Patent ID: 8504937

Claim:
A method for displaying data to users in a computer system in which a plurality of different tasks are being concurrently executed, comprising the steps of: displaying each of said plurality of different tasks in the form of either an open window or a minimized representation of the corresponding task, wherein only one of said two forms of display is visible for each corresponding one of said plurality of tasks respectively, and only one of the different tasks is an open window at a time such that each other one of the different tasks is displayed as a minimized representation of the corresponding task; presenting a first task of the different tasks using an open window for the first task and a second task of the different tasks using a minimized representation of the second task, the first task being an active task and the second task being an inactive task; detecting user selection of the minimized representation of the second, inactive task, wherein the user selection is a normal user selection or a modified user selection; and in response to detection of the normal user selection, automatically swapping states of the first and second tasks by inactivating the first task and displaying the inactive first task in the form of the minimized representation of that inactive first task, while activating the second task and displaying the active second task in the form of an open window; and in response to detection of the modified user selection maintaining the open window for the first task and concurrently displaying a second open window for the second task.