PROGRAMMED APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR DYNAMIC DISPLAY OF PRESENTATION FILES
A method of preparing and displaying a cumulative presentation and a presentation system are provided. A listing of available individual presentation files is provided through a user interface. Each of the presentation files comprises a plurality of presentation slides. A user is queried through the user interface to select presentation files from the available individual presentation files for inclusion in a cumulative presentation in a selected presentation order. A listing of presentation files selected by the user is displayed in the user interface. In response to a first command received from the user, a first slide from a first presentation from the cumulative presentation is provided to a display device for display thereon. In response to a second command received from the user, a second slide from the cumulative presentation is provided to the display device for display thereon.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/317,619 filed Dec. 12, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to display devices and systems, and more particularly to display devices and systems for dynamic control of presentations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe use of presentation software for presenting electronic “slideshows” has become ubiquitous today. The most popular presentation software is currently the “POWERPOINT®” software package sold by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. Typically, a laptop computer having a copy of the POWERPOINT software is connected to a display device. A POWERPOINT presentation file in the “.ppt” or “.pps” format, which has been previously created by the presenter, is executed by the software resident on the laptop computer and a slideshow is displayed on the LCD screen of the laptop and/or sent to the display device (e.g., a LCD projector) and projected to a screen for display to an audience.
Oftentimes, more than one presentation is scheduled for an event, such as an academic conference or business meeting. Each presentation can and often is associated with a separate slideshow presentation. These multiple presentation events are accommodated in one of two ways. In a first approach, each presenter has his or her own laptop with a copy of the POWERPOINT software and a copy of the presenter's presentation file. After each presentation is given, the presenter's laptop is disconnected from the display device and the next presenter's laptop is connected thereto. This often causes delays as cables are physically disconnected from one laptop and reconnected to the next laptop. Further, the presenter may have to locate the presenter's presentation on the presenter's machine and launch the presentation in the “full-screen” mode to begin the slideshow. The audience waits through and witnesses this ritual, including viewing any aspects of the presenter's computer desktop before the full-screen mode is presented. Further, the laptop may not be correctly configured to display on the display device. This event requires adjustments to be made for which the presenter is often not familiar, thereby requiring assistance by a more qualified person and perpetuating the aforementioned delay and unwanted displays.
In a second approach, all of the presentations of the various presenters are loaded into a single laptop computer connected to the display device. In this case, transitioning between presentations requires the first presenter to close the presenter's presentation and the subsequent presenter to open up his or her respective presentation. Again, delay results from this routine, and the transition events (e.g., opening and closing of presentations and desktop display) are shown to the audience.
In still yet another approach specific to POWERPOINT presentation software, POWERPOINT VIEWER software—a viewing software application for POWERPOINT presentations—allows a user to run multiple POWERPOINT slideshows, one right after another, by executing a playlist (.lst) file. The playlist file must contain the full pathname information for each presentation when each file is located in a file outside of the folder where the viewer executable file (PPVIEW32.exe) is located. The user creates the playlist using a text editor, such as a notepad software application, and saves the file with the “.lst” extension. While this approach provides for a more seamless presentation of a plurality of presentations files, control and modification capabilities are severely limited. During playback, no changes to the ordering of the presentation files or additions or deletions to the playlist are possible. In essence, a new, modified playlist textual file must be created using a text editor to define the new play order and this new file must then be executed from its beginning. This is not a practical solution during presentations. Further, navigation between individual presentations in the playlist is limited. For example, during playback of the playlist, the user cannot move from the first slide of a presentation directly to the last slide of a previous presentation.
