Patent Description:
A plurality of applications are usually installed on a terminal such as a mobile phone, and a user operates these applications, so that various application functions can be implemented. Generally, the user may tap an application icon displayed on a home screen to open a corresponding application. In this case, the terminal may record a tapping location of the user on the home screen, or record a location of the application icon on the home screen. For example, as shown in <FIG>, a location of an icon <NUM> of a WeChat application on a home screen is a point A on a display screen.

In this case, when the user performs an operation for exiting the WeChat application (for example, taps a back button <NUM>), as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the terminal may use the home screen as a background, use the point A as a scale center, and gradually scale down an application screen <NUM> displayed when the WeChat application is exited, until the entire home screen shown in <FIG> is displayed. In such a dynamic application exit manner, the user may be guided to accurately and quickly search for and locate an application.

However, when the user opens an application by using another entrance (for example, a search bar or a pull-down menu) other than the home screen, because a location of the application on the another entrance may be different from that on the home screen, if a dynamic scale special effect is presented still by using the foregoing method when the application is exited, the terminal cannot return to the home screen on which the application is located, and consequently the user cannot be guided to locate the application.

<CIT> discloses a method for searching application programs in intelligent equipment. when the intelligent equipment receives a search instruction for searching an application program, displaying a search result related to the application program on a search interface of the intelligent equipment; after the intelligent equipment receives a positioning instruction, acquiring position information, on the display interface of the intelligent equipment, of an icon of the application program according to the application program indicated by the positioning instruction.

<CIT> discloses in information preview method and device. The method comprises the steps of showing an icon of an application program, obtaining an instruction for selecting the application program, and showing the preview information of the selected application program according to the instruction, and obtaining an instruction for closing the preview information, displaying the interface that application icon is located.

Embodiments of this application provide a display method when an application is exited and a terminal. In response to an operation of a user, a terminal may automatically exit the application, and then automatically display a display screen on which an icon of the application is located, to guide the user to quickly and accurately locate the application.

An application (application) installed on a terminal may be displayed in a form of an icon on a home screen (home screen, or referred to as a home screen), to provide a user with an entrance for opening a related application.

In the embodiments of this application, the home screen may be divided into a plurality of display screens, and each display screen may also be referred to as a sub-screen (sub-screen) of the home screen. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the home screen of the terminal may include a first display screen <NUM> and a second display screen <NUM>. The first display screen <NUM> and the second display screen <NUM> each display one or more application icons. A Weibo application <NUM> is used as an example, and the first display screen <NUM> may be referred to as a display screen on which the Weibo application <NUM> is located. Similarly, a WeChat application <NUM> is used as an example, and the second display screen <NUM> may be referred to as a display screen on which the WeChat application <NUM> is located.

Generally, the user may tap an icon on the home screen to enter an application screen of a related application. When the terminal detects that the user taps an icon of an application on the home screen, the terminal may further record a specific location of the icon on the home screen on which the icon is located. For example, an icon of the WeChat application <NUM> on the home screen is specifically located at a point A on the second display screen <NUM>. In this case, when detecting that the user performs an operation for exiting the WeChat application <NUM>, the terminal may gradually scale down an application screen of the WeChat application <NUM> by using the point A as a center until the application screen of the WeChat application <NUM> disappears from the second display screen <NUM>, and display the icon of the WeChat application <NUM>, to implement a display effect of dynamically locating an application location when an application is exited.

However, an entrance that allows the user to open an application on the terminal usually does not include only an icon of the application on the home screen.

For example, as shown in <FIG>, the terminal may display an icon or a link of an application on HiBoard <NUM>. The user may alternatively tap an icon of an application on the HiBoard <NUM> to enter an application screen corresponding to the application. The HiBoard <NUM> may be a screen displayed after the user swipes an initial display screen (for example, the first display screen <NUM>) of the home screen rightward, and reminders such as a commonly used function and application, a subscribed service, and subscribed information of the user may be displayed on the screen. AHiBoard menu may alternatively be referred to as a home screen assistant, a shortcut menu, or the like.

For another example, still as shown in <FIG>, when the user enters a keyword into a search bar <NUM>, the terminal may alternatively present an icon or a link of an application related to the keyword to the user as a search result. The user may also tap an icon or a link of an application in the search result to enter an application screen corresponding to the application.

For another example, as shown in <FIG>, when the terminal enters a multi-task management screen <NUM>, the user may alternatively select, on the multi-task management screen <NUM>, a screen corresponding to an application that is being run, so that the terminal enters an application screen of the corresponding application in response to the operation of the user.

For another example, as shown in <FIG>, the terminal may alternatively display a currently unread message on a lock screen <NUM> (or a pull-down menu). When detecting that the user selects an unread message, the terminal may enter an application screen to which the unread message belongs.

For ease of description, in the embodiments of this application, an entrance, other than the home screen, for opening an application is referred to as a target entrance. A specific display form of the target entrance is not limited in this application. For example, the user may tap a link in an application A to go to an application B. In this case, the application A may be used as a target entrance of the application B.

Therefore, in the embodiments of this application, after the user opens an application by using the target entrance, the terminal may display an application screen of the application. Subsequently, if the terminal detects that the user performs an operation for exiting the application, the terminal may determine a home screen on which an icon of the application is located, and even determine a specific location of the icon of the application on the home screen. After exiting the application, the terminal may display the home screen (for example, a display screen on which the icon is located) on which the icon of the application is located, to guide the user to quickly and accurately locate the application. In this way, regardless of whether the user opens an application from the home screen or by using the target entrance, when the user exits the application, the terminal can implement a display effect of dynamically locating the application location when exiting the application.

The following describes implementations of the embodiments of this application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It should be noted that a display method when an application is exited provided in the embodiments of this application may be applied to a terminal. For example, the terminal may be a device such as a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (ultra-mobile personal computer, UMPC), a handheld computer, a netbook, a personal digital assistant (personal digital assistant, PDA), a wearable electronic device, or a smartwatch, or may be a mobile phone <NUM> shown in <FIG>. A specific form of the terminal is not specially limited in the embodiments of this application.

As shown in <FIG>, the terminal in the embodiments of this application may be a mobile phone <NUM>. <FIG> is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of the mobile phone <NUM>. It should be understood that the mobile phone <NUM> shown in the figure is merely an example of the terminal. In addition, the mobile phone <NUM> may have more or fewer components than those shown in the figure, two or more components shown in the figure may be combined, or different component arrangements may be used.

