Expandable Application Representation for Non-Modal Interaction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing number of applications on computing devices hinders user interaction, as users face challenges in locating and accessing desired information due to the abundance of installed applications, leading to significant navigation time.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of expandable application representation techniques that allow for non-modal interaction at the root level of the file system, enabling users to access additional information and functionality without leaving the start menu, through gestures and animations, and inclusion in the taskbar for seamless content sharing and interaction between different shells of the operating system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users install a large number of applications on their computing device, then application availability and ease of access increase, but navigation time and difficulty in locating desired information increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the application interface into expandable representations that can be toggled between compact and expanded states. This allows the start menu to present a condensed view for quick scanning while providing expanded views with additional information and functionality, reducing the time needed to locate and interact with applications without sacrificing available information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension to the interface by implementing expandable representations that can dynamically transition between states. This allows information to be organized in a compact form for rapid navigation while providing expanded forms with additional details on demand, effectively adding a time-based layer to the spatial organization of applications.
2Ease of operation
If users interact with applications through traditional modal navigation, then application functionality is accessed, but interaction efficiency decreases due to leaving the root level
Solution Approach 1:
The expandable representation acts as an intermediary between the start menu and the application itself. It provides a middle ground where users can access additional information, controls, and functionality without fully launching the application or leaving the root level, thereby reducing navigation time while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by providing expanded representations that allow users to perform certain actions and access information before fully launching an application. Users can preview content, adjust settings, or interact with basic functions in the expanded representation, reducing the need for subsequent navigation within the application itself.
Data Source
AI summary
Expandable application representation techniques are described. The techniques may include support of an expandable tile that may function as an intermediary within a root level (e.g., start menu or screen) of a file system. The expandable tile, for instance, may be output via a gesture to gain additional information that was not included in an unexpanded version of the tile, may be utilized to provide inputs to an application such that a user, and so on. Thus, this may support non-modal interaction by a user. Techniques are also described in which the expanded representation is included in a taskbar, which may also be used for non-modal interaction, sending of content represented in the representation to a device or application, continuation of interaction initiated with the representation by a mobile computing device, and so on. Expandable tile techniques may also be utilized to support interaction between shells of an operating system, such as a desktop and immersive shell. Further description of these and other examples involving and not involving an expandable tile are also contemplated.