AN IMPROVED USER INTERFACE FOR DISPLAYING SELECTABLE SOFTWARE FUNCTIONALITY CONTROLS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO A
SELECTED OBJECT
Cross-Reference to Related Applications
The present application claims priority to U S Provisional Application No 60/601,815, Attorney Matter No 60001 0407USP1, Applicant Matter No 309417 1, filed August 16, 2004, entitled "Improved User Interfaces for Computer Software Applications "
Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to software application user interfaces More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved user interface for displaying selectable software controls that are relevant to a selected object
Background of the Invention
With the advent of the computer age, computer and software users have grown accustomed to user-friendly software applications that help them write, calculate, organize, prepare presentations, send and receive electronic mail, make music, and the like For example, modem electronic word processing applications allow users to prepare a variety of useful documents Modern spreadsheet applications allow users fo enter, manipulate, and organize data Modern electronic slide presentation applications allow users to create a variety of slide presentations containing text, pictures, data or other useful objects
To assist users to locate and utilize functionality of a given software application, a user interface containing a plurality of generic functionality controls is typically provided along an upper, lower or side edge of a displayed workspace in which the user may enter, copy, manipulate and format text or data Such functionality controls often
include selectable buttons with such names as "file," "edit," "view," "insert," "format," and the like Typically, selection of one of these top-level functionality buttons, for example "format,''' causes a drop-down menu to be deployed to expose one or more selectable functionality controls associated with the top-level functionality, for example "font" under a top-level functionality of "format"
After a user selects a desired functionality control, or if the user moves the mouse cursor to a different location, the drop-down menu typically disappears If the user determines that functionality of the first drop-down menu was the desired functionality, the user must remember which top-level functionality was selected, reselect that functionality and then find the desired functionality control all over again Accordingly, in order to use the functionality of a given software application, the user must know the desired functionality is available under one of the selectable buttons, or the user must select different top-level functionalities until the desired specific functionality is located
This is particularly cumbersome when the user desires to apply many available functionalities to a given object type For example, if the user desires to edit a picture object imbedded in a text document, according to prior methods and systems, the user must find functionality in a drop-down menu associated with editing the picture object After application of any given functionality, the drop-down menu associated with editing the selected object, e g, picture object, typically disappears When the user desires to make a second or subsequent edit to the object, the user must once again find the correct top-level functionality control, deploy a menu of available functionalities, and find the desired particular functionality Such a method of searching for desired functionality is cumbersome and time-consuming, particularly for less-experienced users, and when new functionality is added by developers of the software application, the new functionality may never be utilized unless the user is somehow educated as to its existence
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved user interface for displaying selectable software functionality controls that are relevant to a selected
object and that remain visibly available for use while the object is being edited It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has been made
Summary of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention solve the above and other problems by providing an improved user interface for displaying selectable software functionality controls that are relevant to a selected object and that remain visibly available for use while the selected object is being edited Generally, aspects of the present invention provide for presenting selectable functionality controls associated with a given top-level functionality upon selection of a given object for editing Upon selection of a particular object for editing, functionality available for editing the object is presented in a ribbon-shaped user interface above the software application workspace to allow the user ready and efficient access to functionality needed for editing the selected object The display of relevant functionality controls is persisted until the user dismisses the display, selects another top-level functionality control or selects another object for editing
According to an aspect of the invention, methods and systems provide functionality from a software application that is relevant to an edited object via an improved user interface A plurality of functionalities available from a given software application is provided Upon receiving an indication of a selection of an object for editing via the software application, one or more selectable controls representing a subset of the plurality of functionalities is displayed in a nbbon-shaped user interface whereby the subset of the plurality of functionalities is relevant to and allows for editing the selected object The subset of the plurality of functionalities is persisted in the user interface until an indication is received of the selection of a different object for editing or the selection of a different functionality associated with a different subset of the plurality of functionalities
These and other features and advantages, which characterize the present invention, will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings It is to be understood that both the foregoing general
descnption and the following detailed descnption are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restnctive of the invention as claimed
Brief Description of the Drawings
Fig 1 is a block diagram showing the architecture of a personal computer that provides an illustrative operating environment for embodiments of the present invention
Fig 2 is an illustration of a computer screen display showing a nbbon-shaped user interface for displaying task-based top-level functionality tabs and for displaying a plurality of functionalities available under a selected top-level functionality tab
Fig 3 illustrates a computer screen display showing a nbbon-shaped user interface in which is disposed selectable functionality controls relevant to and associated with the editing of a selected object
Fig 4 illustrates a computer screen display showing an editable object according to embodiments of the present invention