As shown in <FIG>, the mobile phone <NUM> may include components such as a display <NUM>, an input unit <NUM>, a processor <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a power supply <NUM>, a radio frequency (Radio Frequency, RF) circuit <NUM>, a sensor <NUM>, an audio circuit <NUM>, a loudspeaker <NUM>, a microphone <NUM>, and a wireless fidelity (Wireless Fidelity, WiFi) module <NUM>. These components may be connected (for example, these components are connected by using a bus), or may be directly connected.

The display <NUM> may be configured to display information entered by a user or information provided for the user, and various menus of the mobile phone <NUM>, and may further receive a user input operation. Specifically, the display <NUM> may include a display panel <NUM>-<NUM> and a touch panel <NUM>-<NUM>.

The display panel <NUM>-<NUM> may be configured in a form of a liquid crystal display (Liquid Crystal Display, LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (Organic Light-Emitting Diode, OLED), or the like.

The touch panel <NUM>-<NUM>, or referred to as a touchscreen, a touch-sensitive screen, a touch control screen, or the like, may collect a touch or non-touch operation (for example, an operation performed by the user on or near the touch panel <NUM>-<NUM> by using any proper object or accessory such as a finger or a stylus, or a motion sensing operation, where the operation includes a single-point control operation, a multi-point control operation, and other types of operations) performed by the user on or near the touch panel <NUM>-<NUM>, and drive a corresponding connection apparatus according to a preset program. Optionally, the touch panel <NUM>-<NUM> may include two parts: a touch detection apparatus and a touch controller. The touch detection apparatus detects a touch orientation and a gesture of the user, detects a signal brought by a touch operation, and sends the signal to the touch controller. The touch controller receives a touch signal from the touch detection apparatus, converts the received touch signal into information that can be processed by the processor <NUM>, and then sends the information to the processor <NUM>, and can receive and execute a command sent by the processor <NUM>. In addition, the touch panel <NUM>-<NUM> may be implemented by using a plurality of types such as a resistive type, a capacitive type, an infrared type, and a surface acoustic wave type, or the touch panel <NUM>-<NUM> may be implemented by using any technology to be developed in the future. This is not limited in the embodiments of this application.

Further, the touch panel <NUM>-<NUM> may cover the display panel <NUM>-<NUM>. The user may perform, based on content displayed on the display panel <NUM>-<NUM> (the displayed content includes but is not limited to any one or any combination of the following: a soft keyboard, a virtual mouse, a virtual key, an icon, and the like), an operation on or near the touch panel <NUM>-<NUM> that covers the display panel <NUM>-<NUM>. After detecting the operation performed on or near the touch panel <NUM>-<NUM>, the touch panel <NUM>-<NUM> transfers the operation to the processor <NUM> by using an input/output subsystem, to determine a user input. Then, the processor <NUM> provides a corresponding visual output on the display panel <NUM>-<NUM> based on the user input by using the input/output subsystem. Although in <FIG>, the touch panel <NUM>-<NUM> and the display panel <NUM>-<NUM> are used as two independent components to implement input and output functions of the mobile phone <NUM>, in some embodiments, the touch panel <NUM>-<NUM> and the display panel <NUM>-<NUM> may be integrated to implement the input and output functions of the mobile phone <NUM>.

The input unit <NUM> may be the touch panel <NUM>-<NUM>, or may be another input device. The another input device may be configured to receive input digital or character information, and generate a key signal input related to user setting and function control of the mobile phone <NUM>. Specifically, the another input device may include any one or a combination of the following: a physical keyboard, a function key (such as a volume control key or a switch key), a trackball, a mouse, a joystick, and an optical mouse (the optical mouse is an extension of a touch-sensitive surface that does not display a visual output or an extension of a touch-sensitive surface formed by a touchscreen). The another input device is connected to another input device controller of the input/output subsystem, and exchange signals with the processor <NUM> under control of the another input device controller.

The processor <NUM> is a control center of the mobile phone <NUM>, is connected to all parts of the entire mobile phone <NUM> by using various interfaces and cables, and executes various functions of the mobile phone <NUM> and performs data processing by running or executing a software program and/or a module stored in the memory <NUM> and by invoking data stored in the memory <NUM>, to perform overall monitoring on the mobile phone <NUM>. Optionally, the processor <NUM> may include one or more processing units, and the processor <NUM> may integrate an application processor and a modem processor. The application processor mainly processes an operating system, a user interface, an application, and the like, and the modem processor mainly processes wireless communication. It may be understood that the modem processor and the application processor may be alternatively disposed separately. The processor may be a modem, or may be an application processor, or may be a modem and an application processor.

The memory <NUM> may be configured to store data, a software program, and a module. The processor <NUM> executes various function applications of the mobile phone <NUM> and processes data by running the data, the software program, and the module stored in the memory <NUM>, for example, perform the method for recognizing a screenshot text provided in the embodiments of this application. The memory <NUM> may mainly include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store an operating system, an application required by at least one function (for example, a sound playing function and an image playing function), and the like. The data storage area may store data (for example, audio data and an address book) and the like created based on use of the mobile phone <NUM>. In addition, the memory <NUM> may be a volatile memory (Volatile Memory), for example, a random-access memory (Random-Access Memory, RAM) or a high-speed random access memory; or may be a non-volatile memory (Non-Volatile Memory), for example, a magnetic disk storage device, a flash memory device, a read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), a flash memory (Flash Memory), a hard disk drive (Hard Disk Drive, HDD), or a solid-state drive. (Solid-State Drive, SSD); or may be a combination of the foregoing types of memories.

The power supply <NUM> may be a battery, and is logically connected to the processor <NUM> by using a power supply management system, to implement functions such as charging management, discharging management, and power consumption management by using the power supply management system.

The RF circuit <NUM> may be configured to receive and send information, or receive and send a signal during a call. In particular, the RF circuit <NUM> sends received downlink information of a base station to the processor <NUM> for processing, and sends related uplink data to the base station. Usually, the RF circuit <NUM> includes, but is not limited to, an antenna, at least one amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low noise amplifier (Low Noise Amplifier, LNA), a duplexer, and the like. In addition, the RF circuit <NUM> may further communicate with a network and another device through wireless communication. In the wireless communication, any communications standard or protocol may be used, including one or a combination of a plurality of the following: a global system for mobile communications (Global System for Mobile communication, GSM), a general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS), code division multiple access (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA), long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE), an email, a short messaging service (Short Messaging Service, SMS), and the like.

