In an electronic spreadsheet for processing alphanumeric information, said said electronic spreadsheet comprising a three-dimensional spreadsheet operative in a digital computer and including a plurality of cells for entering data and formulas, a method for organizing the three-dimensional spreadsheet comprising: partitioning said plurality of cells into a plurality of two-dimensional cell matrices so that each of the two-dimensional cell matrices can be presented to a user as a spreadsheet page; associating each of the cell matrices with a user-settable page identifier which serves as a unique identifier for said each cell matrix; creating in a first cell of a first page at least one formula referencing a second cell of a second page said formula including the user-settable page identifier for the second page; and storing said first and second pages of the plurality of cell matrices such that they appear to the user as being stored within a single file. view more

The method of claim <HIL><BOLD>1</BOLD></HIL>, further comprising:</claim-text> associating the plurality of cell matrices with a notebook identifier, whereby information stored in a first plurality of cell matrices may be referenced from a second view more

In an electronic spreadsheet system for storing and manipulating information, a computer-implemented method of representing a three-dimensional spreadsheet on a screen display, the method comprising:</claim-text> displaying on said screen display a spreadsheet page from a plurality of spreadsheet pages, each of said spreadsheet pages comprising an array of information cells arranged in row and column format, at least some of said information cells storing user-supplied information and formulas operative on said user-supplied information, each of said information cells being uniquely identified by a spreadsheet page identifier, a column identifier, and a row identifier; while displaying said first spreadsheet page, displaying a row of spreadsheet page identifiers along one side of said first spreadsheet page, each said spreadsheet page identifier being displayed as an image of a notebook tab on said screen display and indicating a single respective spreadsheet page, wherein at least one spreadsheet page identifier of said displayed row of spreadsheet page identifiers comprises at least one user-settable identifying character; and receiving user input for entering a formula in a cell on said second spreadsheet page, said formula including a cell reference to a particular cell on another of said spreadsheet pages having a particular spreadsheet page identifier comprising at least one user-supplied identifying character, said cell reference comprising said at least one usersupplied identifying character for said particular spreadsheet page identifier together with said column identifier and said row identifier for said particular cell. view more

The method of claim <HIL><BOLD>6</BOLD></HIL>, wherein said displaying a row of spreadsheet page identifiers along one side of said first spreadsheet page step includes:</claim-text> displaying said row of spreadsheet page identifiers along a spreadsheet page. view more

The method of claim <HIL><BOLD>6</BOLD></HIL>, fuirther comprising the step, performed by said computer system in response to receiving user input, of changing said at least one usersettable identifying character for the spreadsheet page identifier et page to a user-supplied page name label describing contents of said first spreadsheet page. view more

The method of claim <HIL><BOLD>10</BOLD></HIL>, wherein a particular formula stored on said second spreadsheet page includes a cell reference to a cell on said first spreadsheet page, and wherein said method further comprises the step, performed by to changing said at least one user-settable identifying character for the spreadsheet page identifier of said first spreadsheet page to a user-supplied page name label, of changing the page identifier for the cell reference of said particular formula to said user-supplied page name label. view more

The method of claim <HIL><BOLD>11</BOLD></HIL>, wherein said particular formula stores said cell reference to the cell on said first spreadsheet page with a general format of:</claim-text> <page name label of first spreadsheet page>:<cell view more

The method of claim <HIL><BOLD>6</BOLD></HIL>, further comprising:</claim-text> receiving user input for selecting one of said plurality of spreadsheet pages; and indicating to the user a currently-selected spreadsheet page by displaying the notebook heet page with a difference appearance than notebook tabs for others of said plurality of spreadsheet pages. view more

The method of claim <HIL><BOLD>13</BOLD></HIL>, wherein said indicating step includes displaying said notebook tab of said selected spreadsheet page with a first screen background color and displaying said notebook tabs of others of said plurality of a second screen background color. view more

The method of claim <HIL><BOLD>6</BOLD></HIL>, wherein said displaying a row of spreadsheet page identifiers step includes displaying, at any given time, only spreadsheet page identifiers for some of said plurality of spreadsheet pages.

