Patent ID: 8479102

Claim:
An apparatus for setting a user interface according to user preferences, the apparatus comprising: a user-interface-configuration unit which is configured to be notified of a reconfiguration of at least one of appearance, position, and functionality of a user interface element by a user; a user-information-management unit which manages security information of the user that reconfigures the user interface element; and a user-interface-tree-management unit implemented on a computer which reconfigures a corresponding element in a user-interface tree based on the reconfiguration of the user interface element, wherein if the apparatus detects change made by the user to the user interface element, the user interface configuration unit is notified of the reconfiguration to the corresponding element stored in the user-interface tree and the user-interface tree is modified based on the detected change, wherein the user-interface tree is a hierarchical tree comprising a device types level, and wherein the user-interface tree comprises information about at least two different devices.