Abstract:
One aspect of the present invention includes management of the presentation of information on a display. In one embodiment, this includes defining a delimited area on the display for a predetermined activity, and identifying a new application, which when active, comprises an active location on the display that covers some or all of the delimited area. When the new application covers some or all of the delimited area, the active location of the new application is automatically changed so that the new application will not cover any of the delimited area. Accordingly, the delimited area of the display can be preserved for uninterrupted use by a user.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a method and system for controlling the arrangement of windows on a display, particularly but not exclusively for the display of information on a computer screen or other display environment. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In a computer environment, for example during an Internet connection, the display of unwanted pop-ups and panels are commonplace. This can be very frustrating and cause nuisance to a user. As a workaround, pop-up blockers exist which relate to specific applications such as browsers. This generally prevents all pop-ups from appearing, but pop-up blockers only function within those specific applications. Thus, presently available pop-up blockers do not relate to the desktop or overall display environments being used by the user, and do not provide an intelligent manner by which the greater management of pop-ups and windows on a display can be handled. 
     Existing technologies used to control the desktop also fail to enable complete control of window arrangement and display. For example, US 2006/0161623A1 discloses a method and apparatus for sharing information on a desktop with another device, where the desktop includes a hidden window which cannot be viewed on the other device. Additionally, US 2006/0107229A1 discloses a method and apparatus for using a three-dimensional transformation which effectively decouples an operating system from the application it hosts, in order to minimize visual clutter on the desktop. 
     None of the available prior art techniques appear to address the objective problem of fully controlling the location and display of windows within a graphical user interface. It is an object of the present invention to alleviate some of the problems associated with these prior art techniques. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and system to effectively handle and control the display of pop-up information in new windows on the desktop or other display environments. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One aspect of the present invention provides a method for arranging windows within a display to enable a user to operate in an uninterrupted fashion within a delimited working area. In one embodiment, this method comprises the steps of: defining a delimited area on the display for a predetermined activity; identifying a new application which when active comprises an active location on the display that would cover some or all of the delimited area; and processing the new application to automatically change the active location thereof on the display such that the active location would not cover some or all of the delimited area. 
     Another aspect of the present invention provides a corresponding system for arranging windows on a display to similarly utilize a delimited working area. This system comprises: a module for defining a delimited area on the display to carry out a predetermined activity; a module for identifying a new application, which when active, comprises an active location on the display that would cover some or all of the delimited area; a processor for processing the new application to automatically change the active location thereof on the display such that the active location would not cover some or all of the delimited area. 
     Further aspects of the invention can be seen in the appended dependent claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Reference will now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  depicts a block diagram of a display at a first time, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  depicts a block diagram of the display at a second time, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  depicts a block diagram of the display at a third time, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  depicts a block diagram of the display in three dimensions, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  depicts a flowchart of an operation for controlling the arrangement of windows on a display in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  depicts a flowchart of an operation for controlling the arrangement of windows on a display in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , a delimited working area  100  is shown within a display. In addition, further active applications  102  and  104  may also be actively displayed within the display. The delimited working area  100  is a specific area of the display which is defined by a user or in any other appropriate manner and is intended to be an area which is protected in a certain manner. The nature of the protection of the delimited working area  100  will depend on the particular application of the invention. For example, the delimited working area may be protected such that a pop-up or new window cannot be launched or displayed in this area. Similarly, the delimited working area may be configured to be protected from other events, for example, from the classic CTRL+F command which typically opens a search panel just over the window of the application currently in use, or from the events of a running minimized application which produces a popup error. The delimited working area therefore is the area which is dedicated to specific activities that may be worked on at the present time. There is no limit to the specific activities that may be carried out in this delimited working area. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a new window  200  may be launched, which covers some or all of the delimited working area  100 . The new window may be a panel, pop-up, form, or any other appropriate application or GUI. As the new window  200  has opened into some of the delimited working area, this embodiment of the present invention operates by moving this application automatically away from the delimited working area  100 . This can also be seen in  FIG. 3  where new window  200  has been moved to position  300 . Similarly, in a three-dimensional desktop as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the arrangement of the working area and other applications will be three-dimensional also. The delimited working area  100  will be at the front while other operative applications (for example,  102  and  104 ) will be placed behind. The new position of new window  200  is shown as  300  as in  FIG. 4 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a flowchart of the method steps of one embodiment of the present invention will now be described. At step  500 , a new window (panel, form, or pop-up) is displayed and becomes the focus of activity on the display screen. A determination is made at step  502  as to whether or not the new window covers part of a previously delimited working area. If the answer is no (as in step  504 ) the process stops (as in step  506 ). If the answer is yes (as in step  508 ) the process proceeds to step  510 . Step  510  includes step  512  at which a determination is made as to whether the new window relates to an application instance that was already opened when the working area was delimited. This is important as it provides the ability to determine whether the new window is an application that is not required by the user. 