The mobile phone <NUM> may further include at least one sensor <NUM>, such as an optical sensor, a speed sensor, a global positioning system (Global Position System, GPS) sensor, and another sensor. Specifically, the light sensor may include an ambient light sensor and a proximity sensor. The ambient light sensor may adjust luminance of the display panel <NUM>-<NUM> based on brightness of ambient light. The proximity sensor may power off the display panel <NUM>-<NUM> and/or backlight when the mobile phone <NUM> approaches an ear. As a type of the speed sensor, an accelerometer sensor may detect magnitudes of accelerations of the mobile phone <NUM> in various directions (generally three axes), may detect a magnitude and a direction of gravity when the mobile phone <NUM> is stationary, and may be applied to an application (for example, horizontal and vertical screen switch, related games, and magnetometer posture calibration) for recognizing gestures of the mobile phone <NUM>, vibration recognition related functions (such as a pedometer and a knock), and the like. Other sensors such as a gyroscope, a barometer, a hygrometer, a thermometer, an infrared sensor, and a pressure sensor may be further configured on the mobile phone <NUM>.

The audio circuit <NUM>, the loudspeaker <NUM>, and the microphone <NUM> may provide an audio interface between the user and the mobile phone <NUM>. The audio circuit <NUM> may transmit, to the loudspeaker <NUM>, an electrical signal converted from received audio data, and the loudspeaker <NUM> converts the electrical signal into a sound signal for outputting. In addition, the microphone <NUM> converts a collected sound signal into an electrical signal. The audio circuit <NUM> receives the electrical signal, converts the electrical signal into audio data, and then outputs the audio data to the RF circuit <NUM>, to send the audio data to, for example, another mobile phone, or outputs the audio data to the processor <NUM> for further processing.

The Wi-Fi module <NUM> may be a module including a Wi-Fi chip and a Wi-Fi chip driver, and the Wi-Fi chip is capable of running a wireless Internet standard protocol.

Although not shown, the mobile phone <NUM> may further include components such as a Bluetooth module and a camera. This is not limited in the embodiments of this application. The Bluetooth module is a printed circuit board assembly (Printed Circuit Board Assembly, PCBA) having a Bluetooth function, and is configured for short-range wireless communication.

In the embodiments of this application, the processor <NUM> may be an application processor, and the processor <NUM> may open or exit an application in response to an operation input by the user into the input unit <NUM>. In this case, when detecting that the user performs an operation for opening an application into the input unit <NUM> by using the target entrance, the processor <NUM> may open the application. Correspondingly, when detecting that the user performs an operation for exiting the application into the input unit <NUM>, because a location of an icon of each application on the terminal is fixed on a home screen in a time period, when an application is exited, the processor <NUM> may determine a specific location of an icon of the application on the home screen based on information such as information (for example, a package name (packname)) about the application. For example, an icon of a WeChat application is located on a second display screen <NUM> of the home screen. Further, after exiting an application screen of the WeChat application, the processor <NUM> may instruct the display <NUM> to automatically switch to the second display screen <NUM> on which the icon of the WeChat application is located, so that an application location can be located when an application is exited.

In addition, a display process of the display <NUM> is a high-speed frame drawing process. For example, the display <NUM> may perform frame drawing at a frequency of <NUM>. Therefore, there are usually a plurality of frames of images in a display process of the display <NUM> from exiting the application screen of the WeChat application to switching to the second display screen <NUM>. In this case, the processor <NUM> may further instruct the display <NUM> to add, to the plurality of frames of images, an animation special effect of dramatically exiting the WeChat application and displaying the second display screen <NUM>, so that the mobile phone <NUM> can quickly and efficiently guide the user to locate an application when exiting the application.

For example, as shown in <FIG>, the user opens the WeChat application by using a target entrance such as the search bar <NUM>. When detecting that the user taps a back button to exit the WeChat application, the processor <NUM> may instruct the display <NUM> to display, as a background, the second display screen <NUM> on which the icon of the WeChat application is located. In addition, the processor <NUM> may instruct the display <NUM> to use a center point P of the second display screen <NUM> as a scale center, and to gradually scale down, during drawing of each frame of image, an application screen <NUM> displayed when the WeChat application is exited, until the application screen <NUM> disappears from the second display screen <NUM>.

Alternatively, for example, the user opens the WeChat application still by using the target entrance such as the search bar. As shown in <FIG>, in a drawing process corresponding to exiting the WeChat application and displaying the second display screen <NUM>, the processor <NUM> may instruct the display <NUM> to display, as a background, the second display screen <NUM> on which the icon of the WeChat application is located. In addition, the processor <NUM> may instruct the display <NUM> to use a location of the icon of the WeChat application (for example, a point A in <FIG>) on the second display screen <NUM> as a scale center, to gradually scale down, during drawing of each frame of image, an application screen <NUM> displayed when the WeChat application is exited, until the application screen <NUM> disappears from the second display screen <NUM>, and to display the icon of the WeChat application. This display effect of dynamically exiting an application not only helps the user locate a home screen on which the application is located, but also helps the user accurately locate a specific location of the application on the home screen.

For example, the memory <NUM> on the mobile phone <NUM> may store an ANDROID® operating system. The operating system is a Linux-based mobile device operating system, and implements various functions together with the foregoing hardware on the mobile phone <NUM>. The following describes a software architecture of the stored ANDROID® operating system in detail. It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, the ANDROID® operating system is merely an example to describe a software environment required by a terminal to implement the technical solutions in the embodiments. A person skilled in the art may understand that the embodiments of this application may also be implemented by using another operating system, for example, a mobile operating system developed by Apple.

For example, <FIG> is a schematic diagram of a software architecture of an ANDROID® operating system that can be run on the foregoing terminal. The software architecture may be divided into four layers: an application layer, an application framework layer, a function library layer, and a Linux kernel layer.

The application layer is an uppermost layer of the operating system, and includes native applications in the operating system, such as a home screen, HiBoard, an email client, Messages, Phone, Calendar, Browser, and Contacts. Certainly, a developer may compile an application and install the application at the layer. The application is usually developed by using a Java language, and the development is completed by invoking an application programming interface (application programming interface, API) provided by the application framework layer.

