Abstract: An active agenda tool is provided that may be executed at one or more networked computing devices. Each connected active agenda tool includes functionality for displaying an agenda interface and for maintaining agenda item timers. The agenda interface includes an agenda and various interactive controls. The agenda includes a plurality of editable agenda items, each having a corresponding agenda item timer maintained by the agenda tool for recording time dedicated to that agenda item during the meeting. Collateral content, which may be shared among the network computing devices, can be associated with one or more of the agenda items. Agenda data representing the displayed agenda items is changed each time a displayed agenda item is modified during the meeting. Any changes to the agenda data may be distributed to each of the networked computing devices, so that each connected agenda tool can update its agenda during the meeting.

Abstract: A declarative animation system allows a designer to declaratively specify transitory behavior of a user interface or other visual display by recognizing changes in an underlying data model that spans visual elements. A visual display is typically comprised of one or more visual elements, as well as an underlying data model. Although animating within a particular visual element is typically straightforward, moving items across visual elements typically involves sophisticated programming logic. However, using the declarative animation system, visual elements can be associated with an underlying data model in a manner that allows the visual display layer to recognize and respond to changes in the underlying data model. This association can also be leveraged to allow automatically generated animation between visual elements without the addition of custom programmatic code.

Abstract: Embodiments described herein are directed to automatically generating an animation for a transition between a current state and a new state. In one embodiment, a computer system accesses state properties of a visual element corresponding to a current state the visual element is in and a new state the visual element is to be transitioned to. The state properties include visual properties and transition description information. The computer system determines the differences between the visual properties of the current state and the new state and automatically generates an animation based on the determined differences between the visual properties for the current state and the new state, such that the animation is playable to transition the visual element from the current state to new state.

Abstract: A visual layout system is described herein that supports complex interface transitions between declaratively defined interface templates and states. The system builds a correspondence between an old template and the new template, preserves visual elements that are present in both templates, and changes the visual elements' properties and position in a rendering tree as needed. The system creates or destroys visuals that are only in one template as needed. Using the visual layout system, a designer can specify states of a user interface within a declarative representation of the template that will produce the specified displays. The system allows sweeping state changes to be specified as templates for the designer. Thus, the visual layout system provides designers with an easy facility for specifying complex user interface transitions and manages the transitions at runtime for acceptable performance.

Abstract: A declarative animation system allows a designer to declaratively specify transitory behavior of a user interface or other visual display by recognizing changes in an underlying data model that spans visual elements. A visual display is typically comprised of one or more visual elements, as well as an underlying data model. Although animating within a particular visual element is typically straightforward, moving items across visual elements typically involves sophisticated programming logic. However, using the declarative animation system, visual elements can be associated with an underlying data model in a manner that allows the visual display layer to recognize and respond to changes in the underlying data model. This association can also be leveraged to allow automatically generated animation between visual elements without the addition of custom programmatic code.

Abstract: A layout animation system is described herein that performs smooth transitions for properties of a layout, regardless of whether the layout properties are discrete or automatically calculated. Before a transition is executed, the layout animation system extracts and stores the positioning, sizing, and visibility of participating elements across the layout hierarchy. The system places the affected elements in the same position, size, and visibility as the outgoing state requests and animates the elements to an incoming state. For each element, the system calculates a smooth animation that transforms the element from the outgoing position, size, and visibility to the incoming position, size, and visibility. The system then animates the elements over a desired transition time. Thus, the layout animation system provides the ability to create smooth layout transitions in the presence of automatic layout management for properties of various types.

Abstract: An editing application may allow a user to change a literal property value of an object in a conventional manner. The functionality of the editing application may be expanded to allow a user to access non-literal values for property values, by allowing the user to define a calculation based on one or more sources. To indicate that an associated property value of an object is a non-literal value, a non-literal cue may be presented to the user, such as through the display of the object, the associated property indicator, and/or the associated property value. To reduce the learning curve of the expanded functionality, the user interface for literal values of a property may remain minimally impacted, while, alternative gestures associated with the object, property indicator, and/or property value may be used to allow access to the non-literal value controls or information.

Abstract: Embodiments described herein are directed to automatically generating an animation for a transition between a current state and a new state. In one embodiment, a computer system accesses state properties of a visual element corresponding to a current state the visual element is in and a new state the visual element is to be transitioned to. The state properties include visual properties and transition description information. The computer system determines the differences between the visual properties of the current state and the new state and automatically generates an animation based on the determined differences between the visual properties for the current state and the new state, such that the animation is playable to transition the visual element from the current state to new state.

