screen shot  301  where a user has selected a music folder, is shown. The transformation of exposed tasks depends on the state of user interaction. For instance, when no selection of a file or folder item is made by a user, the task list of options available for the folder with the current focus will be displayed. On the other hand, when a single item is selected, the displayed task list will change to display a menu of available tasks for the selected item. If multiple items are selected by a user, a task list of exposed commands that are enabled and common to all of the selected items will be displayed. This dynamic context sensitive list of tasks that was just described will also display appropriate tasks in plural form. For example, a task item displayed as ‘Move this file’ will be changed to the correct tense of ‘Move these items’, when multiple items are selected.  
         [0063]    Returning to FIG. 3B, as previously stated, the illustrated task list results from a user&#39;s selection of a picture file. As such, the specific task list ‘Picture Tasks’  302  is displayed along with a general task list ‘File and Folder Tasks’  304 . Picture Tasks  302  is a list of hyperlinks to tasks that are appropriate for a picture type file object, which are collectively labeled as  310 . General task list ‘File and Folder Tasks’  304  is shown because the selected object in this case, a picture file, is a file object and thus the list of hyperlink tasks  312  respecting files are applicable. Turning to FIG. 3C, the illustrated screen shot  301  results from a user&#39;s selection of a music folder. As such, the specific task list ‘Music Tasks’  306  is displayed, along with a general task list ‘File and Folder Tasks’  308 . Music Tasks  306  is a list of hyperlinks to tasks that are appropriate for a music folder type object, which are collectively labeled as  314 . The general task ‘File and Folder Tasks’  308  is shown because the selected object, a music folder, is a folder object and thus a list of hyperlink tasks  316  respecting folders will be applicable.  
         [0064]    The present invention also provides intuitive task-oriented access points for particular contexts such as file or folder contexts. This concept is particularly illustrated in FIGS. 3B and 3C, where as shown, the list of tasks  312 ,  316  relating to File and Folder tasks  304 ,  308  are different because of the difference in context of the users selection i.e. a file versus a folder. Respecting the lists of tasks  312 , there is a selectable option to publish  318 , with regards to the file and folder tasks  304 . Conversely, there is a selectable option to share  320  in the file and folder tasks  308  of the list of tasks  316 . In addition, the text associated with similar options, which are contained within both illustrations, are consistent with the context of the user selected object. For example, screen  300  illustrates a user selected object of a file and as such, the ‘rename’ option is displayed as ‘Rename this file’, as opposed to screen  301  where the user selected object is a folder and the corresponding option is displayed as ‘Rename this folder’.  
         [0065]    Notification of Newly Installed Applications  
         [0066]    Computer users may from time to time install new applications on the computer. For example, a computer user may install a new computer game onto the computer. Unless the user creates a desktop shortcut to the game, to access the newly installed game the user must access the file system, then the programs folder, then the games folder, which will expose the newly installed game. This process is less than intuitive and can obscure the newly installed application from the user, thereby causing frustration to the user and limiting the user&#39;s ability to properly utilize the newly installed application. One aspect of the present invention provides a method and system designed to remove barriers between users and their newly installed applications.  
         [0067]    The method and system are explained with reference to FIG. 4. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the system has a monitoring component  400  and a communication component  402 . The monitoring component administers the process of determining whether new applications have been installed on a user&#39;s computer. Once it has been determined that a new application has been installed on the computer, the monitoring component  400  informs the communication component  402 . The communication component  402  is responsible for communicating to the user that a new application has been installed on the computer, as well as determining when the communication about the newly installed application can stop.  
         [0068]    With continued reference to FIG. 4, the method used by the monitoring component  400  begins with the monitoring component  400  registering with the operating system to receive information about newly installed applications at step  404 . For example, in the WINDOWS operating software from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., the monitoring component  400  registers with the operating system to receive shell change notifications. The method continues after registration by determining whether an application has been installed at step  406 . If an application has not been installed, the process stops, as shown at  408 . One method for detecting the installation of an application is to monitor the system to determine if any shortcuts corresponding to the application have been created. When a notification corresponding to the registration information is executed, or when the system starts up, the shortcuts are inspected to determine whether they correspond to an application. Typically, shortcuts having a file extension of .EXE or that have an MSI package correspond to applications. If multiple shortcuts exist that point to the same application, the multiple shortcuts are collapsed or combined into one.  
