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Patent Title: Menu driven and method system for informing which past selections have caused disabled actions

Assignee: IBM
Patent Number: US5208910
Issue Date: 05-04-1993
Application Number:
File Date:05-12-1992


Abstract: A method of informing a user of a data processing system about which of his previous selections in a current data processing session have disabled, or otherwise "affected", selections which would ordinarily be selectable. Control of the data processing system is managed by listing the selections available to the user on series of menus presented on the display means. A CPU instructs the display means to display the menu which corresponds to that particular point in the program. Following the method of the present invention, the CPU has kept track of the selections made by user. By referring to a special data file which correlates or compares these past selections to the list of actions displayed in the current menu, the CPU determines which of these actions are "affected". These affected actions are then denoted on the menu in some way, e.g., changing the affected action's color, marking the affected actions with a special symbol, etc. Responsive to the user placing the input focus on an affected action, the CPU presents a list of the past selections which cause the action to be affected on the display means, One preferred embodiment of the invention would allow a user to deselect the past selections which cause the action to be affected, and thereby transform the affected action to an unaffected action. The user could then perform the desired action with the remaining past selections.

Notes:

Link to USPTO

IBM Pledge dated 1/11/2005