Abstract: An image forming apparatus has an upper print head unit and a lower print head unit that print plural printing areas in order on a printing medium. The image forming apparatus defers printing, as long as the image data corresponding to the areas to be printed are not transferred from a host apparatus, and begins printing when the image data are transferred from the host apparatus. The image forming apparatus can thus print an unfixed length of continuous image without monopolizing the host apparatus.

Abstract: Facilities are provided within an operating system for supporting deferred printing of print jobs. The process of spooling a print job and the process of despooling the print job are decoupled, such that a printer need not be available at the time of spooling. Print jobs are spooled in a device-independent format, such as the enhanced metafile format. The print jobs may be spooled without a printer driver being installed for a target printer or without the target printer being connected to the system. Later, when the target printer becomes available, the print job is despooled and printed. A configuration database holds different printer configurations that list available printers in different environments. For example, a user may have a different configuration for printers available when he uses his computer at home, at work and on the road, respectively. The configurations help the user to identify the printers that are currently available and those that are available in other settings.

Abstract: A method in a computer system for displaying data generated by a shared application on a host computer system on both a host display of the host computer system and a shadow display of a shadow computer systems The host computer system has a window manager for managing windows displayed on the host display. The shadow computer system has a window manager for managing windows displayed on the shadow display. Under control of the host computer system, a Share System executes the shared application. Then, the Share System registers a host window with the windowing system of the host computer system. Upon registration of the host window, the Share System sends a notification of registration of the host window to the shadow computer system. At the shadow computer system, the Share System receives the sent notification of registration of the host window.

Abstract: A real-time interactive document summarization system which allows the user to continuously control the amount of detail to be included in a document summary.

Abstract: A spreadsheet program provides a generalized approach to parsing text strings for a header or footer of a page of a spreadsheet document. Parsing is separated from further interpreting of information in the text string, thereby enhancing the expandability of the program and decreasing the amount of code redundancy required to implement more interpreting functionality. A single parser routine may be provided in the spreadsheet program to parse text strings for all of the headers and footers. The parser routine calls a respective callback routine to further process the parsed text string, such as required by printing or editing of the text string. The identity of the callback routine is specified by a high-level routine that called the parser routine.

Abstract: A graphical user interface (GUI) for a data processing system which allows to monitor the feedbacks from the processes in execution through a window representation. Such GUI comprises means for warning the user that a feedback is received from one of the processes in an unobtrusive way. This avoids to the user to be obliged to suspend the current activities in order to handle the feedback message.

Abstract: A method of manipulating objects using an object browser and manipulation system is described. The system comprises components for representing on a display unit respective objects, the components each comprising an object identifier region. Each component has at least one defined active sub-region, the active sub-region having the capability to display information relating to a state of the component and its respective object and having a functionality activatable by the user through an input device to effect an operation in relation to the component. The method comprises the steps of;a) providing at least one component in the form of an image on the screen of the display unit,b) providing an input device operable by the user to activate the functionality of a first active sub-region of the component andc) providing on the screen of the display unit an image corresponding with the outcome of the operation of the functionality of the fist active sub-region.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for providing a medical protocol graphic user interface is provided. The apparatus and method generates a plurality of graphic images representing a medical treatment plan. The graphic images are presented in a chronological order based on real or virtual time slots and may be viewed in either a flow chart or a chart view format. The view chart format may be used by healthcare professionals to enter data. The graphical images include an order node, result node and flow node. The various nodes may be connected to form a healthcare plan assigned to a patient. Costs may be assigned to each order and various costs of various treatments may be determined. Patient plans may be transferred or modified by other healthcare professionals.

Abstract: A system that has a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows a user to readily define and manipulate a transform function from one attribute, such as numerical value, to another attribute that is more understandable by by the user such as color, size or location. Special two thumb slider controls provide the transform functions. The two thumbs define break points for piecewise linear transform ranges. Further, the center transform range can be manipulated as a unit to show the user what happens if the range is maintained essentially constant but the break points are varied. The aid to visualizing characteristics otherwise hidden in large data sets, such as a monthly telephone bill of a large corporation, is very beneficial.

Abstract: Print jobs are automatically and transparently spooled in a device-independent format, such as an enhanced metafile format. The enhanced metafile format provides a format into which documents are readily converted and which occupies a minimal amount of storage space. Each spooled print job is asynchronously printed relative to a program that requested the print job. Such spooled print jobs are de-spooled in a background processor mode. An operating system provides the resources for converting a print job into enhanced metafile format and spooling the print job in the enhanced metafile format.

Abstract: An improved method and system for scrolling through data are provided. An image viewer is used in conjunction with a scroll bar to allow a user to preview which image will be displayed next on a display device. The scroll bar includes a scroll box which may occupy any of several positions within the scroll bar. When a user grabs the scroll box using a mouse, or other pointer-positioning device, the image viewer displays an image corresponding to the position of the scroll box within the scroll bar. As the user drags the scroll box to different positions within the scroll bar, different images are displayed within the image viewer. When the user drops the scroll box, the final image displayed in the image viewer is displayed on the display device.

