Manipulating graphical objects

Abstract

In one example, a method for a method for rendering graphical information on a display includes storing data for rendering a graphical object in an intermediate data structure including multiple information items defining attributes of the graphical object. The method also includes rendering the attributes of the graphical object based on the information items. The method also includes displaying the graphical object on a display based on the rendered attributes. The method also includes receiving user input that causes at least some of the information items to change. The method also includes, based on the changed information items, re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the graphical object.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for rendering graphical information on a display, the method comprising:
 storing data for rendering a graphical object in an intermediate data structure including a plurality of information items defining attributes of the graphical object;   rendering the attributes of the graphical object based on the plurality of information items;   displaying the graphical object on a display based on the rendered attributes;   receiving user input that causes at least some of the plurality of information items to change; and   based on the changed information items, re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the graphical object.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the graphical object includes:
 determining whether each of the attributes of the graphical object is affected by the changed information items; and   re-rendering only the attributes of the graphical object determined to be affected by the changed information items.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the graphical object includes re-rendering an outline of the object without re-rendering a rich text area of the object. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the graphical object includes re-rendering a rich text area of the object without re-rendering an outline of the object. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying the graphical object on the display based on both the rendered attributes for one or more attributes that were not re-rendered and based on the re-rendered attributes for one or more attributes that were re-rendered. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical object is configured to render within a local graphics context of a layer, the method further comprising:
 creating the layer at a particular position of a viewport having a global graphics context defining a global coordinate frame;   translating and scaling the local graphics context to match the global graphics context; and   rendering the graphical object at the particular position of the viewport within the layer using the global coordinate frame.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the plurality of information items are separated into a plurality of sets, a graphical representation of the given graphical object determined by all of the attributes in combination;   rendering the attributes of the graphical object based on the plurality of information items comprises rendering all of the attributes of the graphical object based on the plurality of information items; and   receiving user input that causes at least some of the plurality of information items to change comprises receiving user input that causes at least some of the plurality of information items to change to edit the graphical representation of the graphical object.   
     
     
         8 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that are executable by a computing device to perform operations comprising:
 storing data for rendering a graphical object in an intermediate data structure including a plurality of information items defining attributes of the graphical object;   rendering the attributes of the graphical object based on the plurality of information items;   displaying the graphical object on a display based on the rendered attributes;   receiving user input that causes at least some of the plurality of information items to change; and   based on the changed information items, re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the graphical object.   
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the graphical object includes:
 determining whether each of the attributes of the graphical object is affected by the changed information items; and   re-rendering only the attributes of the graphical object determined to be affected by the changed information items.   
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the graphical object includes re-rendering an outline of the object without re-rendering a rich text area of the object. 
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the graphical object includes re-rendering a rich text area of the object without re-rendering an outline of the object. 
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , the operations further comprising displaying the graphical object on the display based on both the rendered attributes for one or more attributes that were not re-rendered and based on the re-rendered attributes for one or more attributes that were re-rendered. 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein the graphical object is configured to render within a local graphics context of a layer, the method further comprising:
 creating the layer at a particular position of a viewport having a global graphics context defining a global coordinate frame;   translating and scaling the local graphics context to match the global graphics context; and   rendering the graphical object at the particular position of the viewport within the layer using the global coordinate frame.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the plurality of information items are separated into a plurality of sets, a graphical representation of the given graphical object determined by all of the attributes in combination;   rendering the attributes of the graphical object based on the plurality of information items comprises rendering all of the attributes of the graphical object based on the plurality of information items; and   receiving user input that causes at least some of the plurality of information items to change comprises receiving user input that causes at least some of the plurality of information items to change to edit the graphical representation of the graphical object.   
     
     
         15 . A method for rendering graphical information on a display, the method comprising:
 storing data for rendering a given graphical object in an intermediate data structure including a plurality of information items defining attributes of the given graphical object, the plurality of information items separated into a plurality of sets, a graphical representation of the given graphical object determined by all of the attributes in combination;   rendering all of the attributes of the given graphical object based on the plurality of information items;   displaying the given graphical object on a display based on the rendered attributes;   receiving user input that causes at least some of the plurality of information items to change to edit the graphical representation of the given graphical object; and   based on the changed information items, re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the given graphical object.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the given graphical object includes:
 determining whether each of the attributes of the given graphical object is affected by the changed information items; and   re-rendering only the attributes of the given graphical object determined to be affected by the changed information items.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the given graphical object includes re-rendering an outline of the given graphical object without re-rendering a rich text area of the given graphical object. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein re-rendering some, but not all, of the attributes of the given graphical object includes re-rendering a rich text area of the given graphical object without re-rendering an outline of the given graphical object. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising displaying the given graphical object on the display based on both the rendered attributes for one or more attributes that were not re-rendered and based on the re-rendered attributes for one or more attributes that were re-rendered. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the given graphical object is configured to render within a local graphics context of a layer the method further comprising:
 creating the layer at a particular position of a viewport having a global graphics context defining a global coordinate frame;   translating and scaling the local graphics context to match the global graphics context; and   rendering the graphical object at the particular position of the viewport within the layer using the global coordinate frame.