The method of claim <HIL><BOLD>17</BOLD></HIL>, further comprising:</claim-text> receiving user input for displaying a particular spreadsheet page identifier which is not currently displayed and, thereupon, displaying said particular spreadsheet page view more

In an electronic spreadsheet system for storing and manipulating information, a computer-implemented method of representing a three-dimensional spreadsheet on a screen display, the method comprising: displaying on said screen display a first spreadsheet page from a plurality of spreadsheet pages, each of said spreadsheet pages comprising an array of information cells arranged in row and column format, at least some of said information cells storing user-supplied information and formulas operative on said user-supplied information, each of said information cells being uniquely identified by a spreadsheet page identifier, a column identifier, and a row identifier, said plurality of spreadsheet pages being stored in a single disk file; while displaying said first spreadsheet page, displaying a row of spreadsheet page identifiers along one side of said first spreadsheet page, each said spreadsheet page identifier being displayed as an image of a notebook tab on said screen display and indicating a single respective spreadsheet page, wherein at least one spreadsheet page identifier of said displayed row of spreadsheet page identifiers comprises at least one user-settable identifying character; receiving user input for requesting display of a second spreadsheet page in response to selection with an input device of a spreadsheet page identifier for said second spreadsheet page; in response to said receiving user input step, displaying said second spreadsheet page on said screen display in a manner so as to obscure said first spreadsheet page from display while continuing to display at least a portion of said row of spreadsheet page identifiers; and receiving user input for entering a formula in a cell on said second spreadsheet page, said formula including a cell reference to a particular cell on another of said spreadsheet pages having a particular spreadsheet page identifier comprising at least one user-supplied identifying character, said cell reference comprising said at least one user-supplied identifying character for said particular spreadsheet page identifier together with said column identifier and said row identifier for said particular cell. view more

The method of claim 1, wherein said displaying a row of spreadsheet page identifiers along one side of said first spreadsheet page step includes: displaying said row of spreadsheet page identifiers along a horizontal side of said first spreadsheet page. view more

The method of claim 1, further comprising the step, performed by said computer system in response to receiving user input, of changing said at least one user-settable identifying character for the spreadsheet page identifier of said first spreadsheet page to a user-supplied page name label describing contents of said first spreadsheet page. view more

The method of claim 5, wherein a particular formula stored on said second spreadsheet page includes a cell reference to a cell on said first spreadsheet page, and wherein said method further comprises the step, performed by said system in response to changing said at least one user-settable identifying character for the spreadsheet page identifier of said first spreadsheet page to a user-supplied page name label, of changing the page identifier for the cell reference of said particular formula to said user-supplied page name label. view more

The method of claim 6, wherein said particular formula stores said cell reference to the cell on said first spreadsheet page with a general format of: ______________________________________ <page name label of first spreadsheet page>:<cell cell ______________________________________ row>. view more

The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving user input for selecting one of said plurality of spreadsheet pages; and indicating to the user a currently-selected spreadsheet page by displaying the notebook tab for said selected spreadsheet page with a difference appearance than notebook tabs for others of said plurality of spreadsheet pages. view more

The method of claim 8, wherein said indicating step includes displaying said notebook tab of said selected spreadsheet page with a first screen background color and displaying said notebook tabs of others of said plurality of spreadsheet pages with a second screen background color. view more

The method of claim 1, wherein said displaying a row of spreadsheet page identifiers step includes displaying, at any given time, only spreadsheet page identifiers for some of said plurality of spreadsheet pages.

The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving user input for displaying a particular spreadsheet page identifier which is not currently displayed and, thereupon, displaying said particular spreadsheet page identifier.

In an electronic spreadsheet system for storing and manipulating information, a method of representing a three-dimensional spreadsheet on a screen display, the method comprising: (a) displaying on said display a first spreadsheet page from a plurality of spreadsheet pages, each of said spreadsheet pages comprising an array of information cells arranged in row and column format, at least some of said information cells storing user-supplied information and formulas operative on said user-supplied information, each of said information cells being uniquely identified by a row, a column, and a spreadsheet page identifier; (b) while displaying said first spreadsheet page, displaying a row of spreadsheet page identifiers along one side of said first spreadsheet page, each said spreadsheet page identifier being displayed as an image of a notebook tab on said screen display and indicating a single respective spreadsheet page, wherein: i) each of said notebook tabs comprises at least one user supplied identifying character, said user supplied identifying character used as said spreadsheet page identifier for cells on spreadsheet pages associated with their respective notebook tabs, ii) said user supplied information in said rows and columns of information cells for each of said plurality of spreadsheet pages is stored in a single disk file, and iii) each of said plurality of said spreadsheet pages in said three-dimensional spreadsheet is associated with a unique one of said spreadsheet identifiers; (c) requesting display of a second spreadsheet page in response to selection with an input device of a spreadsheet page identifier for said second spreadsheet page; (d) in response to said requesting step, displaying said second spreadsheet page from said single disk file on said screen display in a manner so as to obscure said first spreadsheet page from display while continuing to display at least a portion of said row of spreadsheet page identifiers; and (e) using said spreadsheet page identifiers to identify a cell in a desired spreadsheet page when entering said formulas. view more

