Design Guide Distance Measurement in Application Development
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current application development environments face challenges in accurately measuring and displaying distances between design guides on a design canvas, which increases the time and cost of creating applications, especially in strict, rules-based designs and when using different units of measurement.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that allows application development environments to measure and display distances between design guides on a design canvas, enabling designers to select screen areas and view distances in various units such as inches, centimeters, or percentages, with features like modifier keys, hovering, or right-click options to toggle measurement displays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If additional rulers are added to assist designers measure distances and sizes, then measurement capability is improved, but device complexity and time to manipulate UI elements increases
Solution Approach 1:
The design guide itself provides measurement functionality by automatically displaying distance information when selected, eliminating the need for separate measurement tools. The design guide serves both its original alignment function and the new measurement function, reducing overall system complexity while improving measurement capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the measurement function with the design guide UI element, merging what were previously separate functions (design guide placement and distance measurement) into a single integrated component. This reduces the number of separate UI elements the designer must manipulate.
2Measurement precision
If designers manually manipulate UI elements to obtain layout information, then measurement accuracy is improved, but time required for application creation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-configures design guides with automatic measurement display capability, so that when a designer selects a design guide, the distance information is immediately available without requiring the designer to perform additional manual measurement actions. This preliminary setup of measurement functionality reduces time during the design process.
Solution Approach 2:
The design guide automatically displays its own distance measurements when selected, eliminating the need for the designer to manually manipulate separate measurement tools. The system serves the designer's measurement needs automatically through the design guide's inherent properties.
3Manufacturing precision
If design guides are used for strict rules-based design, then manufacturing precision is improved, but ease of operation decreases due to multiple measurement units
Solution Approach 1:
The design guide serves multiple functions: it provides alignment guidance, displays distances in multiple units (pixels, inches, centimeters, percentages), and supports both strict rules-based design and flexible design approaches. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate tools into a single versatile element.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows designers to change the measurement parameter (unit of measurement) based on the specific design requirements. Designers can switch between pixels for precise positioning, inches/cm for physical layout, or percentages for responsive design, adapting the measurement parameter to the task at hand without changing the fundamental design guide functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is directed to a system and method for providing interface layout information related to one or more interface objects. As the designer places various design guides on the design canvas to assist in spacing and laying out interface objects, the ADE maintains a list of distances between each guide. When the user selects a desired screen area within the design canvas, the ADE displays selected distances for one or more of the design guides associated with the selected screen area.