         [0069]    After it has been determined that an application has been installed, the process continues by determining whether the shortcut that has been detected is associated with a new application, as shown in FIG. 4 at  410 . If a shortcut is determined to point to an application, the installation time of the application time is computed. One method for computing the application installation time is to determine the creation timestamp of the executable associated with the application. This works well in most instances. Another method is to inspect the creation time of the directory containing the application. This approach avoids the problem created if applications create an executable with a creation timestamp different from the installation time. Shortcuts that have been created that are associated with an application that has been installed on the computer for more that a predetermined amount of time are considered to be associated with an application that is not new. In such a case, the process stops, as shown at  412 . For example, to avoid false positives, shortcuts that are created for files that are more than one week old are ignored. This avoids informing a user that a new application has been installed, when the user has merely created a shortcut to a pre-existing application on the computer. If the shortcut has been created within the predetermined amount of time, the process continues with the monitoring component  400  informing the communication component to execute, as shown at  414 .  
         [0070]    The communication component  402  monitors to determine if it has been given instructions to execute, as shown at  416 . If no instruction has been given, no action is taken as shown at  418 . If instructions have been received to execute, the process then determines whether the user has previously been informed of the newly installed applications a predetermined threshold number of times, as shown at  420 . If the threshold has been reached, no further action is taken as shown at  422 . For example, the predetermined threshold is set to three and the process monitors, at  420 , to determine if the user has already been informed three times of the newly installed application. If the user has already been informed three times, no further action is taken. The threshold number is determined to be a balance between properly informing the user of the new application and not annoying the user with messages that are repetitive.  
         [0071]    If the threshold number has not yet been met, the fact that an application has been installed is communicated to the user as shown at  424 . This is typically done with a balloon style notification. The balloon tip points to the programs directory and indicates “new programs installed.” Each level of the hierarchical directory containing the program is then highlighted in some fashion, such as the use of a different color text. In other words, if the program is installed in the Start menu/programs/games folder, each of the Start menu, programs and games folder is highlighted to guide the user through the hierarchy in finding the newly installed application. The process determines whether the user has already used or opened the newly installed application, as shown at  426 . If the user has already used or opened the newly installed application, the highlighting is removed, as shown at  428 . Because the user has already used the newly installed application, the user is not benefited by further guidance to the application. If the user has not yet used the newly installed application, the highlighting is used to direct the user to the newly installed application as shown at  430 .  
         [0072]    As an example, if a user installs a new game onto the computer, the game can install a shortcut to itself in a folder Start menu/programs/games by creating a new folder with the software vendor&#39;s name on the folder. Prior to the invention, the user would have to navigate down four levels of the hierarchy to find the newly installed application. Using the invention, after the game is installed the user is informed, upon clicking the start menu, by a balloon tip pointing to the all programs list saying “New programs installed.” When the user clicks all programs, they see a highlighting behind the games folder. When the user clicks the games folder, they see a highlighting behind the new vendor folder. When the user clicks the new vendor folder they see a highlighting behind the newly installed game itself. Through the highlighting, the user is guided directly to the newly installed application. It should be understood that other methods of communication beyond highlighting are within the scope of the invention as well. For example, successive balloon tips could be displayed informing the user “Click here to see newly installed applications” for each level of the hierarchy.  
         [0073]    The invention can thus be used to inform computer users of newly installed applications on their computer. The users can also be guided to these newly installed applications, thus better informing computer users of the applications and their whereabouts on the computer.  
         [0074]    Filmstrip View for Images  
         [0075]    As stated above, the need to readily identify items that are stored in a computing environment such as a PC is dramatically increasing, as more individuals utilize the PC in their daily routines and as the types of stored information varies between pictures, music, documents and so on. In particular, with respect to digital pictures, users traditionally have to invoke a third-party software program in order to view a specific file on the PC. A system and method are provided to allow users to more readily view and identify the image associated with a given file within the graphical operating environment. The goal of film strip view, a feature of the present invention, is thus to alleviate the need for other software programs when browsing a folder of pictures, by providing a quick iterative process that allows a user to preview a sizeable image of one or more picture files within the folder.  
         [0076]    A system is provided for browsing pictures stored in a folder, and is described with reference to FIGS. 5A, 5B and  5 C. In brief, the system and method of the present invention presents a series of folder pictures as a single row of thumbnails, within an environment that is utilized for viewing other non-pictorial files and folders, e.g. Windows Explorer from Microsoft Corporation. It further allows a user to selectively cursor through the thumbnails, as it displays an enlarged preview image of a user selected thumbnail. FIG. 5A is a diagram of a representative window on a user&#39;s screen. As shown, the window  500  is divided into several areas including a header region, a task options area  528 , a preview control area  502 , a caption or comment area and a filmstrip area  504 . The task option area  528  contains a list of tasks that can be selected by a user in order to perform a wide variety of operations relating to the management of files and folders, as well as other system choices. Some of these operations are specific to the pictures in the filmstrip area  504  and the preview control area  502 . The preview control area  502  is a space in which an enlarged preview image of a user selected picture will be displayed. This space can also contain navigational icons to assist a user in iterating through a series of pictures. Immediately below the preview control area is a caption or comment area that can be utilized to display a variety of textual information. A film strip area  504 , provides a space to display a single row of thumbnail images p 1 , p 2 , p 3 , p 4  of the picture files contained within a given folder. In addition, the film strip area  504  also contains cursors to allow a user to scroll through a folder for the picture files. It should be noted that the filmstrip area  504  can contain and display thumbnail images in mixed orientation. For instance, as shown in FIG. 5A, p 1 , p 2  and p 4  are in landscape while p 3  is in portrait.  
