DISPLAYING DISPLAY AREAS ON A DESKTOP

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for displaying display areas on a desktop comprising the following method steps: Receiving data to create and display a windowed display area, creating the windowed display area based on the received data by assigning a unique window handle from a predetermined group of window handles and a unique display identifier different from the window handles, saving the assignment of the windowed display area's display identifier to the windowed display area, saving the windowed display area's display identifier at a predetermined position in a hierarchical list, displaying the windowed display area on the desktop, receiving data to create and display a windowless display area, creating the windowless display area based on the received data by assigning a unique display identifier different from the window handles.Saving the mapping of the windowless display area's display identifier to the windowless display area, saving the windowless display area's display identifier at a predetermined position in the hierarchical list, displaying the windowless display area on the desktop.

[0002] In computer science, the term "desktop" refers to the lowest, rearmost, or final level of the entire display area of ​​graphical user interfaces. It contains closed documents in the form of files and open documents, typically in windows. While the term "desktop" is not used in German, common synonyms include "Schreibtisch" (desk) or "Arbeitsfläche" (workspace).

[0003] Operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, require means to access operating system functions and the applications running within them. These means make the operating system and its applications accessible and usable, for example, by controlling a display area on the desktop, such as a window. To control such a window or retrieve information about it, the window must be assigned a unique identifier. This unique identifier is generally called a "window handle." The maximum number of window handles is limited, depending on the specific operating system.

[0004] In applications that require a large number of different display areas and therefore a large number of windows, exceeding the maximum number of allowed window handles can lead to an operating system crash or at least prevent the generation of new windows and thus new display areas, potentially making it impossible to meet the application's requirements. This problem arises, for example, when displaying measurement data from instruments for real-time measurement data in hardware-in-the-loop applications. Here, it is sometimes necessary to display or at least maintain a large number of different display areas.In practice, it has been shown that under Microsoft Windows the limited number of window handles restricts the application possibilities of visualization and experimentation software, such as the applicant's product "ControlDesk," to such an extent that the actual possibilities of the software cannot be fully exploited.

[0005] ControlDesk is software used, among other things, to visualize bus systems such as CAN, LIN, FlexRay, and Ethernet on a computer system. Especially when used with Ethernet, very high data volumes are possible, which can require a large number of different display areas. ControlDesk allows multiple simulation, ECU, and bus parameters to be quickly and compactly displayed in a multi-line instrument using a single drag-and-drop action. Plotter instruments allow users to observe ongoing measurements and compare them with previous recordings. A time cursor allows users to jump to any point in the data. Multiple plotters can be synchronized while scrolling. The plotter can be switched to a triggered display, for example, to more easily analyze high-frequency signals, similar to an oscilloscope.for evaluating the step response of a system. Overall, ControlDesk is an extremely powerful tool with a multitude of functions and possibilities, which, due to the very large amount of data it can handle, further exacerbates the aforementioned problem of the limited number of handles.

[0006] As described, for example, in EP 2 034 407 A1, a possible solution in such cases is to configure some of these display areas as windowless. A windowless display area is a display area that does not have its own window handle assigned to it and to which a so-called container or parent window provides a shared window handle. In other words, the container with a window handle provides the basis for a multitude of windowless display areas without consuming an additional window handle with each new display area.

[0007] Furthermore, DE 692 205 83 T2 describes a sequencer device for determining a sequence of two-dimensional display areas. A forward and a reverse direction are defined, thus creating a hierarchy between windowed display areas. The user can then "scroll" between the display areas according to the forward or reverse direction.

[0008] WO 01 / 95041 A1 generally describes a user interface for the provision of real-time process data with an open display page structure and the separation of data provision and server-specific user interactions.

[0009] Windowless display areas and windowed display areas have a crucial difference: Windowed display areas are hidden from each other by the operating system (as in Microsoft Windows) to establish a hierarchy. The content of a windowed display area is automatically overwritten as soon as another windowed display area is higher up in the hierarchy. Specifically, a windowed display area located higher in the hierarchy overlaps or overwrites the display areas below it. This applies to all child windows of the operating system's desktop, i.e., the windowed content of the desktop. Everything displayed directly on the desktop, such as a background image, program icons, etc., is automatically overwritten by windowed display areas.

