PERSISTENT FORMATTING FOR INTERACTIVE CHARTS

• US 20110246873A1
• Filed: 06/13/2011
• Published: 10/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Tolle, Kristin Michele, Monroe, Jenefer Lea, Heijster, Stephen Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,400,973 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/255
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs

Abstract

User requested format alterations to interactive chart elements, comprising, but not limited to, legends, axes, gridlines, data labels, axes labels, error bars, and datapoints, whether they be represented as points, bars, pie wedges, etc., are persisted in spite of chart navigations, underlying data changes and/or format alterations. Interactive chart element format persistence is maintained by the association and storing of data identifying a format change on the data and index rule for the respective chart element.

Claims

1. A method of applying formatting for an interactive chart to be displayed to a user of a computer system, comprising:

applying initial default formats to first, second, and third chart elements displayed in the interactive chart;

hiding the third chart element such that it is not displayed in the interactive chart; and

altering the initial default format of at least the second chart element while the third chart element is hidden to improve a differentiation between the first and second chart elements.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

redisplaying the third chart element in the interactive chart; and

reapplying the initial default formats to the first, second, and third chart elements while the third chart element is redisplayed.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising:

displaying a child chart element of the first chart element in the interactive chart;

applying the initial default format of the first chart element to the child chart element;

receiving a request to apply a user override format that overrides the initial default format of the child chart element; and

applying the user override format to the child chart element when the child chart element is displayed while continuing to apply the initial default format to the first chart element when the first chart element is displayed.

4. The method of claim 3, the child chart element and the first chart element not displayed concurrently.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising:

applying the initial default format of the first chart element to a child chart element of first chart element when the child chart element is displayed in the interactive chart;

receiving a request to apply a user override format that overrides the initial default format of the first chart element; and

applying the user override format to the first chart element when the first chart element is displayed and to the child chart element when the child chart element is displayed.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

displaying first and second child chart elements of the first chart element in the interactive chart, the first and second child chart elements comprising the initial default format of the first chart element;

receiving a request to apply a user override format that overrides the initial default format of the first child chart element; and

applying the user override format to the first child chart element when the first child chart element is displayed while continuing to apply the initial default format to the second child chart element when the second child chart element is displayed.

7. The method of claim 1, the interactive chart comprising a PivotChart.

8. The method of claim 7,

the PivotChart generated from an interactive table,

the interactive table built from a data cache, and

the data cache created from data in a data source.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising:

applying a user override format to at least one of the first, second, and third chart elements; and

storing properties of the user override format in a data tuple associated with the one or more chart elements to which the user override format is applied.

10. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed by a microprocessor perform a method, the method comprising:

displaying an interactive chart comprised of at least a first chart element, the first chart element displayed in a default format;

receiving a request to expand the first chart element such that a child chart element of the first chart element is displayed;

displaying the child chart element in the default format upon receiving the request to expand the first chart element;

receiving a request to apply a user override format to the child chart element, the user override format configured to override the default format; and

after receiving the request to apply the user override format to the child chart element, applying the user override format to the child chart element when the child chart element is displayed and applying the default format to the first chart element when the first chart element is displayed.

11. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, the child chart element displayed while the first chart element is hidden.

12. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, comprising:

receiving a request to collapse the first chart element such that the child chart element is not displayed, the request to collapse received after the user override format has been applied to the child chart element; and

displaying the first chart element in the default format.

13. The computer readable storage medium of claim 12, comprising:

receiving a request to expand the first chart element, after the request to collapse is received and the first chart element is displayed in the default format, such that the child chart element is displayed and the first chart element is not displayed; and

displaying the child chart element in the user override format.

14. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, comprising:

altering the default format of the first chart element after the request to apply the user override format to the child chart element has been received; and

applying the altered default format to the first chart element when the first chart element is displayed while continuing to apply the user override format to the child chart element when the child chart element is displayed.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, comprising:

receiving a request to apply a second user override format to the first chart element after the request to apply the user override format to the child chart element has been received; and

applying the second user override format to the first chart element when the first chart element is displayed while continuing to apply the user override format to the child element when the child element is displayed.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, after receiving the request to apply the user override format to the child chart element:

upon displaying the interactive chart while collapsed to display the first chart element and not display the child chart element, applying the default format to the first chart element; and

upon displaying the interactive chart while not collapsed to display the child chart element and to not display the first chart element, applying the user override format to the child chart element.

17. A computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed by a microprocessor perform a method, the method comprising:

applying a first default format to a first chart element when the first chart element is displayed in an interactive chart;

applying the first default format to a second chart element when the second chart element is displayed in the interactive chart, the second chart element a child of the first chart element;

receiving a request to apply a first user override format to at least the second chart element; and

after receiving the request to apply the first user override format;

upon displaying the first chart element, applying the first default format to the first chart element unless a request to apply a second user override format to the first chart element has been received; and

upon displaying the second chart element, applying the first user override format.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, the first chart element and the second chart element not displayed concurrently.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, comprising, after receiving the request to apply the first user override format:

altering the first default format to yield an altered default format;

upon displaying the first chart element, applying the altered default format to the first chart element; and

upon displaying the second chart element, continuing to apply the first user override format.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, comprising storing the first user override format in a data tuple associated with the second chart element.