         [0077]    [0077]FIG. 5B is a diagram with a different view of a representative window on a user&#39;s screen. This diagram is essentially identical to FIG. 5A, with the exception that the preview control area  508  is shown in portrait view and consequently, the film strip area  510  is shown in a vertical orientation along the right side of the window  506 . The task options area  528  remains in the same area of the window  506 . It should be noted that the user&#39;s screen will alternate between the illustrations of FIGS. 5A and 5B, as the user selectively iterates through mixed thumbnail orientations that are shown in the filmstrip area  504 ,  510  of the respective window  500 ,  506 .  
         [0078]    The more salient features of the present invention with regards to filmstrip view can best be described with reference to the illustrative screen capture, shown in FIG. 5C. The screen capture  512  displays in detail a task/link area  528 , a preview control area  514 , an enlarged preview picture  516 , multiple thumbnail images  524   a - 524   f  collectively referred to as  524 , multiple image filenames  526  and navigational control buttons  518 ,  520 . As previously stated, a single row of thumbnail images  524  resembling a filmstrip are shown across the bottom of the window  512 . A user can select any one of the thumbnail images  524 , as illustrated by user thumbnail selection  522 . The effect of user thumbnail selection  522 , is to cause a larger preview image  516  of the user thumbnail selection  522  image to be displayed within the preview control area  514 . In addition, user selection of a thumbnail image will also allow the user to select and perform any one of the tasks listed in the task/link area  528 , with respect to the selected image. The control button  518  allows a user to quickly and successively preview an enlarged image  516  of each of the thumbnail images  524  within a given folder, by iterating in one direction. In other words, a user would not have to specifically ‘click’ on each and every successive thumbnail image  524  in order to preview the picture. Instead the user will merely click on the control button  518  repeatedly to move through the folder. The control button  520  performs a similar iteration function but only in the opposite direction.  
         [0079]    As previously discussed, images within a folder are actually stored and identified by a filename. As shown, the filename  526  for any of the displayed thumbnails  524  is also shown as part of the filmstrip view. Filmstrip viewing is primarily applicable to, and the default view for folders that contain a few images. In an embodiment of the present invention, the upper limit for the number of images within a folder that will be cause the folder to be displayed as a filmstrip view is  24 .  
         [0080]    File Association and Application Retrieval  
         [0081]    As stated above, the need to adequately match file types to applications in a computing environment has become more of a priority as more non-technical individuals utilize the PC. File types are typically indicated by the extension on a file name, such as “.ZIP” for Zip compressed files or “.PDF” for Adobe Postscript Data files. An attempt to open a particular file requires that the user is either familiar enough with the file extension, so as to identify the appropriate application program, or that the file extension has been previously associated with the proper application program during the installation of the application. A system and method are provided to allow users to locate and appropriately associate application programs with file types that the user may be trying to access on a PC. The goal of ‘.Net file association’, a feature of the present invention, is thus to alleviate the need for users to manually locate software that will enable them to access the content of files.  
         [0082]    A system and method are provided for locating application program files in a networked computing environment such as the Internet, and is described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. In brief, the system and method of the present invention automates the process of finding software that a user may need to open a file. In effect, the present invention will launch a web browser on a user&#39;s computer, to access a web server when the operating system cannot find an application program to open a user selected file type. The web browser will then present the user with either a list of application(s) or information on where to search for relevant applications.  
         [0083]    [0083]FIG. 6A is a flow diagram of the steps  600  involved with the association of file types with application programs. Those skilled in the art would recognize that portions of these steps  600  can be performed on either a client computer or on a server computer. Initially, a user selects a file to view or edit, at step  602 . A determination is then made by the operating system via a monitoring module or program, as to whether or not an application is locally available on the PC to open the selected file, at step  604 . If the needed application is present, the file is opened and the process is terminated at step  606 . On the other hand, if the needed application is not locally present, a web browser is launched at step  608 , and a web page is displayed in the user&#39;s spoken language at step  610 . The details of how these functions are accomplished can be found later in this document. If one or more software applications are available and can be readily identified by a server process in step  612 , then a list of such applications and the links to obtain the programs are provided at step  616 . However, if either the applicable software program cannot be identified or is not available, then information on possible alternative locations or sources for additional information are provided at step  614 .  
