Patent ID: 8487937

Claim:
A computer-readable memory bearing computer-executable instructions which, when executed on a computer system having a graphical user interface, carry out a method for displaying a static animation image in response to an animation sequence for a displayed object that occurs on the computer system, the method comprising each of the following: determining an initial state of the displayed object prior to the animation sequence; determining a final state of the displayed object at the end of the animation sequence; determining transition aspects between the initial state and the final state, wherein determining the transition aspects between the initial state and the final state comprises determining a transition path of the displayed object from its initial state to its final state according to the animation sequence and determining a transition path of the displayed object from its initial state to its final state comprises generating a pseudo path, the pseudo path displaying transition corresponding to an action or manipulation of an object, the action or manipulation occurring in generally the same location, the displaying being in a manner that, at least in part, avoids occluding the initial state and the transition aspects, and the pseudo path being oblique to the path of the displayed object during the animation sequence; generating a static animation image, the static animation image simultaneously providing the transition aspects of the final state and including representative images of the initial state, the transition aspects, and the final state, the static animation image representing the entire animation sequence in static form from the initial state to the final state such that the static animation provides a retrospective view of the animation sequence; and outputting the static animation image for display on the graphical user interface in lieu of animation.