A presentation system with some limited flexibility is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,101 to Tuttle, entitled “Dynamic Control of Visual and/or Audio Presentation” issued Aug. 22, 2000, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Tuttle describes a presentation system including a personal computer connected to a LCD projector. The personal computer executes a play story program and various software routines. A story list file including a list of all “stories” that are initially included in a particular presentation and a default sequence for presenting them is loaded into the personal computer. A directory is fetched from an external storage that includes the name and location of all stories. Once the play story program is executed, it reads an incremented story list counter to identify the first story and then reads the directory to obtain the address of the first story in external storage. An I/O subsystem then fetches the first story from external storage into RAM for presentation. The system allows some control over the presentation ordering during display of the cumulative presentation, but is still dependent upon a static playlist and does not allow for modifications of the playlist of “stories” (e.g., additions, deletions, or reordering) without interrupting the story currently being played. Put another way, the user can immediately command the play of a story that is not the next story defined in the playlist, but this requires either the interruption of a present story or a wait until completion of the present story. Still further, multiple changes, such as reordering of multiple stories, cannot be accomplished without manually commanding the play of each story when desired.
Greater flexibility in group presentations is often desired, such as to accommodate changes in presentation ordering and additions and deletions of presentations, both before the beginning of a group presentations and during the group presentation. Therefore, there is a need for a presentation system that allows for more flexible display of multiple presentations, while eliminating unseemly delays and displays that occur in between individual presentations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA method of preparing and displaying a cumulative presentation and a presentation system are provided. A listing of available individual presentation files is provided through a user interface. Each of the presentation files comprises a plurality of presentation slides. A user is queried through the user interface to select presentation files from the available individual presentation files for inclusion in a cumulative presentation in a selected presentation order. A listing of presentation files selected by the user is displayed in the user interface. In response to a first command received from the user, a first slide from a first presentation from the cumulative presentation is provided to a display device for display thereon. In response to a second command received from the user, a second slide from the cumulative presentation is provided to the display device for display thereon.
A method of manipulating a presentation order of presentations in a cumulative presentation and a presentation system are also provided. The cumulative presentation comprises a plurality of presentations files each including a plurality of presentation slides. A listing of presentations included in the cumulative presentation is provided to a user through a user interface. Without interrupting a presentation currently being displayed from the cumulative presentation, the presentation order of the presentations in the cumulative presentation is reconfigured in response to a reconfiguration command received from the user.
The above and other features will be better understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention that is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, as well as other information pertinent to the disclosure, in which:
I/O media sources 32 can include any or all of the following: a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-R/W (or compatible) drive, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-R/W, DVD+R/W (or compatible) drive, Iomega ZIP drive, digital memory device (e.g., CompactFlash portable storage device, Memory Stick portable storage device, SmartMedia portable storage device or Secure Digital portable storage device), digital tape, portable hard drive or any other storage device. Still further, a media source may be another computer processor and I/O media sources 32 may include a wired connection, such as a USB port, wired network card (e.g., Ethernet card), or modem, or wireless connection, such as an infrared port or RF port that facilitates communications via the 802.11a, 802.11b or BlueTooth protocols, for receiving and transmitting files from or to a remote computer processor that contains media.
Processor 20 also includes Presentation User Interface Controller 40 connected to user control display 100, user input device 60 and presentation control device 50, the details of which are described below. Programmed processor 20 may also includes an audio codec 36, which may be connected to speakers 70, headphones or earphones. The processor 20 also preferably includes at least one video controller 38, shown connected to the local bus and CPU 22 through AGP controller 45 and the AGP bus. The video controller 38 may output video in one or more video formats, including VGA, S-video, composite video or other video format. Video controller 38 is preferably connected through an appropriate video port to a display device, such as a projector 90 and/or a monitor 80. The monitor 80 may be, for example, a LCD or CRT display. Likewise, the projector 90 may be a CRT, LCD or other type of video projector. This connection may be either wireless or hardwired. As described in more detail below, video controller 38 provides the video signal for a cumulative presentation to monitor 80 and/or projector 90. In one embodiment, presentation user interface controller 40 provides a video signal to user control display 100 corresponding to a graphical user interface, specifically a dialog box or window, that allows the user to interact with the processor 20 via user input device 60. A second video controller may optionally be connected to the AGP bus to provide this second video signal.
Although the preferred method of interacting with the user, such as displaying information to the user and querying the user for information or instructions, is described by means of a graphical user interface and, more specifically, dialog boxes or windows, it is contemplated that other user interfaces may also be utilized, such as LED displays or other means of communicating with the user.
