Patents Examined by Michael K. May
  • Patent number: 6252594
    Abstract: A system and method for aiding a user in scrolling through a multiple-page are disclosed. The system and method include providing visual and/or audio cues in a graphical user interface (GUI) environment including a window to alert a user that a portion of the document is not currently displayed in the window. The scrolling may also be made more customizable and convenient. In a first aspect, the GUI includes a scroll bar which appears briefly at the center of a window. This indicates to the user that the document contains more than one page and that the user may scroll to view content beyond what is currently displayed. In this aspect, the scroll bar may be dynamic and dockable. Thus, in this aspect a mechanism is provided to allow the user to dock the scroll bar in a desired location. In a second aspect, the system and method include providing voice cues indicating the total number of pages in the document or that the document contains multiple pages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2001
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Chenhong Xia, John Hudson Bailey