초록 ▼

A computer system provides a graphical user interface (GUI) to assist a user in completing electronic forms. The computer includes components such as a processor, user interface, and video display. Using the video display, the processor presents a row entry template including a menu field and an ass

A computer system provides a graphical user interface (GUI) to assist a user in completing electronic forms. The computer includes components such as a processor, user interface, and video display. Using the video display, the processor presents a row entry template including a menu field and an associated data field. The user completes the menu field by selecting a desired menu entry from a list of predefined menu entries. The user completes the data field by entering data into the data field. This format is especially useful when the data entry provides data categorized by the menu entry, explains the menu entry, or otherwise pertains to the menu entry. Each time the GUI detects activation of a form expand key, it presents an additional row entry template for completion by the user. Upon selection of a submit key, data of the completed form is sent to a predefined destination, such as a linked list, table, database, or another computer. Thus, by planned selection of menu entries, the user can limit his/her completion of an electronic form to blanks applicable to that user, avoiding the others. Nonetheless, the form can be easily expanded row by row to accommodate as many different blanks as the user wishes to complete. The invention may be implemented by a host sending a remote computer machine-executable instructions which the remote computer executes to provide the GUI, where the remote computer ultimately returns the completed form data to the host.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A computer-driven method of providing a user interface to gather data to complete a form, the method comprising:displaying on a video display a row entry template including at least one menu field and a data field corresponding to each menu field, where contents of each m

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A computer-driven method of providing a user interface to gather data to complete a form, the method comprising:displaying on a video display a row entry template including at least one menu field and a data field corresponding to each menu field, where contents of each menu field comprise one user-selected menu entry from a predefined group of such menu entries and each menu entry comprises a representation that a different class of information resides in the corresponding data field;displaying a form expand selector and a submit selector on the video display;receiving a user entry to the menu field comprising user selection of one of the predefined menu entries;receiving a user entry to the data field comprising data entered into the data field;detecting user activation of the form expand selector, and displaying an additional row entry template on the video display for each user activation of the expand selector; andreceiving user entry to the submit selector, and in response, transmitting the user entries in a machine-readable format to a predefined destination.