The use and operation of the system 10 of
At step 104, the control program 24 receives a selection of a presentation file to add to a cumulative presentation. This selection may be made by the user using user input device 60. The actual selection may be made in any number of ways. For example, if the user input device 60 is a pointer device, such as a mouse device, the user can select the desired individual presentation file by pointing to the file on the graphical user interface and selecting the file by “clicking” on it. The user can then drag the file over to the “Cumulative Presentation Order” window in the graphical user interface. Another option would be to “double-click” on the file, whereby the control program 24 automatically adds the file to the first location in the cumulative presentation order. Alternatively, the use can select the “select media” button and the file is then added to the cumulative presentation order. Regardless of how the control software 24 is configured to query the user for a presentation order selection to enable or allow the user to select the media file for inclusion in the cumulative presentation order, the media file is added to the cumulative presentation order, and the name of the selected presentation file is displayed to the user in the Cumulative Presentation Order window of the graphical user interface (step 106) as shown in
In one embodiment of the invention, the programmed processor 20 allows the user to select presentations for inclusion in the cumulative presentation at selected slot location in the cumulative presentation. Assume speakers one and five in a symposium are from the same company and have a single diskette containing both of their respective presentation files. The presentations could be added to the cumulative presentation list as presentations one and five after the diskette is inserted at I/O media source 32, leaving the other slots open. The next presentation added to the cumulative presentation is then automatically placed in the earliest available slot (in this case, the second slot) unless the user directed it to another randomly accessible slot, such as the third slot. The user also has the option to have new presentations appended to the end of a current list instead of at the earliest unfilled spot (e.g., spot number six). If another presentation were added at slot number four, then slots one, three, four and five would be occupied with presentations. If the cumulative presentation is then displayed (as described below) and no new presentation is added thereto at slot number two, the device displays the cumulative presentation as if it were comprised of four presentations at slots one through four. As described below, presentation two could be added as presentation one is being displayed, and if the cumulative presentation is then saved, it can be saved with the original assigned positions or with the presentation as displayed, at the user's option.
The user interface for configuring and modifying the cumulative presentation may be textual, numeric or pictorial. An example of the latter interface would be an interface that allows the user to drag and drop (using user input device 60) presentations into pictorial representations of cubby holes, for example, or onto icons representing empty or full slots. The device may be configured in a variety of ways to address attempts to place presentations into occupied slots. For example, the device could verify the user's intent to place the presentation into that slot, could offer to replace the existing presentations in the slot, or could prompt a shift of all subsequent presentations by one spot (or until each presentation is in an open slot), to name a few.
After a user has selected a presentation file and its name is added to the cumulative presentation order list, the control software 24 preferably directs that the selected presentation file is copied from the appropriate I/O media source 32 associated with the presentation file to local storage in system memory 34 or hard drive 47 (step 108). At 110, the user decides whether to add additional presentation files to the cumulative presentation list. Because the system 10 arranges and displays cumulative presentations from a plurality of individual presentations, the user selects at least one more presentation file for addition to the cumulative order in the manner described above. For example, if the user selects “Dr._A_Presentation.PPT” as the second presentation, it is added to the cumulative presentation order, the graphical user interface is updated and displayed to the user as shown in
If the user does not wish to add any additional presentation files to the cumulative presentation list at step 110, control software 24 provides the user the option of deleting files from the cumulative presentation order at 112. If the user decides to delete a presentation from the list at 112, a presentation from the list is selected by the user and removed from the list at 114, and the list is redisplayed to the user without the removed presentation file. Using the user input device 60, the user can select the desired file from the cumulative presentation order window of the graphical user interface by “clicking” on its name and choose “select media,” drag the file off of the window to a virtual “trash can,” select a “delete” button (not shown) or otherwise remove the presentation file from the list. The cumulative list order is then updated to reflect the remaining presentation files.
