SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REPLICATING VALUES FROM MULTIPLE INTERFACE ELEMENTS

• US 20120041985A1
• Filed: 08/10/2010
• Published: 02/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP SE
• Inventors: ENGEL, Christof
• Granted Patent: US 8,554,721 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/792
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop

Abstract

Systems and methods presented herein allow a user to select multiple interface elements, simultaneously copy the selected elements, and simultaneously replicate the data values from the multiple interface elements into existing corresponding interface elements. The user selection includes first and second interface elements presented on a display device, each of the selected interface elements comprising metadata and a data value. The selected elements can be copied by creating and storing a data template that includes the metadata and data values of the first and second interface elements. The data template can then be compared against other existing interface elements to identify corresponding interface elements, such that the data values of the copied interface elements can be replicated into the identified corresponding interface elements.

Claims

1. A system for simultaneously replicating data values for multiple interface elements, the system comprising:

a non-transient memory that stores instructions; and

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor executing the instructions to perform stages comprising;

receiving a user selection of a plurality of interface elements displayed on a display device, the plurality of interface elements each comprising metadata and a data value;

creating a data template that includes the metadata and data values of the plurality of selected interface elements;

storing the data template in memory;

comparing the data template to metadata of a second plurality of interface elements presented on the display device;

based on the comparison, identifying a first plurality of corresponding interface elements that relate to the selected plurality of interface elements, wherein the first plurality of corresponding interface elements include data values; and

changing the data values of the corresponding interface elements to represent the data values of the respective selected interface elements.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the stages performed by the processor further comprise comparing the data template metadata to metadata of a third plurality of interface elements presented on a display device, wherein the third plurality of interface elements are located in a different container than the second plurality of interface elements.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the stages performed by the processor further comprise:

identifying, based on the comparison, a second plurality of corresponding interface elements that relate to the selected plurality of interface elements; and

simultaneously displaying a first indication of the first corresponding interface elements and a second indication of the second corresponding interface elements.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein identifying a first plurality of corresponding interface elements includes identifying a first interface element with a first element type that corresponds to a second interface element of a second element type, wherein the first element type is different than the second element type.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein changing the data values of the corresponding interface elements comprises changing the data value of a first data type, wherein the corresponding interface element has a second data type that is different than the first data type.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the data template includes an element hierarchy, data type information, and element identification information, wherein the data type information and element identification information is arranged according to the element hierarchy to form a data type hierarchy and an identification hierarchy respectively, and wherein the element hierarchy, identification hierarchy, and data type hierarchy are used in comparing the data template to metadata of the second plurality of interface elements presented on the display device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor further compares the data values in the data template to selectable data values of at least one interface element within the second plurality of interface elements, wherein the comparison to selectable data values is used in conjunction with the comparison of metadata to identify the first plurality of corresponding interface elements.

8. A computer-implemented method for simultaneously replicating data values of multiple interface elements at a time, the method comprising:

receiving a user selection of a first interface element and a second interface element, the first and second interface elements each comprising metadata and a data value, the first and second interface elements being presented on a display device;

copying the selected first and second interface elements by creating, via a processor, a data template that includes the metadata and data values of the first and second interface elements;

comparing metadata from the data template to metadata of a second plurality of interface elements presented on a display device;

based on the comparison, identifying a first corresponding interface element that relates to the first interface element, wherein the first corresponding interface element includes a modifiable data value; and

in response to a paste action, changing the data value of the first corresponding interface element to represent the first data value.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein creating the data template includes causing the data template to be added to a clipboard.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the copying step and paste action are performed as part of a drag and drop operation.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the data template metadata is arranged in an element hierarchy that represents the displayed relationship between the first and second interface elements, wherein the element hierarchy also represents at least one additional interface element not selected by the user.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the comparing step further includes comparing the element hierarchy of the data template to the arrangement of interface elements displayed on the display device.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising displaying an indication of the identified first corresponding interface element.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the indication additionally displays a relative strength of the correspondence between the first interface element and the first corresponding interface element.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising automatically generating a preview by providing a visual indicator that the first corresponding interface element corresponds to the first interface element and changing the first corresponding interface element to represent the first data value.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the comparison step utilizes an element hierarchy, an identification value for the first element, and a data type for the first element in identifying the first corresponding interface element and a second corresponding interface element that relates to the second interface element.

17. A non-transient computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform steps comprising:

receiving a user selection of a plurality of interface elements displayed on a screen, the plurality of interface elements each comprising a metadata and a data value;

creating a data template that includes the metadata and data values of the plurality of selected interface elements;

storing the data template in memory;

comparing the data template to metadata of a second plurality of interface elements presented on a display device;

based on the comparison, identifying a first plurality of corresponding interface elements that relate to the selected plurality of interface elements; and

changing the data values of the first plurality of corresponding interface elements to represent the data values of the respective selected interface elements.

18. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the data template includes an element hierarchy, a data type hierarchy, and an identification hierarchy, each of which are used in comparing the data template to metadata of a second plurality of interface elements presented on a display device.

19. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein comparing the data template to metadata of a second plurality of interface elements includes comparing a custom data type and a generic data type corresponding to a selected interface element against a data type of a displayed interface element.

20. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the steps performed by the processor further comprise:

receiving a selection from the user electing the first plurality of corresponding interface elements rather than a second plurality of corresponding interface elements that is identified based on the comparison, wherein the selection is received before changing the data values occurs.