Collaboration System Viewport Markers for Workspace Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Collaboration systems with large, unbounded workspaces face challenges in efficient navigation, viewing graphical objects as intended, and creating content-specific tools without cluttering the user interface, due to the ability of users to place objects anywhere, making it difficult for others to follow the intended order and view associated information.
Innovation Solution
A system that supports storing and tracking viewports within a collaborative workspace, allowing users to share displayable areas as intended, with network nodes configured to establish communication, store collaboration data, compute mappings, render graphical targets, and provide a user interface to display viewport markers, enabling efficient traversal and organization across devices and locations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users can place graphical objects anywhere in the unbounded workspace, then the workspace flexibility and creativity are improved, but the difficulty of locating and viewing objects as intended increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces viewport markers as intermediary elements that mediate between the unbounded workspace and the user's viewport. These markers serve as navigational aids that indicate where specific viewports (containing graphical objects) are located within the large workspace, making it easier to find and view objects as intended by the creator without restricting where objects can be placed.
2Ease of operation
If the workspace is made essentially unbounded to allow free placement of objects, then the productivity and ease of operation are improved, but the complexity of navigation and organization increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the unbounded workspace into multiple viewports, each representing a specific area or collection of graphical objects. Viewport markers represent these segmented viewports, allowing users to navigate to specific segments rather than searching through the entire unbounded workspace, thus reducing navigation complexity while maintaining placement freedom.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple users access the same large workspace simultaneously, then the collaboration capability is improved, but the difficulty of following intended viewing order and association increases
Solution Approach 1:
Viewport markers serve as intermediaries that carry information about the intended viewing order and associations between graphical objects. When users navigate to these markers, they are directed to the correct viewports in the intended sequence, ensuring that collaborative users can follow the creator's intended viewing order and understand associations between objects even in a shared unbounded workspace.
Data Source
AI summary
A node of a collaboration system is provided to establish communication with other nodes, store data identifying graphical targets having locations in a virtual workspace and including locations in the virtual workspace of the identified graphical targets, and compute a mapping of a local client viewport to a local client screen space. The node is configured to render on the local client screen space graphical targets having locations within the local client viewport, provide a user interface to display a list of viewport markers representing viewports, where each viewport defines an area in the workspace, and respond to an input indicating a selected viewport marker from the list of viewport markers, update the local client viewport to match the location and dimensions of the viewport represented by the selected viewport marker, and render on the local client screen space graphical targets having locations within the updated local client viewport.