It is known to provide a computing device having a graphical user interface (GUI) arranged to display user-selectable function elements such as menus and hyperlinks. A user may select a function element by means of a user interface device such as a mouse, a touch screen, a touch pen or any other suitable device.
The computing device is typically arranged such that selection of a function element results in the computing device executing a particular function. For example selection of a function element may result in the closure of a window of the GUI, the running of a software application, the saving of a file, or navigation between pages of a website. Function elements arranged to allow navigation between pages of a website or between pages of different websites may be referred to as hyperlinks.
In certain situations a user may experience difficulty selecting accurately a particular menu function or hyperlink. For example, if the screen being viewed by the user is relatively small, for example the screen of a smartphone.
Some known smartphones allow a user to enlarge a given area of the screen by placing a pair of fingers over the area to be enlarged and moving or ‘wiping’ the fingers apart in contact with the screen to ‘expand’ the area of interest on the screen. Thus, hyperlinks, function buttons or any other user-selectable function elements displayed on the screen can be enlarged to facilitate accurate selection of the required function element.
A disadvantage of such devices is that a user must concentrate on the screen for an extended period and exhibit a substantial degree of manual dexterity in order correctly to enlarge a required area of the screen. A user must then shrink the screen back to its former size (typically by a reverse wiping action) in order to continue viewing the screen as before.
A user may also experience difficulty selecting a particular function element if the user is in an unstable environment. For example, when travelling in a vehicle, an aircraft or marine vessel the user may be subject to movement or vibrations that reduce his or her ability to select accurately a function element displayed.
In the case of smartphones allowing enlargement of a given area of the screen by wiping a pair of fingers over the screen, a user may experience particular difficulty selecting accurately the area of interest in an unstable environment.
A user may also be compromised in their ability to make an accurate selection due to the performance of other tasks such as when performing navigational operations on land, in the air or at sea. Similarly, a pilot of an aircraft may have difficulty selecting a function element of a screen due to multi-tasking operations which may include the simultaneous performance of a flight maneuver, navigational tasks and communications with air traffic control.
In other situations users may suffer from one or more medical conditions that affect their ability to make an accurate selection of a function element, or wipe their fingers in a coordinated manner over the screen in order to enlarge a given area as described above.
It is an aim of embodiments of the present invention to at least partially mitigate the disadvantages of known computing devices with GUI's having user-selectable function elements.