Fig 5 illustrates a computer screen display showing the presentation of a plurality of functionalities associated with a selected object for editing
Fig 6 illustrates the computer screen display of Fig 5 wherein a drop-down menu of selectable formatting options combinations is illustrated under a selectable formatting control
Fig 7 illustrates a computer screen display showing the presentation of a plurality of functionalities associated with a selected object for editing
Fig 8 illustrates a computer screen display showing an editable object according to embodiments of the present invention
Fig 9 illustrates a computer screen display showing a pop-up functionality menu for providing functionality associated with a selected object for editing
Fig 10 illustrates a computer screen display showing the presentation of a plurality of functionalities associated with a selected object for editing
Fig 11 illustrates a computer screen display showing the presentation of a plurality of functionalities associated with a selected object for editing
Fig 12 illustrates a computer screen display showing the presentation of a plurality of functionalities associated with a selected object for editing
Fig 13 illustrates a computer screen display showing a pop-up functionality menu for providing functionality associated with a selected object for editing
Fig 14 illustrates a computer screen display showing the presentation of a plurality of functionalities associated with a selected object for editing
Fig 15 illustrates a computer screen display showing a pop-up functionality menu for providing functionality associated with a selected object for editing
Detailed Description
As briefly described above, embodiments of the present invention are directed to an improved user interface for displaying selectable functionality controls that are relevant to a selected object and that remain visibly available for use while the selected object is being edited In the following detailed description, references are made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustrations specific embodiments or examples These embodiments may be combined, other embodiments may be utilized, and structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention The following detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a limiting sense and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents
Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements through the several figures, aspects of the present invention and the exemplary operating environment will be described Fig 1 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which the invention may be implemented While the invention will be described in the general context of program modules that execute in conjunction with an application program that runs on an operating system on a personal computer, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may also be implemented in combination with other program modules
Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including handheld devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices
Turning now to Fig 1, an illustrative computer architecture for a personal computer 2 for practicing the various embodiments of the invention will be described The computer architecture shown in Fig 1 illustrates a conventional personal computer, including a central processing unit 4 ("CPU"), a system memory 6, including a random access memory 8 ("RAM") and a read-only memory ("ROM") 10, and a system bus 12 that couples the memory to the CPU 4 A basic input/output system containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer, such as during startup, is stored in the ROM 10 The personal computer 2 further includes a mass storage device 14 for storing an operating system 16, application programs, such as the application program 205, and data
The mass storage device 14 is connected to the CPU 4 through a mass storage controller (not shown) connected to the bus 12 The mass storage device 14 and its associated computer-readable media, provide non-volatile storage for the personal computer 2 Although the description of computer-readable media contained herein refers to a mass storage device, such as a hard disk or CD-ROM drive, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by the personal computer 2
By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media Computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any
method or teclinology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computer
According to various embodiments of the invention, the personal computer 2 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to remote computers through a TCP/IP network 18, such as the Internet The personal computer 2 may connect to the TCP/IP network 18 through a network interface unit 20 connected to the bus 12 It should be appreciated that the network interface unit 20 may also be utilized to connect to other types of networks and remote computer systems The personal computer 2 may also include an input/output controller 22 for receiving and processing input from a number of devices, including a keyboard or mouse (not shown) Similarly, an input/output controller 22 may provide output to a display screen, a printer, or other type of output device
As mentioned briefly above, a number of program modules and data files may be stored in the mass storage device 14 and RAMS of the personal computer 2, including an operating system 16 suitable for controlling the operation of a networked personal computer, such as the WINDOWS operating systems from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington The mass storage device 14 and RAM 8 may also store one or more application programs In particular, the mass storage device 14 and RAM 8 may store an application program 105 for providing a variety of functionalities to a user For instance, the application program 105 may comprise many types of programs such as a word processing application, a spreadsheet application, a desktop publishing application, and the like According to an embodiment of the present invention, the application program 105 comprises a multiple functionality software application for providing word processing functionality, slide presentation functionality, spreadsheet functionality, database functionality and the like Some of
the individual program modules comprising the multiple functionality application 105 include a word processing application 125, a slide presentation application 135, a spreadsheet application 140 and a database application 145 An example of such a multiple functionality application 105 is OFFICE manufactured by Microsoft Corporation Other software applications illustrated in Fig 1 include an electronic mail application 130