The application framework layer mainly provides a developer with various APIs that can be used to access applications. The developer may interact with a lower layer (for example, the function library layer or the Linux kernel layer) of the operating system by using the application framework layer, to develop an application of the developer. The application framework layer mainly includes a series of services and management systems of the Android operating system. The application framework layer mainly includes the following basic services:.

An activity manager (Activity Manager) manages a lifecycle of each application. The application usually is run in the operating system in a form of an activity. For each activity, there is a corresponding application record (ActivityRecord) in the activity manager, and the ActivityRecord records a status of the activity of the application. The activity manager may use the ActivityRecord as an identifier to schedule an activity process of the application.

A window manager (WindowManagerService) is configured to manage a graphical user interface (graphical user interface, GUI) resource used on a screen, and may be specifically configured to create and delete a window, display and hide a window, arrange a window, manage a focus, manage an input method and wallpaper, and the like.

In the embodiments of this application, a user may use an application icon on a home screen as an entrance for opening an application, or the user may open an application screen of the application by using a target entrance (for example, HiBoard or a pull-down menu) other than the application icon on the home screen. A WeChat application is used as an example. When the terminal opens the WeChat application, the WeChat application may be used as an activity to create a process of the WeChat application. The process of the WeChat application may register an activity record of the WeChat application with the activity manager.

When the WeChat application is exited, the activity manager may transfer a package name of the WeChat application to a home screen process at the application layer based on the activity record of the WeChat application. Because related data such as a location and an icon of each application on the home screen is maintained in the home screen process, the home screen process may determine a specific location of an icon of the WeChat application on the home screen based on the package name of the WeChat application. For example, the icon of the WeChat application on the home screen is specifically located on a second display screen <NUM> of the home screen, or the icon of the WeChat application on the home screen is specifically located at a point A on the second display screen <NUM> of the home screen.

Subsequently, the home screen process may transfer information about the icon of the WeChat application on the home screen, for example, location information, to the window manager. In this case, the window manager may present, based on the specific location of the icon of the WeChat application on the home screen, a dynamic display effect of exiting the WeChat application and returning to a corresponding display screen of the home screen.

Certainly, the application framework layer may further include a service and management system such as a content provider (Content Provider), a notification manager (Notification Manager), a clipboard manager (Clipboard Manager), a view (View), and a location manager (Location Manager).

The function library layer is a support of the application framework layer, and is an important link that connects the application framework layer and the Linux kernel layer. The function library layer includes some function libraries compiled by using a computer programming language C or C++. These function libraries can be used by different components in the operating system, and provide services for a developer by using the application framework layer. Specifically, the function libraries may include a libc function library, and the libc function library is specially customized for an embedded-Linux-based device. The function libraries may further include a multimedia library (Media Framework), and the library supports playback and recording of audio or videos in a plurality of encoding formats, and further supports a still image file and a common audio or video encoding format. The function libraries further include a surface manager library (Surface Manager). The surface manager library is mainly responsible for managing access to a display system, is specifically responsible for managing interaction between a display and an access operation when a plurality of applications are executed, and is further responsible for display composition of 2D drawing and 3D drawing.

The function library layer may further include other function libraries used to implement functions of a mobile phone, such as an SGL (Scalable Graphics Library) that is an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file-based 2D graph and image processing engine, an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) that is located between a TVP/IP protocol and various application layer protocols to provide a support for data communication, an OpenGL/ES that supports a 3D effect, SQLite that is a relational database engine, Webkit that is a web browser engine, and FreeType that supports a bitmap and a vector font.

Android Runtime is a running environment on the ANDROID® operating system, and is a new virtual machine used in the ANDROID® operating system. An AOT (Ahead-Of-Time) technology is used in the Android Runtime. When an application is installed for the first time, a bytecode of the application is precompiled into a machine code, so that the application becomes a real local application. Then, a compilation step is omitted when the application is run again, so that both starting and execution of the application become faster.

In some other embodiments of this application, the Android Runtime may alternatively be replaced with a core function library (Core Libraries) and a Dalvik virtual machine (Dalvik Virtual Machine). The core function library provides most functions of an API in the Java language, and mainly provides, for the application framework layer in a Java Native Interface (Java native interface, JNI) manner, an interface for invoking a bottom-layer program library. In addition, the core function library further includes some core APIs of the operating system, such as android. os, android. net, and android. The Dalvik virtual machine uses a JIT (Just-in-Time) runtime compilation mechanism. Each time a process is started, the virtual machine needs to recompile a bytecode in the background, affecting a startup speed. Each application is run in one Dalvik virtual machine instance, and each Dalvik virtual machine instance is independent process space. The Dalvik virtual machine is designed to enable a plurality of virtual machines to run in one device efficiently. The Dalvik virtual machine may execute a file format. The dex format is a compression format specially designed for Dalvik, and is suitable for a system having limited memory and a limited processor speed. It should be noted that, the Dalvik virtual machine depends on the Linux kernel to provide a basic function (thread management and bottom-layer memory management). It may be understood that the Android Runtime and the Dalvik are different types of virtual machines, and a person skilled in the art may select different forms of virtual machines in different cases.

The layer provides a core system service of the operating system. For example, security, memory management, process management, a network protocol stack, and a driver model are all based on the Linux kernel. The Linux kernel is also used as an abstraction layer between hardware and a software stack. The layer has many drivers related to a mobile device, and includes the following main drivers: a display driver, a Linux-based frame buffer driver, a keyboard driver that is used as an input device, a flash driver that is based on a memory technology device, a camera driver, an audio driver, a Bluetooth driver, a Wi-Fi driver, and the like.

For ease of understanding, the following specifically describes, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the display method when an application is exited according to the embodiments of this application.

<FIG> is a flowchart of a display method when an application is exited according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in <FIG>, the display method when the application is exited may include the following steps.

S801: A terminal receives a first operation of a user for opening a first application by using a target entrance.

