Interacting with hidden content using content-aware free-space transparency

We present content-aware free-space transparency, an approach to viewing and manipulating the otherwise hidden content of obscured windows through unimportant regions of overlapping windows. Traditional approaches to interacting with otherwise obscured content in a window system render an entire window uniformly transparent. In contrast, content-aware free-space transparency uses opaque-totransparent gradients and image-processing filters to minimize the interference from overlapping material, based on properties of that material. By increasing the amount of simultaneously visible content and allowing basic interaction with otherwise obscured content, without modifying window geometry, we believe that free-space transparency has the potential to improve user productivity. Categories and Subject Descriptors: H.5.2 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User Interfaces—Graphical user interfaces (GUI), Interaction styles, Screen design, Windowing systems General Terms: Human Factor...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: UIST
• Authors: Edward W. Ishak, Steven Feiner
• Keywords: Content-aware Free-space Transparency, Free-space Transparency, Obscured Content, UIST 2004