Fig 2 is an illustration of a computer screen display showing a nbbon-shaped user interface for displaying task-based top-level functionality tabs and for displaying a plurality of functionalities available under a selected top-level functionality tab As bnefly described above, the improved user interface of the present invention includes a nbbon-shaped user interface for displaying selectable controls associated with task-based functionality available under a given software application, such as the software application 105 illustrated in Fig 1 A first section 210 of the user interface 200 includes generic selectable controls for functionality not associated with a particular task, such as word processing versus spreadsheet data analysis For example, the section 210 includes selectable controls for general file commands such as "file open," "file save" and "print" According to one embodiment of the present invention, the selectable controls included in the first section 210 are controls that may be utilized by a variety of software applications comprising a multiple functionality application 105 That is, the selectable controls included in the first section 210 may be controls that are generally found and used across a number of different software applications
Selectable controls included in the first section 210 may be utilized for all such applications comprising such a multiple functionality application, but other seleclable controls presented in the user interface 200 described below, may be tailored to particular tasks which may be performed by particular software applications comprising the multiple functionality application On the other hand, it should be appreciated that the user interface 200 described herein may be utilized for a single software application such as a word processing application 125, a slide presentation application 135, a spreadsheet application 140, a database application 145, or any other software
application which may utilize a user interface for allowing users to apply functionality of the associated application
Referring still to Fig 2, adjacent to the first section 210 of the user interface 200 is a task-based tab section The tab section includes selectable tabs associated with task-based functionality provided by a given software application For purposes of example, the task-based tabs illustrated in Fig 2 are associated with tasks that may be performed using a word processing application 125 For example, a "Writing" tab 215 is associated with functionality that may be utilized for performing writing tasks An "Insert" tab 220 is associated with functionality associated with performing insert operations or tasks A "Page Layout" tab 230 is associated with functionality provided by the associated application for performing or editing page layout attributes of a given document
As should be appreciated, many other task-based tabs or selectable controls may be added to the tab section of the user interface for calling functionality associated with other tasks For example, task tabs may be added for text effects, document styles, review and comment, and the like And, as described above, the user interface 200 may be utilized for a variety of different software applications For example, if the user interface 200 is utilized for a slide presentation application, tabs contained in the tab section may include such tabs as "Create Slides," "Insert," "Format," "Drawing," "Effects," and the like associated with a variety of tasks that may be performed by a slide presentation application Similarly, tabs that may be utilized in the tab section of the user interface 200 for a spreadsheet application 140 may include such tabs as "Data" or "Data Entry," "Lists/' "Pivot Tables," "Analysis," "Formulas," "Pages and Printing," and the like associated with tasks that may be performed using a spreadsheet application
Immediately beneath the generic controls section 210 and the task-based tab section is a selectable functionality control section for displaying selectable functionality controls associated with a selected tab 215, 220, 230 from the task-based tab section According to embodiments of the present invention, when a particular tab, such as the "Writing" tab 215 is selected, selectable functionality available from the
associated software application for performing the selected task, for example a wntmg task, is displayed in logical groupings For example, referring to Fig 2, a first logical grouping 240 is displayed under a heading "Clipboard " According to embodiments of the present invention, the clipboard section 240 includes selectable functionality controls logically grouped together and associated with clipboard actions underneath the general task of writing For example, the clipboard section 240 may include such selectable controls as a cut control, a copy control, a paste control, a select all control, etc Adjacent to the clipboard section 240, a second logical grouping 250 is presented under the heading "Formatting "
Selectable controls presented in the "Formatting" section 250 may include such selectable controls as text justification, text type, font size, line spacing, boldface, italics, underline, etc Accordingly, functionalities associated with formatting operations are logically grouped together underneath the overall task of "Writing " A third logical grouping 260 is presented under the heading "Writing Tools " The writing tools section 260 includes such writing tools as find/replace, autocorrect, etc According to embodiments of the present invention, upon selection of a different task-based tab from the tab section, a different set of selectable functionality controls in different logical groupings is presented in the user interface 200 associated with the selected task-based tab For example, if the "Insert" task tab 220 is selected, the selectable functionality controls presented in the user interface 200 are changed from those illustrated in Fig 2 to include selectable functionality controls associated with the insert task For detailed information regarding the user interface 200, illustrated in Fig 2, see United States Patent Application, Attorney Matter No 60001 0410USU1, Applicant Matter No 309411 01, entitled "Command User Interface for Displaying Selectable Software Functionality Controls," which is incorporated herein by reference as if fully set out herein
Figs 3 through 10 illustrate aspects of a first embodiment of the present invention Fig 3 illustrates a computer screen display showing a nbbon-shaped user interface in which is disposed selectable functionality controls relevant to and associated with the editing of a selected object According to the embodiment
illustrated in Figs 3 - 10, of the present invention, when a portion of a document or a particular object is selected for editing, such as a text object, picture object, spreadsheet object, or the like, the user interface illustrated in Fig 2 is temporarily replaced with a user interface, as illustrated in Fig 3, which contains selectable functionality controls particularly associated with editing the selected object For example, if a picture object embedded in a text file is selected for editing, the task-based functionality tabs and any associated logical groupings of individual selectable functionality controls, as described above with reference to Fig 2, are replaced with one or more task-based functionality tabs and associated logical groupings of selectable functionality controls that are particular to editing the selected object
