Method and system for grouping and displaying a database

• US 6,526,399 B1
• Filed: 06/15/1999
• Issued: 02/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Zhigu Holdings Limited
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wortendyke, David A., Coulson, Michael J., Massena, Jay L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEUNG, MARY DA ZHI WANG
• Application Number:
  US09/333,738
• Time in Patent Office: 1,351 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1-7, 707/10, 707/100-102, 707/503-510, 707/517, 707/522-523
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/26 Visual data mining; Browsing structured data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/18 of spreadsheets form-filling G06F40/174
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A database grouping and display system that groups a database by row and column in response to a user input. The database grouping and display system displays a raw, ungrouped database and allows a user to manipulate it as desired. The system displays the raw database and any manipulation results within a window of a web browser, thus allowing data analysis to be performed with the use of a common and inexpensive program. A user may group a database in order to group record entries within the database by common data entry. The user may group the record entries by row, by column, or by row and column. Each record entry grouping is referred to as a “metacell.” The database grouping and display system may further summarize the contents of each metacell and present a summary result along with the display of the metacell. This summary value is typically invoked for all metacells, but may alternately apply to a single row, column, or metacell, or for the entire document. The display state of the metacells may be toggled between a fully expanded and collapsed state. In the expanded state, all record entries within the metacell are visible, along with any summary values for the metacell. In a collapsed state, only summary values are shown in the metacell. This allows a user to see as much or as little detail for a metacell or range of metacells as desired.

Claims

1. A method for grouping and displaying a database, comprising the steps of:

retrieving a database file comprising a plurality of headings and plurality of data entries organized under the headings;

displaying the database on a display device;

displaying a drop area on the display device;

in response to a command associating a first one of the headings with the drop area, grouping the database into a plurality of metacells according to the first heading, each metacell comprising one or more data entries having a common data entry corresponding to the first heading; and

displaying the metacells on the display device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the drop area is a row drop area;

the database is grouped by row according to the first heading;

the metacells are row metacells; and

the row metacells are displayed on the display device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the command is a first user command, and further comprising the steps of:

displaying a column drop area on the display device;

in response to a second user command associating a second one of the headings with the column drop area, grouping the database by column into a plurality of dual-grouped metacells according to the second heading, each dual-grouped metacell comprising one or more common data entries corresponding to the first and second headings; and

displaying the dual-grouped metacells on the display device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the row drop area appears as a column displayed adjacent to a first edge of the database; and

the column drop area appears as a row displayed adjacent to a second edge of the database.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the user command associating the first heading with the row drop area comprises a drag-and-drop command selecting the first beading and dropping the fist heading on the row drop area; and

the user command associating the second heading with the column drop area comprises a drag-and-drop command selecting the second heading and dropping the second heading on the column drop area.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

in response to receiving a third user command, performing an operation on the dual-grouped metacells by row and column; and

displaying an operation result in association with each metacell.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the operation result for each metacell is displayed along a bottom edge of the metacell.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the operation is selected from the group comprising:

summing numeric data entries within the metacell;

counting the number of data entries within the metacell;

determining a maximum value for numeric data entries within the metacell; and

determining a minimum value for numeric data entries within the metacell.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a collapse display user command; and

for each metacell, displaying only a corresponding operation result within the metacell.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

receiving an expand display user command; and

for each metacell, displaying the corresponding data entries and the corresponding operation result within the metacell.

11. A computer storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 6.

12. A computer configured for performing the method of claim 6.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the drop area is a column drop area;

the database is grouped by column according to the first heading;

the metacells are column metacells; and

the column metacells are displayed on the display device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the database is displayed in a single display surface on the display device, and the metacells are displayed in multiple surfaces on the display device.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the database is displayed in the active window of an HTML-enabled web browser.

16. A computer storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 1.

17. A computer configured for performing the method of claim 1.

18. A method for grouping and displaying a database, comprising the steps of:

retrieving a database file comprising a plurality of headings and plurality of data entries organized under the headings;

displaying the database on a display device;

displaying a row drop area adjacent to a first edge of the database on the display device;

in response to a first user command associating a first one of the headings with the row drop area, grouping the database into a plurality of metacells according to the first heading, each metacell comprising one or more data entries having a common data entry corresponding to the first heading;

displaying a column drop area adjacent to a second edge of the database on the display device;

in response to a second user command associating a second one of the headings with the column drop area, grouping the database by column into a plurality of dual-grouped metacells according to the second heading, each dual-grouped metacell comprising one or more common data entries corresponding to the first and second headings;

displaying the dual-grouped metacells on the display device;

in response to receiving a third user command, performing an operation on the dual-grouped metacells by row and column; and

displaying an operation result in association with each metacell.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the database is displayed in a web browser on the display device.

20. A computer storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 18.

21. A computer configured for performing the method of claim 18.

22. A method for grouping and displaying a database, comprising the steps of:

retrieving a database file comprising a plurality of headings and plurality of data entries organized under the headings;

displaying the database on a display device;

displaying a drop area on the display device;

in response to a first user command associating a first one of the headings with the drop area, grouping the database into a plurality of metacells according to the first heading, each metacell comprising one or more data entries having a common data entry corresponding to the first heading;

displaying the metacells on the display device;

in response to a second user command, determining whether the second user command comprises a collapse display user command;

in response to determining the second user command comprises a collapse display user command, for each metacell associated with the command, displaying only a corresponding operation result within the metacell; and

in response to determining the second user command comprises an expand display user command, for each metacell associated with the command, displaying the corresponding data entries and the corresponding operation result within the metacell.

23. A computer storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 22.

24. A computer configured for perforating the method of claim 22.

25. A method for grouping and displaying a database, comprising the steps of:

retrieving a database file comprising a plurality of headings and plurality of data entries organized under the headings;

displaying the database on a display device;

displaying a column drop area on the display device;

dragging-and-dropping a first one of the headings onto the column drop area;

grouping the database into a plurality of metacells according to the first heading, each metacell comprising one or more data entries having a common data entry corresponding to the first heading, wherein the grouping is performed in response to the dragging-and-dropping the first one of the headings onto the column drop area; and

displaying the metacells on the display device.