Suppressing Dialog Boxes in Tabbed Browser Software

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Solution Overview

Problem

Tabbed browsers often display dialog boxes from inactive tabs, leading to user confusion, security risks, and a poor browsing experience, as these boxes can interrupt the active browsing session and may prompt users to enter incorrect or sensitive information.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a method within browser software to suppress dialog boxes from inactive tabs until the corresponding tab becomes active, using visual cues like flashing tabs to notify users of pending dialog boxes, and employing thread ID comparison to determine whether to display or queue dialog boxes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If dialog boxes are displayed immediately when generated from any tab, then user feedback is provided promptly, but user confusion and security risks increase due to interruptions from inactive tabs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser feedback reliabilityVSAvoiduser confusion and security risks

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments dialog box display based on tab activity state. It distinguishes between active tabs (where dialog boxes are displayed immediately) and inactive tabs (where dialog boxes are suppressed). This segmentation resolves the contradiction by applying different display rules to different contexts, ensuring reliable feedback only when the user is actually viewing the relevant page.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements preliminary action by suppressing dialog boxes from inactive tabs before the user becomes confused or exposed to security risks. The system proactively prevents harmful interruptions by detecting tab inactivity status and blocking dialog box display in advance, rather than reacting after confusion occurs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of operation

If dialog boxes are suppressed from inactive tabs, then user experience improves by eliminating interruptions, but user awareness of pending dialog boxes may be reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser experienceVSAvoiduser awareness of pending dialog boxes

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements feedback by providing visual cues (such as icon changes or indicators) on inactive tabs to signal the presence of suppressed dialog boxes. This allows the system to maintain ease of operation by suppressing interruptions while simultaneously preserving user awareness through visual feedback mechanisms that inform users when dialog boxes are waiting.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Reliability

If the browser switches tabs to display dialog boxes, then dialog boxes are shown to users, but the user may not notice the active tab change and experience disruption

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedialog box deliveryVSAvoiduser browsing flow

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the dialog box display function from the automatic tab-switching mechanism. Instead of having the browser switch tabs to show dialog boxes (which disrupts user flow), the system extracts and suppresses dialog boxes from inactive tabs, allowing users to continue browsing without interruption. Dialog boxes are only displayed when the user actively views the relevant tab.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS9176646B2Suppressing dialog boxes

Publication Date: 2015.11.03 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

A method for browser software with a tabbed interface to suppress, or delay, the display of a dialog box that is initiated by an inactive, or background, tab. An indication may be provided to the user that a dialog box needing user attention may be provided. When that tab becomes active, and the web page on that tab becomes visible, the dialog box is then displayed. This suppression method may be applied to a variety of application programs.