The user may want to reorganize the cumulative presentation list at step 116 if the user does not want to delete a file from the cumulative presentation list at step 112 or after the user has deleted a presentation file from the list. This may be accomplished in any of several manners. As shown at step 118, the user can simply clear the entire cumulative list order and begin with the empty list shown in
Although shown in a particular order in
Once the user has created the presentation order for the cumulative presentation in the manner described above, the user can then present the cumulative presentation to the audience using the system 10 at step 122. This feature is described below in connection with
Referring to
The control program 24 maintains a list of the presentations selected for inclusion in the cumulative presentation as described above. In an exemplary embodiment, this list is a linked list described below in more detail in connection with
In an exemplary embodiment, the display command 402 is provided to POWERPOINT Viewer presentation software 28 through the POWERPOINT Viewer software API 26. The NewShow( ) function can be called by the control program 24 to load a presentation and display the first slide. For example, API “LPDISPATCH_Application::NewShow(LPCTSTR FileName, Long AdvanceMode, long Kiosk)” implements the NewShow( ) function that loads a PowerPoint file and displays a first slide. It accepts a filename and two flags that control the behavior of the POWERPOINT Viewer.
API “long SlideShowView::GetSlidesCount( ) may be used to obtain the number of slides in a file at step 404. The API implements the “GetSlidesCount( )” function that returns the number of slides in a slideshow that was opened with the NewShow( ) API.
API “void SlideShowView::GotoSlide(long Index, long ResetSlide)” implements the “GotoSlide( )” function to facilitate a jump to a particular slide. This command accepts the index number of the slide to be displayed and a flag that controls the behavior of the viewer. This function may be utilized as described hereafter.
At step 406, the presentation software 28 then opens the identified slide from the first presentation in a full screen slideshow and displays the slide on the monitor 80 and/or projector 90. This video signal is provided through video controller 38.
The cumulative presentation and individual slideshows are then controlled via the presentation control device 50. For example, the control software 24 may receive a command from a user through presentation control device 50 and presentation user interface controller 40 to move to a different slide (step 408). The different slide may be a different slide from the presently displayed slideshow from the cumulative presentation or a slide from a completely different presentation included within the cumulative presentation. The control software 24 then provides the display command to the presentation software 28 through the API 26 including the number of the slide to be displayed (step 410). If the slide is from a completely different presentation, the control software 24 obtains the total number of slides in the presentation at step 412 in the manner described above. There is no need to obtain this number if the requested slide is contained within the presentation currently being displayed or one that has already been displayed. The control software 28 also provides the pathname information for the presentation if needed, i.e., if the presentation is not the same as the presentation currently being displayed at step 406. The GotoSlide function is utilized (as described below) if the requested slide is not the first slide from a presentation. The user-requested slide is then displayed on the monitor 80 and/or projector 90 (step 414). The control software 24 then waits at step 416 for a new display command from the user, i.e., a command to display a different slide. Any newly requested slide is then displayed as described above at steps 408-414. If no new slide is requested for display, the slide displayed at step 414 remains displayed until the control software 24 receives an exit command via presentation control device 50.
Optionally, the control software 24 can be configured to automatically progress to the next slide based on a pre-programmed timeout value. The timeout value may be embedded in the POWERPOINT file per standard POWERPOINT functionality (or other utilized media file format) or it may be configured within the control software 24 itself. If it is configured within the control software 24, there may be a timeout value individually associated with each slide, individually associated with each presentation, globally associated across all presentations, or in any combination thereof. Information associated with a presentation or slide may be stored in the nodes of the linked list along with the other data described below.
In the event that the user commands the display of a slide from a different presentation at step 408, and assuming the presentation software 28 is Power Point Viewer software, the PowerPoint Viewer default is to automatically display the first slide in that presentation. Assuming viewer software 28 includes this default feature, and assuming the user commanded the display of a slide that is not the first slide of the different presentation, this limitation can be addressed by blanking the screen prior to invoking the NewShow( ) function call and un-blanking the screen after the GotoSlide( ) function call. To jump to a slide that is not the first slide of a different presentation (e.g., the third slide from the different presentation), an exemplary process flow is as follows: (1) the display is blanked; (2) the NewShow( ) function is called with the path of the presentation; (3) the GetSlidesCount( ) function is called to obtain the number of slides; (4) the GotoSlide( ) function is called with the appropriate slide number to which to jump; and (5) the screen is then unblanked. The blanking step may be accomplished by creating a full screen sized window of a solid color that is prioritized above all other screen content, thereby preventing any other screen content from being displayed.
