A computed implemented method and electronic device for providing visual feedback to a user when the edge of an object has been reached
Field of the art
The present invention generally relates to a computed implemented method and an electronic device for providing visual feedback to a user when the edge of an object has been reached. More particularly, to a computed implemented method and an electronic device provided with an screen for providing visual feedback when a user reaches an edge of an object which is being displayed in said screen, during a manipulation operation on such object in which the user does not stops such operation but on the contrary continues performing it.
In the frame of this document the term overlay needs to be understood as a visual element that, similarly to a curtain, is superimposed over a part of the content displayed in a graphic user interface.
The terms translate and translation refer to the action of moving a document (a written or graphic information) which is being displayed in a graphic user interface though not visible in its entirety, either along one of the horizontal or vertical axes or obliquely, causing part of the document to be hidden through the edge(s) of the display area towards which the document is being translated and a hidden part of the document to appear from the opposite edge(s) of the display area and become visible.
The terms scroll and scrolling refer to a translation limited along the horizontal or vertical axes, and in this sense they need to be understood in the frame of this document.
Finally, the terms downsize and downsizing refer to the action of reducing the size with which a document is being displayed in a graphic user interface, which in case the document was originally not visible in its entirety cause an additional part of the document which was hidden to become visible.
Prior State of the Art
An increasing variety of electronic devices have become popular over the last years as a way to manage information and, with help of an internet connection, to interact with the world, not only in the professional realm, but as an essential part of our day-to-day life.
Noteworthy is the popularization of electronic devices such as smartphones or tablet PC, which are provided with touch-sensitive screens, which allow a very intuitive and simple interaction with the device and thus reduces the level of complexity and the learning curve to deal with such appliances.
This type of interfaces requires new interaction paradigms and presents new problems to solve in order to make them really usable and useful. For instance different alternatives to navigate through a document or through a list are possible, like dragging the document by touching the screen and moving the point of contact along the screen.
This interaction is very different from the ones available in other types of user interfaces. For example the most usual way to scroll a document shown at the screen of a personal computer, which is controlled by means of a mouse and a keyboard, is dragging a scroll bar physically displayed on the screen with the mouse pointer. Since the user is acting on the scroll bar itself it is very easy to perceive how the scroll operation is progressing and when it has reached the end of the document, as it matches the moment when the scroll bar reaches one of the ends.
On the contrary the previously mentioned scrolling mechanism based on dragging an object by touching it and moving the point of contact along a touch screen does not provide by default such intuitive feedback to the user when the end of the object is reached. One of the reasons is that the user does not usually act on a specific control (like a scroll bar) but on the contrary can perform a gesture at any point of the object which is being displayed on the touch screen. Nevertheless providing an intuitive visual feedback to the user when reaching one of the edges of the object is crucial in order to avoid the user pointlessly continuing to perform the scroll gesture, and thus provide an improved user experience.
Even though this type of visual feedback mechanisms are especially useful for use in devices provided with a touch screen they are not restricted to such kind of devices but on the contrary can be useful in a wider variety of devices, like personal computers with conventional non-touch screens.
A variety of mechanisms to provide visual feedback when the user reaches the end of a list of items or in general of any document during a scrolling operation are available in the state of the art.
Document US 7469381 "List scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display" describes a method to provide visual indication in an electronic device with a touch screen when reaching the end of a list in a scrolling operation, which allows the list to be further scrolled for a specific distance after reaching its end, displaying an area beyond the end of the document. Once the scrolling gesture stops then the list is translated in the opposite direction until the area beyond the end of the document is no longer displayed.
Document US 2009/228825 "Methods and Graphical User Interfaces for Conducting Searches on a Portable Multifunction Device" describes a method that displays a search input area in an area beyond the application interface region when a scrolling operation on the application interface region continues after reaching one of its edges.
Patent Application US 201 1/010659 "Scrolling Method of Mobile Terminal And Apparatus For Performing The Same" describes a method to indicate that the last part of an object has been displayed as a result of an on-going scrolling operation by means of modifying a region of the object, for instance stretching or compressing said part of the object and afterwards restoring said region of the object to its original form.
Document US 201 1/0107264 "Method and Device for Enhancing Scrolling Operations in a Display Device" provides a similar method to previous document comprising extending at least one object at the end of a list of objects in response to reaching the end of said list of objects in a scrolling operation and retracting at least one object in the reverse direction upon reaching a peak length.
