Method and device for the highlighting of objects in a conference system

摘要

The method involves providing a highlighting tool (477) on each screen in a computer conferencing system. The tool, which is a computer implemented function represented by a screen symbol, appears on the local users screen when selected by the local input device (e.g. mouse). When the local user highlights an area of screen using the tool, the corresponding area is highlighted on the screens of other remote participants. Highlighting is achieved by performing a logical AND operation on the bitmaps of the foreground picture and the highlighting shape. Each user's screen is divided into private (463) and public (462) display regions, so that users can decide which information they wish to share with other participants.