         [0084]    Having provided an overview of the functions of the .Net file association, we now turn to FIG. 6B, which is a block diagram of the component environment, along with the process steps for the implementation of an embodiment of the present invention. The system and method of the present invention is implemented in an environment that comprises a client component  620  and a server component  640 , along with the indicated steps  670 . A client component  620  as shown, includes a selected user&#39;s file  622 , an operating system environment  624  within which there is a table of file associations  626  and a .Net file association module  628 , and a web browser  630 . A server component  640  includes, a web server  642  within which there is an Application Service Provider (ASP) module  644 , and a database or other file system  646 . All of the components identified thus far function to implement the steps  670 , and will be discussed in conjunction therewith.  
         [0085]    As previously stated, the process that initiates the .Net file association of the present invention is the action of a user selecting to open a file  622  at step  648 . At step  650 , the operating system  624  searches for installed software and file type associations, using the file association module  626 . In the event that no association is found, the Net file association module  628  is invoked at step  652 . This action causes a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) along with other information such as a file extension and user&#39;s language, to be sent to a known server  640 , at step  654 . The receipt of the URL causes the server  640  to utilize the ASP module  644  to obtain file extension and user language at step  656 . A lookup of a table or similar operation is performed on a database  646  to obtain Extendend Markup Language (XML) data, at step  658 . The XML data is returned in step  660 , via Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to the web browser  630  on the client  620 . Whereupon, the client&#39;s web browser  630  will receive the XML and will see an HTML Reference HREF XML attribute pointing to a Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) file in the &lt;?xml-stylesheet&gt; tag. As a result, the web browser  630  requests the XSL, at step  662 . The server  640  returns the XSL in the form of an HTML page to the client  620  at step  664  and the web browser will then download the needed XSL, HTML, pictures and other files needed to create the user interface with HTML, at step  666 .  
         [0086]    As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the information provided to the user in the user interface will vary, but a current implementation of an embodiment of the present invention includes the following content:  
         [0087]    1. File Extension (Example: ZIP)  
         [0088]    2. File Format Description (Example: ZIP Compressed File Achieve)  
         [0089]    3. Description (Example: This file is an achieve of one or more files compressed into a single file in order to make the file faster to transfer and easier to manage)  
         [0090]    4. A list of hyperlinks to web sites to download the software. The hyperlink name will almost always include the manufacturer and the product name. Long lists of products maybe grouped by commercial product, shareware, and freeware.  
         [0091]    5. Hyperlinks to other web sites (download sites, search engines, etc.)  
         [0092]    Furthermore, the criteria to determine which set of information from the list above is displayed in the web browser  630  at step  666 , varies depending on the type of file, i.e. the file extension. For instance, behavior and content of the web page may vary according to the file type (extension) that is selected by the user:—the page will depend on the following types of file:  
         [0093]    1. Operating System or Application files (.asp, .chm, .dll): A web page will explain that the file is part of a program or a web server and that it can&#39;t be opened directly.  
         [0094]    2. Popular Types (.gif, .mp3, .htm): The Operating System ships with handlers for these so normally these will always have associated applications. However, an uninstaller program will often leave the file type without an association. In this case, the web page may explain how to fix the association, provide programs, or a downloadable application that fixes the Operating System associations.  
         [0095]    3. General File Types (.doc, .txt, xls, .ppt): These kinds of files can be opened in several application and thus a hyperlink can be provided to those applications.  
         [0096]    4. Third Party Specific File Types (.pdb, .acad): These file types are proprietary and normally only one 3rd party application will open them. In this instance, the web page may describe the file, provide links to the 3d party web site, and explain that it is not a software program that can be made available.  
         [0097]    After the appropriate information is displayed on client side  620  in the web browser  630 , the user can pick a hyperlink that will best help them at step  668 .  
         [0098]    Information relating to the types of files that are sought by users, the frequency of those searches and other such information is logged on the server component and may be used for information feedback purposes, including but not limited to ways to improves searches, product development and so on.  
