A stylus-based user interface for text : entry and editing

A computer system with a user interface based on a stylus offers many potential benefits. A stylus is portable, usable with one hand, and works with a wide variety of systems, from notebook-sized computers to computers with wall-sized displays. In any new system, the methods by which a user manipulates textual information are important. This thesis explores the utility of stylus-based input for several text-related tasks, and informally studies a number of user interaction techniques. We describe a system for entering text with a stylus and investigate user interface techniques for interfacing with a text recognizer, concluding that a stylus is a feasible input device for entering small amounts of text. We also implement a simple text editing system utilizing gestural commands and explore the interactions of a stylus with some additional user interface techniques: scrolling and on-screen buttons. We discuss some alternatives in the design of such an editing system, including the use of "markup editing." We conclude that stylus-based systems can be easy to use and learn and lend themselves to the incorporation of knowledge about users' tasks.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

1991

Author dc:creator

• Goodisman, Aaron (Aaron Abraham)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• David Goldberg and Christopher Schmandt.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38858

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/38858