Patent Application US 2009/07071 1 "Scrolling method of mobile terminal" describes a method that provides visual, audible and/or tactile feedback when the last item in a list is displayed as a result of a scrolling operation. Examples of visual feedback are displaying a blank space at both ends of the displayed list; or displaying a border of a certain color; or coloring the last item in the list or the element adjacent to it. Examples of the audible feedback are a voice, a mechanical sound, an intermittent sound or a continuous sound. An example of tactile feedback is the vibration of the device.
In turn document WO 201 1/46766 "Content Boundary Signaling Techniques" describes another method which bases the feedback when reaching the end of a list in distorting the image. Examples of distortion are shrinking, stretching, accordion expansion or bouncing the document image.
All of the previously mentioned methods in the state of the art present some issues, which make none of them to be the ideal solution for every single scenario.
For example some of said methods, like the one described in US 7469381 , comprise allowing the document or list to move beyond its limits, resulting in blank spaces being shown in the screen thus not making full use of the screen to display useful content. For example if a screen can display 10 items of a list at a time, and the method allows to show a blank space on 20% of the screen upon scrolling beyond the end of the list then just 8 items will be displayed until the list scrolls back in the other direction and the 2 additional items are shown.
Some other methods, like the one described in US 201 1/010659, US 201 1/107264 and WO 201 1/46766, demand higher computing power for the data processing associated to the image transformations (e.g. stretching or compressing the images). This makes these methods not appropriate for certain type of devices, like low-tier mobile phones with constrained computing power.
Other solutions, like the one described in US 2009/07071 1 , may not be optimum in terms of usability as the types of feedback described by that method may not be intuitively associated by the user to the fact that the end of a list has been reached.
In addition the method described in US 2009/228825 may not be also optimum in terms of usability either as the display of a search box may not be intuitively associated with reaching the end of a list. Moreover it is not widely applicable, but just in those contexts in which displaying a search box is meaningful and appropriate.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention aims to provide a method for providing visual feedback to a user when an edge of an object (e.g. end of a list of items or the edge of a document) has been reached when manipulating (e.g. scrolling, downscaling) said object, which is being displayed in a frame of the screen of an electronic device, i.e. on a delimited area of the screen of the electronic device prepared to display said object.
To that end, and in accordance with the concept and teaching of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention provides in one aspect a computed implemented method for providing visual feedback to a user when the edge of an object has been reached, when translating said object along a delimited frame of the screen of an electronic device in which said object is being displayed. In a characteristic manner said visual feedback extends an overlay from each of the edges of the frame of the screen that is reached by an edge of the object during the translation as long as the translation operation attempts to continue so that the object is not allowed to translate beyond its limits; and such overlays are hidden upon the user discontinuing the translation operation.
According to an embodiment, the translation action preferably can be a vertical or horizontal scrolling or on contrary an oblique translation. According to a preferred embodiment, the overlays are semitransparent to allow the part of the object underneath to be visualized. Moreover, the area of the overlays matches with the area of the blank space that would have appeared if the object had been let to move further inside the frame of the screen and each overlay is not extended over a predefined maximum width associated to each overlay.
The basic concept of this invention, i.e. providing a visual feedback or indication to a user when the edge of an object has been reached is also applicable when downsizing said object within a delimited frame of the screen of an electronic device in which said object should be displayed and an edge of the object matches with the edge of the screen so that that edge of the object is adequately visible in the screen, without any part of the object hidden beyond that edge of the screen. In a characteristic manner said visual feedback extends an overlay from each of the edges of the frame of the screen that is reached by an edge of the object during the downsizing operation as long as the downsizing operation continues so that the corresponding edge of the object remains matching with the edge of the corresponding edge of the frame; and such overlays are hidden upon the user discontinuing the downsizing operation.
As explained before, the overlays preferably are semitransparent to allow the part of the object underneath to be visualized and each overlay is not extended over a predefined maximum width associated to each overlay. Overlays may be opaque, in which case they hide completely the part of the displayed content over which they are placed. On the contrary overlays may be semi-transparent, in which case they do not completely hide the part of the displayed content over which they are placed, but they just fade said part of the previously displayed content, allowing it to be seen but in a softened fashion.