[0010] Windowless display areas behave differently. They are displayed directly on top of the parent window, also known as the "container." Here, the hierarchy is defined solely by the order in which they are displayed. The last displayed display area appears in the foreground for the viewer. These display areas are unknown to the operating system due to the lack of directly associated window handles.

[0011] This means that there are display areas on the layout that are not represented by a window and therefore not by a window handle. A mixed operation of windowed and windowless display areas would thus result in windowed display areas always overriding the underlying area of ​​the layout. It would therefore not be possible to display a windowless display area in front of a windowed display area.

[0012] Based on this, the object of the invention is to provide an efficient way for mixed operation with windowed display areas and windowless display areas.

[0013] This problem is solved by the subject matter of claim 1. Preferred embodiments are found in the dependent claims.

[0014] According to the invention, a method for displaying display areas on a desktop is provided, comprising the following process steps: Receiving data to create and display a windowed display area, creating the windowed display area based on the received data by assigning a unique window handle from a predetermined group of window handles and a unique display identifier different from the window handles, Saving the mapping of the windowed display area's display identifier to the windowed display area, saving the windowed display area's display identifier at a predetermined position in a hierarchical list, displaying the windowed display area on the desktop, receiving data to create and display a windowless display area, creating the windowless display area based on the received data and mapping a unique display identifier different from the window handles, saving the mapping of the windowless display area's display identifier to the windowless display area, saving the windowless display area's display identifier at a predetermined position in the hierarchical list, displaying the windowless display area on the desktop.where the windowless display area is shown before the windowed display area if, in the hierarchical list, the position of the display identifier of the windowless display area is hierarchically prior to the position of the display identifier of the windowed display area, and vice versa.

[0015] When it is stated that a display area on the desktop is shown in front of or behind another display area, this means that a display area in front of another display area covers the display area below it in the overlap area of ​​the two display areas, so that only the in front display area is visible. This is essentially the position of a display area on the desktop in the z-direction, which is perpendicular to the plane of the desktop, where the plane of the desktop is spanned by the x- and y-directions. The x- and y-coordinates of a display area are referred to below as its "location on the desktop," while the position of a display area with respect to its relative z-coordinate, according to the hierarchy given by the list, is referred to below as its "order on the desktop."This order on the desktop therefore determines whether one display area is in front of or behind another display area, and thus what is displayed by the respective display area due to overlaps by other display areas.

[0016] The invention thus makes it possible to display windowless areas on the desktop even when the desktop also contains windowed areas. This is achieved by using display identifiers in addition to window handles, which are stored in a hierarchical list. A windowless area is displayed before a windowed area if, in the hierarchical list, the position of the windowless area's display identifier is hierarchically prior to the position of the windowed area's display identifier, and vice versa. Theoretically, this allows for an infinite number of different display areas, since they can be designed as fully functional display areas without requiring a window handle, of which only a limited number are available.

[0017] Preferably, the method comprises the following additional process steps: Receiving data to create and display another display area, creating the additional display area based on the received data and assigning a unique display identifier different from the window handles, saving the assignment of the additional display area's display identifier to the additional display area, saving the additional display area's display identifier at a predetermined position in the hierarchical list, and displaying the additional display area on the desktop relative to the windowed display area and the windowless display area according to the hierarchical position of the additional display area's display identifier relative to the hierarchical position of the windowed display area's display identifier and the hierarchical position of the windowless display area's display identifier in the hierarchical list.

[0018] In general, this means that, according to this preferred embodiment of the invention, there can be a multitude of additional display areas for which the order on the desktop is determined by the inventive method, i.e., without resorting to window handles, which are only available in limited quantities. The additional display area can be windowed or windowless; if it is windowed, a window handle is naturally assigned, although the order on the desktop is nevertheless determined by the respective display identifier in the hierarchical list. These steps of the method can be repeated for additional display areas; in the case of windowless display areas, in principle, any number of times.