For example, referring to Fig 3, if a picture object embedded in a text file or other document is selected for editing by the user, the nbbon-shaped user interface 300 replaces the ribbon-shaped user interface 200 so that the user is provided with task-based tabs 310, 320, 330 particular to editing the selected picture object Similar to the description of the user interface 200 described above, upon selection of one of the task-based tabs 310, 320, 330, the portion of the user interface 300 disposed beneath the tabs is populated with individual or logical groupings of selectable functionality controls for applying functionality available under the selected task-based tab to the selected object For example, referring to the user interface 300, selection of a "Style Gallery" tab 310 causes the presentation of a "Layout" section 350 and a "Picture Styles" section 355 In addition, a "Selection" section 345 is provided for allowing the user to select between multiple picture objects, for example, for application of any selected functionality If the user applies a given functionality to the selected object, but is not satisfied with the result of the functionality application, a reset button 340 is provided for allowing the user to reset the selected object back to its condition prior to applying the selected functionality Selection of one of the other task-based tabs, such as the "Effects'* tab 320 or the "Picture Tools" tab 330, will cause a different set of selectable functionality controls to be displayed in the lower portion of the user interface 300 associated with the selected task-based tab
Referring to the example functionality controls illustrated in the user interface 300, in the "Picture Styles" section 355, a plurality of images are provided for showing a user how a selected object would be displayed if a particular combination of formatting options or picture styles is applied to the object According to embodiments of the present invention, selection of one or more of the images may cause all commands necessary for formatting or stylizing the selected object in a manner consistent with the selected image from the user interface 300 That is, upon selecting a desired image in the "Picture Styles" section 355, the selected object in the user's document is automatically formatted or stylized accordingly The "Layout" section 350 is representative of a functionality controls section which may have one or more images or potential layout styles or schemes than may be displayed in the user interface 300 Accordingly, as illustrated and described below with reference to Fig 6, selection of the "Layout" section 350 may cause a drop-down menu or drop-across menu to be displayed providing a user with a variety of different layout options that may be applied to the selected object
As should be understood by those skilled in the art, the example task-based tabs and individual functionality controls illustrated in the user interface 300 are for purposes of example only and are in no way limiting of the variety of object-specific functionalities that may be provided in the user interface 300 According to embodiments of the present invention, by replacing the normal functionality offerings of the user interface 200 with functionality particular to the selected object, the user experience is one of being immersed in the functionality available to the user for editing the selected object
If insufficient space is available in the user interface 300 for displaying all logical groupings of functionality controls associated with a given task-based tab, a determination may be made at application run time as to any logical groupings that must be collapsed or closed until the associated task-based tab is selected Similarly, if the user manually reduces the size of the user interface 300, a determination is made as to the available space for displaying selectable functionality control sections, and certain selectable functionality control sections are collapsed as required As should be
appreciated, a determination may be made as to the order of collapsing selectable functionality control sections such that a criteria, such as "most used" or "most recently used" may be used for determining which selectable functionality control sections are displayed and which sections are collapsed as the available space in the user interface is decreased
According to an alternate embodiment, if the user interface 300 lacks sufficient space to display all logical groupings of functionality controls associated with a given task-based tab, the size of the display of individual logical groupings is reduced to allow space for the display of all associated logical groupings According to one aspect of this embodiment, different sizes of groupings displays, for example small, medium and large, may be defined At display time, a determination may be made as to the available space At a starting point, the largest size for each applicable logical grouping display is presented As required, the display size is reduced (i e, large to medium to small) for each logical grouping until each grouping fits in the available space In addition, for smaller logical grouping display layouts, text labels may be shortened or eliminated and the layout of individual selectable controls contained in given groupings may be rearranged to allow for more efficient use of space
Referring now to Fig 4, an example text document is displayed in a word processing application workspace having an embedded picture object The user interface 200, disposed along the upper edge of the word processing application workspace, is displayed with task-based tabs and associated selectable functionality control sections for writing text into the displayed document If the user desires to edit the picture object 410, according to embodiments of the present invention, the user need not search for functionality required for editing picture objects Upon selecting the picture object 410 for editing, a "Show Picture Tools" control 420 is displayed to the user for allowing the user to call up tools and other functionality available to the user for editing the selected object As should be understood by those skilled in the art, the description of the editing of a picture object is for purposes of example only and is not limiting of a variety of different tools and functionalities that may be exposed to the user in a user interface 300 described above upon selection of different types of objects
For example, tools and functionality may be provided for editing table objects, spreadsheet objects, slide presentation objects, database objects, and the like
If the user selects the "Show Pictures Tools" control, according to the embodiment illustrated in Figs 3-10, the user interface 300 is dynamically generated and temporarily replaces the user interface 200, as illustrated in Fig 5 Referring to Fig 5, the user interface 300 replaces the user interface 200, and task-based functionality available to the user for editing the selected picture object is displayed in the user interface 300, as descnbed above with reference to Fig 3 Now, the user may select one or more functionalities applicable to editing the selected object (e g, picture object) without the need for searching through a variety of different menus or tool bars for functionality needed for editing the selected object In order to dismiss the user interface 300 and return to the user interface 200, an exit control may be selected
Referring to Fig 6, consider, for example, that the user decides to change the layout of the document by moving the embedded picture object to a different location The user could manually move the embedded object to a different location followed by changing the orientation and location of text contained in the document to cause the overall document to have an acceptable and desirable layout However, according to embodiments of the present invention, the user may select the layout control 350 to deploy a drop-down menu for providing a variety of different potential layouts for the selected object within the selected document For example, the drop-down menu 600 provides layouts such as "Centered Large," 610, "Top Left," 620, 'Top Right," 630, "Centered in Text," 640, "Above & Below," 650 and "Alone on Page" 660 As should be understood, the potential layouts descnbed and illustrated with respect to Fig 6 are for purposes of example only and are not limiting of a vanety of different layouts that may be provided to the user via the user interface 300
As descnbed above with reference to Fig 3, according to embodiments of the present invention, all required commands for applying a presented formatting or layout to the selected object may be coded for execution upon selecting one of the formatting or layout images provided in the user interface Accordingly, if the user desires to select a layout placing the selected picture object in the top right orientation of the
selected document, the user may select the "Top Right" layout 630, and all required functionality for rearranging the selected object and document according to the selected layout is applied to the document and object so that the document assumes the selected layout, as illustrated in Fig 7
Referring to Fig 7, the selected object 410 is now positioned in the upper nght-hand corner of the document, and the text has been rearranged accordingly As illustrated in Fig 7, the user interface 300 containing the functionality associated with the selected object remains persisted in the user interface until the user selects a different object in the document for editing For example, if the user moves the mouse cursor to a text portion of the document and selects the text portion of the document for editing, the user interface 300 will be dismissed and an appropriate user interface 200 associated with editing the selected text will be displayed, as illustrated in Fig 4 For example, as illustrated in Fig 8, the picture object has been deleted and the cursor is situated in the text portion of the document Accordingly, the user interface 300, containing functionality particular to editing a picture object is dismissed, and the user interface 200, containing task-based tabs and associated selectable functionality controls, groupings or sections is displayed for providing the user necessary functionality for editing the text portion of the document
As described above, one method for deploying the user interface 300 for providing selectable functionality associated with a particular object is to select a particular object within a given document Alternatively, the user interface 300, containing functionality associated with a particular object may be deployed by inserting an object of a given type into a document For example, refemng to Fig 9, if a user decides to insert a table object into the document illustrated in Fig 9, the user may select the "Insert" task-based tab 220 from the user interface 200 for deploying selectable functionality controls associated with inserting text or objects into the document If the user then decides to insert a particular object, for example, a table object, into the document, the user may utilize one or more selectable functionality controls presented in the user interface 200, or the user may launch a dialog 900, as
illustrated in Fig 9, for creating and inserting a desired object, for example a table object, into the selected document
According to embodiments of the present'invention, once the user selects for inserting the desired object into the document, the object 1050 is inserted into the document, as illustrated in Fig 10 Simultaneously, the user interface 200 is replaced with a user interface 300 for displaying selectable functionality for editing the now-selected table object 1050 For example, referring to Fig 10, the user interface 300 now includes task-based tabs associated with editing a table object For example, task-based tabs, illustrated in the user interface 300, include "Style Gallery," "Effects," "Borders and Shading," 'Table Layout," and "Date " As described above with reference to Figs 2 and 3, selection of one of the task-based tabs, for example the "Style Gallery" tab, causes a display of individual or groupings of selectable functionality controls 1020, 1030, 1040 for editing the selected object according to the selected task-based tab
Figs 11 through 15 illustrate aspects of an alternate embodiment of the present invention Referring now to Fig 11, aspects of this embodiment of the present invention are illustrated and descnbed with reference to a spreadsheet application 140 As illustrated in Fig 11, a spreadsheet document is displayed having an example table of data 1150 A user interface 1100 similar to the user interface 200 descnbed above with reference to Fig 2 is disposed above the spreadsheet workspace for providing spreadsheet application functionality A plurality of task-based tabs are provided at the top of the user interface 1100 for selectively displaying logical groupings of selectable functionality controls associated with given task-based functionality tabs For example, task-based functionality tabs included in the user interface 1100 include "Insert," "Page Layout," "Analysis," etc
According to aspects of this embodiment, when an object is selected for editing, such as the table object 1150 illustrated in Fig 11, the selectable functionality controls associated with the selected object do not replace the tabs displayed in the user interface 1100, but are appended to the user interface 1100 beneath the tabs displayed in the user interface 1100 The controls associated with the selected object are automatically displayed in the appended orientation relative to the tabs of the user interface 1100 upon
selection or insertion of a given object Selection of any of the tabs in the user interface 1100 dismisses the controls displayed for the selected or inserted object that are appended beneath the user interface 1100 For example, a "Styles" section 1110 is provided for applying spreadsheet workspace styles to the document, a "Properties" section 1120 is provided, an "Actions" section 1130 is provided, and a "Publish to Server" section 1140 is provided According to embodiments of the present invention, because a table object is embedded in the spreadsheet workspace, a 'Table Tools" tab is exposed adjacent to the task-based functionality tabs 1100 As should be appreciated, selection of the 'Table Tools" tab may cause a display of selectable functionahty controls associated with table objects in the lower portion of the user interface
As illustrated in Fig 12, selection of the "Table Tools" tab causes display of the selectable functionahty controls associated with the selected table Alternatively, the display of the selectable functionality controls associated with the selected table may be automatically displayed upon selection of the table object without use of the "Table Tools" tab As should be understood, description of the table object 1150 and use of the "Table Tools" tab are for purposes of example only and are not limiting of operation of embodiments of the present invention with respect to other objects that may be inserted into or edited in the spreadsheet workspace
Referring to Fig 13, if a user decides to create a chart, for example, using data contained in the selected table object, the user may select one of the chart-type images "Controls" illustrated in the user interface of Fig 12 Upon selection of a chart for inserting into the spreadsheet workspace, an "Insert Chart" dialog 1310 may be displayed for allowing the user to specify attributes of the selected chart As illustrated in Fig 14, once particular chart attributes are selected, a corresponding chart is drawn and is displayed in the spreadsheet workspace According to embodiments of the present invention, insertion of the selected chart automatically causes functionality of the previously displayed user interface (see Figs 12 and 13) to be replaced with selectable functionahty controls associated with editing the selected and inserted chart For example, a "Chart Structure" section 1410, a "Chart Options" section 1420, a "3D View" section 1430, and an "Axis Scale" section 1440 are displayed in a lower portion
of the user interface to provide particular selectable functionality controls associated with editing the selected chart
Referring now to Fig 15, if the user selects a different functionality for application to the spreadsheet workspace, for example, inserting a pivot table, the particular functionality displayed in the user interface associated with editing the chart, as illustrated in Fig 14, is replaced with functionality associated with inserting the selected or desired pivot table Accordingly, functionality controls are made available and displayed to the user according to the nature of the user's work, for example, selection of a particular object in a document for editing
As described herein, an improved user interface is provided for displaying selectable functionality controls that are relevant to a selected object and that remain persisted for use while the selected object is being edited It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or variations may be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein

WE CLAIM
1 A method for providing functionality from a software application that is
relevant to an edited object via an improved user interface, comprising
providing a plurality of functionalities available from a software application, receiving an indication of a selection of an object for editing via the software
application,
upon receiving the indication of the selection of the object for editing, providing
in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing a first subset of the
plurality of functionalities, whereby the subset of the plurality of functionalities allows
for editing the selected object
2 The method of Claim 1, in response to receiving an indication of a selection of an object for editing via the software application, providing a selectable control at the selected object for selectively causing provision m the user interface of the one or more selectable controls representing a first subset of the plurality of functionalities
3 The method of Claim 1, pnor to providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing a subset of the plurality of functionalities, further comprising providing in the user interface a user interface tab for each of one or more tasks that may be performed with the subset of the plurality of functionalities
4 The method of Claim 3, further comprising upon receiving an indication of the selection of a first user interface tab, providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls for selecting one or more functionalities organized under a first task associated with the selected first user interface tab
5 The method of Claim 4, further comprising upon receiving an indication of a selection of a second user interface tab, providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls for selecting functionalities organized under a second task associated with the selected second user interface tab
6 The method of Claim 4, further comprising grouping the one or more selectable controls representing a subset of the plurality of flinchonahties into one or more logical groupings of selectable controls whereby each of the one or more logical groupings is associated with a subset of the one or more selectable controls for selecting one or more functionalities organized under the first task associated with the selected first user interface tab
7 The method of Claim 6, whereby if the user interface lacks sufficient space for displaying selectable controls of a given logical grouping, collapsing the given logical grouping into a single selectable control for accessing the selectable controls grouped under the given logical grouping
8 The method of Claim 7, further comprising upon receiving a selection of the single selectable control, providing a menu of the selectable controls grouped under the given logical grouping
9 The method of Claim 6, whereby if the user interface lacks sufficient space for displaying selectable controls of a given logical grouping, reducing a display size of each of the one or more logical groupings until each of the one or more logical groupings may be displayed in the user interface
10 The method of Claim 9, further comprising rearranging a layout of individual selectable controls grouped in a given logical grouping for reducing the display size of the logical grouping
11 The method of Claim 10, further comprising amending a display of one or more individual selectable controls grouped in a given logical grouping for reducing the display size of the logical grouping
12 The method of Claim 4, further comprising
upon receiving an indication of a mouse-over of a second user interface tab, providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing a second subset of the plurality of functionalities, and
upon cessation of the mouse-over of the second user interface tab, providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing the first subset of the plurality of functionalities
13 The method of Claim 12, after providing in the user interface one or
more selectable controls representing a second subset of the plurality of functionalities,
receiving an indication of a selection of one of the one or more selectable controls
representing the second subset of the plurality of functionalities, and
if the second user interface tab is not selected for persisting a provision in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing a second subset of the plurality of functionalities, providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing the first subset of the plurality of functionalities
14 The method of Claim 1, whereby receiving an indication of a selection of an object for editing via the software application includes receiving an indication of an insertion of an object for editing into a document object via the software application
15 The method of Claim 1, further comprising upon receiving an indication of a selection of one of the one or more selectable controls, applying functionality associated with the selected one of the one or more selectable controls to the selected object
16 An improved user interface for providing functionality from a software
application that is relevant to a selected object, comprising
one or more tabs disposed in an upper row of the user interface, each of said one or more tabs identifying a task that may be performed with the software application, where said task is associated with objects of same type as a selected object,
whereby each of said one or more tabs is operative upon selection to cause a display in the. user interface of one or more selectable functionality controls associated with a selected tab, and
whereby said one or more selectable functionality controls is disposed in a row underneath the disposition of the one or more tabs, each of said one or more functionality controls being operative to cause an application of an associated functionality of the software application to the selected object
17 The improved user interface of Claim 16, further comprising
said one or more selectable functionality controls being organized and displayed in the user interface in one or more logical groupings, whereby each of said one or more logical groupings is associated with a subset of functionalities available from the software application that may be applied to the selected object according to a portion of a task associated with a selected tab
18 A computer readable medium containing computer executable
instructions which when executed by a computer perform a method for providing
functionality from a software application that is relevant to an edited object via an
improved user interface, comprising
providing a plurality of functionalities available from a software application, receiving an indication of a selection of an object for editing via the software
application,
upon receiving the indication of the selection of the object for editing, providing
in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing a first subset of the
plurality of functionalities, whereby the subset of the plurality of functionalities allows
for editing the selected object
19 The computer readable medium of Claim 18, in response to receiving an indication of a selection of an object for editing via the software application, providing a selectable control at the selected object for selectively causing provision in the user interface of the one or more selectable controls representing a first subset of the plurality of functionalities
20 The computer readable medium of Claim 18, prior to providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing a subset of the plurality of functionalities, further comprising providing in the user interface a user interface tab for each of one or more tasks that may be performed with the subset of the plurality of functionalities
21 The computer readable medium of Claim 20, further comprising upon receiving an indication of the selection of a first user interface tab, providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls for selecting one or more functionalities organized under a first task associated with the selected first user interface tab
22 The computer readable medium of Claim 21, further comprising upon receiving an indication of a selection of a second user interface tab, providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls for selecting functionalities organized under a second task associated with the selected second user interface tab
23 The computer readable medium of Claim 21, further comprising grouping the one or more selectable controls representing a subset of the plurality of functionalities into one or more logical groupings of selectable controls whereby each of the one or more logical groupings is associated with a subset of the one or more selectable controls for selecting one or more functionalities organized under the first task associated with the selected first user interface tab
24 The computer readable medium of Claim 23, whereby if the user interface lacks sufficient space for displaying selectable controls of a given logical grouping, collapsing the given logical grouping into a single selectable control for accessing the selectable controls grouped under the given logical grouping
25 The computer readable medium of Claim 24, further comprising upon receiving a selection of the single selectable control, providing a menu of the selectable controls grouped under the given logical grouping
26 The computer readable medium of Claim 23, whereby if the user interface lacks sufficient space for displaying selectable controls of a given logical grouping, reducing a display size of each of the one or more logical groupings until each of the one or more logical groupings may be displayed in the user interface
27 The computer readable medium of Claim 26, further comprising rearranging a layout of individual selectable controls grouped in a given logical grouping for reducing the display size of the logical grouping
28 The computer readable medium of Claim 27, further comprising amending a display of one or more individual selectable controls grouped in a given logical grouping for reducing the display size of the logical grouping
29 The computer readable medium of Claim 21, further comprising
upon receiving an indication of a mouse-over of a second user interface tab, providing m the user interface one or more selectable controls representing a second subset of the plurality of functionalities, and
upon cessation of the mouse-over of the second user interface tab, providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing the first subset of the plurality of functionalities
30 The computer readable medium of Claim 29, after providing in the user
interface one or more selectable controls representmg a second subset of the plurality of
functionalities, receiving an indication of a selection of one of the one or more
selectable controls representing the second subset of the plurality of functionalities, and
if the second user interface tab is not selected for persisting a provision in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing a second subset of the plurality of functionalities, providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing the first subset of the plurality of functionalities
31 The computer readable medium of Claim 18, whereby receiving an indication of a selection of an object for editing via the software application includes receiving an indication of the insertion of an object for editing into a document object via the software application
32 The computer readable medium of Claim 18, further comprising upon receiving an indication of a selection of one of the one or more selectable controls, applying functionality associated with the selected one of the one or more selectable controls to the selected object
33 A method for providing functionality from a software application that is
relevant to an edited object via an improved user interface, comprising
receiving an indication of a selection of an object for editing via the software application,
upon receiving the indication of the selection of the object for editing, providing in the user interface a user interface tab for each of one or more tasks' that are particular to performance on an object of a same type as the selected object,
providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing a first user interface tab, each of the one or more selectable controls for selecting for application to the selected object of one or more functionalities of the software application associated with a first task, and
grouping the one or more selectable controls representing a first user interface tab into one or more logical groupings of selectable controls whereby each of the one or more logical groupings is associated with a subset of the one or more selectable controls representing the first user interface tab
34 The method of Claim 33, in response to receiving an indication of a
selection of an object for editing via the software application, providing a selectable
control at the selected object for selectively causing provision in the user interface of
the user interface tab for each of one or more tasks that are particular to performance on
an object of a same type as the selected object, and for causing provision in the user
interface of the one or more selectable controls representing a first user interface tab,
each of the one or more selectable controls for selecting for application to the selected
object of one or more functionalities of the software application associated with a first
task
35 The method of Claim 33, further comprising upon receiving an indication of a selection of a second user interface tab, providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing the second user interface tab, each of the one or more selectable controls for selecting for application to the selected object of one or more functionalities of the software application associated with a second task
36 The method of Claim 33, whereby if the user interface lacks sufficient space for displaying selectable controls of a given logical grouping, collapsing the given logical grouping into a single selectable control for accessing the selectable controls grouped under the given logical grouping
37 The method of Claim 36, further comprising upon receiving a selection of the single selectable control, providing a menu of the selectable controls grouped under the given logical grouping
38 The method of Claim 33, whereby receiving an indication of a selection of an object for editing via the software application includes receiving an indication of an insertion of an object for editing into a document object via the software application
39 The method of Claim 33, further comprising upon receiving an indication of a selection of one of the one or more selectable controls, applying functionality associated with the selected one of the one or more selectable controls to the selected object

40 A computer readable medium containing computer executable
instructions which when executed by a computer perform a method for providing
functionality from a software application that is relevant to an edited object via an
improved user interface, comprising
receiving an indication of a selection of an object for editing via the software application,
upon receiving the indication of the selection of the object for editing, providing m the user interface a user interface tab for each of one or more tasks that are particular to performance on an object of a same type as the selected object,
providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing a first user interface tab, each of the one or more selectable controls for selecting for application to the selected object of one or more functionalities of the software application associated with a first task, and
grouping the one or more selectable controls representing a first user interface tab into one or more logical groupings of selectable controls whereby each of the one or more logical groupings is associated with a subset of the one or more selectable controls representing the first user interface tab
41 The computer readable medium of Claim 40, in response to receiving an
indication of a selection of an object for editing via the software application, providing
a selectable control at the selected object for selectively causing provision m the user
interface of the user interface tab for each of one or more tasks that are particular to
performance on an object of a same type as the selected object, and for causing
provision in the user interface of the one or more selectable controls representing a first
user interface tab, each of the one or more selectable controls for selecting for
application to the selected object of one or more functionalities of the software
application associated with a first task
42 The computer readable medium of Claim 40, further comprising upon receiving an indication of a selection of a second user interface tab, providing in the user interface one or more selectable controls representing the second user interface tab, each of the one or more selectable controls for selecting for application to the selected object of one or more functionalities of the software application associated with a second task
43 The computer readable medium of Claim 40, whereby if the user interface lacks sufficient space for displaying selectable controls of a given logical grouping, collapsing the given logical grouping into a single selectable control for accessing the selectable controls grouped under the given logical grouping
44 The computer readable medium of Claim 43, further comprising upon receiving a selection of the single selectable control, providing a menu of the selectable controls grouped under the given logical grouping
45 The computer readable medium of Claim 40, whereby receiving an indication of a selection of an object for editing via the software application includes receiving an indication of an insertion of an object for editing into a document object via the software application
46 The computer readable medium of Claim 40, further comprising upon receiving an indication of a selection of one of the one or more selectable controls, applying functionality associated with the selected one of the one or more selectable controls to the selected object