     If the answer to the question in step  512  is yes (as in step  514 ) the process stops (as in step  516 ). This indicates that the application that has opened at step  500  is one that is already in the display but not the current active window. If the answer to the question in step  512  is no (as in step  518 ) the process continues to step  520 . This means that the application that was opened at step  500  is not an application that was already opened when the delimited working area was set up and as such would be a nuisance to the user if it opened in the delimited working area. As a result, at step  520  the new window is processed and moved from the delimited working area to a different area on the screen, for example to a new active location. The focus and any action that is being carried out at the time then returns to the original position in the delimited working area at step  522 . In other words, for example, the cursor returns to the place where it was last located before the process was carried out. 
     Step  510  described above, is an optional step and may be skipped according to user selection. Thus, forms and windows related to the protected application instances may be configured to be moved only if desired. 
     In  FIG. 5  the steps take place as a new window appears on the display or screen.  FIG. 6 , on the other hand, is carried out at an earlier point.  FIG. 6  relates to the method steps of when a new window is going to be displayed on the screen while a delimited working area exists. At step  600 , identification is made that a new window is going to be displayed. At Step  602  a determination is made as to whether or not the new window would cover part of the previously delimited working area where it is to open. If no (as in step  604 ) the process exits (as in step  606 ). If yes (as in step  608 ) step  610  proceeds if the user has optionally determined that any new windows should not enter the delimited working area. Step  610  includes steps  612  where a determination is made as to whether or not the new window that is going to open is an application that was already running when the delimited working area was defined. If the application was already running (yes as in step  614 ) the process exits in step  616 . If the new window was not already running (no as in step  618 ) step  620  proceeds. In step  620  the new window processed and is opened in an area that is away from the delimited working area, such as the new active location. The active focus point of the user then returns to the original focal point at step  622 . 
     The invention has been described with reference to the display or screen that is generally associated with a computer or other processing device (for example, a PDA). It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, however, that numerous other platforms for application of the present invention may exist. 
     The steps  502  and  602  of determining whether the new window covers part of the previously delimited working area may be carried out in many different ways. For example, the delimited working area may be scanned or analyzed to detect the location in which the new window opens or will open. In addition, aspects of the setup of the new window can be calculated to determine the size of the new window and therefore to determine whether the new window will partially or completely cover the delimited working area. For example, by using image recognition algorithms, a determination of the percentage of overlap between the new window and the delimited working area can be identified, such that the new window is moved when the percentage overlap exceeds a predetermined limit. This limit may be set by the user or in any other appropriate way. 
     The present invention therefore provides a number of advantages. By invoking the optional step of requiring any new window to be moved from the delimited working area, the user will be able to work an uninterrupted and unhindered manner. By predicting where a new window is going to open and whether or not it relates to an application that was already running when the working area was delimited, the user can see pop-ups or other new windows which may be of interest, without being specifically disturbed by the presence of the new window. In addition, in this way the manner in which information is presented on a display is more effectively managed. 
     It will be appreciated that examples other than those described above may exist, which fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, the steps may take place in different order. Although various representative embodiments of this invention have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventive subject matter set forth in the specification and claims.