Abstract: Multiple images are displayed on a screen of a computer system to reflect a temporal relationship among them. Based on date and time when an image is obtained in relation to other displayed images, its size is set accordingly. Namely, the more recent the image, the larger its size on the screen. In addition, the larger the size of the image, the more processing operations, including graphical or text processing functions, are available to a user to be performed on that image.

Abstract: An object oriented zooming engine provides zooming graphical objects for a zooming graphical user interface. A zooming object residing in a zooming graphical user interface has attributes that are defined by graphical object classes having a particular class hierarchy. Color scheme object classes have a hierarchy that mirrors that of the graphical object classes. This provides an architecture wherein classes of zooming objects can have their own default color schemes, and can inherit the default characteristics of super classes in a predictable fashion. Thus, for example, an instance of an object may inherit the color attributes of other members of its class by default, or may specify an instance color scheme that differs from the default scheme. The architecture provides consistent encapsulation of the color attributes corresponding to graphical objects, and allows color information for the graphical user interface to be stored more efficiently.

Abstract: A computer interface is provided for easy organization, arrangement and zooming of logical sets of zooming objects in a zooming graphical user interface. Information is displayed as a zooming universe of graphical objects, including groups of associated member objects, that can be manipulated with interactive input devices. The interface permits a user to associate logically related objects in a space-grid group object, a two dimensional table of cells forming rows and columns on the zooming space. Objects may be positioning in each cell. If such positioning results in an object overlaying the dimensional boundaries of the cell or other zooming objects in the cell, cell dimensions are automatically increased and the positioning of objects in the cell adjusted, allowing a newly added object to be positioned at the user indicated position. Cells with the same row coordinate have the same height dimension. Cell with the same column coordinate have the same width dimension.

Abstract: A computer interface is provided for zooming representation objects in a zooming graphical user interface. Information is displayed as a collection of zooming spaces containing graphical objects that may be manipulated with interactive input devices. The damage handling method of the invention limits data processing undertaken to make the result of user manipulations apparent. A copy of least one instance variable defining a visual characteristic for each zooming object is stored as snapshot data prior to user manipulation. Ensuing modification requiring re-rendering is determined by comparison of snapshot data and current object data. The region to be re-rendered is determined by a bounding box that circumscribes the bounding boxes of the snapshot data and the current object data. In this manner, the region to be re-rendered need only be calculated once, after a series of user manipulations of an object is complete.

Abstract: Flexible event responsive behavior in an object oriented computing environment is provided by associating a plurality of event handlers to objects. The event handlers can have various event responsive behavior, and can be sequentially invoked in order to provide various different types of behavior responsive to an event. Certain event handlers can consume an event, wherein the event is not processed by remaining event handlers. In certain embodiments, the event handlers can be associated with objects at various levels, such as class and super class levels. In that instance, the event handlers can be invoked starting with the class level, and proceeding to superior classes through the base class corresponding to the object. Alternatively, event handlers are associated with objects at an instance level, wherein the instance level event handlers are invoked prior to the class level ones.

Abstract: An object oriented zooming engine for providing a zooming graphical user interface is disclosed. The zooming engine includes classes that define zooming objects, an event manager, and a view manager. Events are received by the event manager, and alternatively assigned to the view manager or zooming objects for processing. The view manager and zooming objects have associated event handlers for providing event responsive behavior. Among the event handlers associated with the view manager is a pick handler that determines whether zooming objects in a zooming view have been targeted by an event. Thus, an event can be initially assigned to the view, and then assigned to the zooming objects within the view that may have been targeted. This allows more efficient handling of events and updating of the display, and provides a flexible system, where various behaviors can be variously and individually modified.

Abstract: Multiple items forming a menu are displayed on a screen in a computer system. As the user refers to a menu item via an input device, that particular item is displayed in increased size. As soon as the user moves to another menu item, this newly referenced item becomes larger than the other menu items, while the previously referenced item is reduced to its original size. If the user-referenced item has a sub-menu associated with it, then the size of that sub-menu increases--while the menu size is decreased--as the user moves from the menu to the sub-menu.

Abstract: Multiple images are displayed on a screen of a computer system to reflect a temporal relationship among them. Based on date and time when an image is obtained in relation to other displayed images, its size is set accordingly. Namely, the more recent the image, the larger its size on the screen. In addition, the larger the size of the image, the more processing operations, including graphical or text processing functions, are available to a user to be performed on that image.

Abstract: Images representing search results are displayed on a screen of a computer system. The search results are responsive to a search in a database initiated by a user by entering a keyword or keywords via an input device. The images are displayed in such a way that an image corresponding to the highest match value is the largest in size, while remaining matches are represented by images which are smaller in size, in direct proportion to their relevance to the keyword. In addition, the relevance of an image is indicated by its proximity to the keyword displayed on the screen: the closer the displayed image to the keyword, the more relevant the match represented by that image is to that keyword. This display operation is equivalent to two simultaneous searches with boolean operators "OR" and "AND", such as "keyword1 OR keyword2" and "keyword1 AND keyword2".

Abstract: Multiple items forming a menu are displayed on a screen in a computer system. As the user refers to a menu item via an input device, that particular item is displayed in increased size. As soon as the user moves to another menu item, this newly referenced item becomes larger than the other menu items, while the previously referenced item is reduced to its original size. If the user-referenced item has a sub-menu associated with it, then the size of that sub-menu increases--while the menu size is decreased--as the user moves from the menu to the sub-menu.