User interface for creating a spreadsheet pivottable

• US 6,411,313 B1
• Filed: 06/14/1999
• Issued: 06/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Hagger, Paul A., Conlon, Thomas P.
• Primary Examiner(s): dela Torre, Crescelle N.
• Application Number:
  US09/332,720
• Time in Patent Office: 1,107 Days
• Field of Search: 345/700, 345/762, 345/764, 345/765, 345/769, 345/770, 345/781, 345/788, 345/799, 345/810, 345/835, 345/840, 345/856, 345/859, 345/860, 345/866, 707/503, 707/504
• US Class Current: 715/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174

Abstract

A drag-and-drop form displayed directly on a spreadsheet enables a user to drag-and-drop fields to create a PivotTable data display directly on the spreadsheet. Fields of data selected by a user are displayed within a field well (an array) included with a PivotTable Button Bar. The user can select a field with a mouse, drag the selected field over a desired region, and drop the field to insert it in the desired region. The drag-and-drop form identifies a page region, a row region, a column region, and a data region on the spreadsheet. If the data is of the OLAP type, the field well also includes icons indicating whether the fields in rows to the right of the icons are of the dimension type or the measure type. Since the PivotTable Button Bar is optionally displayed on the spreadsheet at all times, the user can readily add a selected field to one of the regions of the PivotTable data display by dragging and dropping the selected field. Changes can also be made to a PivotTable data display by dragging fields within a region or between different regions. Changes in the cursor shape indicate a portion of the PivotTable data display over which a field is currently being dragged.

Claims

1. A method for enabling a user to selectively produce and modify a spreadsheet PivotTable data display using a specified set of data, comprising the steps of:

(a) displaying an array of field buttons on a spreadsheet, each field button in the array representing a different field from the specified set of data;

(b) displaying predefined regions of the PivotTable data display directly on the spreadsheet;

(c) enabling a user to;

(i) graphically select a field button from the array;

(ii) drag the field button that was selected over a region of the PivotTable data display on the spreadsheet in which the user desires to include a field represented by said field button that was selected;

(iii) drop the field button that was selected, causing the field represented by said field button to be included within the region in which the field button was dropped; and

(iv) repeating steps (i) through (iii) for any of the fields represented by the field buttons that the user desires to include in the PivotTable data display; and

(d) displaying the PivotTable data display with the fields disposed in the regions in which the user dropped each field button.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the regions in which the field button can be dropped include a row region, a column region, a page region, and a data region.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of enabling a user to change the PivotTable data display by graphically selecting a field button in the array, dragging the field button over the region of the PivotTable data display on the spreadsheet in which the user desires to include a field represented by said field button that was just selected, and dropping the field button that was selected, causing the field represented by said field button to be included within the region in which the field button was dropped.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of enabling a user to change the PivotTable data display by graphically selecting a field in the PivotTable data display, dragging a field button representing the field that was just selected either from the PivotTable data display, or over a different region of the PivotTable data display, and dropping the field, wherein if the field button is dragged from the PivotTable data display, the field represented by said field button is deleted from the PivotTable data display, and if the field button is dropped in a different region, the field represented by said field button is moved to the different region of the PivotTable data display.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of enabling a user to change a position of a field in a region relative to another field in the region by dragging a field button representing said field to a different position in the same region.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the relative positions are changed only if the region in which the field is dragged is one of a page region, a row region, and a column region.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of employing a cursor shape to graphically indicate a region of the PivotTable data display over which a field button is currently being dragged.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of changing a shape of a cursor used to graphically select a field button when a user selects the field button from the array.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of graphically highlighting a region of the PivotTable data display over which the field button is being dragged.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the array remains visible at all times, unless closed by a user, to enable changes and additions to be made to the PivotTable data display.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of including icons that indicate a field type for data that comprise online analysis processing (OLAP) fields, said field type being one of a dimension field type and a measure field type.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of precluding a user from dropping a field button representing a dimension field into a data region on the PivotTable data display;

and precluding a user from dropping a field button representing a measure field into any of a page region, a row region, and a column region of the PivotTable data display.

13. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps recited in claim 1.

14. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the steps recited in claim 10.

15. A system for enabling a user to selectively produce and modify a spreadsheet PivotTable data display using a specified set of data, comprising:

(a) a memory in which a plurality of machine instructions are stored;

(b) a display on which graphics and text are displayed to a user;

(c) a user input device that enables a user to graphically select an element shown on the display; and

(d) a processor coupled to the memory, the user input device, and the display, said processor executing the plurality of machine instructions to implement a spreadsheet program that includes the functions of;

(i) displaying an array of field buttons on a spreadsheet on the display, each field button in the array representing a different field from the specified set of data;

(ii) displaying predefined regions of the PivotTable data display directly on the spreadsheet on the display;

(iii) enabling a user to;

(1) graphically select a field button from the array with the user input device;

(2) employ the user input device to drag the field button that was selected over a region of the PivotTable data display on the spreadsheet in which the user desires to include a field represented by said field button that was selected;

(3) drop the field button that was selected with the user input device, causing the field represented by said field button to be included within the region in which the field button was dropped on the display; and

(4) repeating steps (1) through (3) for any of the fields represented by the field buttons that the user desires to include in the PivotTable data display; and

(iv) presenting the PivotTable data display on the display with the fields disposed in the regions in which the user dropped each field button.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the regions in which the field button can be dropped in the spreadsheet shown on the display include a row region, a column region, a page region, and a data region.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the functions implemented by the processor further include enabling a user to change the PivotTable data display by graphically selecting a field button in the array, dragging the field button over the region of the PivotTable data display on the spreadsheet in which the user desires to include a field represented by said field button that was just selected, and dropping the field button that was selected, causing the field represented by said field button to be included within the region in which the field button was dropped.

18. The system of claim 15, enabling a user to change the PivotTable data display by graphically selecting a field in the PivotTable data display with the user input device, dragging a field button representing the field that was just selected either from the PivotTable data display, or over a different region of the PivotTable data display with the user input device, and dropping the field, wherein if the field button is dragged from the PivotTable data display, the field represented by said field button is deleted from the PivotTable data display, and if the field button is dropped in a different region, the field represented by said field button is moved to the different region of the PivotTable data display.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the functions implemented by the processor further include enabling a user to change a position of a field in a region relative to another field in the region by employing the user input device for dragging a field button representing said field to a different position in the same region.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the relative positions are changed only if the region in which the field is dragged is one of a page region, a row region, and a column region.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the functions implemented by the processor further include employing a cursor shape shown on the display to graphically indicate a region of the PivotTable data display over which a field button is currently being dragged.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein the functions implemented by the processor further include changing a shape of a cursor used to graphically select a field button as shown on the display, when a user selects the field button from the array with the user input device.

23. The system of claim 15, wherein the functions implemented by the processor further include graphically highlighting a region of the PivotTable data display over which the field button is being dragged with the user input device, as shown on the display.

24. The system of claim 15, wherein the array remains visible on the display at all times, unless closed by a user, to enable changes and additions to be made to the PivotTable data display.

25. The system of claim 15, wherein the functions implemented by the processor further include providing icons in the array shown on the display that indicate a field type for data comprising online analysis processing (OLAP) fields, said field type being one of a dimension field type and a measure field type.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the functions implemented by the processor further include precluding a user from dropping a field button representing a dimension field into a data region on the PivotTable data display;

and precluding a user from dropping a field button representing a measure field into any of a page region, a row region, and a column region of the PivotTable data display.