The invention also proposes a method that comprises when translating or downsizing an object along or within a delimited frame of the screen of an electronic device in which said object is being displayed providing a visual feedback by extending an overlay from each of the edges of the frame of the screen that is reached by an edge of the object during the translation or the downsizing operation as long as the translation or downsizing operation attempts to continue so that the object is not allowed to translate beyond its limits or downsize i.e. decrease more than necessary to be visible in said display, therefore with said visual feedback the corresponding edge of the object remains matching with the edge of the corresponding edge of the frame and upon the user discontinues the translation or downsizing operation such overlays are hidden. In accordance with another aspect, the present invention provides an electronic device provided with a screen, which is intended to display an object in a frame of said screen, to translate or downsize the object along or within said frame according to the instructions from a user, and to provide visual feedback to said user when the edge of an object has been reached during said translating or said downsizing. The device in a characteristic manner is equipped with one or more processors, a user interface to receive user input and a control unit with instructions to extend overlays from the edges of the frame of the screen that are reached by an edge of the object as long as the translating or downsizing operation continues so that the corresponding edge of the object remains matching with the edge of the corresponding edge of the frame; and to hide such overlays upon the user discontinuing the downsizing operation.
In a preferred option, the translating or downsizing operation is requested by a user by means of a gesture on the touch sensitive screen of said electronic device. Brief Description of the Drawings
The previous and other advantages and features will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of embodiments, with reference to the attached, which must be considered in an illustrative and non-limiting manner.
Figure 1 depicts a smartphone with a touch sensitive display which is used to display different types of objects, like a list of items
Figure 2 depicts the steps of the method to provide visual feedback to the user when the edge of an object has been reached when scrolling in a vertical or horizontal direction.
Figures 3A to 3G depicts an example of the method to provide visual feedback when the edge of a list of items is reached when scrolling down said list of items.
Figures 4A, 4B and 4C depict the steps of the method to provide visual feedback to the user when the edge of an object has been reached when translating said object in an oblique direction, according to an aspect of the present invention.
Figures 5A to 5I depict an example of the method to provide visual feedback when the edge of an object is reached when translating said object to the right and down.
Figures 6A, 6B and 6C depict the steps of the method to provide visual feedback to the user when the edge of an object has been reached when downsizing said object, according to an aspect of the present invention. Figures 7A to 7F depict an example of the method to provide visual feedback when the edge of an object is reached when downsizing said object, in the case that the two edges that reach the edges of the frame first are the upper and the left-hand edges, thus not opposite edges.
Figures 8A to 8F depict an example of the method to provide visual feedback when the edge of an object is reached when downsizing said object, in the case that the two edges that reach the edges of the frame first are the upper and the lower edges, thus opposite edges. Detailed Description of Several Embodiments
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.
Embodiments of a method to provide visual feedback to a user when the edge of an object (e.g. list, document, image) has been reached when manipulating (e.g. scrolling, downscaling) said object, which is being displayed in a frame of the screen, i.e. on a delimited area of the screen of an electronic device prepared to display said object are here described. The frame may match the full display area of the screen. For instance the electronic device may be a smartphone 100, as shown in Figure 1 , with a touch sensitive display 101 in which the whole display can be used to display different types of objects, like a list of items 102, and that is prepared to detect the interaction of a user with the touch sensitive display by means of detecting the points of contact of the fingers (or similar tools) with the screen as well as its movement over the screen, and interpret it as an action (e.g. translation, downsizing) the user request to perform upon the object displayed in the screen. Upon the device 100 interpreting the action requested by the user it runs the corresponding programs that control the graphic user interface to adapt the displayed content accordingly.
In reference to Figure 2, a type of manipulation to which this method is applicable is scrolling the object along the horizontal or vertical axes (201 ). Such action can be triggered for instance by placing a finger (or similar tool) on the representation of the object in the display and, without losing contact with the screen, moving the finger along one of those axes. The amount the document is translated is usually the same distance as the finger moves (1 :1 proportion), remaining thus the finger over the same part of the object, even though it moves across the display. But other proportions between the respective translation of the finger and the document are though possible. If such scrolling action is maintained during a long enough time then one of the edges of the object will be reached. In case the user does not get aware that this has happened there is a risk that the user pointlessly continues such scrolling action. An appropriate signaling in the form of visual feedback is needed in order to make the user aware of the fact that an edge of the object has been reached and thus to avoid the user to unnecessarily continue performing such scrolling action and therefore to offer a more satisfactory usability to the user.
Once one of the edges of the object is reached upon performing the scrolling action on it (202), for instance the upper edge of an object is reached when scrolling down, the following steps of the method are performed.
Firstly the edge of the object that is reached and shown in the screen is not further moved to the inside of the frame, but on the contrary it remains in a position matching the corresponding edge of the frame (203).