It should be understood that the presentation control device 50 can be configured in many different ways to allow the user to control the cumulative slideshow. For example, an exemplary control device 50 may include a keypad 500 shown in
The user may use the control device 50 to command the display of a slide from a different presentation by the following sequence: (1) selecting the “presentation number” button 506; (2) entering, for example, “3” to indicate the third presentation; (3) selecting the “slide number” key 508; (4) entering, for example, “4” to indicate the fourth slide; and (5) selecting the “enter” button 504. This command information is then provided to the control software 24 at steps 416 and 408. Since the user has commanded the display of a slide from a different presentation from the cumulative presentation order, the control software obtains the total number of slides from the presentation at step 412. The control software 24 then facilitates the display of the requested slide as described above in connection with steps 410 and 414.
The keypad 500 also preferably includes right and left arrow buttons 516 and 518, respectively. These buttons may be used to move through a slideshow one slide at a time. For example, assume that the first slide of the first presentation is currently displayed. Selecting the right arrow button 518 commands the control software 24 to display the second slide from the slideshow. This command is received by the control software 24 at steps 416, 408. The control software 24 then provides the display command at 410 to the presentation software including the number of the slide to be displayed, i.e., slide two, which is the next slide after slide one. Assuming that the present slide being displayed is the last slide in a presentation, selecting the right arrow 518 facilitates the display of the first slide from the next presentation in the cumulative presentation list developed as described above. In this event, the control software 24 also executes step 412 to identify the total number of slides from the next presentation and then provides the display command to the presentation software 28 including the pathname information for the next presentation from the list and the slide number, e.g., slide one.
The left arrow button 516 works in a similar manner, only to move backwards through a slideshow, e.g., to move from the second slide in a presentation to the first slide in a presentation or to move from the first side of a presentation to the last slide of a previous presentation. If a command is received via button 516 to move from the first slide of a presentation to the last slide of a previous presentation, it is not necessary to execute step 412 if the control software 24 has already obtained and stored in memory the total number of slides in the previous presentation.
Keypad 500 also preferably includes a “next presentation” button 512 and a “previous presentation” button 514. Selecting the “next presentation” button 512 requests the display of the first slide from the next presentation from the cumulative presentation order list. This is also accomplished via steps 416 and 408-414. Likewise, selecting the “previous presentation” button 514 requests the display of the first slide from the previous presentation from the cumulative presentation order list, again via steps 416 and 408-414.
As also shown in
An exemplary presentation system 10 also provides the user with the ability to display a presentation from the cumulative presentation and edit the cumulative presentation order simultaneously. This feature allows for impromptu changes to the cumulative presentation without disrupting the presentation currently being provided. This feature recognizes that any number of events can require cumulative presentations to be changed “last minute” at events or require a presentation order change. For example, presenters can be late, absent or substituted for and/or presentation topics may be rearranged. This feature is described hereafter in connection with
In one exemplary embodiment, the ordering of the cumulative presentation configured as described above is implemented as a linked list, and preferably a doubly linked list where each element or node includes a pointer to both the next and previous elements or nodes. This linked list may be created after a cumulative presentation is defined as described above. In one exemplary embodiment, the linked list is created when the display command is received at step 132 (
The list preferably has two pointers—a first presentation pointer and a display pointer. These pointers are utilized in the display of the individual presentations from the cumulative presentation described above in connection with
Modification of the cumulative presentation is described hereafter in connection with
In one exemplary embodiment of the present system, the graphical user interface of
The predefined cumulative presentation order is shown displayed on the right side of the graphical user interface, e.g., dialog box or window interface, of
Assume that a user wants to add the Dr_F_Presentation file to the cumulative presentation list for display after the Dr_B_Presentation and before the Dr_E_Presentation without interrupting the cumulative presentation, i.e., Dr_A_Presentation is currently being displayed. For purposes of the graphical user interface, this may be accomplished by dragging the name of the Dr_F_Presentation file from the left hand side of the interface to the desired location between presentation order spots 3 and 4 of the presentation list. The display is then updated for the user to represent the new presentation order, i.e., C, A, B, F, E, then D. As described above in connection with step 108 (
Regardless of how the user commands or requests that the presentation—here Dr_F_Presentation—be added to the cumulative order, the linked list is modified to implement this change. Modifications to the linked list may be implemented using manipulation algorithms that should be familiar to those of ordinary skill, but these modifications are described generally hereafter for purposes of clarity. Referring to
It should be understood that a new presentation element or elements can be inserted or added anywhere in the linked list. If the element is to be added before the first element in the linked list, the first element pointer must be changed to point to the new element. The original first element is provided with a previous element pointer that points to the new element (rather than a null element). The new element is provided with a null element for its previous element pointer and its next element pointer points to the original first element. Similar element changes are made to add a new element after the last element of the linked list, only with respect to the last element.
