User interface for integrated spreadsheets and word processing tables

• US 20050034060A1
• Filed: 09/16/2004
• Published: 02/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Fisher, Oliver G., Kotler, Matthew J., Gounares, Alexander G., Franklin, Christopher Matthew, Wolf, Richard J., Anantharaman, Vinod, Morgan, Matthew D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,673,227 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/209
• 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 40/177 of tables; using ruled lines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation

Abstract

An architecture integrates spreadsheet functionality into tables commonly used in word processing programs and HTML documents. The architecture presents a table user interface (UI) that resembles a table when not being edited and adds spreadsheet elements to the table when being edited. Underlying the table UI, the architecture separates data handling functions from presentation functions. The architecture includes a table appearance manager to manage how the table appears in a document including such characteristics as table resizing, selection, cut, copy, paste, split, merge, table formatting and so on. The architecture also has a spreadsheet functionality manager to manage the spreadsheet functions for the table, such as recalculation, formula handling, sorting, referencing, and the like. The bifurcated architecture supports cross-table referencing, reference editing, automatic universal recalculation throughout all tables in the document, and nested table structures in which one table is nested within a cell of another table.

Claims

1. An architecture comprising:

a user interface to present at least one table;

a table appearance manager to manage how a table appears in the user interface such that the table resembles a table when not being edited and adds spreadsheet elements to the table when being edited; and

a spreadsheet functionality manager to manage spreadsheet functions for the table.

2. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the user interface overlays a formula edit box on a particular cell in the table to facilitate user entry of a formula into the particular cell.

3. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the table appearance manager comprises:

a table component to support editing functionality of the table; and

a spreadsheet component to receive data and formulas input into the table.

4. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the spreadsheet functionality manager comprises:

a cell table to maintain data values and formulas used in the table; and

a format table to maintain formatting information used in the table.

5. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the spreadsheet functionality manager comprises:

a cell table to maintain data values and formulas used in the table; and

a recalculation engine to recalculate the formulas following a change to a data value or formula in the cell table.

6. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the user interface presents multiple tables, and the spreadsheet functionality manager is configured to track references made from one table to another table.

7. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the user interface presents multiple tables, and the spreadsheet functionality manager is configured to maintain data and formulas for the multiple tables and track references made from one table to another table, the spreadsheet functionality manager being further configured to update any data and formulas in the multiple tables that is affected by a change made to one of the tables.

8. A computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed on one or more processors, performs the following:

present first and second tables; and

create a reference from the first table to contents of the second table; and

upon modification of the contents in the second table, update the first table.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 8, further comprising computer-executable instructions to overlay an entry field on a particular cell in the table to facilitate user entry of a formula into the particular cell.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 9, further comprising computer-executable instructions to present a free floating field and create a reference from the free floating field to one of the first and second tables.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 9, further comprising computer-executable instructions to nest the first table within the second table.

12. A method for managing tables, comprising:

present first and second tables; and

create a reference from the first table to contents of the second table; and

upon modification of the contents in the second table, update the first table.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising overlaying an entry field on a particular cell in the table to facilitate user entry of a formula into the particular cell.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising presenting a free floating field and create a reference from the free floating field to one of the first and second tables.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising nesting the first table within the second table.