Abstract: Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for providing content previews. One apparatus operates to display one or more user interface controls as a foreground against a background on a display device; receive user input resulting in a user interface state that has an associated action; and display as the background a preview of the associated action. In another aspect, the user input gives focus to a user interface control that has associated content; and a preview of the associated content is displayed without further action on the part of the user. In another aspect, user interface controls are displayed; and giving input focus to a particular user interface control that has associated content causes an apparatus to play a preview of the associated content without further action on the part of a user.

Abstract: Methods, systems and apparatus, including computer program products, for user interfaces. A user interface uses metadata of digital objects to navigate through a data structure that includes multiple containers to organize digital objects, such as digital images. Based on the metadata, the user interface can ignore empty containers that have no associated digital objects. The data structure can be presented without the empty containers, or the empty containers can be presented but automatically skipped when a user navigates through the data structure. For example in a calendar view, in which each day represents a container for images, days without images are automatically skipped when the user navigates in the calendar view.

Abstract: Methods, systems and apparatus, including computer program products, for user interfaces. A user interface uses metadata of digital objects to navigate through a data structure that includes multiple containers to organize digital objects, such as digital images. Based on the metadata, the user interface can ignore empty containers that have no associated digital objects. The data structure can be presented without the empty containers, or the empty containers can be presented but automatically skipped when a user navigates through the data structure. For example in a calendar view, in which each day represents a container for images, days without images are automatically skipped when the user navigates in the calendar view.

Abstract: An improved technique for highlighting text objects accurately, reliably and quickly is disclosed. The technique minimizes the number of expensive region operations required to produce the necessary highlighting by combining bounding boxes of adjacent objects (e.g., words) using rectangle operations. The resulting rectangles are then used to form a region. The complexity of the regions is limited by limiting the number of rectangles that can be included within a region. Once a region is formed, the pixels of a display screen that are within the region are inverted to designate the objects within the region. However, before inverting the pixels, any overlap of the region with a previously highlighted region is eliminated or clipped from the region. The portion of overlap can be determined by rectangle operations instead of expensive region operations.

Abstract: A reader for displaying an electronic document stored in a predetermined format and allowing articles of the document to be read in the direction of their content information flow. The reader includes a selector to select an article of the document to be read. A displayer displays a first portion of the article in a manner which promotes comfortable viewing, and a navigator permits the display of the next and remaining sequential portions of the article in content flow (or reverse content flow) order. Preferably, the displayer pans and zooms, as necessary, to position the article portion in an article viewing window.