For example, as shown in <FIG>, the terminal displays HiBoard <NUM> in this case. The HiBoard <NUM> may include an icon or a link of at least one application. The icon or link may be manually added by the user, or may be automatically recommended by the terminal to the user based on a use habit of the user. In addition, a search bar <NUM> may also be set on the HiBoard <NUM>. The user may enter a keyword into the search bar <NUM>, to trigger the terminal to search for a search result related to the keyword and display the search result to the user in a form of an icon, a link, or the like of an application. Certainly, the search bar <NUM> may alternatively be set on a home screen, a pull-up menu, or a pull-down menu. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application. As shown in <FIG>, a screen displayed after the user swipes the HiBoard <NUM> leftward is a first display screen <NUM> of the home screen. In other words, the first display screen <NUM> of the home screen is a display screen adjacent to the HiBoard <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, a screen displayed after the user swipes the first display screen <NUM> leftward is a second display screen <NUM> of the home screen, and the second display screen <NUM> is not adjacent to the HiBoard <NUM>. Certainly, the home screen may further include a display screen such as a third display screen or a fourth display screen. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

When the target entrance is the search result provided in the search bar <NUM>, an icon of the first application may be located on any display screen (for example, the first display screen <NUM> or the second display screen <NUM>) of the home screen.

When the target entrance is an icon or a link of an application provided on the HiBoard <NUM>, the icon of the first application may be located on any display screen (for example, the second display screen <NUM>), not adjacent to the HiBoard <NUM>, of the home screen.

When the target entrance is the multi-task management screen <NUM>, the icon of the first application is not located on a home screen on which the terminal stays before the terminal enters the multi-task management screen <NUM>. For example, when the terminal stays on the second display screen <NUM>, the terminal may display the multi-task management screen <NUM> in response to an operation of the user for entering the multi-task management screen <NUM>. In this case, the home screen on which the terminal stays before the terminal enters the multi-task management screen <NUM> is the second display screen <NUM>, and the first application is an application represented by any application icon on the first display screen <NUM>.

When the target entrance is a notification message on a lock screen, the icon of the first application is not located on a home screen on which the terminal stays before screen lock. For example, when the terminal stays on the second display screen <NUM>, the terminal may display the lock screen in response to a screen lock operation of the user. In this case, the home screen on which the terminal stays before screen lock is the second display screen <NUM>, and the first application is an application represented by any application icon on the first display screen <NUM>.

When the target entrance is a notification message in a pull-down menu (or a pull-up menu), the icon of the first application is not located on a home screen on which the terminal stays before the terminal enters the pull-down menu (or the pull-up menu). For example, when the terminal stays on the second display screen <NUM>, the terminal may display the pull-down menu (or the pull-up menu) in response to a pull-up (or pull-down) operation of the user. In this case, the first application is an application represented by any application icon on the first display screen <NUM>.

It should be noted that, if the terminal opens, when staying on the second display screen <NUM>, an application represented by an application icon on the second display screen <NUM>, and then the terminal enters the multi-task management screen <NUM> (or the lock screen, the pull-down menu, or the pull-up menu), it may also be considered that the terminal stays on the second display screen <NUM> before entering the multi-task management screen <NUM> (or the lock screen, the pull-down menu, or the pull-up menu).

In other words, in step S801, the terminal may receive the first operation of the user for opening the first application by using the various types of target entrances. The first operation may be any operation for opening the first application, such as tapping, touching and holding, or swiping. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application. In an example in which a WeChat application on the second display screen <NUM> in <FIG> is the first application. As shown in <FIG>, the HiBoard <NUM> may also display an icon <NUM> of the WeChat application, and the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application is not located on the first display screen <NUM> adjacent to the HiBoard <NUM>. In this case, if the terminal detects that the user taps the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application on the HiBoard <NUM>, the terminal may continue to perform the following steps S802 to S804.

S802: The terminal opens the first application in response to the first operation, and displays an application screen of the first application.

In step S802, if the terminal receives the first operation of the user for opening the first application by using the target entrance, the terminal may determine whether the first application is run in the background. Generally, an application process at a stack top in an application stack of the terminal is an application that is being run in the foreground, and an application process other than the application process at the stack top is an application that is run in the background. In this case, the terminal may determine, by querying whether a process of the first application is at the stack top of the application stack, whether the first application is run in the background.

If the first application is run in the background, the terminal may switch the process of the first application to the stack top of the application stack, so that the first application is opened in the foreground. Correspondingly, if the first application is not run in the background, the terminal may create the process of the first application, and set the process of the first application as a process at the stack top, so that the first application is opened in the foreground.

Still in an example in which the WeChat application is the first application, as shown in <FIG>, after the WeChat application is opened in the foreground, the terminal may display an application screen <NUM> provided by the WeChat application. The application screen <NUM> may be a display screen that is output to the user when the WeChat application is run in the foreground. For example, the application screen <NUM> shown in <FIG> is a current chat screen between the user and Sara. Certainly, it may be understood that the application screen <NUM> of the WeChat application may alternatively be a Contacts screen, a Moments screen, a Settings screen, or the like.

It should be noted that when an application is run in the foreground, a display module (for example, a display) may present a corresponding visual output to the user. When the application is run in the background, the visual output is not provided to the user, but a process of the application is not ended.

S803: The terminal receives a second operation of the user for exiting the first application.

Exiting the first application may be switching the first application to the background of the terminal for continuing running, or may be ending the process of the first application (in other words, killing the first application).

Similar to the first operation, the second operation may be specifically any operation for exiting the first application, such as tapping a back button, pressing a home button, or pressing a power button. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application. These buttons may be physical buttons or virtual buttons.

Still in an example in which the WeChat application is the first application, as shown in <FIG>, if the user wants to exit the WeChat application, the user may tap a back button <NUM> in a navigation bar. After detecting an operation that the user taps the back button <NUM>, the terminal may continue to perform the following step S804.

S804: The terminal exits the first application in response to the second operation, and displays a display screen on which the icon of the first application is located.

In step S804, if the terminal detects that the user performs the second operation for exiting the first application, it indicates that the user no longer needs to use the first application. In this case, in the background of the terminal, the terminal may end the process of the first application or push the process of the first application into the application stack and run the first application as a background application.

However, in the foreground of the terminal, to guide the user to quickly locate an application location on the home screen, the terminal may obtain specific location information of the first application on the home screen. Still in an example in which the WeChat application is the first application, the terminal may query, from the home screen process, that a location of the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application on the home screen is on the second display screen <NUM>. In this case, as shown in <FIG>, in response to the second operation, after exiting the WeChat application, the terminal may return to the second display screen <NUM>, and the icon of the WeChat application is located on the second display screen <NUM>. Even if the user opens the first application by using the target entrance other than the home screen, when exiting the first application, the terminal may still return to the home screen on which the first application is located. This helps the user locate the location of the first application on the home screen after the first application is exited.

