User interface for integrated spreadsheets and word processing tables

• US 20050044486A1
• Filed: 09/16/2004
• Published: 02/24/2005
• 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 7,350,141 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. A method comprising:

displaying a document with both text and a spreadsheet table, the spreadsheet table resembling a word processing table in appearance and supporting spreadsheet functionality; and

enabling a user to evaluate the text and the spreadsheet table for possible spelling or grammatical errors via actuation of a single control.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the document comprises displaying a markup document and rendering the markup document.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the document comprises displaying the spreadsheet table, when the spreadsheet table is being edited, to resemble a spreadsheet.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein evaluating the text and the spreadsheet table for possible spelling or grammatical errors is performed across spreadsheet table boundaries.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the user to evaluate the text and the spreadsheet table comprises:

enabling the user to select a control function to evaluate and modify an aspect of the document; and

applying the control function across both the text and the spreadsheet table.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the user to evaluate the text and the spreadsheet table comprises:

applying spell-checking across boundaries of the spreadsheet table, thereby applying the spell-checking to both the text and the spreadsheet table.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the user to evaluate the text and the spreadsheet table comprises:

enabling the user to select a spell-check function to evaluate and modify the document; and

applying the spell-check function across both the text and the spreadsheet table.

8. One or more processor-readable media having processor-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:

displaying a document with both text and a spreadsheet table, the spreadsheet table resembling a word processing table in appearance and supporting spreadsheet functionality; and

enabling a user to evaluate the text and the spreadsheet table for possible spelling or grammatical errors.

9. The one or more processor-readable media of claim 8, wherein displaying the document comprises instructions for displaying a markup document and rendering the markup document.

10. The one or more processor-readable media of claim 8, wherein displaying the document comprises instructions for displaying the spreadsheet table, when the spreadsheet table is being edited, to resemble a spreadsheet.

11. The one or more processor-readable media of claim 8, wherein evaluating the text and the spreadsheet table for possible spelling or grammatical errors is performed across spreadsheet table boundaries.

12. The one or more processor-readable media of claim 8, wherein enabling the user to evaluate the text and the spreadsheet table comprises instructions for:

enabling the user to select a control function to evaluate and modify an aspect of the document; and

applying the control function across both the text and the spreadsheet table.

13. The one or more processor-readable media of claim 8, wherein enabling the user to evaluate the text and the spreadsheet table comprises instructions for:

applying spell-checking across boundaries of the spreadsheet table, thereby applying the spell-checking to both the text and the spreadsheet table.

14. The one or more processor-readable media of claim 8, wherein enabling the user to evaluate the text and the spreadsheet table comprises instructions for:

enabling the user to select a spell-check function to evaluate and modify the document; and

applying the spell-check function across both the text and the spreadsheet table.

15. A method comprising:

displaying a document with both text and a spreadsheet table, the spreadsheet table resembling a word processing table in appearance and supporting spreadsheet functionality; and

enabling a user to select a control function to modify or evaluate an aspect of the document; and

applying the control function across both the text and the spreadsheet table.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the control function is selected from a group of functions including formatting, spell checking, grammar checking, find, find and replace, auto-correct, applying document themes, inserting lists, images, drawings, charts, hyperlinks, automatic detection of hyperlinks, and list autodetection.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the control function is any text feature that can be applied to the text and the applying comprises applying that text feature to the spreadsheet table.

18. A computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed on one or more processors, perform the method as recited in claim 15.