Multi-Page Content Selection Across Page Breaks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touch screen devices require users to perform multiple selection actions when selecting content that spans multiple pages, as current selection techniques do not allow for seamless selection across page breaks, disrupting the user experience.
Innovation Solution
A content selection mode that utilizes a combination of gestures and touch points, allowing users to select content by initiating a touch point at a starting location and dragging to an end location, with the ability to traverse page breaks and display preview content, enabling continuous selection across pages without the need for separate navigation gestures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users perform multiple separate selection actions for content spanning multiple pages, then content can be selected, but user experience is disrupted and operation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate selection actions into a single continuous selection operation that spans across page breaks. When a user initiates a selection on one page and drags to the end of the page, the system automatically continues the selection on the next page without requiring the user to perform additional navigation or selection actions, thus combining what would have been multiple operations into one seamless action.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically navigating to the next page and positioning the selection cursor at the beginning of the next page before the user completes their selection gesture. This preliminary page transition and cursor positioning occurs seamlessly during the user's continuous drag operation, eliminating the need for the user to manually navigate pages during selection.
2Ease of operation
If seamless multi-page selection is implemented, then user experience improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The selection mode system is designed to handle multiple functions within a unified framework: it manages selection across single pages and multiple pages, automatically detects page breaks, performs automatic page navigation, and maintains selection state continuity. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate handling mechanisms for different selection scenarios, managing increased complexity through consolidation rather than proliferation of separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested structure where the selection operation is embedded within the page navigation system. The selection cursor and selection state are nested within the page structure, allowing the selection mechanism to automatically adapt to page boundaries and transitions. This nesting allows the selection system to leverage the existing page navigation infrastructure rather than creating a completely separate multi-page selection mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-page content selection mode is provided for devices and systems having display capability. The content may be any type (e.g., text, images, files, etc). In some cases, the user can engage the mode with a combination of gestures and touch points on a touch screen. The combination may include, for example, one or more initial touch points at a desired starting location of target content, followed by a dragging gesture moving from that location to a desired end location of that content. Content between the starting and end locations is selected. Input devices other than touch screens can be used to engage the selection process. During a multi-page selection process, content of a second page can be previewed in a preview area on a first displayed page. In some such cases, content from the second page scrolls into the preview area and displaces content from the first displayed page.