         [0099]    Method of Communication Using Gradual Desaturation  
         [0100]    Operations that must be completed before other operations can continue on a computer may be known as system modal operations. When a system modal operation is ongoing, a dialog window may appear informing the user that such an operation is underway. For example, a user may select to shut down the computer, prompting a window to appear confirming that the user desires to shutdown or restart the computer. At this point the user may not attempt to work in other windows until the user finishes with the shut down window. It can be frustrating to computer users if they do not know that a system modal operation is underway, and the window that does appear does not always effectively convey this information. In other words, a user may continue to click in areas outside of the system modal information window to attempt to continue processing in other windows. The user can become frustrated when he or she is not allowed to perform these tasks. The process described below more effectively draws to the user&#39;s attention to a particular system modal dialog window so that the user is informed that the user must wait or complete the system prompted dialog prior to continuing any other operations.  
         [0101]    With reference to FIG. 7, the process  700  begins by first determining if a particular operation is a system modal operation, as shown at  702 . If the operation is not a system modal operation, then no further action is taken by process  700  as shown at  704 . If the operation is a system modal operation, the process continues at  706  with the creation of a “blanket” window. A blanket window is a top-most window that covers the entire desktop, but that does not paint itself. In other words, the desktop appears as it did before. The effect on the user interface on the display screen is that the entire screen appears “frozen,” in that actions attempted are ineffective. The process continues at  708  by rendering the system modal dialog window on top of the blanket window. The system modal dialog window is said to be a parent of the blanket window. Because the blanket window below is a top-most window, the system dialog window, as a parent window, automatically becomes a window upper to the blanket window.  
         [0102]    The next action taken is to begin copying the video memory buffer to the system buffer in increments, as shown broadly at  710 . The copying process involves a loop that begins by copying an increment of the video memory buffer to the system buffer, as shown at  712 . After each increment is copied, the process determines if any message has been received from the system modal dialog window created at step  708 , as shown at  714 . This is said to “pump the message loop.” If a message has been received from the system modal dialog window, the action required by the message is executed, as shown at  716 , which ends the graying process  700 , as shown at  718 . For example, if a system modal dialog window is displayed that asks the user if the computer is to be shutdown, and the user indicates that the computer is to be shutdown, that command is carried out and the graying process is terminated.  
         [0103]    If a system modal message has not been received, a timer is advanced, as shown at  720 . The timer advances through the loop in defined time increments. The process next determines if the video memory buffer transfer is complete, as shown at  722 . If the transfer is not complete, the process continues in the loop, back to step  712 , as shown by arrow  724 . If the transfer is complete, the process advances to the graying loop  726 . Loop  710  incrementally copies the video memory buffer to the system buffer to carry out the graying loop  726 . By incrementally copying the video memory buffer, the message loop is kept alive, so that if a system modal message is received from the dialog window, the desired action takes place without having to wait for the entire video memory buffer to be copied. In other words, the user can answer or interact with the dialog window without having to wait for any graying effect. Loop  710  thus achieves the result of copying the video memory buffer while keeping the message loop alive.  
         [0104]    With continued reference to FIG. 7, the graying loop  726  “grays out” the color from all areas of the screen with the exception of the system modal dialog window. Loop  726  begins by first taking some amount of color from the screen pixels that have been captured, i.e. all pixels that are not part of the system modal dialog window, as shown at  728 . By taking out color, the first step of graying takes place. This is achieved with a desaturation algorithm. A desaturation algorithm is chosen that removes the desired amount of color from the screen and does so on an incremental basis. By incrementally graying the screen, a gradual desaturation of color is achieved, which is less drastic to the eyes of the user. Each color in each pixel is retrieved and a weighting factor is applied to gray the pixel. For example, a suitable desaturation algorithm is:  
         [0105]    Gray=(d*GetRValue(PixelColor)+e*GetGValue(PixelClor)+f*GetBValue(PixelColor));  
         [0106]    PixelColor=(PixelColor &amp; 0xff000000)|RGB(Gray*(1−c)+GetRValue(PixelColor)*c, Gray*(1−c)+GetGValue(PixelColor)*c, Gray*(1−c)+GetBValue(PixelColor)* c).  
         [0107]    In the algorithm, c, d, e and f are constants which can be any value between 0 and 1. Constants may be changed to achieve a faster or slower graying effect. This alogorithm is simply an example of one potential implementation. Other implementations involving other color spaces, such as Hue/Saturation/Brightness or Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black are also within the scope of this invention. The graying loop continues at  730  by determining if the desired number of passes, resulting in the desired level of graying, have occurred. If the desired level of graying is not yet achieved, the graying loop continues by returning to step  728 , where an additional amount of color is removed. In one embodiment, the desaturation algorithm is executed in 16 passes to achieve the gradual loss of color. If the desired level of graying has been achieved, the graying loop  726  stops as shown at  732 . Thereafter, the screen appears gray while the user still sees the screen as it was before, but with color removed. The system modal dialog window remains in full color on the screen, thus drawing the user&#39;s attention to the window. The process continues to monitor the system modal dialog window for messages as shown at  734  and continues in this state until a message is received from the system modal dialog window or until the system modal operation is otherwise finished.  
