Method and system for producing a table image having focus and context regions

• US 6,085,202 A
• Filed: 03/27/1998
• Issued: 07/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: SAP America Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Card, Stuart K., Rao, Ramana B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen S.
• Application Number:
  US09/049,783
• Time in Patent Office: 830 Days
• Field of Search: 707/509, 707/503, 707/209, 345/419, 345/401, 345/440
• US Class Current: 715/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs

Abstract

A method is disclosed for operating a processor-controlled system to produce a table image including graphical display objects in each of the cell regions indirectly representing the data values in an underlying n-dimensional (nD) information data array. Request signal data is received from a input signal source to present the table image in the display area of a display device connected to the processor-controlled system. In response to the request signal data, for each cell in the table image, the source data value and data type of a source data item in the nD data array is obtained, and a cell presentation type is selected using the data type. A graphical display object having at least one display feature representative of the data type of the data value is produced from the cell presentation type, and image definition data defining table image and the graphical display object for each cell is provided to a system display device for display. The underlying data in the nD data array is thus graphically and indirectly represented in the table image, facilitating the visual inspection and identification of patterns and trends in the data. In addition, for very large conventional table images that do not fit in a standard sized display area, indirect representation of the data occupies substantially less space in the display area, permitting very large tables to be entirely represented graphically in one image. A sophisticated user interface permits a system user to perform table manipulation functions, such as reordering rows and column, sorting rows or columns, and deriving new rows or column, in order to further reveal data trends and patterns in the graphical representations.

Claims

1. A method of operating a machine to present a graphical view of data in a tabular format;

the machine including;

a signal source for producing signals indicating image display requests;

output circuitry connected to the signal source and to a display having a display area for presenting images;

a processor connected for providing images to the output circuitry; and

memory for storing data;

the date stored in the memory including instruction data indicating instructions the processor executes;

the processor further being connected for accessing the data stored in the memory;

the method comprising;

operating the processor to obtain a plurality of source data items included in an n-dimensional (nD) data array stored in the memory;

respective ones of the plurality of source data items in a first dimension of the nD data array each being referred to as a case data item and each indicating a set of source data items in a second dimension of the nD data array;

each source data item included in the set of source data items in the second dimension being referred to as a variable data item and indicating variable information about the case data item being identically ordered with respect to the variable information provided about the case data item and that a first variable data item for a first data case data item indicates first variable information about the first case data item and a first variable data item for a second data item indicates first variable information about the second case data item;

each of the plurality of first variable data items indicated by respective ones of the case data items being referred to as a first column data item;

each source data item stored in the nD array having a source data value indicating a direct representation of information about the respective source data item;

operating the processor to determine a graphical display object for each respective first column data item;

each graphical display object representing an indirect graphical representation of the source data value indicated by the respective first column data item;

each graphical display object having display features in common with each other graphical display object representing a first column data item;

each graphical display object further having a display feature, referred to as a value display feature, representing the source data value of a respective first column data item;

a value display feature of a first graphical display object visually distinguishing the first graphical display object from a second graphical display object representing a respective first column data item having a different source data value;

operating the processor to produce image definition data defining an image, referred to as a first table image, for presentation in the display area;

the first table image defining a two dimensional (2D) region in the display area for displaying the source data values of the plurality of source data items included in the nD array;

the first table image including a plurality of cell regions arranged in a two dimensional (2D) grid of horizontally-arranged cell regions referred to as rows and vertically-arranged cell regions referred to as columns;

a number of rows in the 2D grid being determined according to the respective case data items in the first dimension of the nD data array;

a number of columns in the 2D grid being determined according to a number of the variable data items included in each set of variable data items in the second dimension of the nD data array;

each cell region in the first table image being paired with a respective source data item in the nD data array;

the first table image having first table image size dimensions in the display area;

operating the processor to produce image definition data defining each graphical display object representing a respective one of the plurality of first column data items;

each graphical display object having size dimensions suitable for presentation in a respective one of the cell regions in a first column of the first table image;

operating the processor to present the first table image in the display area and to present the graphical display objects in respective ones of the cell regions in the first column of the first table image;

the first table image showing in the first column indirect representations of the source data values for respectively paired first column data items;

the graphical display objects shown in the first column being visually similar as a result of having display features in common with each other graphical display object;

the graphical display objects shown in the first column being visually distinguishable from one another as a result of each having a value display feature representing the source data value of the respective first column data item represented by the graphical display object;

operating the processor to receive request signal data from the signal source indicating an image display request;

the image display request indicating boundary information about a selected plurality of of contiguous cell regions included in the first table image;

the selected plurality of contiguous cell regions being referred to as a focus region and collectively having an original cell size;

operating the processor to produce image definition data defining a second table image including the focus region using the boundary information about the selected plurality of contiguous cell regions;

the second table image having size dimensions equal to the first table image size dimensions;

the focus region including the selected plurality of contiguous cell regions enlarged relative to the original group size thereof in the first table image such that the focus region size has a focus region size greater than the original group cell size;

a plurality of cell regions in the second table image not included in the focus region being referred to as a context cell region and having an adjusted size dimension computed for the second table image to accommodate display of the focus region therein;

operating the processor to present the image definition data defining the second table image including the context cell regions and including the focus region;

the focus region showing a direct representation of the source data value presented therein;

the context cell region showing just a graphical display object to indirectly represent the source data value presented therein.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein cell region size dimensions for cell regions in the second table image are determined using degree of interest function data for each respective dimension of the second table image;

the degree of interest function data indicating a mapping for each respective table dimension of a cell region to a cell region size dimension in the first table image; and

wherein operating the processor to produce image definition data defining the second table image including the focal cell region includes;

for each dimension in the second table image, modifying the degree of interest function data to produce modified degree of interest function data indicating a mapping of a cell region included in the focal cell region to a focal cell region size dimension in the respective dimension in the second table image;

the mapping being determined using the cell selection signals; and

for each dimension in the second table image, determining the focal cell region size for the focal cell region in the second table image using the first table image size dimensions, a predetermined focal cell region initial size, and the modified degree of interest function data; and

for each dimension in the second table image, determining a cell region size dimension of each cell region not included in the focal cell region using the first table image size dimensions, a predetermined bifocal cell region initial size, and the modified degree of interest function data.

3. The method of claim 1 further including operating the processor to present a third table image in response to receiving second request signal data from the signal source requesting a focus region zoom operation;

the third table image showing the focus region including the selected plurality of contiguous cell regions shown in the second table image having a changed focus region size.

4. The method of claim 1 further including operating the processor to present a second table image in response to receiving a third request signal data from the signal source requesting a focus region slide operation;

the third table image showing the focus region including the selected plurality of contiguous cell regions shown in the second table image in a position different from the position of the focus region in the second table image.