Semi-Expanded Popover Layout for Stable Node Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing user interfaces face challenges in displaying large and complex visualizations, where expanding or collapsing nodes or elements can lead to increased cognitive load due to repositioning of shapes, obscuring information, or requiring users to remember new layouts, especially in diagrams and graphs.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a semi-expanded state that temporarily displays additional information in a popover offset from the main shape, maintaining the original layout of other shapes visible, reducing cognitive load by avoiding automatic repositioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a node is expanded to display additional information, then the user can review detailed information associated with the node, but the expansion takes up larger area and pushes other nodes outside the current displayed area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a semi-expanded state that displays additional information in a popover overlaying the current view, rather than expanding the node in-plane. This dimensional transition from 2D expansion to 3D-like overlay allows information access without increasing the footprint of the node in the original display plane, preventing other nodes from being pushed outside the visible area.
Solution Approach 2:
The popover acts as an intermediary element that mediates between the collapsed and fully expanded states. It provides a temporary, semi-expanded view of additional information without requiring the node to occupy more space in the original layout, thus resolving the conflict between information visibility and display area occupation.
2Loss of information
If a node is expanded to show additional information, then the user can access detailed content, but the repositioning of other nodes increases cognitive load
Solution Approach 1:
The popover is positioned and rendered before the user would need to navigate to find additional information, providing immediate access to detailed content. The layout of other nodes remains unchanged, so users don't need to mentally track repositioning, reducing cognitive load while still providing comprehensive information access.
3Loss of information
If automatic repositioning is enabled when expanding nodes, then information remains visible and accessible, but the layout changes increase cognitive load and disrupt user orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the information display into two layers: the stable background layer containing the original node layout, and the foreground popover layer containing additional information. This segmentation allows the popover to provide expanded information without disrupting the stability and orientation of the underlying layout, maintaining user orientation while accessing detailed content.
Data Source
AI summary
Content can be visualized using a semi-expanded state. A user interface can contain two or more shapes which contain selectable elements that generate popover shapes. A “semi-expanded” popover shape is generated in the user interface in response to a selection of an element of a first shape in the user interface. The popover contains information associated with a data object and it is positioned outside of and separate from the first shape. The popover is positioned on top of a second shape where a second portion of the second shape is not covered. When a selection of the first popover shape is obtained it is transformed into an expansion of the first shape which contains the information associated with the data object represented by the first shape. The second shape is repositioned outside of the expansion of the first shape.