Smart Fill

• US 20140372857A1
• Filed: 06/14/2013
• Published: 12/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Otero, Carlos Augusto, Campbell, John, Albert, Uhl, Wilson, Aaron Lamar, Tullis, Steve, Parish, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 10,229,101 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

A smart fill feature is provided, which may be utilized to provide suggestions to a user and to prepopulate fill results in a spreadsheet. Characteristics associated with a set of data may be recognized and used to help determine fill results Suggestions may be determined from internal and or/external data sources, and may use contextual information in a data set to determine what a user may be trying to accomplish. External data sources may include one or more Internet data sources or internal corporate databases, providing a large amount of data from which to search for potential fill results. A split column command may be used to split a column into two or more columns. Data may be split between columns or combined by various methods, which may include, by example, by direct manipulation via tokens, or via a slider UI.

Claims

1. A method for providing a suggestion of autofill results for a set of data, the method comprising:

opening a spreadsheet;

receiving a set of data;

recognizing characteristics associated with the set of data;

determining if the set of data comprises data in a series pattern;

searching for potential autofill results; and

providing suggested autofill results for display in the spreadsheet.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication of a selection of a commit to the suggested autofill results; and

adding the suggested autofill results as data in the spreadsheet.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein recognizing characteristics associated with the set of data comprises recognizing one or more of:

outer limits associated with the set of data;

a shape associated with the set of data; and

size of the set of data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein searching for potential autofill results comprises searching an external data source for a series pattern including the received set of data.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein searching an external data source for a series including the received set of data comprises searching one or more Internet data sources.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein searching an external data source for a series pattern including the received set of data comprises searching one or more internal data stores associated with a corporation or organization.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein searching an external data source for a series pattern including the received set of data connecting to an internal data service operable to comb internal data stores and determine relationships of data within them.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising using contextual information in the set of data to search for a series pattern including the received set of data.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a set of data input by a user is a new series pattern; and

storing the set of data as a series that can be used as future potential autofill results.

10. A method for providing data splitting, the method comprising:

opening a spreadsheet;

receiving an indication of a selection to split a piece of data in a data set into two or more components;

splitting the piece of data into two or more components;

detecting a pattern associated with splitting the piece of data; and

providing an autosuggestion to split additional pieces of data in the data set into two or more components according to the detected series pattern.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving an indication of a selection to split a piece of data into two or more components comprises:

receiving data input in a cell in a second column;

determining the data input includes a portion of data from an cell in a first column; and

providing an autosuggestion to delete the portion of data from the cell in the first column and add the deleted portion of data to a cell in the second column.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving an indication of a selection to split a piece of data into two or more components comprises:

detecting individual data elements in a cell;

converting each individual data element into a selectable token;

receiving an indication of a selection to move a token to another cell;

moving the token to the other cell; and

converting the tokens back into individual data elements.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving an indication of a selection to split a piece of data into two or more components comprises:

providing a selectable slider user interface control;

receiving an indication of a selection to move the slider user interface control over data in a cell;

receiving an indication of a release of the slider user interface control; and

splitting the data between two cells according to the position of the slider user interface control.

14. A system for providing a suggestion of autofill results for a set of data, the system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the one or more processors operable to;

open a spreadsheet;

receive a set of data;

recognize characteristics associated with the set of data, the characteristics comprising one or more of;

outer limits associated with the set of data;

a shape associated with the set of data;

or

size of the set of data;

determine if the received data comprises data in a series pattern;

search for potential autofill results in a data source; and

provide suggested autofill results for display in the spreadsheet.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further operable to:

receive an indication of a selection of a commit to the suggested autofill results; and

add the suggested autofill results as data in the spreadsheet.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor, in searching for potential autofill results in a data source, is operable to search one or more Internet data sources.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor, in searching for potential autofill results in a data source, is operable to search one or more internal data stores associated with a corporation or organization.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor, in searching for potential autofill results in a data source, is operable to search an internal data service operable to comb internal data stores and determine relationships of data within them.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further operable to use contextual information in the set of data to search for a series pattern including the received set of data.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further operable to:

determine a set of data input by a user is a new series pattern; and

store the set of data as a series that can be used as future potential autofill results.