US 7,478,339 B2
Method and apparatus for application window grouping and management
Jeffrey W. Pettiross, Seattle, Wash. (US); Sarah E. Schrock, Bellevue, Wash. (US); Charles W. Stabb, Seattle, Wash. (US); Donald J. Lindsay, Mountain View, Calif. (US); Cornelis K. Van Dok, Bellevue, Wash. (US); Hillel N. Cooperman, Sammamish, Wash. (US); and Charles Cummins, Seattle, Wash. (US)
Assigned to Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash. (US)
Filed on Apr. 01, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/95,616.
Prior Publication US 2006/0224989 A1, Oct. 05, 2006
Int. Cl. G06F 3/048 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 715—779 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. One or more computer-readable storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method for managing a plurality of application window representations, the method comprising steps of:
defining a set of application window representation positions in a predefined region of a display;
displaying a first application window representation at one of the set of application window representation positions, wherein the first application window representation is associated with a first application window corresponding to a first application;
receiving an input to open a second application window;
determining that a second application window representation associated with the second application window should be located at a hidden application window representation position within a glom associated with the first application window representation, wherein the hidden application window representation is not within the set;
displaying the second application window;
responsive to displaying the second application window, maintaining a second application window representation associated with the second application window at a hidden application window representation position within a glom associated with the first application window representation;
receiving a first user input to the first application window representation; and
responsive to the first user input, providing access to the first application window without displaying the second application window representation.