Graph Icon Zooming for Context Preservation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for viewing and filtering large datasets of schematized elements often lose the current viewing context when users attempt to view specific data items, requiring users to page through fixed groups or subsets, making it inefficient to find data items with particular attributes.
Innovation Solution
A method and processing device display a graph with thumbnail icons representing data elements, allowing users to zoom in on icons for higher resolution and embedded links, which can replace the icon with the corresponding data element when enlarged beyond a certain point, enabling efficient navigation and retrieval of data items.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If users filter a large data set to obtain a small subset for viewing, then the data set becomes manageable and viewable, but users lose the current viewing context when attempting to view specific data items
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested view structure where a detailed data item view is nested within the broader graph context. When users select a data item, it opens in a panel that can be resized and positioned, allowing the underlying graph to remain partially visible. This nesting approach enables users to examine individual items closely while maintaining awareness of the overall data set context.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a spatial dimension to the interface by allowing the detailed data view to be positioned at different locations around the graph (e.g., top, bottom, left, right). This dimensional flexibility enables users to arrange the detailed view in a way that preserves their preferred view of the graph context, resolving the contradiction between detailed examination and contextual awareness.
2Productivity
If users page through groupings of fixed numbers of data items, then they can systematically search for specific items, but the process becomes inefficient and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements temporary, on-demand detailed views of data items that appear briefly when selected and can be closed or minimized. These detailed views are not permanent replacements for the graph but temporary overlays that provide quick examination capability. Users can rapidly toggle between different items without committing to a fixed pagination structure, significantly reducing the time needed to locate and evaluate specific data items.
3Ease of operation
If the data set is filtered to a small subset, then viewing becomes manageable, but navigation through the original large data set becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic interface where the graph view and detailed data view can continuously adjust their sizes, positions, and visibility states. The graph can be minimized, maximized, or resized dynamically based on user needs. Similarly, the detailed data panel can be positioned at various locations and resized to accommodate different viewing preferences. This dynamic adaptability allows users to seamlessly transition between overview and detailed views without being constrained by fixed filtering or pagination schemes.
Data Source
AI summary
A processing device and method may be provided for displaying a graph, including a number of icons. The icons may be thumbnail images of data elements of a data set. A position of the icons may indicate one or more attribute values of an associated set of attributes. A zooming-in operation may cause at least a portion of the displayed graph to be enlarged, such that at least some of the icons may be presented as enlarged, higher-resolution images. A zooming-out operation may cause the presented enlarged images to be reduced in size and presented in a context of the displayed graph. The enlarged images may include at least one selectable link. In some embodiments, when a displayed image, corresponding to an icon, is enlarged beyond a predetermined amount, the displayed image may be replaced by a corresponding data element of the data set.