GUI Builder Transition Timeline Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of software development tools for creating Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) leads to difficulties in managing and presenting options to designers, requiring them to navigate multiple windows or menus, which complicates the design process and hinders efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A GUI builder within an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that employs a drag-and-drop What You See is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor and transition timeline display area to simplify the creation of GUIs by allowing designers to arrange objects, define transitions, and filter transitions based on current page selection or search queries, streamlining the design process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If software development tools provide comprehensive options and tools for GUI creation, then the functionality and versatility of the tool is improved, but the complexity of the interface and difficulty of managing options increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the comprehensive tool options into context-specific subsets. When a designer selects a particular GUI element or state, the system automatically filters and displays only the relevant tools and options for that specific context, rather than presenting all available options simultaneously. This segmentation reduces interface complexity while maintaining full functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface dynamically adapts its complexity based on the designer's current actions and selections. As the designer works through the GUI creation process, the available tools and options change according to the current state and selected elements, providing the right level of complexity at the right time rather than presenting static comprehensive options throughout.
2Adaptability or versatility
If software development tools provide comprehensive options and tools for GUI creation, then the functionality and versatility of the tool is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the tool options into context-relevant subsets, the system eliminates the need for designers to navigate through unrelated options and menus. Each context presents only the necessary tools, making the operation simpler and more intuitive while preserving access to the full range of functionality when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically determines which tools and options are relevant based on the current design context, eliminating the need for designers to manually search through comprehensive option lists. The interface self-adapts to provide the most useful options first, reducing the cognitive load and operational complexity for the designer.
3Stability of the object's composition
If software development tools require navigation through multiple windows or menus to access tools, then the organization of options is maintained, but the productivity of the designer decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the navigation structure with the workspace by presenting relevant tools and options directly within the current design context rather than requiring separate windows or menu hierarchies. This consolidation maintains logical organization through context-aware filtering while eliminating unnecessary navigation steps, thereby increasing designer productivity.
4Loss of information
If the interface presents all available options and tools, then completeness of information is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring relevant options increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the complete set of options into context-relevant subsets that are automatically filtered based on the current design state and selections. This segmentation makes relevant options easily detectable while preserving access to the complete set of functionality through organized, context-aware categorization.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the interface provide different levels of option visibility based on local context. The current working area presents only locally relevant options with high visibility, while maintaining access to broader option sets through organized navigation structures that adapt to the specific design context.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for filtering the set of object features of a user interface and presenting the filtered set of object features for display on a display device associated with a computer system. In one example, the system generates transition timeline data for state transitions in the user interface and filters the transition timeline data as a function of a state of the user interface to generate a filtered list of transitions for display of a transition timeline. The filtering is a function of a state of the user interface.