Abstract: An image is rendered on a display to a requested image size using a bitmap of a plurality of bitmaps of the image when the requested image size is less than a bitmap threshold. The image is rendered using vectoring when the requested image size is greater than the bitmap threshold.

Abstract: An apparatus and method provide for modifying a graphical layout intelligently. Objects may be placed in a grid structure which may include any number of rows and columns. In additional display elements such as icons or other adornments may be displayed corresponding to design functionality. The layout may function in any number of modes where each mode may provide different functionality. For example, in one mode, objects in a grid may be resized based on corresponding resizing of the grid. Also, the additional display elements may be displayed for control of the grid. In another mode, objects in a grid may be resized independently from resizing of the grid. Also, the additional display elements may be hidden from view.

Abstract: Disclosed are methods for remote users of a collaborative application to generate annotation information, send that annotation information to an application sharer device, and receive back a display combining output of the collaborative application with the annotation information. A collaborative application display is visible on an application viewer's screen. To make an annotation, a user draws over the shared display. The annotation is intercepted and sent to the sharer. On the sharer, the annotation is graphically blended with the display produced by the collaborative application. The combination is then sent to the remote viewers for display. The sharer may visually indicate, via color or a text flag, for example, the source of each annotation. The sharer may time out an annotation, or may delete the annotation if the collaborative application's display has scrolled underneath the annotation, causing the annotation to “lose its place” in the display and become meaningless.

Abstract: Described is a method and system in which storyboard objects coordinate the animation of multiple elements and/or media displayed on a computer graphics display. Storyboards relate properties of elements in an element tree to a timeline, such that the properties associated with a storyboard are animated/play together as a group by starting, stopping, seeking or pausing the storyboard. Triggers, such as controlled by user interaction with the displayed information, including property triggers that change values in response to a state change, and event triggers that fire events, may cause the storyboard to start, stop, pause and seek. Storyboards may be used in XAML-based programs, and may be directly associated with elements, or indirectly associated with elements via styles. Complex properties and changeables are supported. Media playback may be controlled via storyboards, and thereby coordinated with other media playback and/or animations.

Abstract: Collateral content editor functionality may be provided to an electronic message application such that an electronic message interface includes an integrated collateral content editor interface for creating formatted and editable collateral content in-line within the body of an electronic message. The collateral content may be converted into a standard-format file that describes the formatting and defines the editable data elements (e.g., an HTML file with embedded XML data). In response to a send message command, the standard-format file may be delivered as an attachment to the electronic message. At the receiving end, it may be determined whether the electronic message application can invoke collateral content editor functionality compatible with the native file format. If so, the compatible collateral content editor functionality is invoked to convert the attachment into the native file format and to display the formatted and editable data elements inline within the body of the electronic message.

Abstract: A desktop publishing software program configured to propagate object content-defining and format-defining object properties so that user-defined object properties automatically propagate to other objects in the document. Object property propagation allows the author of the document to edit a number of linked objects by editing just one of the objects. To enable object property propagation, the desktop publishing software program includes a propagation table for each predefined layout. Each document is constructed from a number of components, and multiple instances of the same component may occur in a document. Each object has a name including an identifier and an instance code.

Abstract: A publisher program for automatically changing the layout of content-filled desktop publishing documents. The publisher program allows the author of a document to use a menu-driven utility to define a first layout for the document. A program module known as a Wizard then renders a document in the first layout. The author makes changes to the document while the document is in the first layout, typically by adding content and making author-defined changes to the document rendered by the Wizard. The author may then return to the menu-driven utility to select a second layout for the document. The Wizard renders a document in the second layout and a program module known as a Page Manager automatically applies the author's changes to the document and renders a content-filled document in the second layout.

Abstract: A property arithmetic system is provided that can isolate modifications made to one object and apply the modifications to another object. Such isolation and application of modifications are referred to as property arithmetic. The term "arithmetic" is used as an analogy between computations performed on properties of an object and computations performed on numbers. Using this arithmetic, a user's modifications to the properties of an object can be easily isolated by subtracting the original property values from the modified property values. Once isolated, the modifications can be applied to a different object so that the user does not have to manually recreate their modifications. In the property arithmetic system, properties of an object are stored in a property list. The property list not only contains properties, but can also contain other property lists, which provides flexibility in their use. Furthermore, the property list is stored in a contiguous block of memory.