Customizable UI Setting Display for Image Forming Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Image forming apparatuses face challenges in presenting a large number of setting items on a single user interface screen, requiring a hierarchical structure with tabbed UI pages, which can be cumbersome for users due to the need for multiple scrolls and complex navigation.
Innovation Solution
A processing apparatus with a function-screen processing unit and a customization-screen processing unit that arranges setting-item elements and allows users to customize which items are displayed, enabling a more intuitive and user-friendly interface by prioritizing frequently changed settings and allowing users to customize the display of setting items on a single screen.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If all setting items are displayed on a single UI screen, then user accessibility to all functions is improved, but screen area requirements and navigation complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The UI screen is segmented into multiple functional regions: a main display area showing setting items, a customization region with a customization button, and a collapsed/expanded state mechanism. This segmentation allows the interface to present essential information clearly while providing access to additional functionality without overwhelming the screen space.
Solution Approach 2:
The customization screen is nested within the main function screen. When the customization button is activated, it expands to reveal additional setting items that were previously hidden or collapsed. This nested structure allows all setting items to be accessible within a single screen context without requiring separate pages or excessive scrolling.
2Device complexity
If setting items are organized in a hierarchical tabbed structure, then screen organization is improved, but navigation complexity and time to access settings increase
Solution Approach 1:
The UI structure transitions from a static tabbed hierarchy to a dynamic single-screen layout. The customization button acts as a dynamic control that, when activated, expands the display to include additional setting items. This dynamic adjustment allows the interface to adapt to user needs in real-time, eliminating the need to navigate between tabs and reducing access time while maintaining organized presentation.
3Ease of operation
If frequently changed settings are prioritized on the main page, then ease of operation is improved, but customization flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides self-service customization through the customization button. Users can independently control which setting items are displayed by activating or deactivating the customization function. This self-service mechanism allows users to prioritize frequently changed settings on the main page while maintaining the flexibility to customize the display according to their specific needs, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A processing apparatus includes a function-screen processing unit and a customization-screen processing unit. The function-screen processing unit arranges setting-item elements in order, the setting-item elements corresponding to respective setting items to be displayed, the setting items being a portion of a group of setting items corresponding to a function provided to a user, and performs processing for presenting, to the user, a function screen on which a customization element for receiving a request for a customization operation is arranged after the arranged group of setting-item elements. The customization-screen processing unit performs, in a case where the user has performed an operation to request the customization operation on the customization element, processing for presenting, to the user, a customization screen through which, for each setting item in the group of setting items, specification of whether the setting item is to be displayed is received.