For example, when the terminal returns to the home screen (for example, the second display screen <NUM>) on which the first application is located, the terminal may further mark the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application on the second display screen <NUM>. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the terminal may highlight a boundary of the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application (highlighting is represented by using a dashed line in <FIG>). For another example, as shown in <FIG>, the terminal may rotate or shake the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application, so that the user can accurately locate the location of the first application on the home screen.

Alternatively, the terminal may add some animation effects in a time period from exiting the first application to displaying the second display screen <NUM>. For example, the terminal may add a dynamically changeable scale element, to improve fun and guidance when the application is exited.

For example, as shown in <FIG>, in a process from exiting the WeChat application by the terminal to displaying the second display screen <NUM> by the terminal, the terminal may use the second display screen <NUM> as a display background. In addition, the terminal may use the application screen <NUM> of the WeChat application as a scale element, and gradually scale down the scale element when displaying each frame of image, until the scale element disappears from the second display screen <NUM>. When scaling down the application screen <NUM>, the terminal may use any point (for example, a center point P of the second display screen <NUM>) on the second display screen <NUM> as a scale center.

For another example, when obtaining specific location information of the WeChat application on the home screen, in addition to determining a specific display screen on which the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application is located, the terminal may further determine specific location information of the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application on the display screen. For example, as shown in <FIG>, a specific location of the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application on the second display screen <NUM> may be a point A on the second display screen <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, in a process from exiting the WeChat application by the terminal to displaying the second display screen <NUM> by the terminal, the terminal may use the second display screen <NUM> as a display background. In addition, the terminal may use the application screen <NUM> of the WeChat application as a scale element, and gradually scale down the scale element when displaying each frame of image, until the scale element disappears from the second display screen <NUM>. Different from <FIG>, in <FIG>, when scaling down the application screen <NUM>, the terminal may use the location (for example, the point A) of the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application on the second display screen <NUM> as a scale center.

For another example, in a process from exiting the WeChat application to displaying the second display screen <NUM>, the terminal may display changeable specific content of the scale element, so that a more vivid animation effect can be presented to the user when the application is exited, and the user is guided to locate the exited first application on the home screen.

For example, duration from exiting the WeChat application by the terminal to displaying the second display screen <NUM> by the terminal may be <NUM> milliseconds. As shown in <FIG>, after the second operation of the user for exiting the WeChat application is received, after a preset time (for example, <NUM> milliseconds), the application screen <NUM> of the WeChat may be changed to an icon <NUM> of the WeChat application with a second size, and the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application with the second size may be scaled down to an icon <NUM> of the WeChat application with a first size.

For example, the terminal may start a first timer whose duration is <NUM> milliseconds. In a time period before the first timer expires, the terminal may use the application screen <NUM> displayed when the WeChat application is exited as a first scale element, and gradually scale down the application screen <NUM> when displaying each frame of image. For example, a size of the application screen <NUM> in an (N+<NUM>)th frame of image (N is an integer greater than <NUM>) may be set to X (X is a positive number less than <NUM>) times of a size of the application screen <NUM> in an Nth frame of image. In this way, the size of the application screen <NUM> in the (N+<NUM>)th frame of image is less than the size of the application screen <NUM> in the Nth frame of image.

After the first timer expires, the terminal may start a second timer whose duration is <NUM> milliseconds. If a size of the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application on the second display screen <NUM> is the first size, in a time period before the second timer expires, the terminal may use the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application with the second size as a second scale element, and gradually scale down the second scale element. The second size is greater than the first size. For example, a size of the application screen <NUM> in an (M+<NUM>)th frame of image (M is an integer greater than N) may be set to Y (Y is a positive number less than <NUM>) times of a size of the application screen <NUM> in an Mth frame of image. In this way, in a continuous scaling down process, the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application with the second size may finally become the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application with the first size on the second display screen <NUM>.

Alternatively, in a process of exiting the WeChat application, the terminal may further display the first scale element and the second scale element in a superimposition manner in a time period. For example, after starting the first timer for <NUM> milliseconds, the terminal may use the icon <NUM> with the second size as the second scale element, and start to scale down the application icon <NUM> by using the point A as a scale center. In this case, in a time period from a moment at which the first timer is started for <NUM> milliseconds to a moment at which the first timer expires, the terminal may use the second display screen <NUM> as a background, and display the first scale element and the second scale element in a superimposition manner. For example, the first scale element and the second scale element may have a same size in this time period.

In addition, transparency of a scale element (for example, the application screen <NUM> or the application icon <NUM>) may be further changed in a process of scaling down the scale element. For example, higher transparency may be set for a scale element with a smaller size, to implement a fade-in and fade-out animation effect.

Certainly, in addition to using time as a determining condition for determining whether to change a scale element, the terminal may also determine, based on a size of the scale element, whether to change the scale element. For example, in a process in which the terminal gradually scales down the first scale element, if the terminal detects that an area of the first scale element is less than a threshold, the terminal may replace the first scale element with the second scale element and continue to scale down the second scale element. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

In some other embodiments of this application, when exiting the second application, the terminal may further add a scale-up and scale-down animation effect, a fade-in and fade-out animation effect, or the like to the display background (for example, the second display screen <NUM>). This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

In conclusion, according to steps S801 to S804, when the user opens an application (namely, the first application) by using the target entrance other than the home screen, when exiting the first application, the terminal may still automatically return to the display screen on which the icon of the first application is located, to guide the user to quickly and accurately locate the first application on the home screen.

In some other embodiments of this application, if the user opens an application that belongs to a folder on the home screen, the terminal may also present a display effect of dynamically locating an application location when exiting the application in the folder.

<FIG> is a flowchart of another display method when an application is exited according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in <FIG>, the display method when the application is exited may include the following steps.

S1401: A terminal receives a first operation of a user for opening a second application.

A difference between this step and step S801 is that an icon of the second application is located in a folder on a home screen. In other words, the second application is an application added to a folder.

Another difference between this step and step S801 lies in the first operation based on which the user can open the second application by using the target entrance. For example, the user taps a notification message of the second application in a pull-down menu. Alternatively, the user may open the second application from the folder on the home screen. The first operation in step S1401 is any operation for opening the second application, and the operation may be the same as or different from the first operation in step S801.

