Implementing interface attachments based on surface representations

  • Authors:

  • Dan R. Olsen, Jr.;Scott E. Hudson;Thom Verratti;Jeremy M. Heiner;Matt Phelps

  • Affiliations:

  • Human Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA;Human Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA;Human Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA;Human Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA;Human Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 1999

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Abstract

This paper describes an architecture for supporting interfaceattuchments - small interactive programs which are designed toaugment the functionality of other applications. This architectureis designed to work with a diverse set of conventionalapplications, but require only a minimal set of hooks into thoseapplications. In order to achieve this, the work described hereconcentrates on what we will call observational attachments, asubclass of attachments that operate primarily by observing andmanipulating the surface representations of applications - that isthe visual information that applications would normally display onthe screen or print. These attachments can be thought of as lookingover the shoulder of the user to assist with various tasks. Byrequiring very little modification to, or help from, theapplications they augment, this approach supports the creation of aset of uniform services that can be applied across a more diverseset of applications than traditional approaches.