If the scrolling action continues then an overlay is progressively displayed arising from the edge of the frame which coincides with the edge of the object, according to the progress of the scrolling action (204).
Upon the user discontinuing the scroll action (205) then the overlay bounces back, hiding either progressively or at once through the edge of the frame until it completely disappears (206).
In case at any point of the previous process the user changes the direction of the on-going scrolling action then the device stops the process described above and subsequently undoes the performed steps in the opposite order.
Figure 3 shows a graphical example of the above explanation when the edge of a list of items is reached when scrolling down said list of items. In reference to Figure 3, an object 301 , namely a list of items, is partially shown in a frame 302 of the screen. Initially (Figure 3A) the upper edge 303 of the object is not displayed at the frame of the screen but virtually lies outside of it, above the upper edge of the frame 304. Upon a down scrolling action progresses (Figure 3B) the upper edges of the object and the frame 305 get together in the same position. Then the object is not moved down any further, even if the scrolling request continues, but on the contrary the upper edge of the object remains matching with the upper limit of the frame. However an overlay 306 arises from the upper edge of the frame 307 (Figure 3C), and is extended downwards according to the progress of the scrolling action. As the scrolling continues the width 308 of the overlay grows until it reaches its maximum width 309 at a certain point (Figure 3D) and upon the user continuing the scrolling action the overlay is not extended further down but stays in the same position, as shown in Figure3E. As soon as the scrolling action is discontinued the overlay progressively hides through the upper edge of the frame 310 (Figure 3F), until it disappears (Figure 3G).
According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, another type of manipulation that may result in two edges of the object reaching the edges of the frame is an oblique translation (Figure 4A), that is, any translation but those along the horizontal or vertical axes (401 ). If such translation action is maintained enough time then either one of the edges of the object will be reached or alternatively two of the edges will be reached simultaneously (402), depending on the position of the object within the frame and the direction of the translation action, with different set of steps being followed in each of the cases (403).
In case just a first edge of the object is reached in a first instance (Figure 4B) then said first edge of the object is not further translated to the inside of the frame, but on the contrary it remains in a position matching the corresponding first edge of the frame (404).
Then if the translation action continues then an additional part of the object may be translated into the frame through a second edge of the frame, along the axis opposite to the axis in which the translation has ceased as per the previous step. At the same time an overlay is progressively displayed arising from the first edge of the frame, according to the progress of the translation action (405).
In case the user discontinues the translation action at that point then the overlay bounces back and hides progressively or at once through the edge of the frame until it completely disappears.
If on the contrary the translation action continues further, then a second edge of the object may be reached (406), namely an edge in the opposite axis to the axis of the first edge, which had been previously reached. That is, if previously one of the edges in the vertical axis (upper or lower edges) had been reached then one of the edges in the horizontal axis (right-hand or left-hand edges) will be now reached. In this case the object is not further translated to the inside of the frame along that second axis but on the contrary that second edge of the object also remains in a position matching the corresponding edge of the frame (407).
If the translation action continues then a second overlay is progressively displayed arising from said second edge of the frame, according to the progress of the translation action (408). The progressive extension of this second overlay does not prevent that the first overlay continues to be progressively extended.
Upon the user discontinuing the translation action (409) the overlays bounce back, hiding progressively or at once through the first and second edges of the frame until they completely disappear (410). Note that depending on the extension reached by each of the overlays one can disappear through the edge of the frame sooner than the other or otherwise both overlays may do it simultaneously.
Upon the user discontinuing the translation action at any intermediate point of the previous flow then any overlay, which is being shown hides through the corresponding edge of the frame until it disappears (410).
In an alternative case as the one described above two edges of the object reach the corresponding edges of the frame simultaneously, during the translation operation.
In this case the process is similar to the one previously described with the difference that both overlays arise simultaneously. Namely the object is not further translated to the inside of the frame along that any of said two edges of the frame but on the contrary remain in a position matching the corresponding edges of the frame (41 1 ).
Then two overlays arise from the corresponding two edges of the frame (412).
Upon the user discontinuing the translation action (413) the overlays bounce back, hiding progressively or at once through said edges of the frame until they completely disappear (414).
Upon the user discontinuing the translation action at any intermediate point of the previous flow then any overlay, which is being shown hides through the corresponding edge of the frame until it disappears (414).
In case at any point of the previous process the user changes the direction of the on-going translation action then the device stops the process described above and subsequently undoes the performed steps in the opposite order.
