Ordered Macro Building Tool for Cross-Application Interaction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional macro building tools require users to have knowledge of programming languages or specific environments, limiting their ability to create macros that meet user needs, as they often restrict macros to single functions or applications, thereby impacting user experience.

Innovation Solution

An ordered macro building tool that displays UI objects and populates a macro building pane in response to user interactions, allowing for the compilation of macros across multiple applications, enabling flexible macro creation without requiring extensive programming knowledge.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If conventional macro building tools are used, then users can create macros with limited features within a single application, but users require programming knowledge or text-based commands to build macros

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemacro feature flexibilityVSAvoidprogramming knowledge requirement

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary macro building tool that sits between the user and the multiple applications. This tool provides a unified graphical interface that mediates interactions with different applications, allowing users to build macros without needing to know programming languages or text-based commands specific to each application.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The macro building tool is designed as a universal platform that can interact with multiple different applications through a common interface. It provides multi-functional capabilities to build, edit, and execute macros across various applications without requiring application-specific programming knowledge.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Adaptability or versatility

If conventional macro tools are used, then users can build macros within a single application, but the tools are limited to commands for that specific function or application

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecross-application macro capabilityVSAvoidtool architecture

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the capabilities of multiple application-specific macro tools into a single unified macro building tool. This consolidation allows the tool to interact with multiple applications through a unified interface, providing cross-application macro capability while simplifying the user experience despite the increased architectural complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Adaptability or versatility

If programming or scripting is used to build macros, then users can create sophisticated macros, but most users are unable to create sufficient macros

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemacro sophisticationVSAvoiduser accessibility

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical system of text-based programming and scripting with a graphical user interface-based macro building system. This substitution allows users to create sophisticated macros through visual interactions rather than requiring knowledge of programming languages, thereby improving accessibility for most users while maintaining macro sophistication.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS11079909B2Macro building tool with an information pane and a macro building pane for compiling an ordered macro and determining data dependency

Publication Date: 2021.08.03 SALESFORCE INC

AI summary

Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer-readable storage medium embodiments for ordered macro building. An embodiment may include operations of displaying, via a user interface, a first user interface object and a second user interface object, populating a macro building pane comprising a first macro building object and a second macro building object, in response to the first user interface object receiving a first interaction and in response to the second user interface object receiving a second interaction, and compiling a macro with at least the first interaction and the second interaction, the first interaction being with a first application and the second interaction being with a second application.