Importance

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Abstract

A direct screen manipulation technique allows for the design a menu bar, pull down menus and cascaded menus in computer application programs. The technique is implemented using a graphic user interface (GUI) employing a windowing display. The user may select a menu bar tool object from a toolbox window on the display screen and 'drag-and-drop' the menu bar tool object on an application window on the same display screen. This forms a blank menu bar below the title bar of the application window. By selecting the menu bar, a text cursor is shown at the default initial position. The first menu bar item is defined by entering text, typically using the keyboard, and when the menu bar item has been defined, the Control-Right Tab key is pressed. This moves the text cursor to the next menu item position, and the next and subsequent menu bar items are defined in the same way. Once a menu bar item has been defined, it may be selected using the pointing cursor followed by pressing the Enter key, which causes a pull down menu to be displayed. The pull down menu is displayed with the text cursor at the first default item position, and pull down menu items are defined in a manner similar to that for the menu bar. By selecting a pull down menu item which has been defined followed by pressing the Enter key, a cascade menu is displayed with the text cursor at the first default item position. Again, cascade menu items are defined in a manner similar to that used for the menu bar and the pull down menu. The process continues until all menu bar items, pull down menu items and cascade menu items have been defined.

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First Claim