         [0108]    By graying out the screen with the exception of the system modal dialog window, the user&#39;s attention is directed to the window. The user is thus informed that the system modal operation must be performed before action on the computer can continue.  
         [0109]    Fading of Text for Truncation  
         [0110]    In graphical operating systems, text is often displayed within a rectangular window. It is also often the case that the text assigned to a particular area does not completely fit within the designated area. In this instance the prior art systems simply truncate the text so that it will fit in the space and provide an ellipses after the truncation. To achieve this, the prior art systems determine the size of the display field for the text. The prior art systems then determine the number of characters, plus the ellipses, that will fit within that amount of space. The prior art systems then display the number of characters plus the ellipses that will fit within the display field. It is the ellipses that conveys to the user that some amount of text has been truncated.  
         [0111]    As shown in FIG. 8A, a text display window  800  is shown. Inside the window  800  is an icon  802 , which is followed by a textual description  804 . In this example, the textual description has more characters than will fit within the display area  800 . In the example shown, the last two letters “ok” do not fit within the display area. In the prior art, the textual description  804  is truncated by an amount which leaves room for an ellipses  806 , as shown in FIG. 8B. Therefore, in the prior art systems, the text of FIG. 8A is truncated and an ellipses is added, resulting in the display of FIG. 8B.  
         [0112]    With initial reference to FIG. 8C, the method of the present invention is explained. In the method, the length of the display field  800  is first determined, as shown at  808 . This is simply a determination of the number of pixels or characters that will fit within the display field. The next step in the method is to determine the number of characters to which a gradient fade should be applied, as shown at  810 . This determination can result in a fixed number of characters, or can result in a percentage of the display field to fade. For example, step  810  can result in a determination that the last three characters should be faded, or can result in a determination that a gradient fade should be applied to the last ten percent of the display field. This determination is made based upon a goal of presenting a fade that is acceptable and pleasing to the largest number of people and is largely a matter of design choice.  
         [0113]    The next step in the method is to determine the gradient fading method that is to be used to fade the area determined in step  810 , as shown at  812 . The gradient fading method can be applied on a per character basis or a per width basis. A fading method applied on a per character basis applies a fading weighting factor to each of the characters that have been determined to need fading in step  810 . For example, if the last three characters have been determined as those desired to faded, the first character may be faded to eighty percent of full depiction, the second character at fifty percent of full depiction and the third character at thirty percent of full depiction. A fading method on a per width basis applies a weighting factor across the number of pixels in width that have been determined as needing fading in step  810 . For example, if the last twenty pixels are to be faded, a fading algorithm is applied to the last twenty pixels to fade them from eighty percent of full depiction to twenty percent of full depiction. When applying this type of fading, it is desirable to fade the text within or across characters to achieve a more uniform fading appearance.  
         [0114]    The method continues as shown at  814  by determining the gradient fade to be applied to the text. This determination is merely a determination of how fast and how much to fade the selected text. In other words, it is a determination of how much to fade the very first portion of text, how much to fade the very last portion of text, and the curvature or slope of the fading in-between these two points. The rate at which the gradient fade is applied is again largely a matter of design choice. The desired rate at which to fade is that which is most acceptable to the majority of computer users, and the exact parameters of this rate may be determined with usability studies of computer users.  
         [0115]    After the gradient fade rate, the gradient method and the amount of text to fade have been determined, the gradient fade is applied and the text is displayed within the display window  800 , as shown at  816 . As an example, FIG. 8D illustrates a display window  800  of the same size as that shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. As can be seen, the ellipses  806  present in FIG. 8B is not present in FIG. 8D. Instead, additional text is displayed in FIG. 8D. Namely, the additional letters “lo” are displayed in FIG. 8D that did not fit in FIG. 8B. The last n letters of FIG. 8D are then faded to achieve a different method of communicating truncated text to the user of the computer. For example, the last three letters “tlo” can be faded from eighty percent of full saturation to a low of twenty percent of full saturation. As the last letters fade from the user&#39;s view, the intuitive message is conveyed that additional text was truncated.  
         [0116]    While specific numbers have been given in the above examples, it should be understood that the examples are merely illustrative of the inventive method. Other numbers could easily be used, as would be understood by one of skill in the art. By truncating the text and displaying a gradient fade out to the last n letters of text, more text can be displayed than was possible using the prior art ellipses method.  