Figure 5 shows a graphical example regarding the case when the edge of the object is reached when translating said object to the right and down. In said Figure 5, a document 501 is partially shown in a frame 502 of the screen, when a translation action in a right-down direction is initiated by the user (Figure 5A). Then at a specific point of time the upper edge of the object 503 and upper edge of the frame 504 get together in the same position (Figure 5B). Then the object is not moved down any further, even if the translation request continues, but the upper edge of the object remains matching with the upper edge of the frame.
Upon the translation going on in a right-down direction (Figure 5C), then an additional part of the object may appear through the left-hand edge of the frame 505 and become visible to the user, at the same time that an overlay 506 appears from the upper edge of the frame 507 and extends downwards.
At a point in time (Figure 5D) the left-hand edge of the object 508 gets together with the left-hand edge of the frame 509 and stops to move any further towards to the right, whilst the first overlay 510 is further extended downwards.
Then, as long as the translation continues, an additional overlay 51 1 arises from the left-hand edge 512 of the frame and is extended towards to the right according to the progress of the translation action, at the same time that the first overlay 513 continues extending down until it reaches its maximum width 514, as shown in Figure 5E.
Then, as long as the translation continues, the second overlay 515 is further extended to the right until it reaches its maximum width 516, whilst the first overlay 517 remains with the same position and same maximum width (Figure 5F). In case the translation continues then neither of the overlays extend any further (Figure 5G).
Upon the user discontinuing the translation action (Figure 5H) then the overlays bounce back progressively hiding the second overlay 518 through the left-hand edge of the frame 519 and the first overlay 520 through the upper edge of the frame 521 , until they disappear (Figure 5I), resulting in the left-hand edge of the object 522 matching the left-hand edge of the frame 523 and the upper edge of the object 524 matching the upper edge of the frame 525.
According to another exemplary aspect of the present invention, Figure 6 shows another additional type of manipulation that may imply reaching the edges of the object, the downsizing of the object, i.e. zoom out.
When just a part of the object is shown within a frame of the screen of an electronic device (601 ), a downsizing operation (602) causes in fact that a greater part of the object becomes visible (Figure 6A).
If this downsizing action is continued over a long enough period of time, and considering that all 4 edges of the document fell in a first instance virtually outside the edges of the frame, then at one point a first edge of the object will reach the corresponding first edge of the frame (603). Then, if the user continues further downsizing the object, said first edge of the object is not further moved to the inside of the frame, but on the contrary it remains in a position matching said first edge of the frame and a first overlay arises from said first edge of the frame towards the inside of the frame (604).
This first overlay continues extending as long as the downsizing operation goes on, until a second edge of the document reaches the edges of the frame (605), and depending on whether said second edge is the opposite to the first edge or any of the other two edges, then the method follows a different set of steps (606).
In case said second edge is the opposite edge (Figure 6B), matching the object width along that axis with the width of the frame, then the overlay is hidden, either promptly or gradually and further downsizing causes said two edges to be moved into the frame and thus blank spaces to be shown (607) between said two edges of the object and the corresponding two edges of the frame. At one point a third edge of the object reaches the corresponding third edge of the frame (608), then said third edge of the object is not further moved to the inside of the frame, but on the contrary it remains in a position matching the third edge of the frame and a another overlay arises from said third edge of the frame, whereas the first two edges continue moving to the inside of the frame (609). At one point the fourth edge of the object reaches the corresponding fourth edge of the frame (610), moment in which the full document will be displayed within the frame. If the downsizing operation continues the object is not downsized any further, but an additional overlay arises from said fourth edge of the frame. Both overlays arising from said third and fourth edges of the frame continue extending (61 1 ) until the user stops the downsizing operation (612), moment in which the two overlays hide through the corresponding edges of the frame (613), either promptly or gradually.
In case said second edge is not the opposite edge (Figure 6C), but one of the edges of the other axis, then said second edge of the object is not further moved to the inside of the frame, but on the contrary it remains in a position matching the second edge of the frame and a another overlay arises from said second edge of the frame (614). Both overlays continue extending until a third edge of the object reaches the corresponding third edge of the frame (615), matching then the object width along that axis with the width of the frame. Then the overlay arising from the edge opposite to this third edge hides (616), either promptly or gradually, and these two opposite edges of the object start to move into the frame and thus blank spaces start to be shown between these two edges of the object and the corresponding two edges of the frame. At one point the fourth edge of the object reaches the fourth edge of the frame (617), moment in which the full document will be displayed within the frame. If the downsizing operation continues the object is not downsized any further but an additional overlay arises from said fourth edge of the frame, and the two existing overlays, located in opposite edges, continue extending (618) until the user stops the downsizing operation (619), when the two overlays hide through the corresponding edges of the frame (620), either promptly or gradually.
