Smart variable expressive text or graphics for electronic communications

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

providing, using one or more computing devices, a user interface operable to input content and specify an appearance of the content, wherein the user interface includes a slider bar, a moveable indicator disposed on the slider bar, and a visual cue indicating an amount of modification that will be applied to the appearance of the content based on a position of the indicator on the slider bar, the visual cue including one or more displayed objects that are separate from the content and that include the modification;

receiving, using the one or more computing devices, the content and an appearance control input via the user interface, wherein the indicator is moved by the appearance control input to set the amount of modification to the appearance of the content along a range of values corresponding to positions of the indicator on the slider bar;

responsive to the appearance control input, creating, using the one or more computing devices, a message including the content and formatting information, wherein the formatting information indicates the appearance of the content as modified by the appearance control input; and

sending, using the one or more computing devices, the message including the content and the formatting information to one or more other computing devices.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the visual cue is positioned within or adjacent to one or more ends of the slider bar.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more displayed objects are displayed adjacent to the indicator, wherein the one or more displayed objects have a displayed size that varies to correspond to the position of the indicator on the slider bar.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , wherein the one or more displayed objects include one or more text letters.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

modifying, using the one or more computing devices, the appearance of the content responsive to the appearance control input; and

updating, using the one or more computing devices, the user interface to include the content with the modified appearance based on the appearance control input,

wherein the amount of modification to the appearance of the content includes an amount of modification to one or more of: size, color, shape, font, or animation.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the content includes first text, and further comprising:

determining, using one or more computing devices, whether the appearance control input satisfies a threshold amount of modification, the threshold amount of modification provided at one or more threshold positions on the slider bar; and

responsive to the appearance control input satisfying the threshold amount of modification, replacing the first text of the content with second text that is different than the first text.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , further comprising:

responsive to the appearance control input satisfying the threshold amount of modification, determining a context for the content; and

selecting the second text and an appearance of the second text based on the determined context.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , wherein determining the context includes detecting one or more of: particular keywords in one or more previous messages, one or more recipients of the message, one or more applications used by a user, a current time, a current date, a location of at least one computing device of the one or more computing devices, weather at the location of the at least one computing device, a current event, or a current activity of the user.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , further comprising displaying a threshold cue in the user interface in response to the indicator being moved by the appearance control input to one of the one or more threshold positions on the slider bar.

10. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium including a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform operations comprising:

providing a user interface operable to input content and specify an appearance of the content, wherein the user interface includes a slider bar, a moveable indicator disposed on the slider bar, and a visual cue indicating an amount of modification that will be applied to the appearance of the content based on a position of the indicator on the slider bar, the visual cue including one or more displayed objects that are separate from the content and that include the modification;

receiving the content and an appearance control input via the user interface, wherein the indicator is moved by the appearance control input to set the amount of modification to the appearance of the content along a range of values corresponding to positions of the indicator on the slider bar;

responsive to the appearance control input, creating a message including the content and formatting information, wherein the formatting information indicates the appearance of the content as modified by the appearance control input; and

sending the message including the content and the formatting information to one or more other computing devices.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the visual cue is positioned within or adjacent to one or more ends of the slider bar.

12. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the one or more displayed objects are displayed adjacent to the indicator, wherein the one or more displayed objects have a displayed size that varies to correspond to the position of the indicator on the slider bar.

13. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the one or more displayed objects include one or more text letters.

14. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:

modifying the appearance of the content responsive to the appearance control input; and

updating the user interface to include the content with the modified appearance based on the appearance control input,

wherein the amount of modification to the appearance of the content includes an amount of modification to one or more of: size, color, shape, font, or animation.

15. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the content includes first text, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining whether the appearance control input satisfies a threshold amount of modification, the threshold amount of modification provided at one or more threshold positions on the slider bar; and

responsive to the appearance control input satisfying the threshold amount of modification, replacing the first text of the content with second text that is different than the first text.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a context for the content, wherein the context is at least one of: a user context, a communication context, or a device context; and

selecting the second text and an appearance of the second text based on the determined context.

17. The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein the operation of determining the context includes detecting one or more of: particular keywords in one or more previous messages, one or more recipients of the message, one or more applications used by a user, a current time, a current date, a location of at least one computing device of the one or more computing devices, weather at the location of the at least one computing device, a current event, or a current activity of the user.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise displaying a threshold cue in the user interface in response to the indicator being moved by the appearance control input to one of the one or more threshold positions on the slider bar.

19. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed, cause the system to perform operations comprising:

providing a user interface operable to input content and specify an appearance of the content, wherein the user interface includes a slider bar, a moveable indicator disposed on the slider bar, and a visual cue indicating an amount of modification that will be applied to the appearance of the content based on a position of the indicator on the slider bar, the visual cue including one or more displayed objects that are separate from the content and that include the modification;

receiving the content and an appearance control input via the user interface, wherein the indicator is moved by the appearance control input to set the amount of modification to the appearance of the content along a range of values corresponding to positions of the indicator on the slider bar;

responsive to the appearance control input, creating a message including the content and formatting information, wherein the formatting information indicates the appearance of the content as modified by the appearance control input; and

sending the message including the content and the formatting information to one or more other computing devices.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the visual cue is positioned within or adjacent to one or more ends of the slider bar.

21. The system of claim 19 , wherein the one or more displayed objects are displayed adjacent to the indicator, wherein the one or more displayed objects have a displayed size that varies to correspond to the position of the indicator on the slider bar.

22. The system of claim 19 , wherein the one or more displayed objects include one or more text letters.

23. The system of claim 19 , wherein the operations further comprise:

modifying the appearance of the content responsive to the appearance control input; and

updating the user interface to include the content with the modified appearance based on the appearance control input.

24. The system of claim 19 , wherein the content includes first text, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining whether the appearance control input satisfies a threshold amount of modification, the threshold amount of modification provided at one or more threshold positions on the slider bar; and

responsive to the appearance control input satisfying the threshold amount of modification, replacing the first text of the content with second text that is different than the first text.

25. The system of claim 24 , wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a context for the content, wherein the context is at least one of: a user context, a communication context, or a device context; and

selecting the second text and an appearance of the second text based on the determined context.

26. The system of claim 25 , wherein the operation of determining the context includes detecting one or more of: particular keywords in one or more previous messages, one or more recipients of the message, one or more applications used by a user, a current time, a current date, a location of at least one computing device of the one or more computing devices, weather at the location of the at least one computing device, a current event, or a current activity of the user.

27. The system of claim 24 , wherein the operations further comprise displaying a threshold cue in the user interface in response to the indicator being moved by the appearance control input to one of the one or more threshold positions on the slider bar.