         [0117]    Disabled Elements in a True Color Environment  
         [0118]    As stated above there is need to show the disabled or unavailable status of “True-color” User Interface (UI) elements. The adaptation of true color images for displaying user interface elements in applications and operating systems, necessitates a method for being able to convey a ‘pleasingly disabled’ look, that is consistent with what the element looks like when it is enabled. A True-color image or element is one in which nearly photographic color is presented through a process of allocating an increased amount of memory to each pixel of a display. True-color or “24-bit” color displays can show millions of unique colors simultaneously on a computer screen or other display. With such capabilities, the true color of an object can shine through to the viewer. True-color images (sometimes called 24-bit images) are composed by dedicating 24 bits of memory to each display pixel; eight pixels each for the red, green, and blue components (8+8+8=24) of a color display. In a True-color image, shape is no longer used to define the object instead, appearance is defined by the ability to use a wide variety of colors.  
         [0119]    It was the case that when shapes were used to define an object, the unavailability or disabled state of the object was communicated by stripping the image of color thereby turning the image into a two tone image, duplicating the shape and displaying a combination of the original image and its duplicate. The duplicate image is usually displayed at a slight offset from the original thus creating an etched outline in a monochrome gray color. The old paradigm of using the shape of a UI element to make it look disabled will therefore not work on a True-color UI element since there is no shape. A system and method are provided to render True-color UI elements, so as to covey the disabled or unavailable status of the element. A goal of rendering disabled true color elements, a feature of the present invention, is thus to allow users to identify the image associated with a True-color element for what it is, and the fact that it is in a disabled state.  
         [0120]    A system and method are provide for rendering images in a color that conveys unavailability or a disabled status, and is described with reference to FIG. 9. As illustrated, the present invention is a two step process that is applied to the image of the UI element, i.e. the source image. The process begins with a step wherein the source image is stripped of color. Following this, the gray scale image that results from the previous color stripping step is alpha blended into a parent UI element. A parent UI element can be the background of an area of a screen or an object upon which the source image sits. A True-color image as previously stated, uses 24 bits to represent the color of a pixel, thus enabling the ability to generate over 16 million colors. However, there are an additional 8 bits that are also used to represent other aspects of a pixel thus bringing the total to 32 bits. The 24 color bits are broken down into color channels, red, green and blue channels, which combine to make other colors. Each of these three channels are represented by 8 bits, thus allowing 256 possible color values per channel. The additional 8 bits of pixel, also known as the Alpha channel, represent the opacity of the pixel. Opacity is used during the display of an image to merge the image with the destination or surrounding images.  
         [0121]    The process of stripping an image of color within the present invention, involves a de-saturation of the image. In other words, the color attributes for each pixel of the image are removed, resulting in an image that is a shade of gray. In an embodiment of the present invention, the method that is used to accomplish de-saturation involves averaging the color channels and setting each channel to the value of the computed average. This process can be represented mathematically as follows:— 
         [0122]    A=(P Red +P Blue +P Green )/3  
         [0123]    P Red =A  
         [0124]    P Blue =A  
         [0125]    P Green =A  
         [0126]    P Color  represents the value for the channel associated with a particular color. A is the resultant average of the channel pixel values. The Alpha channel which is representative of opacity remains unmodified in the new gray scale image, as such, P Alpha =P Alpha .  
         [0127]    In the next step of the process, the gray scaled image is alpha blended to the display. As previously stated, the source image contains an alpha channel, which represents opacity of the source when rendered against a destination image. A blending occurs by computing a destination channel color that utilizes the alpha channel value of the source image. As such, the color value for each channel of the destination pixel is effectively computed in the following manner:  
         [0128]    D Red =S Red +(1−S Alpha )*D Red    
         [0129]    D Blue =S Blue +(1−S Alpha )*D Blue    
         [0130]    D Green =S Green +(1−S Alpha )*D Green    
         [0131]    D Color  represents the value for the bits associated with the particular color in the destination pixel and S Alpha  represents the Alpha value of the corresponding pixel from the source image. In another embodiment of the present invention, it is desired to have a constant Alpha (A) value over the top of a per-pixel alpha image. As such the blending equation is varied as follows:  
         [0132]    S Alpha =S Alpha *A  
         [0133]    D Red =(S Red *A)+(1−S Alpha )*D Red    
         [0134]    D Blue =(S Blue *A)+(1−S Alpha )*D Blue    
         [0135]    D Green =(S Green *A)+(1−S Alpha )*D Green    
         [0136]    The effect of implementing this type of blending is a merging or ghosting of the alpha channel pixel with the background. In other words, there is a more subtle transition around the edges of the source image, thereby causing a softer blending of a source image with a destination or background image. For example, a source image that is surrounded by a textured background or is placed onto a textured object, will incorporate some of the texture of its surrounding. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the technique of combining de-saturation and blending to provide a disabled or unavailable look is not limited to icons and is applicable to other areas of a graphical operating environment. For example, a window in a graphical operating environment that does not currently have focus can be shown as unavailable, using the techniques describe herein.  