[0019] According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the method comprises the following additional process steps: Receiving data to create and display a first additional windowless display area within a display area already displayed on the desktop, creating the first additional windowless display area based on the received data and assigning a unique display identifier different from the window handles, saving the assignment of the display identifier of the first additional windowless display area to the first additional windowless display area, saving the display identifier of the first additional windowless display area at a predetermined location in a hierarchical sublist associated with the already displayed display area, displaying the first additional windowless display area within the display area already displayed on the desktop.Receiving data to create and display a second windowless display area within the display area already displayed on the desktop; creating the second windowless display area based on the received data and assigning it a unique display identifier different from the window handles; saving the assignment of the display identifier of the second windowless display area to the second windowless display area; saving the display identifier of the second windowless display area at a predetermined position in the hierarchical sublist associated with the already displayed display area; displaying the second windowless display area within the display area already displayed on the desktop, with the first windowless display area being displayed before the second windowless display area.If, in the sublist assigned to the already displayed display area, the position of the display identifier of the first additional windowless display area is hierarchically prior to the position of the second additional windowless display identifier of the windowed display area, and vice versa.

[0020] In this way, what can be described as the "container function" of a display area is realized. This display area, acting as a container, can be windowless or windowed. Naturally, further windowless display areas, such as a third, fourth, and so on, can also be displayed within the container. From the outside, i.e., in relation to display areas outside the container, the display areas within the container are treated in the same way as the container itself with regard to the display hierarchy.

[0021] In principle, the display area already shown on the desktop, in which further windowless display areas are shown, could be windowed. However, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the display area already shown on the desktop, in which further windowless display areas are shown, is windowless. Here again, the advantage is that there can be any number of windowless display areas, as there is no numerical limit due to window handles.

[0022] The invention offers various methods for storing the display identifier of a newly created display area in the hierarchical list. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the display identifier of a newly created display area is stored at the topmost position in the hierarchical list. In this way, a newly created display area is always immediately visible, since it is displayed before all other display areas due to the position of its display identifier in the hierarchical list. Additionally or alternatively, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the display identifier of a display area selected on the desktop with a pointing device is stored at the topmost position in the hierarchical list.To display a display area, this display area can therefore be easily selected, e.g. by clicking on it, using a pointing device such as a computer mouse.

[0023] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises the following process steps: Positioning a display area at a predetermined location on the layout, determining all the areas of the other display areas shown on the desktop that overlap with the display area positioned at the predetermined location, and cutting out these overlapping areas of the other display areas so that the display area positioned at the predetermined location on the layout is fully visible.

[0024] This allows a windowless display area to be shown, having been moved to the top of the display area order. Similarly, a windowed display area can also be treated this way, as it must check its window for overlaps and update its cropping function if the windowed display area changes its position on the desktop. Furthermore, this function can also be used with the containers described above: When setting the location of a display area within a container (a child display area within the parent container), the container's outer boundaries are checked. If a child display area extends beyond the container, it is cropped accordingly.

[0025] In principle, the displays on the desktop, i.e., the various display areas on the desktop, can be based on different types of data. However, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method comprises the following process steps: Continuously receiving data to update the displays of a display area shown on the desktop, updating the displays of the display area shown on the desktop based on the continuously received data, and shrinking or hiding the display area at a user command, whereby the continuous receipt of data is interrupted for the shrunken or hidden display area.

[0026] Continuous data reception means that new data, such as current measurement data, is constantly being received. This reception can occur continuously, at a predetermined interval, or event-driven. A display area is preferably minimized to a desktop icon (i.e., without any other visible content) or to a simple window bar, for example, by collapsing it, possibly with a label indicating the display area in the window bar. When a container is minimized or hidden, all display areas within that container are no longer shown, and the continuous reception of data for those areas is interrupted. This interruption of data reception ends when the display area, i.e., the container, is reopened, for example, by expanding it.

[0027] The method can be used for a wide variety of applications. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the display areas are used to display measurement data instruments for real-time measurement data in hardware-in-the-loop applications. Windowless display areas within a container are particularly preferred for this purpose.

[0028] The invention will now be explained in more detail using a preferred embodiment and with reference to the drawings.