In a computer system having a three-dimensional spreadsheet, said three-dimensional spreadsheet comprising a plurality of information cells arranged in a three-dimensional matrix, said information cells storing user-supplied data and formulas operative on said user-supplied data, each said information cell being uniquely identified by a three-dimensional cell address comprising three-dimensional coordinates, wherein at least one cell stores a formula having a cell address for referencing information stored by another cell, an improved method for creating a formula with cell references to information cells in said three-dimensional spreadsheet, the method comprising: (a) dividing said three-dimensional matrix of information cells into a plurality of two-dimensional matrices, each of said two-dimensional matrices being represented on a display device as a page array of information cells, wherein cell references between cells on one page array are formed by specifying horizontal and vertical coordinates, and cell references between cells on different page arrays are formed by specifying horizontal, vertical, and page coordinates; (b) displaying with each said page array of information cells a tab identifier, so that each tab identifier of a particular page array displays the page coordinate for that particular page array; (c) receiving as input from a user a descriptive name for naming a page array; (d) in response to step (c), assigning said descriptive name to the page coordinate for the named page array; and (e) creating a formula having at least one cell reference to a cell on said named page array from a cell on a different page array, so that said at least one cell reference includes said descriptive name as the page coordinate for said named page array. view more

The method of claim 1, wherein said displaying step includes: displaying each tab identifier along a horizontal side of said plurality of two-dimensional matrices.

In an electronic spreadsheet system for storing and manipulating information, a computer-implemented method of representing a three-dimensional spreadsheet on a screen display, the method comprising: displaying on said screen display a first spreadsheet page from a plurality of spreadsheet pages, each of said spreadsheet pages comprising an array of information cells arranged in row and column format, at least some of said information cells storing user-supplied information and formulas operative on said user-supplied information, each of said information cells being uniquely identified by a spreadsheet page identifier, a column identifier, and a row identifier; while displaying said first spreadsheet page, displaying a row of spreadsheet page identifiers along one side of said first spreadsheet page, each said spreadsheet page identifier being displayed as an image of a notebook tab on said screen display and indicating a single respective spreadsheet page, wherein at least one spreadsheet page identifier of said displayed row of spreadsheet page identifiers comprises at least one user-settable identifying character; receiving user input for requesting display of a second spreadsheet page in response to selection with an input device of a spreadsheet page identifier for said second spreadsheet page; in response to said receiving user input step, displaying said second spreadsheet page on said screen display in a manner so as to obscure said first spreadsheet page from display while continuing to display at least a portion of said row of spreadsheet page identifiers; and receiving user input for entering a formula in a cell on said second spreadsheet page, said formula including a cell reference to a particular cell on another of said spreadsheet pages having a particular spreadsheet page identifier comprising at least one user-supplied identifying character, said cell reference comprising said at least one user-supplied identifying character for said particular spreadsheet page identifier together with said column identifier and said row identifier for said particular cell. view more

The method of claim 12, wherein said displaying a row of spreadsheet page identifiers along one side of said first spreadsheet page step includes: displaying said row of spreadsheet page identifiers along a horizontal side of said first spreadsheet page. view more

The method of claim 12, further comprising the step, performed by said computer system in response to receiving user input, of changing said at least one user-settable identifying character for the spreadsheet page identifier of said first spreadsheet page to a user-supplied page name label describing contents of said first spreadsheet page. view more

The method of claim 16, wherein a particular formula stored on said second spreadsheet page includes a cell reference to a cell on said first spreadsheet page, and wherein said method further comprises the step, performed by said system in response to changing said at least one user-settable identifying character for the spreadsheet page identifier of said first spreadsheet page to a user-supplied page name label, of changing the page identifier for the cell reference of said particular formula to said user-supplied page name label. view more

The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving user input for selecting one of said plurality of spreadsheet pages; and indicating to the user a currently-selected spreadsheet page by displaying the notebook tab for said selected spreadsheet page with a different appearance than notebook tabs for others of said plurality of spreadsheet pages. view more

The method of claim 23, further comprising: receiving user input for displaying a particular spreadsheet page identifier which is not currently displayed and, thereupon, displaying said particular spreadsheet page identifier.