The deletion of an element from the cumulative presentation order is now described in connection with
An existing list can be reorganized as well For example, the ordering can be changed from C, A, B, E, D to D, E, B, A, C, or any other combination. Again, this may be accomplished via the graphical interface of
As explained above, in one embodiment, this feature provides the ability to edit the cumulative presentation list on a user control display 100 and display the presentation simultaneously on the monitor 80 and/or projector/display 90. Individual presentations can be added, removed and/or reordered in the cumulative presentation without interrupting the presentation from the cumulative presentation currently being displayed.
It is contemplated, however, that in one embodiment, the cumulative presentation is merely paused during reconfiguration of the cumulative presentation list. This embodiment is particularly applicable if the system 10 utilizes monitor 80 and/or projector/display 90 as the user control display. This may occur when the programmed apparatus 20 only includes one video controller. In this embodiment, the user may select a “pause” button (not shown) on presentation control device 50 and then select an “edit” button (not shown). This selection causes the control software 24 to display an edit screen, such described above in connection with
Referring again to
In a second embodiment, the individual presentation files and the linked list associated with the cumulative presentation of the individual presentation files are again loaded, saved or otherwise transferred to an I/O media source 32. In this embodiment, however, the file names are renamed at least in part to correspond to their ordering in the cumulative presentation, i.e., “file0001.ppt”, “file0002.ppt”, “file0003.ppt” etc. The linked list is modified accordingly (or a new linked list is created) to reflect the name changes. In this manner, a user can then load the presentation files onto any processor programmed with presentation software (e.g., POWERPOINT VIEWER software) and open the presentation files individually. Unlike the first embodiment, however, the user can discern the correct ordering of the presentations by their respective names, thereby virtually recreating a cumulative presentation. In many cases, conventional PC software will also list such files names in the correct order when commanded to do so. Of course, if the user has a processor programmed with that portion of control software 24 directed to displaying cumulative presentations as described above in connection with
In yet another embodiment, the presentation files are concatenated by the display apparatus 22 into a single presentation file, e.g., a single “.ppt” file having a plurality of individual presentation slides in the order of the cumulative presentation. This concatenating functionality is presently built into the POWERPOINT software (as distinguished from POWERPOINT VIEWER software). This file is then loaded, saved or otherwise transferred to an I/O media source 32. In this manner, a user can then load the presentation files onto any processor programmed with presentation software (e.g., POWERPOINT VIEWER software) and open a single presentation file to view as a seamless cumulative presentation.
The save feature allows the user to make the cumulative presentation portable and provides great flexibility in combination with the dynamic modification features described above. The user may choose to wait until the cumulative presentation is finished to utilize the save feature. This allows the user to capture any modifications to the cumulative presentation (and thus the linked list) made during display of the presentation (e.g., additions or deletions of individual presentations, or reordering thereof).