[0029] The drawings show Fig. 1 schematically shows a desktop with two instruments formed by conventional windowed display areas and an empty, non-windowed container instrument according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 schematically shows a desktop with one large instrument formed by a conventional windowed display area and an empty, non-windowed container instrument according to another preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 3 shows a section of the desktop. Fig. 2 , where the large instrument has been added to the non-windowed container instrument, and Fig. 4 the desktop from Fig. 1 , whereby a number of instruments have been added to the non-windowed container instrument, some of which are also designed as container instruments.

[0030] Before describing a preferred embodiment of the invention, for the sake of completeness, the underlying problem should be briefly mentioned again. For the purposes of this description, it is assumed that the application runs under the Microsoft Windows operating system. Of course, the use of other operating systems, such as macOS or Linux, is also possible within the scope of the present invention.

[0031] Windowless and windowed display areas differ significantly: Windowed display areas are hidden from each other by the operating system (as in Microsoft Windows) to establish a hierarchy. Anything displayed directly on the desktop, such as a background image, program icons, etc., is automatically overridden by windowed display areas. Windowless display areas, on the other hand, behave differently: They are displayed directly on top of a parent window (container). Here, the hierarchy is determined solely by the display order. The last displayed display area appears in the foreground. These display areas are unknown to the operating system due to the lack of directly assigned window handles. This means, however, that there are display areas on the layout that are not represented by a window handle.Without further measures, a mixed operation of windowed and windowless display areas could lead to windowed display areas always overwriting the underlying area of ​​the layout, making it impossible to display a windowless display area in front of a windowed display area.

[0032] This is where the container instrument described below comes into play, according to the present preferred embodiment of the invention. The application described here is the use of display areas on a desktop to show measurement instruments for real-time measurement data in hardware-in-the-loop applications. The container instrument is designed as a windowless display area. Individual instruments can be added to this container instrument as child display areas, which are held within the container, thus making it the parent display area. These instruments are then managed within the container instrument and displayed within the display area defined by the container instrument. This makes them independent of the layout; for example, they can be moved and / or scrolled without directly affecting the layout.

[0033] As mentioned, the container instrument is windowless, meaning it doesn't require a window handle. Since the number of window handles is limited system-wide and cannot be increased, this conserves resources and, in principle, allows for an unlimited number of simultaneous uses.

[0034] Furthermore, additional container instruments can be used within the container instrument itself. This allows a single container instrument to completely replace multiple instruments. It also makes it easy to create instruments that don't yet exist.

[0035] The contents of the container instrument can be hidden. This means that the container instrument can be collapsed, for example. Only a minimal representation of the instrument then remains on the desktop. This desktop representation of the instrument can be freely configured.

[0036] It is particularly resource-efficient if collapsing the container instrument results in all instruments contained within it being isolated from the data display during a measurement. This means that these instruments do not burden the overall system's performance, and the user can decide individually what they want to see. The user can configure how the instrument should behave, such as whether it should automatically zoom in and out, scroll, and whether the contained instruments can be modified, etc.

[0037] Resource / performance issues are currently addressed in the prior art by using a layout that contains only a small portion of the instruments and distributing them across multiple layouts, which are then opened or closed as needed. Space constraints on the layout are typically resolved by scrolling or moving displays to other layouts. This is no longer necessary when the container instrument is used according to the preferred embodiment of the invention described herein, where, when the display area is collapsed / reduced in size, no data is received for the instruments that are not displayed.

[0038] Specifically, the container element described above can be designed as follows: Fig. 1 Desktop 1 shows two instruments 2 and 3, which are formed by conventional windowed display areas. Furthermore, an empty container instrument 4 is present on Desktop 1. As can be seen from... Fig. 1 As can be seen, the container instrument 4 described here essentially looks like an empty instrument, i.e., an instrument without a display of measurement data or similar.

[0039] Another example of a Desktop 1 with a Container Element 4 shows Fig. 2 . Desktop 1 shows in Fig. 2 Additionally, a very large Instrument 5 is added, which occupies most of Desktop 1. If you now add this large Instrument 5, as in Fig. 3 When the container instrument 4 is added, the displays of the large instrument 5 remain fundamentally available, albeit in a smaller space if desired. Specifically, the entire content of the large instrument 5 has been removed. Fig. 2 Added to container instrument 4. As you can see, this results in a significant space saving, since container instrument 4 can be shrunk down and then scroll bars 6 are displayed to access the hidden instrument areas.

