Title: Computer interface having a virtual single-layer mode for viewing overlapping objects
Patent application publication number: 20070022389
Publication date: January 25, 2007
Filing date: September 11, 2006 (priority to June 20, 2003)
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AIPW Summary: A method for being able to see all of the open windows in a GUI screen, even if some of the windows initially overlap each other (see Figure 3). The individual windows are arranged and resized to be able to be viewed in their entirety (see Figure 5); the claims recite that only at least a portion of each window needs to be visible. The transition between the two modes can be gradually performed, so as to appear animated (one example intermediate view is shown in Figure 4). After all of the windows are displayed, the user selects an active window, and the windows return to their original locations and sizes, with the active window on top. The fact that window contents are buffered in the display driver makes this method efficient, without requiring access to the running applications (see paragraph 0037).