Patent ID: 7925996

Claim:
A method for controlling functions of a plurality of elements presented on a display associated with a computing system, comprising the steps of: receiving a first indication that a user has selected a first and a second element presented on a display, wherein the first and second elements comprise operands and wherein the first and second elements are selected simultaneously; receiving a second indication that the user has selected a third and a fourth element presented on the display, wherein the third and fourth elements comprise operators, each operator representing a corresponding function and wherein the third and fourth elements are selected simultaneously; recognizing a plurality of functions performable by the computing system based on the selection of the first, second, third and fourth elements presented on the display; displaying a plurality of graphical images, wherein a first graphical image of the plurality visually connects the first element and a portion of the display associated with the result of the function recognized and a second graphical image of the plurality visually connects the second element and the portion of the display associated with the result of the function recognized, such that at least two distinct graphical images are displayed, each of which touches at least a portion of the selected first and second elements and spans to touch at least a portion of the display portion associated with the functional result of the recognized function on the computer display, and wherein additional graphical images that span to touch a selected element and the portion of the display associated with the result of the function recognized are subsequently displayed each time an additional element has been selected; and performing both of the recognized functions of the third and fourth elements on each of the first and second elements.