[0040] The advantage of Container Instrument 4 becomes even clearer when Container Instruments 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are used within Container Instrument 4, as exemplified in Fig. 4 The following are shown: Various instruments 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 were added to the container instrument 4. Fig. 1Added. It can be seen that individual areas can be scrolled, thus requiring only a predefined amount of space and maintaining a predefined structure within the layout. Furthermore, it becomes clear that instruments 7, 10, and 12 within container instrument 4 can be scrolled locally, without affecting other instruments 7, 8, 9, and 11 within container instrument 4, nor other instruments 2 and 3 outside of container instrument 4.

[0041] Container instruments can be nested with other container instruments at any level. This means that each container instrument can contain any number of other container instruments, which in turn can contain any number of other container instruments. Container instruments can be used simultaneously without limit, can represent any number of levels, do not consume window handles, and use very little memory. Furthermore, hidden instruments can be "switched off" to the point where they consume almost no resources. This frees up more resources for the system / application.

[0042] In this case, it is possible to place windowless instruments, corresponding to windowless display areas, above or in front of instruments with windows, corresponding to windowed instruments.

[0043] Display areas. The associated problem mentioned above is solved as follows: Each instrument, regardless of whether it has windows or not, is assigned a unique display identifier upon creation, distinct from the window handles. A hierarchical list of these display identifiers is stored, along with the assignment of each identifier to a specific instrument. The position of each display identifier in this hierarchical list determines the order of the instruments on the layout, i.e., whether an instrument is displayed before or after another. In this case, the first element in the list is at the very top of the layout. The instrument in the foreground occupies the position at the very beginning of the list. If an instrument moves forward, it is placed further forward in the list accordingly. This results in a clear and consistent order.

[0044] When setting the location of an instrument on the layout, i.e., its x and y coordinates, all underlying instruments that overlap with it are searched for. This is possible due to the hierarchical list. This yields the unique display identifier and thus, in turn, the corresponding instrument, allowing its position to be queried.

[0045] Once all overlapping instruments have been found and saved in a list, an additional list of overlapping instruments is created. For each instrument in this list, the shared area is clipped from the respective instrument. Under the Microsoft Windows operating system, this can be done, for example, using the Windows API function "SetWindowRgn(...)". This allows a windowless instrument to appear in front of a windowed instrument, as the clipped area of ​​the instrument is no longer drawn by the operating system. In other words, the area behind the windowed instrument becomes visible, and thus also the instrument itself, which continues to be drawn directly on the layout but appears to the user in front of the windowed instrument. Similarly, a windowed instrument checks its display area for overlaps when it changes its position on the layout and modifies its clipping accordingly.

[0046] This is precisely the technology used by the container instrument to display both windowed and windowless instruments. The container instrument itself is windowless and behaves like any other windowless instrument, allowing it to be drawn in front of windowed instruments. Therefore, it only needs to manage its own content, the child instruments. In essence, the instrument acts as a windowless parent instrument for the instruments it can display.

[0047] Additionally, when a child instrument is positioned, the container instrument checks whether the child instrument clips to its outer boundaries. If a window extends beyond the container instrument (checked using "ClientRectangle"), it is clipped using the "SetWindowRgn(...)" function. When collapsed, all child instruments are no longer drawn and are therefore no longer visible. The windows of windowed instruments are hidden using the Windows API function "ShowWindow".