In an electronic spreadsheet system for storing and manipulating information, a computer-implemented method of representing a three-dimensional spreadsheet on a screen display, the method comprising: displaying on said screen display a first spreadsheet page from a plurality of spreadsheet pages, each of said spreadsheet pages comprising an array of information cells arranged in row and column format, at least some of said information cells storing user-supplied information and formulas operative on said user-supplied information, each of said information cells being uniquely identified by a spreadsheet page identifier, a column identifier, and a row identifier; while displaying said first spreadsheet page, displaying a row of spreadsheet page identifiers along one side of said first spreadsheet page, each .said spreadsheet page identifier being displayed as an image of a notebook tab on said screen display and indicating a single respective spreadsheet page, wherein at least one spreadsheet page identifier of said displayed row of spreadsheet page identifiers comprises at least one user-settable identifying character; in response to first user input for selecting a spreadsheet page identifier for a second spreadsheet page, displaying said second spreadsheet page on said screen display in a manner so as to obscure said first spreadsheet page from display while continuing to display at least a portion of said row of spreadsheet page identifiers; in response to second user input for entering a formula in a cell on said second spreadsheet page, said formula including a cell reference to a particular cell on another of said spreadsheet pages having a particular spreadsheet page identifier comprising at least one user-supplied identifying character, creating a cell reference comprising said at least one user-supplied identifying character for said particular spreadsheet page identifier together with said column identifier and said row identifier for said particular cell; in response to third user input for requesting a change in said at least one user-supplied identifying character for said particular spreadsheet page identifier, (a) changing said at least one user-settable identifying character for the spreadsheet page identifier of said particular spreadsheet page, and (b) changing the page identifier for the cell reference of said particular formula to said at least one user-supplied identifying character, so changed; and in response to fourth user input for grouping together desired ones of said spreadsheet pages, grouping together said desired ones of said spreadsheet pages so that a subsequent spreadsheet operation in any one spreadsheet page of the group propagates to other spreadsheet pages of the group. view more

The method of claim 46, wherein said displaying a row of spreadsheet page identifiers along one side of said first spreadsheet page step includes: displaying said row of spreadsheet page identifiers along a horizontal side of said first spreadsheet page. view more

The method of claim 46, further comprising: receiving user input for selecting one of said plurality of spreadsheet pages; and indicating to the user a currently-selected spreadsheet page by displaying the notebook tab for said selected spreadsheet page with a difference appearance than notebook tabs for others of said plurality of spreadsheet pages. view more

In an electronic spreadsheet system for modeling user-specified information in a data model comprising a plurality of information cells, a method for automatically tracking different versions of the data model, the method comprising: (a) specifying a base set of information cells for the system to track changes; (b) creating a new version of the data model by modifying at least one information cell from the specified base set; and (c) automatically determining cells of the data model which have changed by comparing cells in the new version against corresponding ones in the base set. view more

In an electronic spreadsheet system, a method for storing different versions of a spreadsheet model, the method comprising: (a) maintaining a base version of the spreadsheet model as ordered information on a storage device; and (b) for each new version of the spreadsheet model: (i) determining portions of the new version which have changed when compared against the base version, and (ii) maintaining the new version by storing additional information for only those portions determined to have changed. view more

The method of claim 26, wherein said spreadsheet model maintains information in a plurality of information cells, wherein said ordered information includes a first set of data records describing information cells of the base version, and wherein said additional information includes a second set of data records describing information cells for only those portions of the new version determined to have changed. view more

The method of claim 27, wherein each data record of the second set which describes an information cell is a version record storing a changed value for its cell.

The method of claim 28, wherein version records for a new version are stored so that a specific new version may be inferred.

The method of claim 31, wherein version records for a particular new version are grouped as a discrete subset so that the version may be inferred from the ordinal position of the subgroup relative to other subgroups.

The method of claim 27, further comprising: (c) repeating step (b) for multiple new versions; and (d) storing additional information for each new version as a subsequent subset of said second set of data records.

The method of claim 26, wherein said spreadsheet model maintains information in a plurality of information cells, and wherein the substep (i) includes comparing each information cell of the new version against a corresponding one of the base version, whereby a difference in value between the two cells is identified as a change. view more