Method and system in an electronic spreadsheet for processing different cell protection modes
First Claim
1. A method within a data processing system for manipulating cell contents of a protected cell in a spreadsheet file having a plurality of standard cells, said method comprising:
- enabling a developer to convert at least one standard cell of said spreadsheet file to a swappable cell only when said spreadsheet file is not sealed, wherein said swappable cell includes a safe mode in which cell contents are protected from modification and a free mode in which cell contents are not protected from modification;
in response to a request by said developer to convert said at least one standard cell to a swappable cell;
adding an entry in a swap table;
copying cell contents of said swappable cell to said entry; and
setting said swappable cell to said safe mode;
enabling a user to toggle said swappable cell between said safe mode and said free mode only when said spreadsheet file is sealed;
in response to a request by said user to toggle said swappable cell from said safe mode to said free mode;
replacing cell contents of said swappable cell with a value; and
setting said swappable cell to said free mode; and
in response to a request by said user to toggle said swappable cell from said free mode to said safe mode;
copying contents of said entry from said swap table to said swappable cell; and
setting said swappable cell to said safe mode, such that said user can temporarily modify contents of a protected cell.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to the field of information processing by digital computers and, more particularly, to a method and system, in an electronic spreadsheet, for easily swapping the protection mode of a cell between a protected mode and an unprotected mode, while preserving the mathematical formulas used in the protected mode The electronic spreadsheet includes a cell content manager with an interface for handling the content of user specified cells according to the read-only, protected mode where a cell is usually filled by a formula, and the read-write, unprotected mode with a free update of the cell by the spreadsheet user. Preferred display methodology is also described for representing the current mode of a given cell.
111 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method within a data processing system for manipulating cell contents of a protected cell in a spreadsheet file having a plurality of standard cells, said method comprising:
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enabling a developer to convert at least one standard cell of said spreadsheet file to a swappable cell only when said spreadsheet file is not sealed, wherein said swappable cell includes a safe mode in which cell contents are protected from modification and a free mode in which cell contents are not protected from modification;
in response to a request by said developer to convert said at least one standard cell to a swappable cell;
adding an entry in a swap table;
copying cell contents of said swappable cell to said entry; and
setting said swappable cell to said safe mode;
enabling a user to toggle said swappable cell between said safe mode and said free mode only when said spreadsheet file is sealed;
in response to a request by said user to toggle said swappable cell from said safe mode to said free mode;
replacing cell contents of said swappable cell with a value; and
setting said swappable cell to said free mode; and
in response to a request by said user to toggle said swappable cell from said free mode to said safe mode;
copying contents of said entry from said swap table to said swappable cell; and
setting said swappable cell to said safe mode, such that said user can temporarily modify contents of a protected cell. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A data processing system that supports different protection modes in a spreadsheet having a plurality of standard cells, said data processing system comprising:
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means for enabling a developer to convert at least one standard cell of said spreadsheet file to a swappable cell only when said spreadsheet file is not sealed, wherein said swappable cell includes a safe mode in which cell contents are protected from modification and a free mode in which cell contents are not protected from modification;
in response to a request by said developer to convert said at least one standard cell to a swappable cell;
means for adding an entry in a swap table;
means for copying cell contents of said swappable cell to said entry; and
means for setting said swappable cell to said safe mode;
means for enabling a user to toggle said swappable cell between said safe mode and said free mode only when said spreadsheet file is sealed;
in response to a request by said user to toggle said swappable cell from said safe mode to said free mode;
means for replacing cell contents of said swappable cell with a value; and
means for setting said swappable cell to said free mode; and
in response to a request by said user to toggle said swappable cell from said free mode to said safe mode;
means for copying contents of said entry from said swap table to said swappable cell; and
means for setting said swappable cell to said safe mode, such that said user can temporarily modify contents of a protected cell. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A program product for manipulating cell contents of a protected cell in a spreadsheet having a plurality of standard cells, said program product comprising:
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program code means for enabling a developer to convert at least one standard cell of said spreadsheet file to a swappable cell only when said spreadsheet file is not sealed, wherein said swappable cell includes a safe mode in which cell contents are protected from modification and a free mode in which cell contents are not protected from modification;
in response to a request by said developer to convert said at least one standard cell to a swappable cell;
program code means for adding an entry in a swap table;
program code means for copying cell contents of said swappable cell to said entry; and
program code means for setting said swappable cell to said safe mode;
program code means for enabling a user to toggle said swappable cell between said safe mode and said free mode only when said spreadsheet file is sealed;
in response to a request by said user to toggle said swappable cell from said safe mode to said free mode;
program code means for replacing cell contents of said swappable cell with a value; and
program code means for setting said swappable cell to said free mode; and
in response to a request by said user to toggle said swappable cell from said free mode to said safe mode;
program code means for copying contents of said entry from said swap table to said swappable cell; and
program code means for setting said swappable cell to said safe mode, such that said user can temporarily modify contents of a protected cell. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification