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Search window for adding program elements to a programRelated Patent Categories: Data Processing: Software Development, Installation, And Management, Software Program Development Tool (e.g., Integrated Case Tool Or Stand-alone Development Tool), Code Generation, VisualSearch window for adding program elements to a program description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060036995, Search window for adding program elements to a program. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CONTINUATION DATA [0001] This application is a Continuation of co-pending application Ser. No. 09/894,660 titled "Graphical User Interface Including Palette Windows with an Improved Search Function" and filed on Jun. 28, 2001, which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/752,654 titled "Graphical User Interface Including Palette Windows with an Improved Navigation Interface" filed Dec. 27, 2000, whose inventors were Justin Chickles and Raghavendra Gururaj. RESERVATION OF COPYRIGHT [0002] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material to which a claim of copyright protection is made. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but reserves all other rights whatsoever. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0003] The present invention relates to the field of computer user interface design, and in particular to an improved user interface for searching for items in a hierarchy of palette windows and for incorporating located items into programs. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART [0004] A primary goal of a graphical user interface (GUI) is to provide the user the maximum amount of intuitiveness, familiarity and flexibility in navigating among the components of the GUI. Some GUIs include one or more palette windows which each contain a plurality of items that may be selected. For example, a user may select one or more items in a palette window for use in a user interface being created, for inclusion in a computer program being created, or for other purposes. Some GUIs also include a hierarchy of palette windows, wherein a palette window may include a palette window selection item that, when selected, displays a lower palette window ("child palette window") in the hierarchy. A user may select a palette window selection item in a palette window to view a palette window lower in the hierarchy. [0005] As one example, National Instruments' LabVIEW graphical programming system includes a hierarchy of palette windows for enabling a user to select front panel controls and indicators for inclusion in a front panel or user interface being created. Similarly, the LabVIEW system also includes a hierarchy of palette windows for enabling a user to select nodes for inclusion in a graphical program block diagram being created. [0006] Prior art methods of accessing a hierarchy of palette windows for use in selecting or adding items have generally relied on window technology that displays multi-tiered, hierarchical windows, i.e., top level, level 1, level 2, level 3 windows, sub-windows, etc. Typically, when a lower-level window is selected from a higher-level window, at least a portion of the higher-level window remains displayed on the display screen. This method may be cumbersome for displaying windows for adding content items several levels deep in the hierarchy. In addition, there has been no mechanism provided for enabling a user to browse a hierarchy of palette windows in a browser-based fashion. [0007] FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate a prior art method for accessing a hierarchy of palette windows. FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate a prior art example of a hierarchy of palette windows from the LabVIEW graphical programming environment. Program elements, including user interface elements such as controls and indicators (e.g. ActiveX controls, buttons, switches, graphs, gauges, etc.), may be added to a software application under development by using the exemplary palette windows 100 as illustrated in FIG. 4A-4C. Palette windows 100 as illustrated in FIG. 4A may include one or more items which may include palette window selection items 108 (for example, graph palette window selection item 108A of FIG. 4A), and palette items. Exemplary palette items include program elements 112 (for example, user interface element 112A of FIG. 4B), or utility items 110 (for example, utility item 110A of FIG. 4A). Each item may include a graphical or textual indication of the type of item it is, and may include graphical and/or textual indications of the palette window, program element, etc. that it represents. [0008] Upon selecting palette window selection item 108A of palette window 100A, for example, by clicking or double-clicking the item, a second palette window 100B is displayed as illustrated in FIG. 4B. In this example, palette window 100A may be described as a parent of palette window 100B, and palette window 100B as a child of palette window 100A. Palette window 100B may partially cover or overlap palette window 100A, which remains displayed. In this example, items in palette window 100B may be related to adding graph functionality to a program currently being created or modified. [0009] Upon selecting palette window selection item 108B of palette window 100B, a third palette window 100C is displayed as illustrated in FIG. 4C. In this example, palette window 100B may be described as a parent of palette window 100C, and palette window 100C as a child of palette window 100B. In this example, items in palette window 100C may be related to adding picture graphs to a program currently being created or modified. In this example, user interface element 112B may be added to a user interface window in a program currently being created or modified, for example, by dragging and dropping the item on the user interface window. Palette window 100C may also include one or more palette window selection items 108, for example, item 108C, that, when selected, may display further child palette windows 100 of palette window 100C. Note that previously opened palette windows 100 in the hierarchy remain displayed when a child palette window of a current palette window is opened. Also, by selecting other palette window selection items 108 on one of the palette windows 100, other branches of the hierarchy of palette windows may be displayed. [0010] Prior art methods also do not provide for easily locating a particular item among a hierarchy of palette windows. For larger programs, the hierarchy of palette windows may include several hundred items. The prior art methods may be inadequate to allow the user to search through the items for a specific keyword or item name and to navigate to a palette window including a desired item. The prior art methods also may be inadequate in allowing the user to incorporate located items directly into a program being edited in the graphical user interface. Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved method or methods for searching for items in a hierarchy of palette windows in a graphical user interface and for allowing located items to be incorporated directly into programs. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0011] One embodiment of the present invention provides a system and method for presenting a graphical user interface (GUI) having one or more hierarchies of palette windows, wherein the GUI includes an improved navigation interface for the palette windows. As used herein, a palette window may include the notion of a window (e.g. dialog window) displayed by a program which may include one or more items from which a user may select. A palette window may include palette items that may be selected by a user to add some functionality, capability or element to a program. A palette window may also include one or more palette window selection items for selecting child palette windows in the hierarchy. The palette windows in the hierarchy preferably include an improved navigation interface for navigating among windows in the hierarchy. [0012] Embodiments of the present invention may be used in any of various types of programs or applications which use a hierarchy (or hierarchies) of palette windows. One example where the invention may be used is a hierarchy of palette windows that include user interface elements that may be selected for inclusion in a graphical user interface being created. Another example where the invention may be used is a hierarchy of palette windows that include nodes that may be selected for inclusion in a graphical program being created. Thus example applications that may use hierarchies of palette windows as disclosed herein include, but are not limited to, programs for creating a graphical user interface and programs for creating a graphical program. [0013] In one embodiment, a palette window in the hierarchy of palette windows may be displayed or opened. In one embodiment the user may directly open a palette window through the application's user interface, such as by selecting a menu item. The palette window may also be automatically opened when the user performs another function, such as opening a window to create something that uses palette items contained in the hierarchy of palette windows. For example, in creation of a GUI, when the user opens a blank GUI window to begin creating the GUI, a parent palette window in the hierarchy of palette windows may be displayed. As another example, in creation of a block diagram of a graphical program, when the user opens a blank block diagram window to begin creating the block diagram, the parent palette window in the hierarchy of palette windows may be displayed. [0014] Palette windows may include various items, including palette items and palette window selection items. Palette items may be selectable from a palette window to perform various program functions or may be selectable for inclusion in something being created. As noted above, palette window selection items may be selected to display child palette windows in the hierarchy. Some palette windows in a hierarchy may comprise only palette window selection items. Other palette windows (e.g. the lowest palette windows in the hierarchy) may comprise only palette items and not include any palette window selection items. Other windows may comprise a combination of palette window selection items and other types of items. For example, in one embodiment of a graphical programming application, palette windows may include palette window selection items and may also include palette items that comprise selectable program elements such as user interface elements and/or function nodes. The user interface elements or program elements may be selected and added to user interface or block diagram windows of a program being created or edited. Unlike the palette items, the palette window selection items are not added to user interface or block diagram windows when selected, but rather cause the display of lower level or child palette windows. [0015] In one embodiment, palette windows in the hierarchy may include one or more navigation items for navigating among the hierarchy of palette windows. In one embodiment, the navigation items may be comprised in a navigation toolbar. In one embodiment, the navigation items may include one or more of a back navigation item, a forward navigation item, and an up navigation item. The navigation items may resemble "back" and "forward" arrows in a convention web browser. Thus the navigation items may present a browser type interface for navigating among the hierarchy of palette windows, similar to a web browser. [0016] In one embodiment, a mechanism for searching for palette windows and/or palette window content (e.g. palette items such as program elements and palette window selection items) may be provided. In one embodiment, a search window may be opened from any of the palette windows in the hierarchy. The search window may provide an interface to allow the user to search for and locate palette windows and/or palette window content in the hierarchy. From the search window, the user may directly open located palette windows in the hierarchy. In embodiments including more than one hierarchy of palette windows, the search mechanism may allow a user to navigate from one hierarchy to another. For example, the user may open the search window from a first palette window in a first hierarchy, search for and locate a second palette window in a second hierarchy, and open the second palette window. [0017] In one embodiment, palette items may be selectable from the search window to perform various program functions or may be selectable for inclusion in something being created, for example, a program in a graphical programming environment. A search window may be displayed on a computer display on which a program is being edited in the graphical user interface. A user may enter search criteria into the search window. The system may then search for and display located items indicated by the search criteria. These located items may include one or more items related to program elements that may be incorporated in a program being edited to add functionality to the program. The user may then select one or more located program elements and incorporate the one or more program elements in one or more windows of the program being edited. In one embodiment, a program element may be incorporated into the program by selecting the item and "dragging and dropping" the item on a window of the program. Other methods of incorporating items into programs may be used. Thus, the search results displayed in the search window may include program elements that can be selected and incorporated directly from the search window into a window of the program being edited. [0018] One embodiment of the invention may thus provide a hierarchy of palette windows that may be navigated in a manner similar to a web browser, wherein at most one palette window in a hierarchy is displayed at one time, and navigation items may provide a web browser type interface. The navigation interface described herein also provides improved navigation features over conventional web browsers, including improved search capabilities and improved browsing among and between hierarchies of panels. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Continue reading about Search window for adding program elements to a program... Full patent description for Search window for adding program elements to a program Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Search window for adding program elements to a program patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. 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