Abstract: A spreadsheet program provides a generalized approach to parsing text strings for a header or footer of a page of a spreadsheet document. Parsing is separated from further interpreting of information in the text string, thereby enhancing the expandability of the program and decreasing the amount of code redundancy required to implement more interpreting functionality. A single parser routine may be provided in the spreadsheet program to parse text strings for all of the headers and footers. The parser routine calls a respective callback routine to further process the parsed text string, such as required by printing or editing of the text string. The identity of the callback routine is specified by a high-level routine that called the parser routine.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed that allow rapid positioning of a cursor within a data processing system graphical user interface. The method involves establishing a preferred order of the cursor movement between at least a subset of windows with all windows active on the data processing system and then repositioning the cursor based upon the preferred order of the cursor movement between the windows when an input stimulus is activated. Next, the window is then activated based on the cursor being repositioned and then giving the activated window the focus within the graphical user interface, which then leads to the activated window being prepared for date manipulation. The apparatus comprises a keyboard coupled to the data processing system, a pointer device, also coupled to the data processing system, and means for establishing a user definable window application order preference queue.

Abstract: The present invention is directed towards a translation software that provides remote access to an application program that is executing on a host machine in its native operating system environment. The translation software monitors messages that are relayed from the application program to an application interface that is provided via the native operating system. Upon recognizing a message that affects a graphical user interface of the native operating system, the translation software converts the message into a protocol that is recognized by a remote graphical user interface. By monitoring and converting messages in this fashion, the translation software allows the application program to be displayed remotely.

Abstract: A process management system is described for creating and executing graphically depicted communication processes. The process management system includes a graphical process editor facilitating the creation of communication processes on a graphical user interface. The graphically depicted communication processes visually represent to a process programmer the relationships between the events comprising the communication process. A process manager executes a set of events comprising both scheduled events and control events corresponding to the graphically displayed events. Furthermore, the process manager may operate in an immediate or real time mode to process the events of the communication process.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for searching and retrieving moving image information by using 3-dimensional icons is disclosed. The method for searching and retrieving moving image information in a computer system having a pointing device, a display unit, and external and internal memories for storing an image file includes the steps of: creating an icon file by selecting a specific frame of the image file, and storing the icon file in the internal memory; creating a main window in the display unit; creating a plurality of command windows within the main window; reading one or more specific icon file from the internal memory according to a moving image information searching command, and generating the specific icon file separated from the command windows by a given distance in the form of a 3-dimensional icon; and executing a corresponding command when any icon is dragged and dropped to any command window area by the pointing device.

Abstract: In a graphical user interface (GUI) for a personal computer system, an improved method and apparatus for accessing and executing commands associated with user applications. In addition to the standard menu categories of a menubar and control icons of a tool bar, the present invention provides a "hyperbutton", a "context sensitive pop-up menu" and a "menu control editor". A hyperbutton displays, in a persistent subview, a user selected default hyperitem from the hyperitems of the menubar. The default hyperitem is automatically executed when selected by the user with a mouse. The hyperbutton displays a title of the default hyperitem. The user can change the default hyperitem using a pop-up menu displayed in response to an interface command such as a right mouse button. A context sensitive pop-up menu is associated with a particular object such as a grid subview. The user configures the context sensitive pop-up menu to contain a custom set of the hyperitems associated with the object.

Abstract: A method for arranging windows in a workspace on a computer display screen. The method includes the steps of assigning, using a central processing unit, a priority to each of a first plurality of windows in the workspace according a predefined criteria, a selected window having the highest priority. The method further includes the step of indenting by an indentation distance value from a reference position in the workspace on the computer display screen each of the first plurality of windows, the window having the lowest priority being positioned the closest to the reference position, the window having the highest priority being positioned the furthest from the reference position and in the visual foreground of the workspace on the computer display screen.

Abstract: A text portion is extracted by scanning each page of drawing information from application software. When the height of characters used in the text to be recorded falls within the range of the width of recording head elements of a recording apparatus, commands for designating the number of dots corresponding to the character height to be recorded and for setting a dual direction as the recording direction of a portion constituted by text alone are transmitted to the recording apparatus, for recording of the text portion.

Abstract: A method and data processing system are disclosed for media boundary traversal. In one embodiment, the invention transforms an electronic data processing file to a printed output that is understandable to humans and then transforms the printed output back to an electronic data processing file without loss of nonprintable characters. The embodiment gets an input file including both printable characters and nonprintable characters; writes the printable characters to an output file; determines locations among the printable characters of the nonprintable characters; transforms the nonprintable characters to printable character sequences; writes the printable character sequences and the locations of the nonprintable characters to an output file separately from the printable characters; and prints the output file. The printable characters of the input file remain understandable by humans in the printed output.