Explicit touch selection and cursor placement

摘要

A system and method for implementing an efficient and easy to user interface for a touch screen device. A cursor may be placed by a user using simple inputs. The device operates places the cursor coarsely and refines the cursor placement upon further input from the user. Text may be selected using a gripper associated with the cursor. The user interface allows text selection without occluding the text being selected with the user's finger or the gripper. For selecting text in a multi-line block of text, a dynamic safety zone is implemented to simplify text selection for the user.

主权项

1. A method for placing a cursor on a display screen of a computing device displaying a string of characters defining a word, the word having one or more multicharacter portions, each multicharacter portion comprising a plurality of characters, the method comprising:
receiving, from a user, a first input comprising a first input location with respect to the display screen, the first input location being associated with the displayed string of characters; in response to the first input, determining a cursor placement state based on at least a size of the displayed string of characters on the display screen and from among at least a first state and a second state, wherein the first state provides for approximate placement of the cursor and the second state provides for more precise placement of the cursor than the first state; in response to the cursor placement state being the first state, selecting, based on at least the first input location, a first cursor location from among a first plurality of placement locations for the word, each of the first plurality of placement locations being adjacent to a beginning character or an end character of one of the one or more multicharacter portions of the word; in response to the cursor placement state being the second state, selecting, based on at least the first input location, the first cursor location from among a second plurality of placement locations for the word, each of the second plurality of placement locations being adjacent to a character within the word; in response to selection of the first cursor location, displaying the cursor on the display screen in the first cursor location with respect to the displayed string of characters; after displaying the cursor in the first cursor location and with the cursor placement state being the second state, receiving, from a user, a second input comprising a second input location with respect to the display screen, the second input location being associated with the displayed string of characters; in response to receiving the second input with the cursor placement state being the second state, selecting, based on at least the second input location, a second cursor location from among the second plurality of placement locations for the word; and in response to selection of the second cursor location, displaying the cursor on the display screen in the second cursor location with respect to the displayed string of characters, wherein the display screen is a touch screen, and wherein the first input and the second input are generated in response to a user tapping the touch screen; wherein the first plurality of placement locations for a word comprises fewer locations associated with the word than the second plurality of placement locations for the word.