Task-sensitive methods and systems for displaying command sets

摘要

Methods and systems present commands to a user within a software application program by determining the user's context within the application program and automatically presenting in a user interface commands that pertain to the user's current context. When the user's context changes, the context-sensitive commands are automatically removed from the user interface. In one implementation context blocks and context panes are employed to present the commands.

主权项

1. A computing system comprising:
one or more processing units; and one or more computer-readable media that provide nonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the computing system to: display a user interface within a single navigable window, the user interface comprising:
a navigation area including buttons to provide browsing functionality for navigation of the single navigable window;a document area displaying a document; anda container area proximate the document area, the container area not obscuring the document area; andin response to selection of a given object within the document area:
determine whether a first context block is relevant to a task for the given object within the document by evaluating a first visibility expression associated with the first context block, the first context block comprising a first plurality of user-selectable commands;in response to determining that the first context block is relevant to the task for the given object and is not displayed in the container area, without receiving further input from the user, display the first context block within the container area; anddetermine whether a second context block is relevant to the task for the given object within the document by evaluating a second visibility expression associated with the second context block, wherein the second visibility expression is different than the first visibility expression, the second context block comprising a second plurality of user-selectable commands, the first plurality of user-selectable commands in the first context block being different than the second plurality of user-selectable commands in the second context block;in response to determining that a second context block is not displayed in the container area and that the second context block is relevant to the task for the given object, without receiving further input from the user, display the second context block within the container area;in response to determining that a second context block is displayed in the container area and that the second context block is not relevant to the task for the given object, without receiving further input from the user, hide the second context block; andwherein if the selection includes additional content in the document in addition to the given object, the first context block is displayed only when each user-selectable command in the first plurality of user-selectable commands is pertinent to the given object and the additional content.