Method and apparatus for providing help information to users of computers

Claim 2

In a computer system having a video display and a graphic interface, a method of providing help information to a user of said computer system comprising the steps of: associating a first help message and a second help message with a first pictorial icon having a first pointer sensitive area on a video display of said computer system; activating a concurrent help mode of said computer system in response to a first user input to said computer system, said concurrent help mode functioning without taking precedence over another program operating in said computer system, said computer system remaining in the concurrent help mode until deactivated; moving a pointer on said graphic interface over said first pointer sensitive area associated with said first pictorial icon; selecting one of the first help message and the second help message associated with said first pictorial icon from a help message database stored in said computer's memory based upon a context of the computer system, the context being determined based upon factors including sophistication of the user and a current status of the computer system; calculating the size of a graphic bubble to contain the selected help message; locating a selected portion of said graphic interface having a size sufficient to accommodate said graphic bubble; displaying said selected help message to said user in said graphic bubble on said video display while said pointer is over said first pointer sensitive area, display of said selected help message not preempting operation of another program operating within said computer system, said graphic bubble being positioned within said selected portion; and removing said selected help message and said graphic bubble from said video display when said pointer is no longer over said first pointer sensitive area.

Claim 3

The method as described in claim 1, wherein said method is accomplished by a stored program in system software of said computer system which can be invoked by an application program.

Claim 4

The method as described in claim 1, wherein said method is accomplished in part by system software stored in said computer system's memory and in part by an application program running on said computer system.

Claim 5

The method as described in claim 1 wherein said first user input comprises depressing a preselected key on a keyboard of said computer system.

Claim 6

The method as described in claim 1 wherein said first user input comprises a first menu selection from a pull down menu of said graphic interface.

Claim 7

The method as described in claim 1 wherein said selected portion is located along an imaginary line connecting said first pictorial icon and a center pointer of said video display, substantially adjacent to said first pictorial icon.

Claim 8

The method as described in claim 1, wherein said graphic bubble is displayed on said video display so as not to overlap with said first pictorial icon.

Claim 9

The method as described in claim 1 wherein said graphic bubble is substantially rectangular in shape having rounded corners and which incorporates a pointed extension extending from one of said corners of said bubble towards said first pictorial icon.

Claim 10

The method as described in claim 8 wherein said rectangular graphic bubble has dimensions such that its height-to-width ratio is equal to two-to-three.

Claim 11

The method as described in claim 1 wherein said first pointer sensitive area has a shape substantially coincident with the first pictorial icon.

Claim 12

The method as described in claim 1 wherein said first pointer sensitive area is substantially rectangular in shape and surrounds the first pictorial icon.

Claim 13

The method as described in claim 1 wherein said pointer has the shape of a question mark after said help mode is activated.

Claim 14

The method of claim 1 wherein said first pointer sensitive area has a first set of Cartesian coordinates, said pointer has a second set of Cartesian coordinates representative of a current location of said pointer, and wherein said pointer is identified as being over said first pointer sensitive area by determining whether said second set of Cartesian coordinates is a subset of said first set of Cartesian coordinates.

Claim 15

The method of claim 1 further including a first subset of steps and a second subset of steps and wherein the first subset of the steps are implemented by an operating system and are accessible to a multiplicity of application programs, each application program implementing the second subset of steps.

Claim 18

The method of claim 15 wherein said pointer sensitive area has a first set of Cartesian coordinates and said pointer position has a second set of Cartesian coordinates, and wherein said pointer is identified as being positioned over the pointer sensitive area by determining whether the second set of Cartesian coordinates is a subset of the first set of Cartesian coordinates.

Claim 19

The method of claim 16 further including a first subset of steps and a second subset of steps and wherein the first subset of the steps are implemented by an operating system and are accessible to a multiplicity of application programs, each application program implementing the second subset of steps.

Claim 20

A computer system including a graphic interface for providing help information to a user of said computer system, said computer system comprising: a pointer control device for controlling the position of a pointer on a video display of said computer system; means for activating a concurrent help mode of said computer system in response to a first user input to said computer system, said concurrent help mode functioning without taking precedence over another program operating in said computer system, said concurrent help mode remaining active until deactivated by the user; means for monitoring the position of said pointer and determining whether the pointer is over a first pictorial icon on said video display, and said means for monitoring being coupled to said pointer control device to monitor the position of said pointer; means for determining a context of the computer system when the pointer is over the first pictorial icon, the context being determined based upon factors including sophistication of a user of the computer system and a current state of the computer system; means for selecting and retrieving one of a first help message and a second help message based upon the context, both of said first help message and second help message being associated with the first pictorial icon, said means for selecting and retrieving being coupled to said means for monitoring to determine when the pointer is over said first pictorial icon; and means for displaying said selected help message in a graphic bubble on said video display, said means for displaying being coupled to said means for selecting and retrieving to provide said selected help message to said means for displaying, said selected help message being displayed while the pointer is over the first pictorial icon without preempting the operation of another program operating in the computer system.

Claim 21

A computer system including a graphic interface for providing help information to a user of said computer system, said computer system comprising: a pointer control device for controlling the position of a pointer on a video display of said computer system; means for activating a concurrent help mode of said computer system in response to a first user input to said computer system, said concurrent help mode functioning without taking precedence over another program operating in said computer system, said concurrent help mode remaining active until deactivated by the user; means for monitoring the position of said pointer and determining whether the pointer is over a first pictorial icon on said video display, and said means for monitoring being coupled to said pointer control device to monitor the position of said pointer; means for determining a context of the computer system when the pointer is over the first pictorial icon, the context being determined based upon factors including sophistication of a user of the computer system and a current state of the computer system; means for selecting and retrieving one of a first help message and a second help message based upon the context, both of said first help message and second help message being associated with the first pictorial icon, said means for selecting and retrieving being coupled to said means for monitoring to determine when the pointer is over said first pictorial icon; and means for displaying said selected help message in a graphic bubble on said video display, said means for displaying being coupled to said means for selecting and retrieving to provide said selected help message to said means for displaying, said selected help message being displayed while the pointer is over the first pictorial icon without preempting the operation of another program operating in the computer system.