[0048] When expanded, all child instruments are drawn normally again, and the display areas of windowed instruments are made visible again using the WindowsAPI function "ShowWindow". Reference symbol list

[0049] 1 Desktop 2 Instrument 3 Instrument 4 Container instrument with any instruments displayed within it 5 Large instrument 6 Scroll bar 7 Instrument within container instrument 8 Instrument within container instrument 9 Instrument within container instrument 10 Instrument within container instrument 11 Instrument within container instrument 12 Instrument within container instrument

Claims

1. A method for representing display areas (2, 3, 4) on a desktop (1) having the following method steps: - receiving data for creating and showing a windowed display area (2, 3), - creating the windowed display area (2, 3) based on the data received for the same by assigning a unique window handle from a predetermined group of window handles and a unique display identifier different from the window handles, - saving the assignment of the display identifier of the windowed display area (2, 3) to the windowed display area (2, 3), - saving the display identifier of the windowed display area (2, 3) at a predetermined position in a hierarchical list, - displaying the windowed display area (2, 3) on the desktop (1), - receiving data for creating and showing a windowless display area (4), - creating the windowless display area (4) based on the data received for the same by assigning a unique display identifier different from the window handles, - saving the assignment of the display identifier of the windowless display area (4) to the windowless display area, - saving the display identifier of the windowless display area (4) at a predetermined position in the hierarchical list, - displaying the windowless display area (4) on the desktop (1), the windowless display area (4) being shown before the windowed display area (2, 3) if the position of the display identifier of the windowless display area (4) lies hierarchically before the position of the display identifier of the windowed display area (2, 3) in the hierarchical list, and vice versa.

2. The method according to claim 1, having the following additional method steps: - receiving data for creating and showing another display area, - creating the additional display area based on the data received for the same by assigning a unique display identifier different from the window handles, - saving the assignment of the display identifier of the additional display area to the additional display area, - saving the display identifier of the additional display area at a predefined position in the hierarchical list, - displaying the further display area on the desktop relative to the windowed display area (2, 3) and the windowless display area (4) according to the hierarchical position of the display identifier of the further display area relative to the hierarchical position of the display identifier of the windowed display area (2, 3) and the hierarchical position of the display identifier of the windowless display area (4) in the hierarchical list.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, having the following additional method steps: - receiving data for creating and showing a first additional windowless display area (7) within a display area (4) already shown on the desktop (1), - creating the first additional windowless display area (7) based on the data received for the same by assigning a unique display identifier different from the window handles, - saving the assignment of the display identifier of the first further windowless display area (7) to the first further windowless display area (7), - saving the display identifier of the first further windowless display area (7) at a predetermined position in a hierarchical sub-list assigned to the already shown display area (4), - displaying the first additional windowless display area (7) within the display area (4) already shown on the desktop, - receiving data for creating and showing a second additional windowless display area (10) within the display area (4) already shown on the desktop (1), - creating the second further windowless display area (10) based on the data received for the same by assigning a unique display identifier different from the window handles, - saving the assignment of the display identifier of the second further windowless display area (10) to the second further windowless display area (10), - saving the display identifier of the second further windowless display area (10) at a predetermined position in the hierarchical sub-list assigned to the already shown display area, - displaying the second further windowless display area within the display area (4) already shown on the desktop (1), the first further windowless display area (7) being shown before the second further windowless display area (10) if the position of the display identifier of the first further windowless display area (7) lies hierarchically before the position of the second further windowless display identifier of the windowed display area (10) in the sublist assigned to the display area already shown, and vice versa.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the display area (4) already shown on the desktop (1), in which further windowless display areas (7, 10) are shown, is windowless.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, having the following method step: - saving the display identifier of a newly created display area (10) at the top of the hierarchical list.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, having the following method step: - saving the display identifier of a display area (10) selected by means of a pointing device on the desktop at the top of the hierarchical list.

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, having the following method steps: - disposing a display area (4) at a predetermined location on the layout 1), - determining all the areas of the other display areas (2, 3) shown on the desktop that overlap the display area (4) located at the predetermined location, and - cutting out said overlapping areas of the other display areas (2, 3) so that the display area (4) disposed at the predetermined location on the layout is completely visible.

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, having the following additional method steps: - continuously receiving data for updating the displays of a display area shown on the desktop (4), - updating the displays of the display area (4) shown on the desktop based on the continuously received data, and - minimizing or hiding the display area (4) in response to a user command, wherein the continuous reception of data is interrupted for the minimized or hidden display area (4).

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the display areas (2, 3, 4) are used for displaying measurement data instruments for real-time measurement data in hardware-in-the-loop applications.