In an example in which a WeChat application is the second application, <FIG> shows a display screen <NUM> including a folder <NUM> on the home screen (<FIG> shows a second display screen <NUM> including the folder <NUM>). If the terminal detects that the user selects the folder <NUM> named "social" on the home screen, the terminal displays the target folder <NUM> in an open state. <FIG> shows a display screen <NUM> when the target folder <NUM> is in an open state. The opened target folder <NUM> includes icons of one or more applications. In this case, if the terminal detects that the user taps an icon <NUM> of the WeChat application in the target folder <NUM>, the terminal may continue to perform the following steps S1402 to S1404.

In addition, a size of the folder <NUM> in a closed state on the display screen <NUM> is a first folder size, and a size of the icon of the second application (for example, the icon of the WeChat application) in the folder <NUM> is a first icon size. Because the icon of the second application is located in the folder <NUM>, the first icon size is less than the first folder size.

S1402: The terminal opens the second application in response to the first operation, and displays an application screen of the second application.

S1403: The terminal receives a second operation of the user for exiting the second application.

For specific processes in which the terminal opens the second application, displays the application screen of the second application, and receives the second operation of the user for exiting the second application in steps S1402 and S1403, refer to related descriptions in steps S802 and S803. The second operation in step S1403 is any operation for exiting the second application, and the operation may be the same as or different from the second operation in step S803.

S1404: The terminal exits the second application in response to the second operation, and displays a display screen of the home screen. The display screen includes the folder in which the icon of the second application is located, and in this case, the folder is in the closed state. The icon of the second application is located in the folder in the closed state.

Similar to step S804, if the terminal detects that the user performs the second operation for exiting the second application, the terminal may obtain specific location information of the folder in which the second application is located and that is on the home screen.

Generally, when an icon of an application is added to a folder on the home screen, a home screen process sets a flag bit for the application to indicate whether the application is added to the folder. In this way, the terminal may query a flag bit of the second application by using the home screen process based on a package name of the second application, to determine whether the second application is added to a folder. After it is determined that the second application is added to the folder, the folder in which the second application is located may be further found by using the home screen process. For example, the folder in which the WeChat application is located is the folder <NUM> named "social" in <FIG>. Further, the terminal may determine, by using the home screen process, that the folder <NUM> is specifically located on the display screen <NUM> of the home screen.

When exiting the WeChat application, the terminal may return to the display screen <NUM> on which the folder <NUM> is located. In this way, regardless of an entrance by using which the user opens the second application, when exiting the second application, the terminal may directly return to the home screen on which the folder including the icon of the second application is located.

In some embodiments of this application, the terminal may further add a dynamically changeable scale element in a time period from exiting the second application to displaying the display screen <NUM>, to implement an animation effect when the application is exited.

Still in an example in which the WeChat application in the folder <NUM> is the second application, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, when exiting the WeChat application, the terminal may use the display screen <NUM> as a display background, use an application screen <NUM> of the WeChat application as a scale element, and gradually scale down the scale element when displaying each frame of image, until the scale element disappears from the display screen <NUM>. In a process of scaling down the application screen <NUM>, the terminal may use a location of the folder <NUM> (for example, a center point B of the folder <NUM>) on the display screen <NUM> as a scale center.

For another example, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the terminal may use the display screen <NUM> as a display background, use an application screen <NUM> of the WeChat application as a scale element, and gradually scale down the scale element when displaying each frame of image, until the scale element disappears from the display screen <NUM>. Different from <FIG>, in <FIG> and <FIG>, when scaling down the application screen <NUM>, the terminal may use a location of the WeChat application in the folder <NUM> (for example, a center point C of the icon of the WeChat application) as a scale center.

Certainly, in addition to the application screen <NUM> of the WeChat application, the scale element may further include a graph such as the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application. The scale center may be any location on the display screen <NUM>. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

In some other embodiments of this application, in a process from exiting the WeChat application by the terminal to displaying the display screen <NUM> by the terminal, the terminal may display changeable specific content of the scale element.

For example, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the terminal may start a first timer when exiting the WeChat application. In a time period before the first timer expires, the terminal may use the application screen <NUM> of the WeChat application as a first scale element, and gradually scale down the first scale element. After the first timer expires, the terminal may start a second timer. In a time period before the second timer expires, the terminal may use the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application as a second scale element, and scale down the second scale element. In this case, a size of the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application is a second icon size (the second icon size is greater than the first icon size in step S1401). In this way, in a continuous scaling down process, the icon <NUM> with the second icon size may finally become an icon <NUM> with the first icon size on the display screen <NUM>.

For a specific method by using which the terminal scales down the first scale element and the second scale element, refer to related descriptions in <FIG>. Therefore, details are not described herein again. It may be understood that timing duration of the first timer and timing duration of the second timer are not limited in this embodiment of this application.

In some other embodiments of this application, when exiting the second application, the terminal may further exit the second application and return to the folder in which the second application is located. In this case, the folder is in the open state. Then, the terminal returns, from the opened folder, to the display screen on which the folder is located. In this case, the folder is in the closed state. A size of the folder in the open state (that is, a second folder size) is greater than the first folder size of the folder in the closed state.

For example, when exiting the WeChat application (for example, at a moment T1), as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the terminal may first use the display screen <NUM> on which the folder <NUM> in the open state is located as a display background, and use the application screen <NUM> displayed when the WeChat application is displayed as a scale element, and gradually scale down the application screen <NUM> of the WeChat application when displaying each frame of image.

When scaling down the application screen <NUM> into the opened folder <NUM> (for example, at a moment T2, where T2 is greater than T1), the terminal may change the scale element to the folder <NUM> in the open state, namely, the folder <NUM> with the second folder size. In addition, the terminal may change the display background to the display screen <NUM> on which the folder <NUM> in the closed state is located, and gradually scale down the folder <NUM> with the second folder size when displaying each frame of image. In this way, in a continuous scaling down process, the folder <NUM> with the second folder size may finally become the folder <NUM> with the first folder size on the display screen <NUM>. It can be learned that a process in which the terminal exits the WeChat application is in full correspondence with a process in which the user opens the WeChat application on the home screen. This can improve friendliness of interaction between the terminal and the user while helping the user locate the WeChat application.