In case at any point of the previous process the user stops the downsizing then any overlay that is being displayed at that moment is either promptly or gradually hidden through the edges of the corresponding edge of the frame.
In case at any point of the previous process the user turns the downsizing action into an enlarging action (e.g. zoom-in) then the device stops the process described above and subsequently undoes the performed steps in the opposite order.
Graphical examples according to this downsizing manipulation are shown in Figures 7 and 8. In the example of Figure 7 the four edges of the object 700 fall outside of the frame 701 (Figure 7A). Then a downscaling operation starts until the upper edge of the document 702 hits the upper edge of the frame 703, moment in which an overlay 704 starts to extend down from the upper edge of the frame 703 (Figure 7B), whilst the upper edge of the document 702 remains matching the upper edge of the frame 703. At one point the left-hand edge of the document 705 hits the left-hand edge of the frame 706, moment in which an overlay 707 starts to extend towards to the right from the left-hand edge of the frame 706, whilst the left-hand edge of the document 705 remains matching the left-hand edge of the frame 706 and the upper overlay 708 continues extending down (Figure 7C). At one point the right-hand edge of the object 709 hits the right-hand edge of the frame 710, and then the overlay on the left 707 is hidden, whilst the upper overlay 71 1 continues extending down (Figure 7D). As long as the downsizing progresses, the left 712 and right-hand edges 713 of the object start to move within the edges of the frame and blanks appear at the left and right of the object. At one point the lower edge of the object 714 hits the lower edge of the frame 715 and then a new overlay 716 starts to extend upwards from the lower edge of the frame 715, whilst the lower edge of the object 714 remains matching the lower edge of the frame 715 and the upper overlay 717 continues extending down (Figure 7E). At one point the user stops the downsizing and then both the lower 716 and the upper 717 overlays disappear (Figure 7F). In the example of Figure 8 the four edges of the object 800 fall outside of the frame 801 (Figure 8A). Then a downscaling operation starts until the upper edge of the document 802 hits the upper edge of the frame 803, moment in which an overlay 804 starts to extend down from the upper edge of the frame 803 (Figure 8B), whilst the upper edge of the document 802 remains matching the upper edge of the frame 803. At one point the lower edge of the document 805 hits the lower edge of the frame 806, moment in which the upper overlay 804 disappears (Figure 8C). As long as the downsizing progresses the upper 807 and lower edges 808 of the object start to move within the edges of the frame and blanks appear above and below the object. At one point the left-hand edge of the document 809 hits the left-hand edge of the frame 810, moment in which an overlay 81 1 starts to extend towards to the right from the left-hand edge of the frame 810, whilst the left-hand edge of the document 809 remains matching the left-hand edge of the frame 810 (Figure 8D). Later on the right-hand edge of the object 812 hits the right-hand edge of the frame 813, moment in which an overlay 814 starts to extend towards to the left from the right-hand edge of the frame 813, whilst the right-hand edge of the object 812 remains matching the right-hand edge of the frame 813 and the overlay on the left-hand side 815 continues extending towards to the right (Figure 8E). At one point the user stops the downsizing and then both the overlays on the right-hand side 814 and on the left-hand side 815 disappear (Figure 8F).
This invention is not restricted to the type of manipulations previously described, but on the contrary applies to any other manipulation that may imply reaching the edges of the object, causing equivalent results as the ones described in this document, as a person skilled in the art would appreciate.
The method proposed by this document is applicable to electronic devices provided with a touch screen, which allow the user to perform object manipulation actions, like scrolling or downsizing, by means of detecting contact with the screen and tracking the movement of the point(s) of contact along the screen. In fact this method is especially useful for this type of devices as the user does not usually act on a specific control (like a scroll bar) but on the contrary can perform a gesture at any point of the document which is being displayed on the screen.
Nevertheless the method proposed by this document is also applicable to any type of electronic devices with a display even if it is not touch sensitive. For example a personal computer managed with help of a mouse, that allows the user to manipulate (e.g. scroll, shift, downsize) an object by means of acting on specific controls (e.g. scroll bar) with the mouse pointer, or by acting on the keyboard and/or mouse.