Patent ID: 8527894

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of navigating a graphical user interface (GUI), the method comprising: responsive to a user input initiating a navigation mode, overlaying, atop of the GUI located within a first layer, a virtual keyboard within a second layer, wherein the virtual keyboard comprises a plurality of virtual keys; for each virtual key, associating the virtual key with a region of the first layer comprising an area of the GUI beneath the virtual key; mapping each virtual key with a physical key of a physical keyboard communicatively linked with a computer rendering the GUI; responsive to a user input selecting a physical key of the physical keyboard, selecting a region corresponding to the selected physical key and increasing a level of magnification for the selected region within the first layer while keeping the virtual keyboard sizing constant, and assigning one of a plurality of programmatic actions to each physical key of the physical keyboard; determining that a virtual key is above an icon within the first layer and, in response, changing an appearance of the virtual key to indicate that a selection of a physical key mapped to the virtual key initiates a programmatic action upon the icon; and responsive to a user input selecting the physical key mapped to the virtual key above the icon, initiating the assigned programmatic action on the icon.