When the folder <NUM> is in the open state, the folder <NUM> includes an icon of at least one application, for example, the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application. In this case, a size of the icon <NUM> of the WeChat application is a third icon size. Optionally, the third icon size may be equal to the size of the folder <NUM> in the closed state (namely, the first folder size).

It may be understood that after the moment T2, a graph such as the icon of the WeChat application may be further used as the scale element. In addition, in a time period from T1 to T2, the terminal may use any point on the folder <NUM> in the open state as the scale center, and after the moment T2, the terminal may use any point on the folder <NUM> in the closed state as the scale center. A specific form of the scale element and a specific location of the scale center corresponding to the scale element are not limited in this embodiment of this application.

It may be understood that, in step S1404, the terminal receives the second operation for exiting the second application, automatically scales down the application screen of the second application, and finally displays the display screen. The display screen includes the folder in which the icon of the second application is located.

After the application screen of the second application is automatically scaled down, the application screen of the second application may be automatically changed to the folder in the open state after a preset time (for example, <NUM> milliseconds), and then the folder in the open state may be automatically changed to the folder in the closed state. The folder in the closed state is displayed on the display screen, and the icon of the second application is located in the folder in the closed state.

After the application screen of the second application is automatically scaled down, the application screen of the second application may be automatically changed to the folder in the closed state after a preset time (for example, <NUM> milliseconds). The folder in the closed state is displayed on the display screen, and the icon of the second application is located in the folder in the closed state.

In addition to using time as a determining condition for determining whether to change the scale element, the terminal may determine, based on a size of the scale element, to change the scale element. For example, in a process in which the terminal gradually scales down the application screen <NUM>, if the terminal detects that an area of the application screen <NUM> is less than a threshold, the terminal may replace the application screen <NUM> with the folder <NUM> as the scale element and continue to scale down the folder <NUM>. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

In some other embodiments of this application, when exiting the second application, the terminal may further add a scale-up and scale-down animation effect, a fade-in and fade-out animation effect, or the like to the display background (for example, the display screen <NUM> or the display screen <NUM>). This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

According to steps S1401 to S1404, regardless of whether the user opens the second application from the folder on the home screen or the user opens the second application by using a target entrance other than the home screen, when exiting the second application, the terminal may return to the display screen on which the folder of the second application is located, to guide the user to quickly and accurately locate the second application on the home screen.

Some other embodiments of this application disclose a terminal. As shown in <FIG>, the terminal may include a touchscreen <NUM>, one or more processors <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a plurality of applications <NUM>, and one or more computer programs <NUM>. The touchscreen <NUM> includes a touch-sensitive surface <NUM> and a display <NUM>. The foregoing components may be connected by using one or more communications buses <NUM>.

The one or more computer programs <NUM> are stored in the memory <NUM> and are executed by the one or more processors <NUM>. The one or more computer programs <NUM> include an instruction, and the instruction may be used to perform the steps in the corresponding embodiment in <FIG> or <FIG>.

When each function module is obtained through division based on each corresponding function, <FIG> is a possible schematic structural diagram of the terminal in the foregoing embodiment, and the terminal may include an obtaining unit <NUM>, a display unit <NUM>, and a processing unit <NUM>.

The obtaining unit <NUM> is configured to support the terminal to perform S801 and S803 shown in <FIG> and S1401 and S1403 shown in <FIG>. The display unit <NUM> and the processing unit <NUM> are configured to support the terminal to perform S802 and S804 shown in <FIG> and S1402 and S1404 shown in <FIG>. All related content of the steps in the foregoing method embodiments may be cited in function descriptions of corresponding function modules.

An embodiment of this application further provides a computer storage medium. The computer storage medium stores computer program code. When the processor executes the computer program code, the terminal performs related method steps in <FIG> or <FIG> to implement the display method when an application is exited in the foregoing embodiments.

An embodiment of this application further provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to perform the related method steps in <FIG> or <FIG> to implement the display method when an application is exited in the foregoing embodiments.

The terminal, the computer storage medium, or the computer program product provided in the embodiments of this application are all configured to perform the foregoing corresponding methods. Therefore, for beneficial effects that can be achieved, refer to the beneficial effects in the foregoing corresponding methods.

It should be noted that the first application and the second application mentioned above are merely intended to distinguish between different embodiments, and should not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present invention. In different embodiments, the first application and the second application may be a same application, or certainly may be different applications.

It may be understood that the embodiments of the present invention are described based on the accompanying drawings in this specification. Each of the accompanying drawings in the specification may be understood as an embodiment.

The foregoing descriptions about implementations allow a person skilled in the art to understand that, for the purpose of convenient and brief description, division of the foregoing function modules is taken as an example for illustration. In actual application, the foregoing functions can be allocated to different modules and implemented according to a requirement, that is, an inner structure of an apparatus is divided into different function modules to implement all or some of the functions described above. For a detailed working process of the foregoing apparatus and unit, refer to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments.

Function units in the embodiments of this application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in a form of hardware, or may be implemented in a form of software and hardware.

When a function the integrated unit is implemented in the form of software and sold or used as an independent product, the integrated unit may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or all or some of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or some of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of this application. The foregoing storage medium includes any medium that can store program code, such as a flash memory, a removable hard disk, a random access memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

Claim 1:
A display method when an application is exited, comprising:
receiving, by a terminal, a keyword entered by a user into a search bar;
displaying, by the terminal, a search result associated with the keyword;
receiving, by the terminal, a first operation on an icon of a first application for opening the first application from the search result;
opening, by the terminal, the first application in response to the first operation;
receiving, by the terminal, a second operation of the user for exiting the first application; and
exiting, by the terminal, the first application in response to the second operation, and displaying a display screen (<NUM>) on which an icon of the first application is located, wherein a size of the icon of the first application on the display screen (<NUM>) is a first size; characterised in that the exiting, by the terminal, the first application in response to the second operation, and displaying the
display screen (<NUM>) on which an icon of the first application is located comprises:
scaling down, by the terminal, an application screen of the first application in response to the second operation, increasing the transparency of the application screen of the first application, and displaying the display screen (<NUM>) on which the icon of the first application is located;
wherein after the scaling down, by the terminal, an application screen of the first application, and before the displaying the display screen (<NUM>) on which the icon of the first application is located, the method further comprises:
changing, by the terminal, the scaled-down application screen to an icon of the first application with a second size, wherein the second size is not less than the first size.