         [0137]    Physical Presence Detector for a Computer  
         [0138]    In more recent graphical operating systems, there are many “idle-time” or background tasks whose execution is controlled by the operating system. For example, a disk layout optimizer or a content indexer may be executed as background tasks. In the prior art operating systems, the methods used to determine when such background tasks are scheduled are relatively crude heuristics. For example, the prior art systems may monitor for keyboard or mouse input, CPU utilization or input/output rates to infer when the computer is busy or idle. This type of monitoring may be referred to as passive monitoring. As such, the background tasks will sometimes not be scheduled quickly enough, and will sometimes be scheduled too aggressively. For example, it could very well be the case that the user is sitting at the computer and is just about ready to use the computer, but the user has not used the keyboard of the mouse in some time, resulting in a background task being scheduled. It could also be the case that the user has left for an extended period of time, but the background task will not be scheduled until the time delay associated with the keyboard monitoring has elapsed. Due to the delayed start, the background task may not be completed by the time the user returns to the computer. In either instance, the scheduling may interfere with the primary or foreground task of the user.  
         [0139]    With reference to FIG. 10A, the hardware associated with the present invention is shown schematically. As shown, a computer  110  is shown in block form. Computer  110  is described more completely above with reference to FIG. 1. As described above, computer  110  has an operating system  144  installed thereon. A monitoring device  1000  is coupled to computer  110  and is in communication with the operating system  144 . The device  1000  is a device capable of monitoring for the physical presence of a computer user at the computer  110 . For example, the device  1000  may be a proximity sensor, an infra-red detector, a photo-optical sensing device or a video camera device. Any device capable of monitoring for the physical presence of the computer user is within the scope of the present invention. Device  1000  is coupled to the computer  110  in a location allowing the device to sense the presence of the computer user. For example, the device  1000  may be coupled to the computer display monitor or the outer casing of the computer  110 . Device  1000  communicates with operating system  144  such that the presence or absence of a computer user is communicated to the operating system  144 .  
         [0140]    With reference to FIG. 10B, the method of the present invention is described. The method begins by actively monitoring for the physical presence of the computer user, as shown at  1002 . The active monitoring differs from the prior art passive monitoring described above in that the actual presence of the user is monitored, rather than monitoring keyboard or mouse activity and then making assumptions about the presence or absence of the computer user. The process continues by using device  1000  to determine if a user is still present at computer  110 , as shown at  1004 . If a user is still present at computer  110 , any background tasks are not initiated, as shown at  1006 . If a computer user is no longer present, the device  1000  informs the operating system  144  that background tasks may be initiated, as shown at  1008 .  
         [0141]    Once background tasks have been initiated, the device  1000  continues to monitor for the presence of the user to determine if the computer user has returned, as shown at  1010 . If the computer user has not returned, the monitoring process continues, as shown at  1012 . The monitoring loop continues until the user has returned. When the user returns, the device  1000  informs the operating system  144  and the background tasks are suspended as shown at  1014 . The process then loops back to  1004  to determine when background tasks may again be initiated.  
         [0142]    As an example of the invention in use, the user may initially be present at his or her computer. The user&#39;s presence is known by device  1000  and is communicated to operating system  144 . If the computer user leaves the computer, the device  1000  communicates this absence to the operating system, which then initiates any background tasks. For example, if the operating system includes an indexing service that creates a content index of the documents on a the computer, the files must be scanned to determine if any changes have been made and then the index must be updated. In such a service, the scanning of files for changes can be a time-consuming process, especially the first time the service is run. The service is thus best performed as a background task so as not to interfere with the user experience in any primary or foreground application work. Using the present invention, as soon as the user leaves the computer, the scanning can be initiated more quickly than was done with prior art techniques. This allows the background tasks to be completed sooner and increases the chances that the background tasks will be completed prior to the user&#39;s return. Further, the device  1000  monitors for the return of the user, such that background tasks can be suspended upon the return of the user. This allows the operating system to cue the memory manager to start swapping foreground and background working sets even before the user touches the keyboard or mouse. The resulting benefit is that background processing time is used most efficiently with a significant increase in the responsiveness of the computer as felt by the computer user. In other words, the background tasks become truly background and any effects of the background tasks are less likely to be noticed by the computer user.  
         [0143]    Alternative embodiments of the present invention become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains upon review of the specification, including the drawing figures. The various computer systems and components shown in FIGS.  1 - 10  and described in the specification are merely exemplary of those suitable for use in connection with the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description.