Visual motion feedback for user interface

Abstract

Aspects of a user interface that provides visual feedback in response to user input. For example, boundary effects are presented to provide visual cues to a user to indicate that a boundary in a movable user interface element (e.g., the end of a scrollable list) has been reached. As another example, parallax effects are presented in which multiple parallel or substantially parallel layers in a multi-layer user interface move at different rates, in response to user input. As another example, simulated inertia motion of UI elements is used to provide a more natural feel for touch input. Various combinations of features are described. For example, simulated inertia motion can be used in combination with parallax effects, boundary effects, or other types of visual feedback.

1 . In a computer system, a method comprising:
 receiving gesture information corresponding to a gesture on a touch input device;   calculating simulated inertia motion for a movable user interface element based at least in part on the gesture information;   based at least in part on the gesture information and on the simulated inertia motion, calculating a post-gesture position of the movable user interface element;   determining that the post-gesture position exceeds a gesture boundary of the movable user interface element; and   calculating a distortion effect in the movable user interface element to indicate that the gesture boundary has been exceeded.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein calculating the distortion effect comprises:
 determining an extent by which the gesture boundary has been exceeded; 
 determining a compressible area of the movable user interface element; and 
 determining a scale factor for the distortion effect based at least in part on the compressible area and the extent by which the gesture boundary has been exceeded. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising scaling the compressible area according to the scale factor. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2  wherein calculating the distortion effect further comprises determining a distortion point for the distortion effect. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  further comprising scaling the compressible area according to the scale factor and the distortion point. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the distortion effect is a squeeze effect. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 displaying a portion of the movable user interface element to indicate availability of a wrapping feature in the movable user interface element. 
 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the gesture information comprises gesture coordinates. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein calculating the post-gesture position comprises interrupting the simulated inertia motion when new gesture information corresponding to a new gesture is received. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein calculating simulated inertia motion is further based on inertia information comprising an inertia velocity. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the inertia velocity is based at least in part on a friction coefficient. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  wherein calculating simulated inertia motion comprises:
 comparing the inertia velocity with a parking speed coefficient; and 
 determining whether to stop the inertia motion based on the comparing. 
 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the movable user interface element is an axis-locked user interface element. 
     
     
         14 . In a computer system, a method comprising:
 receiving user input that indicates movement in a graphical user interface element having plural movable layers;   based at least in part on inertia information and the user input, calculating a first motion having a first movement rate in a first layer of the plural movable layers; and   calculating a parallax motion in a second layer of the plural movable layers, wherein the parallax motion is based at least in part on the first motion, and wherein the parallax motion comprises a movement of the second layer at a second movement rate that differs from the first movement rate.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein calculating the parallax motion is based at least in part on a parallax constant for the second layer. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14  wherein calculating the parallax motion is based at least in part on an amount of displayable data in the second layer. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14  wherein calculating the first motion comprises applying simulated inertia motion based at least in part on the inertia information. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the user input is a gesture on a touch screen. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the inertia information comprises a velocity of the gesture. 
     
     
         20 . A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions operable to cause a computer to perform a method comprising:
 receiving gesture information corresponding to a gesture on a touch input device, the gesture information indicating a movement of a user interface element having a movement boundary;   based at least in part on the gesture information, computing a new position of the user interface element;   based at least in part on the new position, determining that the movement boundary has been exceeded;   determining an extent by which the movement boundary has been exceeded;   determining a compressible area of the user interface element;   determining a scale factor for a distortion effect based at least in part on the compressible area and the extent by which the movement boundary has been exceeded; and   presenting a distortion effect in the user interface element, wherein the distortion effect comprises a visual compression of content in the compressible area according to the scale factor, wherein the visual compression is in a dimension that corresponds to the movement of the user interface element.