System and method for converting between text format and outline format

• US 20040073872A1
• Filed: 10/09/2002
• Published: 04/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Yalovsky, Mark, Stuple, Stuart Jay
• Granted Patent: US 7,480,861 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/517
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/103 Formatting, i.e. changing of presentation of documents automatic justification G06F40/189; automatic line break hyphenation G06F40/191
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/543 User-generated data transfer, e.g. clipboards, dynamic data exchange [DDE], object linking and embedding [OLE]

Abstract

Described is a mechanism for pasting data from a source document into a destination document while providing the user with options related to the particular data being pasted. The options allow the user to choose how much formatting or structure to persist. More specifically, the user may select whether to persist general formatting, direct formatting, and/or outline structure through the paste operation.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for pasting data from a source document into a destination document, the method comprising:

receiving data copied from the source document, the data including outline structure and formatting;

presenting a plurality of options for pasting the data into the destination document, each option being associated with a different set of formatting or structure to apply as a result of the paste operation; and

in response to a selection of one of the options, applying the set of formatting or structure associated with the selected option to the data.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the outline structure comprises a plurality of levels, the data comprising a plurality of elements, each element in the data being associated with one of the plurality of levels.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the outline structure further comprises at lease one parent/child relationship between two or more of the elements in the data.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the parent/child relationship represents a first element at a first level and a second element at a second level, the second level being hierarchically below the first level, the second element being the child of the first element.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein at least one option includes persisting the outline structure from the source document.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein persisting the outline structure comprises each element in the data having the same level in the destination document as in the source document.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein at least one option includes modifying the outline structure from the source document.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the modification to the outline structure comprises modifying a first element in the data such that the first element has a level associated with a position at which the data is pasted in the destination document, other elements in the data having the same relative levels with respect to the first element in the destination document as in the source document.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the formatting comprises general formatting.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein at least one option includes persisting the general formatting of the data from the source document.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein at least one option includes discarding the general formatting of the data from the source document.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the general formatting is formatting that is applied widely to much of the content of the source document.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the formatting further comprises direct formatting.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein at least one option includes persisting the direct formatting of the data from the source document.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein at least one option includes discarding the direct formatting of the data from the source document.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the direct formatting is formatting that is applied directly to a discrete portion of the data.

17. A computer-readable medium encoding with computer-executable instructions, which, when executed, perform the method of claim 1.

18. A computer-readable medium encoded with computer-executable instructions for pasting data from a source document into a destination document, comprising:

in response to an indication to persist a portion of formatting or structure of the pasted data, modifying the pasted data in accordance with the indication, the modification being based on a state of the pasted data in the source document.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein modifying the pasted data further comprises:

persisting general formatting associated with the pasted data;

persisting direct formatting associated with the pasted data; and

persisting structure associated with the pasted data.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein modifying the pasted data further comprises:

discarding general formatting associated with the pasted data;

persisting direct formatting associated with the pasted data; and

persisting at least a portion of structure associated with the pasted data as the structure existed in the source document.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the portion of structure persisted comprises relative levels of elements within the pasted data.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the portion of structure persisted further comprises absolute levels of the elements within the pasted data.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein modifying the pasted data further comprises:

discarding general formatting associated with the pasted data;

discarding direct formatting associated with the pasted data; and

discarding structure associated with the pasted data.

24. A computer-readable medium encoded with a data structure, the data structure comprising:

a first field indicating a first option for persisting a first set of formatting or structure associated with pasted data; and

a second field indicating a second option for persisting a second set of formatting or structure associated with the pasted data.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 24, wherein the formatting comprises general formatting and direct formatting.

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the first set of formatting comprises direct formatting but not general formatting.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 24, wherein the pasted data comprises elements with each element being associated with a level, and the first set of structure comprises the levels.