Some other features of an exemplary system 10 and presentation apparatus 20 are now described. In one embodiment, the programmed processor 20 allows the user to add transitions between presentations. Again, this option may be provided to the user through a graphical user interface displayed to the user on user control display 100. The user may select from a plurality of transitions, such as a blank screen, a graphic design, a logo page, etc. If the same transition for each presentation in the cumulative presentation is selected, whether it be a blank screen, logo, etc., the transition screen is displayed whenever the user moves to the next presentation as described above in connection with
The programmed processor 20 also preferably allows the user to define bookmarks during presentation of an individual presentation for the cumulative presentation. For example, as shown in
Although
The system described above provides a user-friendly and flexible means of preparing a cumulative presentation, displaying a cumulative presentation and modifying a cumulative presentation. Much of this may be accomplished with or without a user interface and using even as few as one or two “clicks” of a user input device 60 and/or presentation control device 50. A plurality of presentations can be displayed as a cumulative presentation in a seamless manner, and the cumulative presentation can be modified without interrupting a presentation from the cumulative presentation being displayed. The system eliminates awkward transitions between presentations, allows the user to save a cumulative presentation, and can function with a plurality of different sources of media files. Still further, the system relieves the inflexibility inherent in prior art systems that rely upon preprogrammed, static textual play lists.
In one embodiment, some functionality of the control software 24 may be moved to a peripheral device that interacts with control software 24 via an API. In such an embodiment of system 10, the control software 24 of the programmed processor is associated with an API such that a portable or other control device may interface therewith and enhance the capabilities of the processor 20, such as to provide the ability to manage and organize or reorganize the cumulative presentation at the peripheral device, while the programmed processor 20 and central processing unit 22 direct the ongoing display and maintain storage of the presentations. For example, a cumulative presentation order can be developed or modified in any manner at the peripheral and then be provided to the control program 24 in a standard format. The control program 24 can then convert the provided presentation order into a linked list as described above, which is then used in the display of the cumulative presentation as described above. It is assumed that the presentations defined in the cumulative presentation order by the peripheral are available to the control processor via I/O media sources 32. Alternatively, the media files may be transferred to the control processor 24 from the peripheral device. In this manner, control of the cumulative presentation can be implemented through processor 20 and presentation control device 50, while the cumulative presentation can be developed and/or modified before and during the cumulative presentation using a peripheral device that effectively implements the functionality of the user input device 60 and the user interface displayed on the user control display 100 This feature allows a user at a location remote from the processor 20, such as at a different location in a meeting room (e.g., a registration desk), to interact with the processor 20 to update and modify the cumulative presentation order.
In yet another embodiment of the system 10, a processor 20 serves as an I/O media source 32. Cumulative presentation lists, individual presentations, timeout values, transition slides, and other data can be transferred from a first processor 20 to a second processor 20. This information may be transferred over a phone line or other communication link, for example. This facilitates the sharing of information, as well as coordinating presentations in multiple venues. The signal from video controller 38 or a display command may also be transmitted to a remote processor 20 for display to a remote audience.
In another embodiment of the system 10, programmed processor 20 allows the user to add, delete and reorder slides within an individual presentation that is included within a cumulative presentation. This feature allows users to make last minute changes to the individual slideshow without the need to edit the PowerPoint file. One implementation of this feature is embodied by creating a doubly linked list corresponding to the slides within an individual presentation (in addition to creating a linked list corresponding to the order of the individual presentations within the cumulative presentation). Each element of the list corresponds to a slide and includes a previous slide pointer and a next slide pointer. A pointer identifies the first slide in the list and the current slide being displayed. The user is presented with a user interface similar to, for example, the dialog interface of
For example, assume there are five slides in a selected presentation—slide 1, slide 2, slide 3, slide 4 and slide 5. The user may select a new presentation order within that presentation as follows—slide 1, slide 2, slide 4 slide 3 and slide 5. This new order is represented in a linked list that is created. When slide 2 is displayed and the user commands the display of the next slide (by selecting right arrow key 519, for example) a slide presentation pointer is updated in the linked list to point to the next slide pointed to in the linked list—slide 4—and the display command provided at step 410 commands the display of slide 4 from the presentation. Without this linked list, slide 3 would be displayed. A slide or slides may also be deleted using a similar mechanism.
