Abstract: A user interface within a presentation program manages hierarchical relationships. A master view includes a thumbnail view that shows the hierarchical relationship between slide masters and layouts used within the presentation. In one example, the thumbnail view is a series of thumbnail tree-controls where each slide master is the top node of the tree control and the layouts are the children of the slide master. A user may copy, move, delete, and edit slide masters, layouts, and slides using the user interface. A contextual representation of slide master and layout commands may be shown in the same overall user interface space.

Abstract: An N-level inheritance model is provided to develop presentations. A hierarchical inheritance model includes master slides, custom layout slides, and slides including the material for the presentation. The inheritance model allows presentation authors to both define an overall look for the presentation as well as the ability to customize slide layouts individually. An author may create custom layouts that may be applied to a single slide as well as a set of slides. Properties that are defined at any level within the hierarchy may be inherited by the lower levels within the hierarchy. Each level within the presentation may also make an exception to an inherited property.

Abstract: Inserting images into documents. An image source device is made active with an application used to create text in a document. An application programming interface (API) module is accessed from within the application. The API interfaces the application with a TWAIN module used for acquiring an image with the image source device. The API module is separate from the TWAIN module and isolates users from directly interacting with the TWAIN module. The application uses the API module for negotiating with the image source device to determine a set of image capture parameters that control the image source device when acquiring the image. Data representing the image is communicated from the image source device into the memory of a computer hosting the application used to create text so that the data representing the image is a portion of a document stored in the memory.

Abstract: A system and associated method for acquiring images from various imaging devices and inserting these acquired images into application program documents. The system includes an interface module, a source manager module, and a source module, the latter two supporting the TWAIN communication specification. The interface module allows word processing applications, spreadsheet applications, presentation design applications, and other types of applications to be provided the capability for easily inserting images into documents that are created by such applications. An application program interface (API) is provided with an program application that enables the application program to acquire images from any TWAIN compliant image acquisition device. The method defines a process for automatically capturing and inserting an image with minimal user input, and enables a user to customize image capture parameters when acquiring an image, if desired.