The present invention can be embodied in the form of methods and apparatus for practicing those methods. The present invention can also be embodied in the form of program code embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any other machine-readable storage medium, wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. The present invention can also be embodied in the form of program code, for example, whether stored in a storage medium, loaded into and/or executed by a machine, or transmitted over some transmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via electromagnetic radiation, wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code segments combine with the processor to provide a unique device that operates analogously to specific logic circuits.
Although the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodiments of the invention that may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention.
Claims
1. A method of preparing and displaying a cumulative presentation, comprising the following steps: in response to a second command received from said user, providing a second slide from said cumulative presentation to the display device for display thereon.
- providing through a user interface a listing of available individual presentation files, each of said presentation files comprising a plurality presentation slides;
- querying a user through said user interface to select presentation files from said available individual presentation files for inclusion in a cumulative presentation in a selected presentation order;
- displaying a listing of presentation files selected by said user in said user interface;
- in response to a first command received from said user, providing a first slide from a first presentation from said cumulative presentation to a display device for display thereon; and
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said providing said listing step includes the step of receiving a listing of available individual presentation files from at least one input source and displaying said listing to said user in said user interface.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of copying said selected presentation files to local storage from respective input sources.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein said first slide providing step comprises the following steps:
- providing to a presentation software application an identification of said first presentation and a command to display said first slide; and
- retrieving said first slide from said local storage.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of providing a second slide from said cumulative presentation comprises the following steps:
- providing to said presentation software application a command to display said second slide; and
- retrieving said second slide form said local storage.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of providing to said presentation software application an identification of a second presentation if said second slide is part of said second presentation.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein said first presentation file is a POWERPOINT presentation file and said presentation software application is a POWERPOINT software application.
8. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:
- receiving said first command from a first input device configured to interface with said user interface; and
- receiving said second command from a second input device.
9. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:
- receiving a selection of said presentation files for inclusion in said cumulative presentation in response to said querying from a first input device configured to interface with said user interface; and
- receiving said first and second commands from a second input device.
10. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of copying each of said selected presentation files from said cumulative presentation from said local storage to an external storage medium.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein each of said selected presentation files copied to said external storage medium is associated with a respective file name representative of its order in said cumulative presentation.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of copying to said external storage medium a list identifying an ordering of said selected presentations in said cumulative presentations.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said list is a linked list.
14. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of:
- concatenating each of said presentations from said cumulative presentation into a single presentation file; and
- copying said presentation file to an external storage medium.
15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
- before said first slide is provided to said display device for display, querying said user through said user interface to modify said selected presentation order of said cumulative presentation; and
- displaying a modified listing of presentation files in a modified selected presentation order in response to a modification command received from said user through said user interface, said modification command directing that a selected presentation file be added to said cumulative presentation, a selected presentation file be deleted from said cumulative presentation or presentation files from said cumulative presentation be reordered.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of creating a linked list representative of said modified listing of presentations files.
17. The method of claim 1, before said first slide is provided to said display device for display, generating a linked list representing the presentation order of presentation files in said cumulative presentation defined by said user.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein:
- said second slide is a first slide included in a second presentation from said cumulative presentation, said method further comprising the step of:
- in response to a third command received from said user, providing a last slide from a presentation immediately before said second presentation in said presentation order to said display device for display thereon, said last slide provided directly following display of said second slide.
19. A method of manipulating a presentation order of presentations in a cumulative presentation, said cumulative presentation comprising a plurality of presentation files each including a plurality of presentation slides, comprising the following steps:
- providing to a user through a user interface a listing of presentations included in said cumulative presentation; and
- without interrupting a presentation currently being displayed from said cumulative presentation, reconfiguring said presentation order of said presentations in said cumulative presentation in response to a reconfiguration command received from said user.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein said reconfiguring step includes the following steps:
- defining said cumulative presentation as a linked list of said plurality of presentation files; and
- modifying said linked list to conform to a new presentation order defined by said user.
21-62. (canceled)
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 22, 2008
Publication Date: Dec 18, 2008
Inventors: Lawrence Charles Kleinman (Allentown, PA), Daniel Nathan Zenchelsky (Los Gatos, CA)
Application Number: 12/196,487
International Classification: G06F 3/048 (20060101); G06F 3/00 (20060101);